Hey, it's Ian on what isn't my usual day. I'm filling in for Alex as he will do the same for me this weekend.  

I don't know about you, but injuries are making their way through the defense corps of my various rosters. Charlie McAvoy, Victor Hedman, John Carlson, and Kris Letang are all on my teams, and all missed action on Tuesday for various ailments. I'm sure I'm forgetting someone, but I'll use this opportunity to discuss who the next player up on the various power-play units might be in the event that any of these players is out for an extended period.

With Hedman out with an undisclosed injury, Mikhail Sergachev was on Tampa's first power-play unit as expected. He did not disappoint in the boxscore, filling it with 1 PPG, 1 A, 4 PIM and 4 SOG in 25 minutes. Cal Foote took what appeared to be second-unit minutes, although the best he could do was 2 PIM and 3 HITS. Hedman was a game-time call on Tuesday, so he may not be sidelined very long. This goes to show how much Sergachev's value could skyrocket if Hedman were to land on IR.

Carlson missed his second game in as many nights with a lower-body injury. When he left Saturday's game, Dmitry Orlov assumed the first-unit minutes while logging a total of 26 minutes. However, on both Monday and Tuesday, power-play specialist and old Dobber favorite Erik Gustafsson was the on the point for the majority of Monday's available minutes and all of Tuesday's limited minutes. Gustafsson recorded a power-play assist on Monday, breaking a seven-game point drought. While Carlson is out, Gustafsson could warrant a short-term pickup. Although he's appeared in every game for the Capitals this season, I wouldn't be surprised if Gustafsson is healthy scratched at some point due to his defensive deficiencies.

Letang's absence was related to an illness, so he could very well be back in the lineup tonight (Wednesday) if he recovers quickly enough. Little surprise: Jeff Petry was on the heavily-used first-unit power play. However, nothing doing at any strength, and Petry is now six games without a point. Pierre-Olivier Joseph has at least continued to receive PP2 minutes recently, and he has a fairly decent four assists in nine games (including 1 A on Tuesday). Signed for six more seasons, Letang might still be on Pittsburgh's PP1 when he's 40 years old. Not good news if you're waiting on Joseph or Ty Smith.

I was going to write about Miro Heiskanen since I have him rostered as well, but he returned to action on Tuesday. Ryan Suter and Nils Lundkvist both took cuts on the first-unit power play during the three games Heiskanen was out. Neither recorded a power-play point. Needless to say, Heiskanen's spot is safe, with Lundkvist the likely first option should he be injured. Heiskanen recorded two assists on Tuesday, one of which was on the power play.

Who knew that Hampus Lindholm could be such a lethal power-play option? Lindholm has only reached double-digit power-play points once in his career – in 2015-16 (15 PPP). Yet he has four power-play points in his last four games and 11 points overall in 10 games. Lindholm paced the Bruins in their come-from-behind 6-5 win over Pittsburgh, scoring the overtime winner and adding three assists.

Bruins complete the comeback and win in OT pic.twitter.com/v49UzEbfBk

— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) November 2, 2022

The bad news if you've added Lindholm is that Charlie McAvoy has been cleared for contact and is travelling with the Bruins. McAvoy won't likely play until next week, but he appears ready to pay huge dividends for teams that drafted him in the later rounds (Yahoo ADP 135/Fantrax ADP 166). Lindholm's production could heavily decline when McAvoy returns, since he would not only be bumped to the second unit but he could also revert to being the defensive conscience on an even-strength pairing of the two defensemen.

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Staying with the Bruins, potentially bad news for Jeremy Swayman, who left this game with a leg injury. Ouch. This wasn't even Swayman's start, as he was appearing in relief of Linus Ullmark after the latter was pulled after allowing five goals midway through the second period. Just when the Bruins are getting healthy and off to a fantastic start.

Tough to tell what happened with Swayman

Potential knee hyperextension which can lead to bone bruise (week-to-week), capsular injury, PCL injury (depends on grade) and worst case ACL but that is rare (6+ months)

Wonder if some stress to MCL (depends on grade)

MRI next https://t.co/X7zYtxliaD

— Dr. Harjas Grewal (@Harjas_Grewal) November 2, 2022

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Chris Kreider broke a scoreless tie with this overtime game-winner.

