The Midseason Guide will be available on January 14, which is about a week away. If you've already purchased an Ultimate Fantasy Pack or a Gold/Platinum subscription, you will be able to download it then. If you purchased a Keeper League Fantasy Pack or a Silver subscription, you will need to purchase it separately. Pre-order it here.

As I'm writing Ramblings and completing other editing duties here for the next few days, I'm also writing the goalie information for the Midseason Guide. That means the next few days' Ramblings may seem briefer and to the point while I try to juggle everything. Maybe a little less BS, which can be a good thing (or maybe not, you be the judge). I won't break down Thursday’s later games in as much detail, as I'll try to pick them up tomorrow when the schedule is lighter. There's enough meat to chew on from the early games anyway.

–

Tuukka Rask is making his way back to Boston. The veteran goalie has signed an AHL tryout with the Providence Bruins and is expected to start as soon as possible. He was expected to start on Friday, but the game has since been postponed. I'm sure Rask and the Bruins already have a contract in the drawer that will be officially signed assuming Rask isn't injured or has a disastrous AHL start. Boston's cap space is razor-thin, so expect this to be a very team-friendly contract even with Rask's pedigree.

To pre-emptively answer the question, "Should I drop Jeremy Swayman?", I would wait a bit. I don't know what Rask's timeline would be for regular starts, but I would imagine he would be eased in at first once he is signed. That may result in Swayman not being sent to the AHL right away even with Rask on the roster, so wait until it is official. Swayman started Thursday's game, which turned out to be a 3-2 loss to Minnesota, the team that I'll talk about next.

–

It was more out of necessity than a flair for the dramatic, but Wild top prospects Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy both made their NHL debuts on Thursday. Boldy was even able to score his first NHL goal in front of family and friends in his home state of Massachusetts.

MATT BOLDY GOAL. SEND TWEET.#mnwild pic.twitter.com/TCuIorzjmU

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 7, 2022

Boldy finished the game with his goal and a plus-1 and four shots in 13:13 of icetime (which included second-unit power-play minutes), while Rossi was held without a point with two shots in 16:19 (which included first-unit power-play minutes). Both have been scoring at a point-per-game pace in the AHL (Rossi 23 points in 21 games, Boldy 10 points in 10 games). Both of these blue-chip prospects are worth speculative pickups in mid-sized to deeper single-season leagues. Rossi has the higher upside for keeper leagues, which you can see for yourself on the Dobber Prospects profiles below. However, you might have an easier time getting Boldy onto your team in a single-season format, not only because he’s rostered in fewer leagues, but also because he is a LW and Rossi is a C.

Boldy – Dobber Prospects profile

Rossi – Dobber Prospects profile

Unfortunately, it wasn't all positive for Minnesota, as Kirill Kaprizov left the game after getting hit along the boards. The hit from Trent Frederic seemed unnecessary, as Kaprizov was already in a vulnerable spot. Before he left the game, Kirill the Thrill scored another goal, which gives him goals in four consecutive games. Over that span, Kaprizov has eight points.

Kirill Kaprizov heads to the locker room after a hit by Trent Frederic pic.twitter.com/hm2S0TRt4g

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) January 7, 2022

I'd list the Wild lines to show where Boldy and Rossi fit into the lineup, but they are a bit difficult to pin down. The Wild started the game with only 11 forwards, and after Kaprizov left were down to 10 forwards. After the game, Dean Evason stated that it "doesn't look good" for Kaprizov, so it looks like he might miss Saturday's showdown with fellow Russian Alex Ovechkin.

With Cam Talbot injured during the Winter Classic, Kaapo Kahkonen is worth at least a short-term pickup in every league that rosters goalies. Kahkonen turned away 36 of 38 shots he faced to earn his first win in just over a month. The Wild play only once next week, so it's still possible that Talbot misses a minimal number of games in spite of being listed as out indefinitely.

–

Injured in just the third game of the season, Nikita Kucherov finally returned to the Lightning lineup on Thursday. Hopefully you activated him in time, as he recorded two assists and was named the game's first star. Kucherov as back on what should be a stacked scoring line with Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat.

