After a sluggish first few games, Taylor Hall is showing that he still has something to offer. The former Hart Trophy winner scored the overtime winner and added two assists with five shots on Saturday. After recording just one point in his first four games, Hall has goals in back-to-back games. He's also been on the Bruins' first-unit power play, while being able to feed passes to David Pastrnak at even strength doesn't hurt either. Fantasy teams were lukewarm on Hall in drafts this season (Yahoo ADP 164/Fantrax ADP 154), but he's about 80-90% rostered in both formats. With Brad Marchand out for a while longer, perhaps we underestimated Hall, although Hall's role could decline somewhat once Marchand returns.

Here's the Hall OT winner, where Pastrnak took the turn as the passer.

David Pastrnak (@pastrnak96) finds Taylor Hall (@hallsy09) with an unreal backhand pass for the @Energizer OT winner! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/PNIzayEe5i

— NHL (@NHL) October 22, 2022

Remember how we chatted about Marc-Andre Fleury last weekend? His play has improved since then, but only marginally. Fleury has allowed at least three goals in each of his four games this season. Fleury was tagged with the overtime loss on Saturday to Boston, but he at least pitched a quality start in stopping 39 of 43 shots.

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Winning a bidding war notwithstanding, I wasn't as bullish as others on Jesper Bratt entering the season. Yet at the time I'm typing this (Saturday afternoon on the West Coast), Bratt is tied for the league lead with eight assists. Yeah, he's still without a goal in five games, but he's gotten a fantastic start on what Dobber projected to be 76 points this season. Bratt has also been consistent with a point in all five of his games.

I've used the Bratt/Nico Hischier stack in one of my leagues this week, with Hischier recording six points (2 G, 4 A) this week. Devils newcomer Ondrej Palat, the third man on the line, has three points this week – all goals and all this week (none on Saturday, though).

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Here's Dylan Guenther's first NHL goal, showing off the same skill that he used to score 45 goals in 59 games in the WHL last season.

His first and it is a beauty. 😍 pic.twitter.com/NvlHZZEIb9

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) October 22, 2022

Obviously, it's difficult to squeeze any value out of Arizona, which means that Guenther may not be relevant in single-season leagues. For what it's worth, the Coyotes are using Guenther on the second-unit power play. Regular minutes with Clayton Keller would be Guenther's best path to success, but that hasn't really happened yet.

Oh look, there's Juuso Valimaki on the Arizona second-unit power play. He recorded an assist on Guenther's goal, which happened to be on the power play. Shayne Gostisbehere and J.J. Moser are both on the first unit, which might make sense given the lack of forward depth of the Coyotes. Since Jakob Chychrun is still a few weeks away from returning – if he is not traded by then – none of the above players seem to be in immediate danger of losing power-play time, for what that's worth.

Brady Tkachuk scored a pair of goals for the Senators in their win. He's recorded multiple points in each of his last three games with seven points over that span.

Josh Norris also scored a goal in this game, but he left this game with an injury that appeared to be somewhere on his left arm. He will undergo an MRI once the swelling on the injury has been reduced. Norris has had an injury to his left shoulder in the past, which would be concerning if he has re-injured it. Hope for the best, but fantasy teams should be prepared to be without his services next week.

Norris's injury could open the door for Shane Pinto, who already has goals in four consecutive games. Pinto also added an assist on Saturday, which gives him five points over his last four games. Darkhorse Calder candidate? Pinto is receiving second-unit power-play minutes, and he's had to make do with Mathieu Joseph and Tyler Motte as his even-strength linemates up to this point. Assuming Norris has to miss time, Pinto has a golden opportunity in front of him for top-6 icetime – and that top 6 has been upgraded. Pinto is only 5% rostered in Yahoo leagues (46% in Fantrax), so you might want to look up his availability sooner rather than later.

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Friday's least likely game outcome was the Seattle win in Colorado. Saturday's involved St. Louis's win in Edmonton, although it wasn't necessarily because the Blues defeated the Oilers. Jordan Binnington shut the door on McDavid and Co., stopping all 24 shots he faced in an unlikely shutout. I'm sure a few of you benched Binnington in this game and regretted it. The right thinking, just the wrong result. Binnington has posted wins and quality starts in all three of his games this season, which are great signs for a potential rebound.

Justin Faulk's empty-netter was his third goal in two games.

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John Tavares is off to a strong start. The Leafs captain scored a pair of power-play goals on Saturday in Winnipeg. That gives him a team-leading seven points in six games.

Auston Matthews recorded three assists. However, he has been held to just one goal in six games and is without a goal in his last four games. Make all the jokes you want about players that have as many goals as Matthews, but that won't last. He made 13 shot attempts on Saturday.

