The Sharks have placed Evander Kane on unconditional waivers to terminate his deal, although Kane is expected to file a grievance through the NHLPA. The last straw for Kane is reportedly for violating the AHL's COVID protocols, when Kane travelled to Vancouver while he was COVID positive. If his contract is terminated, Kane will lose out on $22.885 million, so the combination of his actions has resulted in a very expensive mistake.

According to CapFriendly, Kane can sign with another club once his contract is terminated, and he can even play in the playoffs if he signs prior to March 21. Kane is dealing with some very serious issues, so teams may not immediately want to roll the dice. Having said that, Kane has the kind of high-end skill that teams covet, even if it is common knowledge that he is not a positive influence on his team. I don't think his NHL career is necessarily over if you use the example of Tony DeAngelo as a benchmark. Kane has posted solid AHL numbers (8 PTS in 5 GP), so at least the hockey ability is still there even if the off-ice decision making and accountability isn't.

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With his goal on Saturday, Denis Gurianov has scored goals in back-to-back games and has six points over his last three games. Linemates Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin aren't exactly setting the world on fire, and Gurianov is prone to some cold stretches himself. Gurianov's icetime has been in the 16-18-minute range over the past two games, higher than his average of 13 minutes and change this season.

Jason Robertson recorded assists on all three Dallas goals on Saturday. He's currently riding a six-game point streak with nine points over that span. Robertson also has a 10-game home point streak, which is something to remember for future Stars home games if you play daily fantasy.

Jake Guentzel has seven points over his last four games. If you don't include games that Guentzel missed because of injury, Guentzel has not been held without a point in a game since… November 11! That's a span of 17 games, in which Guentzel has scored 15 goals and added 11 assists. He seems to me like a pretty good bet if you need a point from someone.

Kris Letang has eight points (all assists) over his last four games.

The red-hot Bryan Rust was placed on COVID protocol prior to Saturday's day game. Prior to Saturday, Rust had scored seven goals over his last three games.

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Because Darcy Kuemper was pulled in the first period after allowing three goals on eight shots, we had a Pavel Francouz sighting on Saturday. The 31-year-old Czech netminder was appearing in just his second game of the season (and the last two seasons, for that matter). He managed to hold the Leafs at bay, stopping 19 of 20 shots and picking up a win in a come-from-behind effort from Colorado. With the really bad start, Kuemper's run of seven consecutive wins is over. Injuries have been an issue for both Colorado goalies, which means that either could hold substantial value at any given time. Kuemper's still the starter, but if I'm an Avalanche fan, I feel more reassured that Francouz looked okay.

Colorado has scored seven goals seven times this season, so a 3-0 deficit wasn't as daunting as it is for other teams. Mikko Rantanen picked up four assists, including this clever one below. Jack Campbell didn't even see this goal coming.

what a pass by Mikko Rantanen pic.twitter.com/RgvOBsyODy

— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) January 9, 2022

Just like the rest of the top line, Rantanen has been on fire the past two games, totaling seven points. Linemate Nathan MacKinnon was held to "just" one goal, but he fired 12 shots at Campbell. MacKinnon now has a 13-game point streak where he has piled up 24 points.

With a goal and an assist, Cale Makar now has 22 points in his last 17 games. He's had at least a point-per-game pace both this season and last. If he can stay healthy, is he the most valuable defenseman in fantasy?

A day after clearing waivers, Nick Ritchie scored a power-play goal. He also made his physical presence known, tying his season high with six hits. Remember when Dobber said during the offseason that the Leafs brought in a million too many forwards? We shouldn't be totally surprised Ritchie went on waivers, although he seemed a little more secure given the fact that he was signed for two years. Ritchie played just under 11 minutes on Jason Spezza's line, so that's not really the best place for him to get his scoring back on track.

Jack Campbell probably deserved better, facing 49 shots overall. The shot totals were spread out, which meant that he faced double-digit shots every period. Here's one of his 44 saves, where he imitates a soccer goalkeeper.

Now THIS is a great save by Jack Campbell. pic.twitter.com/ydSRmyUSgx

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 9, 2022

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Usually the Frozen Tools top searches consist more of hot or up-and-coming players more than players considered elite. Yet David Pastrnak has been listed on those searches, likely because he's been in a funk recently. Pasta broke the slump on Saturday, scoring a pair of goals. Pastrnak also took seven shots, bringing his total to 13 over his last two games. Prior to Saturday, Pastrnak had just one point in his previous six games as well as just three points in his last 11 games. In other words, he entered Saturday's game with just three points in all of December and January. With slightly lower than normal advanced stats, including an 8.1 SH%, this seems like a buy-low opportunity. But after Saturday, an attempt to pull Pasta from an unsuspecting manager might not be quite as easy.

In an attempt to move the scoring around (and maybe a change of pace for Pastrnak), Bruce Cassidy had recently moved Pastrnak off the Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron line. Marchand scored a pair of goals himself, seemingly unaffected by the line change. The top two lines for the Bruins are now as follows:

TAYLOR HALL – ERIK HAULA – DAVID PASTRNAK

PATRICE BERGERON – BRAD MARCHAND – CRAIG SMITH

Although Craig Smith hasn't benefitted from the plum assignment (0 PTS in last 3 GP), Erik Haula currently has a four-game point streak, including an assist on one of Pastrnak's goals. Smith was mentioned in our most recent weekly preview article Looking Ahead, but you may also want to consider Haula if Smith doesn't happen to be available.  

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Tomas Hertl recorded a natural hat trick, including the overtime winner for the Sharks over Philadelphia. He also matched his season high with seven shots on goal. Hertl continues to be on a heater, accruing 18 points over his last 12 games. He's also reached 20 goals, which places him seventh in the league in that category. His hat trick is also his second of the season. I also discussed more on Hertl in the Friday Ramblings.

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Brady Skjei struck again on Saturday, scoring another goal. The suddenly red-hot defenseman now has goals in three consecutive games as well as eight points over his last five games. Oh, and he even received a sniff of power-play time (44 seconds, to be exact). I have no doubt Skjei will cool off, as I discussed yesterday, but I'm just enjoying the ride on one of my teams.  

Radko Gudas is known for hits, so it's probably worth mentioning that his 10 hits on Saturday is his season high for one game and tied for the highest hit total from one player on Saturday (Jujhar Khaira also dished 10 hits.) Yes, I think I'm going to win that category this week because of Gudas, who also leads the league with 148 hits this season.

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Although I didn't watch the game myself, the Capitals/Wild game looked like it had plenty to offer in terms of entertainment. Let's start with the Capitals' own goal on a delayed penalty call.

🚨 OWN GOAL: Carl Hagelin puts it into his own net on a delayed penalty call. Calen Addison gets credit. #ALLCAPS #MNWild pic.twitter.com/1WNlBv55n1

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) January 9, 2022

That kind of reminded me of what happened to Loui Eriksson during his first game with the Canucks (watch here).

How about Kaapo Kahkonen skating waaaaay out of his crease to make a save.

Kahkonen with a wild (literally) save so far out of the crease in a tie game (!) in the last minute of regulation (!) pic.twitter.com/NSudGGbVtF

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) January 9, 2022

Look at it from reverse. What a strange spot for a goalie to be in.

still thinking about this one pic.twitter.com/lrjjBBaZAS

— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) January 9, 2022

Then there's Zach Fucale's unreal save in overtime.

Zach Fucale robs Ryan Hartman 🤯 pic.twitter.com/tkXQdFcnOK

— Ryan Gilbert (@RGilbertSOP) January 9, 2022

Fucale, by the way, set the record for the longest shutout streak to start a career (138:31). "Own goal" aside, the first goal Fucale allowed was with 35 seconds left in regulation with the net empty. Fucale was in the lineup because Vitek Vanecek has been out of the lineup with an illness. Assuming Vanecek returns soon, Fucale probably won't be in the NHL for long. Yet with both Ilya Samsonov and Vanecek set to become RFAs this offseason, the 26-year-old Fucale is making his case to be in the Capitals' goaltending mix next season in case the Caps decide to move in a different direction.

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A nice revenge game for Marc-Andre Fleury: 30 saves, 1 goal allowed, and most importantly a win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Fleury's last win and quality start was December 15, which was four starts ago. Although shopping a $7 million contract isn't easy, I wonder if the Blackhawks will offer him as trade bait to be a rental somewhere.

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It's been a month since we've heard from Cal Petersen. He managed to reward those who have been patient enough with him, as he stopped all 21 shots he faced in a 4-0 shutout win over the Red Wings. Aside from a spot start from Garret Sparks while Petersen was in COVID protocol, it's been all Jonathan Quick in net for the Kings while Petersen has been absent. Petersen looked primed to keep Quick in a backup role again this season and seemed to offer significant value in the Yahoo rankings, but Quick has managed to turn the clock back this season. Although he wasn't tested a lot in this game, Petersen should be able to make this a little more of a goaltending battle in the new year.

Some one-sided shot totals from the late games:

Kings 42, Red Wings 21, including 27-2 after the first period. In other words, the Kings had more shots in the first period than the Wings did in the entire game.

Rangers 40, Ducks 14 (Rangers won 4-1)

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The hockey world is hurting over the tragic loss of Teddy Balkind yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with the young players from St. Luke's and Brunswick and especially the Balkind family. Rest In Peace Teddy #sticksoutforTeddy pic.twitter.com/OmtRUH4diQ

— Kevin Shattenkirk (@shattdeuces) January 8, 2022

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