Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler, Cole Perfetti, and Nate Schmidt all returned to the Jets’ lineup on Friday. Ehlers' return is particularly notable, as he had only played two games prior to his sports hernia surgery. The one gripe Ehlers owners have had with the Jets throughout his career is his continued usage on the second-unit power play, so they'll be happy to know that Ehlers was on the first-unit power play in his return along with Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Kyle Connor. Meanwhile, Wheeler was moved onto the second-unit power play. With Ehlers potentially in his prime and Wheeler now over 35, that could be the arrangement going forward.

Ehlers was held without a point in his return, but he registered three shots and three hits while on an even-strength line with Dubois and Connor. Dubois scored a pair of goals in the Jets' win.

The Josh Morrissey train keeps on rolling. Fresh off being named to the All-Star Game, Morrissey recorded three more assists on Friday. In half a season, he's already smashed his career high with 46 points, which puts him on pace for 97 points. Sell high? Maybe. There's a lot of red and orange on Morrissey's Frozen Tools Buy/Sell Meter (11.1 SH%, 10.5 5on5 SH%, 3.0 PTS/60, 1046 PDO). Yet he could be a player who has been very positively impacted by the offseason hiring of Rick Bowness as head coach. Bowness has the Jets playing above expectations, which should be having a trickle-down effect on Morrissey and others. Morrissey has emerged as a top-notch fantasy option on defense, but I still can't help but think he'll cool off a bit during the second half.  

–

Just when you were starting to worry about Aaron Ekblad, he scored two power-play goals on Friday.

Ekblad cruises down the slot and beats Husso. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/4OUo3NOz5Q

— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) January 7, 2023

Hatty watch for Aaron Ekblad. 🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/0nNiqnwgxd

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 7, 2023

The goals were Ekblad's first since November 26 – a span of 18 games without a goal. Ekblad also entered this game without a point in his previous seven games, sagging to just a 40-point pace in the process. Ekblad is featured in this week's Looking Ahead as an anchor – a player starting to disappoint even over the long haul. Maybe this is the game where his season takes a turn for the better? Some of Ekblad's advanced stats (1.4 PTS/60, 964 PDO, 50.0 Sec. Asst. %) indicate that at least a mild turnaround could be forthcoming. A buy-low offer might be an idea, although he's been affected by the Panthers' overall decline in offense to some degree. The Panthers are down nearly a goal per game from last season.

Ville Husso has not recorded a quality start in any of his last six appearances. He has allowed four or more goals in five of those last six games, and only has one win to show over that span. Compare Quarter 1 to Quarter 2:

Quarter 1: 15 GP, 9-3-3, 2.58 GAA, .912 SV%

Quarter 2: 11 GP, 3-5-2, 3.47 GAA, .891 SV%

For those that have asked, I'm not dropping Husso outright, but I'm going to be more selective as to when I start him.

–

Shane Wright has been reassigned to the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs. Wright will now have played for four teams this season: Seattle Kraken, Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL), Canada (WJC), and now Kingston. Wright is also expected to be traded to another OHL team, which would make five teams. Quite the journey.

Expectations have been sky-high since Wright was granted exceptional player status to play in the OHL at age 15. He's been a great player and has at least a 95% chance at a meaningful NHL career, but the jury now seems out as to whether he will become an actual franchise player. Wright still seems like a good bet to play in the NHL at some point next season, although I wouldn't be surprised if he spends some time in the AHL as well, as the Kraken don't seem intent on rushing him.

–

Is Alex Stalock simply a streamer when the tanking Blackhawks have a matchup that doesn't suck, or is he more than that? The scrambly Stalock posted a 22-save shutout of the Coyotes on Friday. That gives him quality starts in four of his last five games. This might be hard to believe, but Stalock has a .921 SV% over the season. That's better than must-starts such as Jake Oettinger, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Juuse Saros, and Igor Shesterkin. Of course, you're not going to draft Stalock ahead of any of those goalies, as he has just five wins on the season. But he's doing a remarkable job in undermining the Hawks' pursuit for the best Connor Bedard odds.

Stalock is rostered in the single digits in both Yahoo and Fantrax leagues, so you might be able to secure him if I've managed to sell you on him. Earning a win when you need one is going to be an uphill battle the way the Hawks have been constructed. But dare I say it, you could do a lot worse in net right now.

–

Comparing a goalie's Quarter 1 to Quarter 2, this time for Jacob Markstrom:

Quarter 1: 16 GP, 8-5-2, 3.03 GAA, .889 SV%

Quarter 2: 12 GP, 4-5-2, 2.33 GAA, .908 SV%

Markstrom has allowed more than two goals just once in his last five games, and he's earned quality starts in four of those last five games. If you're still worried about whether to start him, he should be fine.

Since the calendar turned to 2023, no player has more hits than Jean-Gabriel Pageau (20 Hits). Pageau is also scoring with three goals and five points over his last five games. I'm not solid on Pageau's scoring over a full season, even though he seems to find a hot streak every season. Yet he provides a ton of peripherals, including power-play points, blocked shots, and faceoffs. If you play in any kind of multicategory league, that's something to pay attention to.

–

If you weren't up late, you would have missed a four-point game from Mason McTavish. He scored the game-tying goal and assisted on the game-winner in overtime. McTavish now has four points over his last two games and 12 points in his last 10 games. He's now second in the rookie scoring race behind only Matty Beniers. In addition, he leads the Ducks with 10 power-play points. He should probably be rostered in more than 17% of Yahoo leagues at this point, but his plus/minus from playing for the Ducks will cut into his value in leagues that count that stat.

McTavish's second goal was challenged for offside by the Sharks and looked that way on the replay. It was called a good goal and the ESPN crew with former referee Dave Jackson explained why. Apparently, it was similar to the Cale Makar goal in the Conference Final.

Mason McTavish with the equalizer! 👀 pic.twitter.com/uJ769sPspI

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 7, 2023

John Klingberg entered this game without a point in his past seven games. Yet he had a solid game, scoring the overtime winner and adding an assist with six shots on goal. I had seriously considered adding him in one of my leagues when an injury or two popped up, but these types of games have been too few and far between, and he offers little else in the way of peripherals. I'd be interested to find out whether the Ducks trade him at the deadline.

In a losing cause, Timo Meier had no issues shooting the puck. Meier scored twice while taking a season-high 10 shots. Meier now has 13 points over his last nine games. He's now tied with David Pastrnak for the overall shots lead with 188 SOG.

–

Preorder your Midseason Guide here, or click the link to find out more about it.

–

Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.