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Joe Pavelski is easy to write off because of his age (38), but he continues to score goals. Pavelski recorded a hat trick and added an assist in powering the Stars to a victory in Montreal. He's now the oldest player in Stars/North Stars history to score a hat trick. Pavelski also filled the statsheet in multicategory leagues with a plus-2, five shots, and two power-play points.

Joe Pavelski completes the hat trick, yet isn't the most eye-catching part of the clip pic.twitter.com/wv5iurKjks

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) October 23, 2022

Arber Xhekaj (I had to slow down my typing to spell his last name) scored his first NHL goal while adding an assist. He didn't add a fight for a Gordie Howe hat trick, but what would you call it if he also contributes seven hits? The 21-year-old Xhekaj, who surprisingly made the Habs out of training camp, probably won't be what you need if you're looking for scoring on defense. However, bangers leagues should already be thinking about him, as he has at least three hits in each of his six games. He's also among the league leaders in hits with 26.

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In the Kings' loss to the Capitals, Viktor Arvidsson scored a goal and added two assists. The points were his first of the season, as he had been held without a point in his previous five games.

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Even though he has spent considerable time on the first line, Brandon Hagel entered Saturday's game without a point in five games. However, he broke that slump with a goal and an assist against the Islanders. Hagel is rostered in just 3% of Yahoo leagues (32% in Fantrax), so he might be one to target if you like to play the linemate game. I'd probably suggest that more in deeper leagues, as Hagel will need to show more regular scoring in order to keep his place on that line.

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Jake Guentzel was out of the lineup on Saturday, so Danton Heinen was moved up to Sidney Crosby's line. Heinen made the most of his opportunity, scoring a pair of goals that Crosby assisted on. Heinen is off to a fast start with six points in his first five games. Guentzel is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, which doesn't make it easy to predict how effective a pickup Heinen will be. That being said, the Penguins play four games next week, which are all on the road in the northwest (EDM, CGY, VAN, SEA). He's rostered in just 1% of Yahoo leagues and 14% of Fantrax leagues, so he's very likely available.

In the Penguins/Blue Jackets game, Kent Johnson scored his first-ever NHL goal. He now has points in back-to-back games. Johnson has also been playing on a scoring line with Jack Roslovic and Jakub Voracek, so his talent is already being recognized. He's already a staple on keeper league teams, but he's just 7% rostered in Yahoo leagues. He could be worth a flier if you want to get ahead of the curve with a rookie that can make an immediate contribution.

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Carter Hart has wins and quality starts in all four of his games. Yes, you read that right. In fact, Hart was just over two minutes away from a shutout when Matt Duchene scored a power-play goal for Nashville. The Flyers under John Tortorella have been better than advertised in the early part of the season with a 4-1-0 record, which certainly helps. Don't underestimate Hart's role in that, as he has allowed no more than two goals while facing at least 30 shots in each of his four games.

I might be contradicting myself here, but Hart might be worth selling high in single-season leagues… while buying low in a keeper league. In other words, the Flyers will probably turn into who we thought they were at some point during the season, which will hurt Hart's value. That being said, 24 years of age is probably too soon to be writing a goalie off, even though Hart has had two subpar seasons prior to this one.

Joel Farabee scored a goal while adding two assists in the Flyers win. Those points were his first in five games this season.

In the Flyers/Predators game, Mark Borowiecki was stretchered off after taking a hit into the boards. The good news is that he was conscious and had movement in all of his extremities.

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Valeri Nichushkin scored again. Yep, that's his sixth goal and 11^th point in seven games. It seems as though last season's playoff success (9 G and 15 PTS in 20 GP) has carried over into this season. So far, so good on the long-term deal.

What a goal from Val Nichushkin! 🚂👊 pic.twitter.com/atrZ3mAmUp

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 23, 2022

Evan Rodrigues scored a power-play goal on Saturday, which was his second goal in as many games. He's been playing on Nichushkin's line.

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With a first-period power-play goal, Rasmus Dahlin now has a goal in each of his first five games. To give you an idea of how much better things have been for him this season over last, Dahlin needed 28 games to get to five goals last season. Dahlin also has nine goals and 22 points in his last 22 games dating back to last season, so perhaps you saw this coming.

Not to be outdone, Alex Tuch has goals in four consecutive games. Like Nichushkin, Tuch also has six goals on the season, which is among the league leaders. The Sabres have performed the rare, unexpected feat and swept their games in Western Canada (Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver). The season is still very early, but they already look like they'll challenge for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Much has been made about the Canucks' inability to register a win this season. With all the blown leads, scoring generally hasn't been a problem (save for Saturday). Yet one major key to success is for Thatcher Demko to steal some games, and so far, that hasn't happened. In each of his five games, Demko has allowed at least three goals. The mood is ugly in Vancouver, don't get me wrong. But the Canucks will eventually find their way and post some W's, although whether there are enough of those to make the playoffs is another matter. Either way, now might be a great time to reach out to the Demko owner in your league for a buy-low offer.  

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Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.