The Alex Ovechkin goal watch to match and pass Gordie Howe will wait at least one more game. Ovechkin did not record even a point, let alone a goal. He was held to two shots as well, although he had a decent night in bangers formats with six hits. His next chance will be Monday against Howe's old team, the Red Wings.

The Washington fans hoping to witness history were instead treated to an Erik Gustafsson hat trick. Gustafsson scored his first three goals as a Capital in his 32^nd game, which is better late than never. Gustafsson also took a team-high five shots. He's managed to stay in the Capitals' lineup all season and can provide bursts of offense, although he's been difficult to rely on for long stretches.

Sonny Milano chipped in three assists, giving him five points in his last four games. Milano has been a decent addition to the Capitals with 14 points in 20 games, although the fact that he usually takes fewer than 1.5 SOG/GP makes me think there are better options out there in many leagues.

Ilya Samsonov was torched for five goals on 28 shots by his former team, giving him his first really bad start in 12 games as a Leaf. The only goalie with more games and no really bad starts is Logan Thompson (in 22 GP).

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Drake Batherson scored a pair of goals to lead the Senators to a 6-3 win in Detroit. Batherson is on a seven-game point streak in which he has 11 points (5 G, 6 A). He's also recorded power-play points in six of those seven games.

Alex DeBrincat recorded his second consecutive three-assist game, including assists on both of Batherson's goals. He now has an eight-game point streak with 13 points (3 G, 10 A). DeBrincat might not seem to be setting the world on fire with the Senators, but at least he's at a point per game now (30 PTS in 30 GP). Moreover, he has at least four shots in each of his last three games.

After getting freight trained by Ryan Reaves on Wednesday, Filip Hronek was back in the Red Wings' lineup on Saturday. That seems surprising, but every player's after effects are different. Hronek scored a goal with four shots, three hits, and three blocks in 23 minutes, so everything seems to be fine.

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Something to keep an eye on: Hampus Lindholm took on first-unit power-play minutes over Charlie McAvoy in the Saturday day game. Lindholm recorded a first-period power-play assist on David Pastrnak's goal. These things can change from game to game, so I'm not sure how much stock to put into that. McAvoy still logged the most icetime of any Bruin on Saturday (a second under 25 minutes) and recorded an assist. There are many more considerations for a defenseman than power-play minutes anyway.

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With both John Gibson and Anthony Stolarz sidelined for the Ducks, Lukas Dostal has filled in admirably while providing start volume this week. Dostal recorded back-to-back wins and quality starts in three of four games this week. His latest effort was his most impressive, as he made 46 saves in a 4-3 win for the Ducks in Edmonton. Don't be surprised to see him continue to challenge for more starts once one of the regular goalies returns. Once both of these goalies are healthy, though, expect Dostal to return to the AHL, as he is on emergency loan. Dostal is only 22 years old, which is younger than the usual age that an NHL goalie is ready for full-time duty, as Dobber has explained in the past. That being said, Dostal is one to scoop up in keeper formats, since he is only 20% rostered in Fantrax.

With a game-winning goal on Saturday, John Klingberg now has three goals in his last two games. This after being held without a point in his previous seven games. I wrote more about Klingberg in the Friday Ramblings.

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Don't look now but Sergei Bobrovsky has three consecutive quality starts this week. Bob picked up his second win in three games in a 4-2 victory in New Jersey. This right after I said I couldn't trust him in a salary-cap league, where he's taking up a significant portion of my cap space. Maybe I need to follow the money like NHL organizations and not leave him on my bench. Hmm.  

Injury alert: Aleksander Barkov left Saturday's game with a lower-body injury after being hit with a stick right after a faceoff. The Panthers must be running out of scorers because grinder Ryan Lomberg was on the first-unit power play. Lomberg was held off the scoresheet and has just one point in his last seven games.

After bursting out of the gate with an 11-game point streak to start the season, Jesper Bratt has cooled off considerably. The Devils winger has been held without a point in his last four games.

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Brandon Hagel has two consecutive games of two goals and an assist, along with a five-game point streak. He was on the Nikita Kucherov – Brayden Point line yet again. Just another reminder to go add him if he's available (I would in one league if I could find the room). Still available in two-thirds of Yahoo leagues.

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Kevin Hayes leads the Flyers in scoring with 29 points in 31 games. Kevin Hayes was also a healthy scratch on Saturday. Since the coach is John Tortorella, should we be that surprised? You've probably already figured out that the scratch had to do with defensive play and not with any lack of scoring.

If Torts was trying to spark his team, it didn't work. They lost 6-3 to the Rangers. Tony DeAngelo returned to the lineup following the death of his grandmother, and he was a minus-5 without any points and little else in peripherals. DeAngelo and his minus-18 are well in contention for the league's worst plus-minus.

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Over the past month, only two even-strength lines have been more productive than the Sabres top line of Jeff Skinner, Alex Tuch, and Tage Thompson (Top Month Forward Lines – Frozen Tools). That trio was at it again on Saturday, each recording three points in a 5-2 win for the Sabres in Arizona. Skinner returned from his three-game suspension and scored a pair of goals, added one assist, and fired eight shots. Hopefully you didn't drop him because of his suspension, as he was worth the wait this week. Thompson took six shots, while Tuch had five shots. Skinner has been on fire recently with 14 points over his last seven games – an average of two points per game.

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Martin Necas scored a crazy overtime winner for the Hurricanes.

MARTY PARTY. 🎉

Martin Nečas fires home the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner for the @Canes! 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/wf5RvUQVLJ

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 18, 2022

He also added an assist along with eight shots. Necas entered the game without a point in his previous four games, but he's managed to keep a point-per-game pace (30 PTS in 30 GP) in what is shaping up to be a career year.

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Blake Wheeler is expected to miss at least the next month following groin surgery. Even though he's not universally rostered the way he used to, Wheeler has still been on a similar scoring pace as he has in previous seasons (around 75 points). Perhaps Wheeler's fantasy value has declined because league-wide scoring has been on the rise. That's something to think about with players that have scored at a consistent pace.

Cole Perfetti was the main beneficiary, as he was moved onto the first-unit power play. His assist was his first point in four games. He’s still available in three-quarters of Yahoo leagues and is right in the Calder Trophy race.

Karson Kuhlman was moved onto the Perfetti – Mark Scheifele line, giving him some top-6 value.

Josh Morrissey hasn't cooled down, as he is now at eight consecutive games with at least one assist. Morrissey also has 18 points over his last 14 games. Only Erik Karlsson and Rasmus Dahlin have more points among defensemen than Morrissey. The Jets have been better than advertised this season, and Morrissey's all-around play has been a big reason why.

Pierre-Luc Dubois recorded three assists. He's over the point-per-game mark (33 points in 30 games), which he has never reached over a full season.

Bo Horvat scored his 22^nd goal of the season, which as we know has been a surprise. It's interesting to learn how he's scoring these goals.

Bo Horvat's 9th goal by tip/deflection this season. He's tied for most in the NHL with his teammate Andrei Kuzmenko.

Don't think that will be the headline tonight though.

— Randip Janda (@RandipJanda) December 18, 2022

No other player beyond Horvat and Andrei Kuzmenko has more than four tip-in goals this season. Chris Kreider, who led the league with 17 tip-in goals last season, is one of the players with four tip-in goals.

Both Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson were scratches for this game due to illness. It's not surprising that this game lacked entertainment value from a Canucks perspective.

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Alex Pietrangelo returned to the Golden Knights lineup for his first game since mid-November. Frightening stuff. Really glad his young daughter is okay. The flu/RSV/COVID triple threat has been particularly nasty this year on young children.

Alex Pietrangelo's 4-year-old daughter Evelyn got the flu over Thanksgiving, which developed into a lesion on her brain & lost all motor skills, eating, walking, talking, even opening her eyes.

After a couple scary weeks she's improved a lot over the last couple days (1/2)

— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) December 17, 2022

Pietrangelo finished the game with an assist but an unfortunate minus-4. He also reassumed first-unit power-play duties, pushing Daniil Miromanov down to the second unit. You can probably drop Miromanov in shallower leagues.

Mark Stone is a warrior. He was back on the ice not long after being helped off. Yet with his recent injury history, this is something to keep an eye on for next week.

Mark Stone had to be helped off the ice after getting hit by a shot. He is unable to put any weight on his left leg. pic.twitter.com/lD7QwjLTAu

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 18, 2022

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Pheonix Copley has allowed exactly two goals in four of his five games this season. He's also started three consecutive games for the Kings this week, winning his last two. Meanwhile, no goalie with at least as many wins as Jonathan Quick (8) has a lower quality start percentage (38.1 QS%). As well, only Elvis Merzlikins has a lower GSAA (goals saved above average) than Quick's -13.91 GSAA. Could this be the beginning of the end for Quick, since he’s on the final year of his contract? I've mentioned here a couple times before that Copley seems like a short-term solution. Yet it seems like Todd McLellan will settle for whichever goalie will give his team the best chance to win, and right now that goalie is Copley, who also has wins in four of his five starts. How long that lasts remains to be seen.

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Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.