In the "turning back the clock" category, Corey Perry has reached 10 goals for the first time in four seasons. Four of those goals have been over his last six games. He doesn't lose value with Kucherov returning because he hasn't really been skating on Tampa's top line or first-unit power play anyway. Key to his success in Tampa has been the fact that he's taking over two shots per game again – also, for the first time in four seasons. He was still a member of the Anaheim Ducks the last time he scored double-digit goals or averaged over two shots per game. At 36 years old, Perry is demonstrating that he still has something to offer. Deeper leagues could definitely consider him.  

–

Sidney Crosby is so lucky he gets to play with Bryan Rust

— Apples & Ginos Fantasy Hockey (@ApplesGinos) January 7, 2022

In the "which player on my H2H opponent's team is going off" category is Bryan Rust. Since his return from injury, Rust has three consecutive multi-goal games. Not multipoint, but multi-goal. That's seven goals and 11 points over his last three games. Only six players that have played more games than Rust have a higher point-per-game average (1.33 PTS/GP). Rust is flexing his muscles right now, and so are the Penguins. They've now won 10 games in a row.

Luckily for me, I have Kris Letang in my head-to-head matchup with Rust. The Penguins blueliner has three consecutive multi-assist games, which gives him seven assists over his last three games. Letang is a near point-per-game player (27 points in 29 games), yet only one of those points is a goal. In case you missed it, Letang took nine shots against St. Louis on Wednesday, plus three more shots on Thursday. With a little more puck luck, he might be outstanding.  

Evan Rodrigues is at the top of the Frozen Tools top searches, and for good reason. Rodrigues has at least one goal and two points in each of his last three games. He's also up to 15 goals and 30 points in 33 games, pushing that point-per-game mark. In what has been an almost out-of-nowhere breakout, Rodrigues has already surpassed his career high. Almost, as you may remember that both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were injured at the start of the season (Malkin still is, but probably not much longer) and Rodrigues was suddenly thrust onto a scoring line.

The Penguins have battled injuries to other scorers like Rust and Jake Guentzel. As a result, Rodrigues was gifted a major opportunity, and he's blown the door wide open. There might be a bit of regression coming for his scoring totals as the Pens get fully healthy. However, Rodrigues should help his cause in multicategory leagues as long as he continues to shoot the puck. He's averaged over three shots per game when in previous seasons he mostly took fewer than two shots per game.

I almost forgot – Rodrigues had a Draisaitl Hat Trick on Wednesday against St. Louis (goal, assist, -1).

–

Jack Hughes is on fire. With another three points on Thursday, Hughes is up to 12 points over his last five games. He's now also over that point-per-game mark (20 points in 18 games). The sample is small and his shooting percentage is quite high (18.8 SH%), but he appears to be breaking out in his third NHL season.

Playing on Hughes' line, Jesper Bratt is pushing point-per-game numbers himself (32 points in 34 games). He's about to smash his career high of 35 points in what will be a breakout season for himself.

With Dougie Hamilton out of the lineup with a broken jaw, Damon Severson is taking on first-unit power-play minutes. Severson also reached the 25-minute mark for the fourth consecutive game. He didn't record a point on Thursday, his three-game point streak snapped. I recommended him on my Twitter account earlier this week and still stand by that statement.

–

With a goal and an assist on Thursday, Tomas Hertl now has nine goals and 15 points over his last 11 games. Keep in mind that he's also in a contract year. The Sharks are one of a sizeable group of teams just outside of the Western Conference playoff bar, so it will be interesting to see what they decide on Hertl. Thinking way ahead, but a Hertl trade could hurt Alexander Barabanov's value. Barabanov, who has been Hertl's most frequent linemate this season, has 10 points over his last 11 games.

–

Covid hit again on Thursday, with the Ducks/Red Wings game being postponed until Sunday. At least you won't lose a game this week if you roster any player from either team; instead, they will simply be redistributed to a less busy day. Let's hope there aren't more postponements to come.

–

In Colorado's 7-1 win over Winnipeg, the top line combined for 12 points. Nathan MacKinnon scored a goal and four assists on eight shots, Gabriel Landeskog scored a hat trick with an assist and five shots, while Mikko Rantanen scored a goal and added two assists. What a line this is when all three are healthy.

–

The Panthers and Stars finished regulation tied at 5, but could not score in overtime. However, the OT did not lack for excitement.

That Dallas/Florida overtime was bonkers. 😱😱 pic.twitter.com/oAgb2Q0xJV

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 7, 2022

–

For more fantasy hockey discussion, follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding