Yesterday I listed the names of some slumping Ducks, courtesy of the Frozen Tools Cold Players list. Well, you can add one more game for these players' slumps, with the Ducks getting shut out by Vegas. The name that seems to be of the most interest is John Klingberg, who is now without a point in his last seven games. Jamie Drysdale also left this game with an upper-body injury after taking a hit along the boards, meaning that he has played eight games this season and has yet to record a point.

Drysdale is probably droppable at this point if you can't move him to IR+, while Klingberg can probably be benched when the Ducks play on a busy night. Heck, dropping Klingberg in a shallow league isn't the worst idea either. In fact, most Ducks players should only be considered for off-night streaming at the moment, with only Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras rosterable on a everyday basis.

After winning the Ducks' first game of the season against Seattle, John Gibson has now received either an L or an OTL in six consecutive games. In allowing four goals on 18 shots, Gibson now has as many really bad starts (2) as quality starts (2). With a GAA north of 4.00, Gibson shouldn't be in your fantasy lineup right now either.

Logan Thompson posted the 29-save shutout of the Ducks. Fantasy teams should continue to roll with him, as his numbers should give him early Calder Trophy consideration.

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Linus Ullmark has been a major component in my Zero G strategy this season, as he is rostered on two of my teams. Ullmark pitched a 30-save shutout against the Blue Jackets on Friday, upping his record to 6-0-0. Ullmark seemed to fall in fantasy drafts because of two assumptions: 1) The Bruins would struggle because of their injuries, and 2) Jeremy Swayman is the better goalie and would start more often. As it stands, Ullmark has a sub-2.00 GAA this season while holding the larger contract, and Brad Marchand just returned from injury (although he was given a scheduled load management game on Friday). Ullmark has posted a sub-2.70 GAA and .915+ SV% over his previous three seasons dating back to his time with the Sabres, so I'm more inclined to hold than I am to try to sell high.

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Shutouts were a thing on Friday, as Vitek Vanecek surprised everyone with a 24-save clean sheet against the Avalanche, his first as a Devil. Vanecek has now posted back-to-back wins, which were his first two quality starts of the season. Right now, Vanecek would appear to have the upper hand in the goalie battle with Mackenzie Blackwood, who allowed five goals on 18 shots in his last start.

The Avalanche's number of goals scored in their last four games: 2, 3, 2, 0. Not their best stretch of the season.

The Avs were also without leading scorer Valeri Nichushkin on Friday due to a lower-body injury.

With an assist on the only goal of the game, Jesper Bratt extended his season-opening point streak to eight games. As I write this, he's a top-5 scorer (13 PTS in 8 GP). Although his 13.2 5-on-5 SH% and 5.7 PTS/60 suggest a regression is coming, 8 of his 10 assists have been primary assists. I'm starting to believe in another 70+ point season for Bratt.

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In his 1000^th career game, Josh Bailey scored the game-winning goal in the Islanders' 6-2 win over the Hurricanes. Not known as a goal scorer, Bailey has now scored goals in back-to-back games.

Brock Nelson scored his first two goals of the season in this game. A 37-goal scorer last season, Nelson had started the season without a goal in his first seven games.

Brent Burns scored his first goal as a member of the Hurricanes while taking five shots. Only Roman Josi and Zach Werenski have more shots among defensemen than Burns (27 SOG), so he is continuing to do his thing in Carolina.

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With Quinn Hughes out for the fourth consecutive game, Jack Rathbone saw some first-unit power-play time on Friday. Rathbone only entered the lineup when Hughes went down, so it's possible that he could be healthy scratched or sent back to the AHL once Hughes returns. Rathbone was a point-per-game defenseman in the AHL last season (40 PTS in 39 GP), so he has offensive upside anyway.

I've been asked multiple questions this week about what to do with Thatcher Demko, so I'll expand on his situation here. I was prepared to suggest that the Canucks were overworking Demko if they were playing him in both games of a back-to-back, but they decided to give Spencer Martin the nod against the Penguins on Friday. It was the right call, as Martin earned the win (stopped 34 of 35 shots) and Demko received his much-needed rest.

Even though Martin is a solid goalie in his own right (no regulation losses in 8 GP as a Canuck), you can probably assume that Demko will be among the league leaders in starts again. Only Juuse Saros and Connor Hellebuyck played in more games than Demko (64 GP) last season, and those same two goalies were also the only two with more saves than Demko (1799 SV). Another 60+ game season seems likely again with the unproven Martin or possibly Collin Delia as his backup, so Demko is a great option if your league emphasizes volume stats.

Although the Canucks' start to the season couldn't have gone worse, expect them to pick up a bunch of wins as the season goes on. At this point I'd expect something similar to last season, where they won't make the playoffs but will still be picking at around 15^th overall (the NHL's mushy middle). Demko could still finish in the top 10 in wins, although he will be at the mercy of the Canucks' porous defense as far as ratios go (especially goals-against average).

According to Yahoo's Trade Market feature, Demko is being exchanged for the likes of Zach Hyman and Ryan O'Reilly. Not exactly top-tier forwards, but forwards that have a place on rosters anyway. He obviously still holds value, so I wouldn't drop him. Perhaps watch his matchups more closely for the time being, though it’s worth mentioning that the Canucks have now won two in a row after that nightmare start.

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The Canucks also made their second trade in as many days on Friday, acquiring Ethan Bear from the Hurricanes. Handing away another draft pick (this one a fifth-round selection) might not seem like the best idea for a team that needs more of them. But if the Canucks are going to push competing this season as far as it can go, then acquiring a right-shot defenseman in Bear makes sense since it's the Canucks' weakest area. I wouldn't expect this trade to mean much in fantasy leagues, but Bear should at least get into the Canucks lineup regularly. He had yet to play a game for the Canes this season.

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Remember around 2009 when Blackberry guy Jim Balsillie wanted to buy the Coyotes and move them to Hamilton? Let's say you found a time machine that year and you decided to check out life in 2022. There's absolutely no way that you'd believe that the Coyotes would be playing in a 5000-seat building called Mullett Arena, even if you thought they'd survive in the desert. Yet here we are. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Or Gary Bettman economics at work.

I mean, if you've watched a junior or minor league game in an arena this size, then you wouldn't really mind Mullett Arena, would you? Even if it's clearly not big league enough.  

The Yotes hit the ice. pic.twitter.com/OYTBWXVr7v

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) October 29, 2022

Welcome to our crib (tonight). 🏠 pic.twitter.com/7ziB0RRju0

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 29, 2022

Not only did Christian Fischer score the first goal at Mullett Arena, he also scored the first two goals at Mullett Arena.  

Christian Fischer with the first 🚨 in the Mullett pic.twitter.com/8on97qk8eO

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 29, 2022

Unfortunately for the Yotes, those two goals weren’t enough, as the Jets eventually prevailed 3-2 in overtime. With the first Winnipeg goal, Cole Perfetti now has six points in his last six games. Mark Scheifele also scored for the Jets, giving him the interesting statline so far of six goals and no assists.

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