Kreider turning on the jets for the OT winner 🏃‍♂️💨 pic.twitter.com/DvjgQYPQSS

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 2, 2022

A 52-goal scorer last season, Kreider entered this game with just one goal in his previous eight games and four goals in 11 games. That being said, Kreider has taken at least five shots in each of his last five games (including 7 SOG on Tuesday). Although 50 will be difficult to reach for a second consecutive season, don't be surprised if the goals start going in with more frequency.  

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Speaking of goal scorers, Connor McDavid has 11 goals in 10 games. How many of you had him over Auston Matthews for the Rocket Richard? Matthews has just three goals all season, but he also has 72 games to catch up. Let's not assume Matthews is out of the race, even with the Leafs' recent struggles.

To almost no one's surprise, McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are now 1-2 in the scoring race. McDavid scored two goals and added two assists on eight shots, while Draisaitl scored a goal and added four assists against Nashville on Tuesday. Not to be outdone, Evander Kane recorded a hat trick on eight shots.  

The Oilers took 36 shots in this game, but none were off the stick of Darnell Nurse. Seems as though he's either feast or famine when it comes to shot totals.

Nurse's season for shot on goal is so bizarre:
10 games 20 shots
– 4 games with 0 shots
– 2 games with 1 shot
– 2 games with 2 shots
– 2 games with 7(!!!) shots

📢 advertisement:

— Pat Quinn (not that one) (@FHPQuinn) November 2, 2022

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Gabriel Vilardi's goal streak ended at four games, but one positive sign for future production is that he played 20 minutes in a game for the first time this season. In addition, his scoring ways have him playing on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. His advanced stats (25.8 SH%, 14.7 5on5 SH%, 4.0 PTS/60, 1040 PDO) all suggest he'll crash back down to earth, but having the right linemates will help. So will taking 2.6 SOG/GP, which is a full shot higher than last season.

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Not noticing Jonathan Huberdeau's name in the box score as often as you're used to? Huberdeau has just one point in his last four games and was held without a point on Tuesday against Seattle. He also has just one goal in eight games as a Flame. Give him time to get used to his new surroundings. Before Tuesday's game, Huberdeau was moved onto a line with Nazem Kadri, who has had no issues adjusting to Calgary (10 PTS in his first 8 GP).

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In spite of another lackluster effort from the Canucks on Tuesday, Bo Horvat continues to score. The Canucks captain has two goals in back-to-back games. If you go back to last season, Horvat has 25 goals in his last 34 games. He won't score at that rate forever (25.0 SH%), but he seems to be pricing himself out of the Canucks' budget during a UFA contract year. Normally a player who doesn't lack motivation, Horvat seems to be adding a little more of that to his game this season, as he is averaging more than three shots per game for the first time in his career.

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With an assist on Tuesday, Dylan Guenther now has five points in his last five games. He's managing to score without much icetime (just 10:35 on Tuesday). Four of his five points over that span have been on the power play – the second power-play unit, no less. He's played eight games in the NHL, so the Coyotes have one more game to decide whether he stays or returns to the WHL. You should probably wait until you know for sure before you press the add button.

Sam Reinhart was held without a point again on Tuesday. No goals and just two assists in 10 games. Brennan has a solid breakdown of struggling forwards Reinhart and Teuvo Teravainen in this week's Eastern Edge. If you don't have time to read, be patient on both… or maybe even buy low.

At Mullett Arena, the Panthers were held to just one goal, thanks to a 41-save effort from Karel Vejmelka. The Veggie Man (or the Melk Man?) has posted back-to-back quality starts.

With Aaron Ekblad out of the lineup, Brandon Montour is logging some serious minutes.

Brandon Montour's TOI last 5 GP:
@ Coyotes: 28:11
vs. Senators: 27:49
@ Flyers: 27:20
@ Blackhawks: 28:27
vs. Islanders: 26:06

— Jason Gold (@JayGold85) November 2, 2022

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Erik Karlsson continues his scorching start. Even though I picked the wrong week to face him in head-to-head, it's great to see the resurgence. If you missed it late Tuesday, Karlsson posted his first career hat trick, giving him nine (9!) goals already this season – second behind only McDavid. That's three consecutive games with at least one goal and multiple points.

Can any of you rightfully say you saw this coming with Karlsson? I sure didn't. Karlsson was on a 57-point pace last season, but of course injuries got in the way, holding him to 50 games. If he somehow manages to stay healthy for a full season, this could surely be his best season as a Shark. Let's be honest, though: He won't continue scoring goals at this pace. The last time he reached double-digit goals was in 2016-17 with Ottawa. Sell high? How high do you want to go?

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Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.