We are a couple of weeks into the season and there are definitely a few slow starters that I'm looking into, some that I certainly didn't expect to have to be worrying about this early.

Vitek Vanecek – Goalies are the definition of fickle, and that's especially the case in small sample sizes. When that goalie is on a new team, and has to deal with both getting used to a new set of defenceman alongside the incumbent getting a fresh chance. Mackenzie Blackwood getting rocked the other night, and then Vanecek putting up a decent showing against Detroit may be a sign that the tide is shifting though.

Jonathan Huberdeau – Huberdeau's points aren't all that far behind his pace from last year, a couple of bounces and he's right back in it. What is concerning though are the rest of his numbers. His time on ice is down to levels he hasn't seen since his sophomore year a decade ago (under 17 minutes per game). Hubs is also being used in more of a defensive role than previous years. He was starting 70% of his shifts in the offensive zone last year, and this year that number is down to 45%.

There's an adjustment period for players with new teams, but especially when there is such a drastic shift in usage and expectations. There is going to be a decline from last season, and that may be especially true for the shot totals and other peripherals. At least teammate Nazem Kadri has adjusted well. It's probably not going to be too long until those two are put together in an effort to spark Huberdeau, which should work as Lindholm's line will likely continue to be the defensive responsibility, while a Huberdeau/Kadri combination would feast on all the offensive starts they could handle.

Kyle Connor – Winnipeg has been very inconsistent to start the year, and that has affected everyone throughout the lineup. Like Huberdeau, with the new coach Connor's ice time and shot rate has dropped slightly this year. He's also only shooting five percent, three times lower than his career average. Even out his shooting percentage to his career average with an extra two goals and he is pretty close to his usual self. Nothing to worry about here, especially with the easy schedule Winnipeg has coming up over the next three weeks.

Pavel Buchnevich – The nagging injury that has kept him out of the lineup since game one has been tough to see, but Buch did make the best of his one game so far. The issue is that when day-to-day injuries stretch out for longer than anticipated, they almost always end up being a background issue for the rest of the season as the player decides to just play through it. The Blues also need the help as overall they haven't put up a ton of offence yet, and have had one of the lighter schedules in the NHL to this point.

Rick has a deeper dive on Buchnevich in this week's Forum Buzz. He also needs a few more questions for this month's monthly mailbag. To get your question to him, you can either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums, or send an email to [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.

Teuvo Teravainen – He has been dropped in one of my leagues already, and I picked him up as soon as he got off waivers (the benefits of being up at weird hours trying to put a one-year-old back to sleep). He has been one of the more consistent wingers over the last five years, scoring at least at a 60-point-pace in four of the last five seasons (the only one he didn't was a campaign cut very short by an injury).

This year he's playing with the same linemates, with the same amount of ice time, putting up his usual shot numbers, and his underlying numbers are in line with his usual outlook. The biggest problem is that he just hasn't put the puck in the net yet on 16 shots. Just like Kyle Connor, if he was back up to his career norm for shooting percentage, there would be nothing to talk about here as he would be right as his usual 65-point-pace.

*

Last night we saw a few rookies step into bigger opportunities due to a few injuries, and these situations are worth keeping an eye on. 

Miro Heiskanen missing the game with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Nils Lundkvist saw his ice time jump, and was on the ice for the most power play ice time among all the Stars last night. He didn't record a point, but he's still at three points in seven games, and if Heiskanen is out for any length of time then Lundkvist's scoring pace should jump above one point every two games.

Ondrej Palat was also a late addition to the list of injured players, and we saw Alexander Holtz step into his spot in the top-nine. He didn't manage to find the scoresheet, but with his shot, and how dominant New Jersey's offence has been this year, coming at the opposition in waves, Holtz should fit in smoothly.

Erik Haula took Palat's spot on the top line, spending the game alongside Jack Hughes and the red-hot Jesper Bratt. Haula is still looking for his first point on the season, but he's worth rostering as long as he's on that line, and brings a great range of peripherals to boot. He was initially given an assist last night on Hughes' goal, but it was later taken away. It's only a matter of time.

*

Last night was Matt Grzelcyk's third game after returning from injury. He has points in all three, despite still not usurping Hampus Lindholm on the first power play unit. That unit has been absolutely dominant for the Bruins, and if Lindholm holds onto that for another two months or so until McAvoy returns, then he's very worth owning, and may also be a cheaper DFS play in the short term.

*

In another injury return, Patrik Laine played in his second game of the season, and was back a week earlier than expected. He didn't make much of an impact on the game, but he'll be amped up for the coming games in Finland, and shout be a huge help for the Blue Jackets as they look to snap their big slump with the man advantage. They're now 0-17, which is a big surprise considering the skill on their top unit, and that on paper they have a solid second unit. It won't be long low.

*

Alex Stalock put in another entertaining performance last night in the win for the Blackhawks. I'm not kidding, he's the most entertaining goalie I've seen in a while. Very aggressive, and just always making himself seen when the puck is around him.

I've added him in two leagues already, as he's winning games, and seeing a massive volume of shots. He's been out of the NHL for a while now with some heart issues, but he looks healthy, and in peak-form right now. He has never strung together two straight solid season, but he does pop off for an exceptional 30 games or so every four years.

As someone that hates spending any kind of high draft capital to draft a goalie, and refuses to give up a solid skater for an equivalent goalie, Stalock is exactly the kind of hot goalie that I love to ride for 20 games or so until the next shiny goalie comes along.

*

Speaking of goalies that can go on a run, Connor Ingram seems to thrive when he sees a heavy workload. That works well for Arizona, and as he adjusts to the team's defence look for him to get a lot more comfortable and put up a handful of performances where he only allows a goal or two on 40 shots. His first start where he let in five goals on 29 shots though is the flip-side of the coin, that's the risk with every goalie, though especially so when you're looking at a guy playing for Arizona (or Chicago for that matter).

*

Fun read here on Phil Kessel breaking the NHL iron man record last night.

*

You can find me on Twitter @alexdmaclean if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments.

See you next Wednesday!