As of today I am off work until the New Year. It's a great feeling, and it's made even better by the fact there are eight games to cover tonight (not staggered at all on the start times unfortunately) and the World Juniors are almost here as well. Only a few days until they're back on. To me, only the first round of the playoffs can compare to the World Juniors in terms of the anticipation I have for them every year. Even on Olympic years, give me the 18 year olds that make mistakes and haven't had the creativity bled out of them yet. We should be in for another treat this year.

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Rasmus Sandin left last night’s game with a neck injury and did not return. He did notch a power play assist before the injury though. If he misses any length of time, Mark Giordano or call-up Mac Hollowell may take over most of the offensive duties. It is possible though that it won't be a defenceman that takes over for Sandin on the top power play unit. The Leafs have run a five-forward top-unit a few times this season, and it seems likely that in this scenario they would try it again. That's good news for the streaking Michael Bunting who would be the fifth forward on the unit.

Bunting has 13 points in his last 12 games, and do you know how many of those points came on the power play? Zero. Imagine a few man-advantage points added on top of his line's success at even strength.  

The Leafs had some new-look lines with Calle Jarnkrok back in the lineup, and he looked good alongside John Tavares and Mitch Marner. Jarnkrok picked up an assist on the empty-netter, and playing alongside those two he should be putting up points more often than not moving forward.

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The Penguins also got a key second-line winger back in the lineup, as Jason Zucker jumped back in only a week after being labelled week-to-week. He put a five-game point-streak on the line and picked things right back up where he left off with a power play assist. He's on pace for his best season since his peak Minnesota days.  

Sticking with the Pittsburgh wingers, I didn't have Kasperi Kapanen on my radar as someone who hits a lot. He had five hits through the first period last night, and finished with eight overall last night. He's seen a huge jump from 1.5 hits per game as his previous career high five years ago, to 2.1 this year. Worth a look if you need some hits but also want someone who puts up more than 30 points and can add the occasional power play point as well.

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Kent Johnson scored a goal in the first period last night, which isn't especially noteworthy by itself. What stuck out to me with the play was that he was on a two-on-one with Patrik Laine, and decided to shoot. It's a great thing to see from Johnson, and shows a lot of his growing confidence, even compared to just a couple games ago. The ice time, power play time, shot rate, and scoring rate are all inching upwards as the season goes on. It may still be another season or two until he really starts to take off (60+ points) but he has a great developmental trajectory that has a very high ceiling. Those are the prospects that you need to make a solid effort to own in every league.

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Mackenzie Blackwood has been activated off IR, and is worth a look everywhere. Vitek Vanecek put up some excellent numbers in the first quarter, but has slumped lately with a GAA of 3.3 and a save percentage of .870 since the calendar flipped to December. The Devils are still a top-five team in the East, and they should snap out of the funk. By the time they do though, Blackwood may be the one who comes out the other end with the bulk of the starts. Such is the way things work with goalie streaks and timing. He's a free agent in a few of my 12-team leagues.

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Teuvo Teravainen has three points in his last three games after last night's short-handed tally. He's worth keeping an eye on as someone that can put up a 65-point pace in the second half as he sees some positive statistical regression.

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Every few years Vincent Trocheck seems to go off for a near-point-per-game season. Last year was another of his more pedestrian 50-point seasons. This year he's only at the 0.8 point-per-game mark, but his underlying numbers show that he has actually been unlucky in spite of that rate. His on-ice shooting percentage is under seven percent, even though linemate Chris Kreider is shooting 15% (still a full five percent lower than last year's 20% mark). If they can find a better third-wheel on that line than Jimmy Vesey, we could see a hot second half from both Trocheck and Kreider.

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They didn't play last night, but I was looking at the Buffalo goaltending, and they have mostly been alternating Craig Anderson and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen each game. Craig Anderson has been the much better goalie though, even with UPL playing a little better of late. They could make a move for a goalie if they're still in the playoff race come February, but for now, it wouldn't be surprising to start to see Anderson getting three of every five. There's some decent value there as a cheap trade acquisition – he won't cost much as a 41-year-old.

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Back to the World Juniors, and piggy-backing on my article from two weeks ago, where I walked through a few players to watch from some of the key teams. In my deepest league (40 players owned per 24 teams), I made a few pickups in the last two weeks, of a few players that I didn't get to note in the last article as I wasn't on to them yet. If they're available in my deepest league, then you wouldn't be looking at these guys in a shallow league, but for those of you in deep dynasties always looking for another name or two to check out, I have three for you here:

Jackson Blake – He's initially penciled in on the second line for the Americans with Chaz Luciuz and Rutger McGroarty. That line is going to score some goals, and while first round picks Luciuz and McGroarty are going to be owned in deeper leagues, you can add some upside for relatively cheap with a 2021 fourth rounder that is developing well for a team that does right by its prospects.

Adam Engstrom – The Swedish blueline is going to be dealing with a lot of injuries, and Engstrom is a very good transition defenceman that will take over a lot of puck touches from the back end. He's the kind of player that can come from way off the radar to become someone that most GMs in deeper leagues suddenly have a bit of interest in. He's a Montreal pick, and he may have a lot of competition with their stocked prospect pool on the back-end. This makes him a great player to pick up and either flip or just move onto the next lottery ticket prospect by the end of February.

Oliver Kapanen – Oliver Kapanen's doesn't play a similar game to his cousin Kasperi, but his intelligent and calm play might be just what Finland needs as their top line centre this year. That's where he's penciled in at this point, possibly lining up with Ville Koivunen and Joakim Kemell. If that's how things shake out, Brad Lambert on the second line may continue with his underwhelming year, thrusting the top line into the limelight as "better" scorers than Lambert. That's how you leverage players like Kapanen into a decent flip by the end of the tournament. Finland doesn't look like they will be as deep, or as talented at the top end as usual. They may push for a medal, but this looks like a one line team, and with that top line likely centred by Kapanen, it will be hard for him to disappoint you.

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See you next Wednesday!

In the meantime, you can find me on Twitter @alexdmaclean if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments.