I think we can say we're in the groove of the NHL season, most leagues are pretty close in the standing so let's try and go on a bit of a run here in November, let's dive in!

The Immediate Fix (Grab this guy and use him for the next several days)

Antti Raanta, G, Carolina Hurricanes (Rostered in 13% of ESPN leagues, 41% Fantrax, 45% Yahoo) – Anyone else on playing the chessboard that is starting goalies more than they thought they would be this season? With an injury comes a next man up situation which could possibly be the case for the time being in Carolina.

Canes starting goaltender Freddie Andersen appears to have gotten hurt (undisclosed) during Tuesday's practice and all we know so far is that he did fly back to Carolina and head coach Rod Brind'Amour said when asked about Freddie's injury elaborated by saying that he, "did something" …so take that with a grain of salt. For now, Carolina has yet to put any IR designation for Anderson but with a game tonight (Thursday) and Saturday vs Colorado, it's more than likely that Raanta will start on Saturday and a good chance he gets the starting nod into next week if Andersen is to miss time.

Carolina is on the second game of a back-to-back so by the time this goes live we could have more information as to the severity of Anderson's injury and with Raanta starting on Wednesday vs Florida it looks to be recent call-up Pyotr Kochetkov's net Thursday as the club faces off against Edmonton at home. With this, there's a chance that Raanta gets the nod Saturday, and into next week with the team on the road in Chicago on Monday and looking even further, on Wednesday vs St. Louis at home.

As far as backup goaltenders go you can do a lot worse than Raanta who has been fine in five starts on the season winning three of those contests, and if you need a goaltender for Saturday or into next week he makes for a good lower rostered option. There's a good possibility as well that by the time you're reading this we have more information as to Freddie Anderson's status. Again, no IR tag for Freddie so here's how I would play this if he is still DTD, if in your league he is listed as "Out" you can throw him on IR and make a roster move (if your league allows) before the Canes next outing where he could go back to being day-to-day. This might be the workaround to get Raanta on your roster, but if we come to find that Freddie could miss starts coming up, Raanta could be a good roster addition.

The Building Block (Buy now, sit back and enjoy the production)

Brandon Hagel, LW/RW, Tampa Bay Lightning (Rostered in 19% of ESPN leagues, 52% Fantrax, 32% Yahoo) – Fantasy hockey is just more fun when you have players on your roster on teams that you enjoy watching isn't it? I watch a fair bit of Tampa and noticed last game during the Bolts OT loss to Carolina, that Hagel could be in a great spot here going ahead.

I know the roster numbers are a little higher here but have to call it out as those numbers have rose significantly over the past two days and will likely continue to do so. The first bit of good news here for Hagel is his recent play, with five points in the last three games he's finding his stride offensively and I say stride because just eye test watching him, he's a player that constantly has his skates moving through the neutral zone or towards the net which goes back to his days in Chicago and helps him generate offense. What's even better news though is the line he finds himself skating on, going from Tampa's third line to start the season and now skating alongside Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. That trio together has played well and the numbers back it up, in 131 minutes played together on the season has an expected goals for per 60 minutes of 3.82 which accounting for all forward trios that have played over 100 minutes, ranks third overall right now in the NHL.

Not only has Hagel taken a spot on the top line but he also has moved onto Tampa's top power play unit, and that's a great place to be for fantasy or DFS. Not only is it great for increased ice time, but this is a power play that has 12 goals for so far, tying them third best in the NHL. If this line sticks together, not only is it fully correlated on the power play, but for Hagel and fantasy/DFS there's not many better spots in the NHL to be in. I wouldn't be shocked if come Tampa's next game you see them shuffle their lines a bit and at times Hagel will be out with say like Ross Colton and Corey Perry, but if the bulk of his time is on the top line, he makes for a fantastic lineup addition.

The Odd Man Out (His short-term value is cause for concern)

Michael Bunting, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs (Rostered in 76% of ESPN leagues, 94% of Fantrax, 55% Yahoo) – Well, I think we saw this coming for an odd-man out situation in Toronto, but the wingers that are taking his spots are a bit of a surprise.

For the majority of last season those who rostered Bunting stuck oil, top line with Auston Matthews and either William Nylander or Mitch Marner, which did nothing but help his fantasy value as his output was great last season. This season Bunting started on the top line but as a club with not a whole lot of cap space to speak for, waited to bring in Nick Robertson who got his time on line one, moving Bunting down. The issue now is Bunting finds himself out of the top six completely as both he and Robertson have moved down for Alex Kerfoot.

Kerfoot on the Matthews/Marner line is kind of a weird fit and I don't totally understand if he is either there to maybe help defensively or if the idea is to move Bunting down and possibly spread out the scoring a bit. Make no mistake though, even if Bunting is the trigger man on a line, his value drops drastically moving to the, I guess for now the Pierre Engvall, Calle Jarnkrok line. If you roster Bunting, it may be an alright idea to move in a trade, but my guess it would have to be have to be him and another player to add to the deal? This would be a move to make sooner rather than later or if down the road Toronto shuffle's their lines try and move Bunting if he gets hot on the top six.

The Anchors (They’ll do nothing but disappoint even over the long haul)

Thatcher Demko, G, Vancouver Canucks (Rostered in 63% of ESPN leagues, 94% Fantrax, 88% Yahoo) – Demko is off to a bad start on what's a nightmare start for Vancouver. I've caught their past two games and it reminds me of playing NHL at 2 a.m., it's just not good hockey and unfortunately Demko is part of the reason why.

I write over at Goalie Post twice a week (which is an excellent site to use for fantasy and DFS), and this past Monday I highlighted a couple goaltenders that were off to slower starts, with Demko leading off the article. Since that time, I watched his most recent start in net Wednesday night vs Montreal and that included letting in five goals and fighting Brendan Gallagher in the crease. Not exactly what I would call a strong outing.

It's tough with Demko, I feel like he was part of the second big group of goaltenders that probably got taken in your draft, and that was for consistency, not only by numbers, but by starts as well as he was typically a plug and play goaltender whenever Vancouver was on the slate and not having to worry about them starting a backup over him. This season he hasn't had a game where he has allowed fewer than three goals and ranks second to last in goals saved above expected (-8.95) and goals saved, and goals saved above expected (-9.7). I'm not sure that the 1-7-2 start turns around for him, the goalie landscape is very tough to navigate but you're better off platooning that position if you currently roster Demko for the time being.

Love ‘Em (These squads are sure to pay dividends in the coming days)

This period runs through November 11^th to November 23^rd

Minnesota – This is a record, has to be, this is the fourth week in a row Minnesota projects out great. Even with their so-so start, the Wild have a busy schedule looking ahead with games against Seattle, Nashville, and Pittsburgh. Weird to say it, but is Seattle the best opponent they'll see out of that trio?

Columbus –It is Columbus but they do play four times next week all on home ice. Still though, this is the Jackets, they're a Love 'Em but might be a Love 'Em to play against. This is a club that has gotten horrendous goaltending to start the season as well as a far below water power play.

St. Louis – It has to start breaking right for the Blues eventually, right? My thought here is the lack of games to open the season really hurt this team to get into the rhythm of things and with the Blues in action once this weekend and four times next week this could be a good stretch for St. Louis to begin to turn things around.

Leave ‘Em (These squads will leave fantasy owners sorely disappointed in the short term)

Edmonton – Playing only two games next week, it's hard for Edmonton to be anything but a Leave 'Em, those higher rostered Oilers power play stacks will just have to wait a week.

Colorado – Colorado is interesting next here looking ahead, and I think their games next Thursday and Saturday on the road vs Carolina and Washington are bringing them down. Now, not going to talk anyone off playing some Avalanche but keep in mind this club has not been good defensively, both on the blue line and by forward combinations.

Arizona – The Yotes play once next week. Once. Not only does Arizona usually grade out horribly, but with only a single game next week they're a stay away.