Mathew Barzal missed the Islanders game on Friday night due to injury and whenever a star misses a game, it is important to follow, especially for those of us in the fantasy realm. The good news came Monday morning as Barzal was back at practice:

Mathew Barzal is on the ice for #Isles practice.

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) January 9, 2023

That he avoided any real injury is great news. He's currently over a point-per-game pace and has started to unlock the true offensive upside he possesses. Barzal was back in his usual top-line role, by the way, with Anders Lee on his flank.

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Buffalo goalie Eric Comrie was at the team's morning skate on Monday:

#Sabres morning skate featuring three goalies today. Comrie back from Roch, remains on IR. UPL and Anderson also both out there. pic.twitter.com/LYKF9eRJoM

— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) January 9, 2023

The offseason signee hasn't played since before American Thanksgiving due to a lower-body injury. He has been on a conditioning stint in the AHL but looks nearly ready to return. For now, he's still on the injured reserve.

This creates a problem in net for Buffalo. Craig Anderson is having a marvelous season with a .923 save percentage in 14 appearances (13 starts) while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, after a poor first half-dozen starts, has a .916 save percentage in his last seven starts, winning six of them. The Sabres are 10-4-1 since Thanksgiving and have climbed back into the playoff race. They either had to carry three goalies (and send down a skater), send down UPL as he does not require waivers (but he's playing very well and the team is winning), or send down one of Anderson/Comrie. The team decided to send Luukkonen to the AHL and keep Comrie/Anderson in the NHL. It’s a tough game when you’re a waiver-exempt player. It should be noted that it’s expected to just be a paper move for now.

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Making his own way back from injury, Tyler Bertuzzi was back on the Detroit top line in practice:

Bertuzzi out of blue (non contact) sweater at Monday's Red Wings practice:

Bertuzzi-Larkin-Raymond
Rasmussen-Copp-Berggren
Fabbri-Veleno-Perron
Kubalik-Suter-Sundqvist

(Erne odd man out)

Wings host Winnipeg Jets Tuesday.

— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) January 9, 2023

He was also on the top PP unit with Dylan Larkin, Robby Fabbri, and David Perron. The coach said after practice that Bertuzzi should return on Tuesday night.

The Dobber team is starting to put together the Midseason Guide – watch for announcements – and in those pages, I wrote about Bertuzzi's future. He is an unrestricted free agent in the summer and while the Red Wings have over half their cap space open in 2023, they also have a lot of roster spots to fill, not to mention the impending monster Larkin extension. They are also a year away from big deals for Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider. If Detroit falls far out of the playoff race, it's a wonder if Bertuzzi is still on this roster come mid-March.

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A positive sign for Colorado defenceman Bowen Byram:

Big news: Bowen Byram is on the ice.

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) January 9, 2023

The 21-year-old rearguard has been out of action since early November with a lower-body injury. With over two months away and slowly being worked back in, there's no timeline. My guess is it'd be good news if they can get him back before the All-Star break.

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With just four games in the NHL on Monday night, I wanted to do something a little fun. The first batch of NHL all stars were announced last week, with one player from each team being named (full list here). Leaving aside some personal feelings about the selections (Kevin Hayes over Travis Konecny, for example), I wanted to do something similar for the fantasy game.

To that end, let's create a starting fantasy all-star lineup, with five skaters and a goalie from each Conference. In an effort to mix things up a bit, these are going to be based off ADPs in drafts, creating value-based selections. In other words, we won't have Connor McDavid as the center in the West, as the first overall selection has performed as the first overall pick. But what about Zach Hyman, who was often taken outside the top-100 players, but is currently a top-25 player in most formats? That is the type of selection we'll be making. We also won't discern between left/right wing. It will simply be two wingers (same goes for the blue line).

Let's start out West and we'll use Yahoo! ADP/scoring.

Center – Roope Hintz (DAL)

A lot of the press is going to Jason Robertson and, considering he's on pace for over 55 goals and 110 points, it seems appropriate. With that said, Roope Hintz is having a marvelous season to date. He is on pace to threaten 40 goals and 90 points, which would give him easily the best season of his career. Hintz had a Yahoo! ADP outside the first 10 rounds and his currently ranked as a top-10 center and a top-25 player. Fantasy owners continue to rejoice.  

Winger – Zach Hyman (EDM)

It is a wonder what his season might look like without Evander Kane's injury: since mid-November, per our Frozen Tools, Hyman has been anywhere from 70-90% of the team's available PPTOI. Before that, he was generally between 30-60%. Since Kane left the lineup, Hyman has 28 points in 26 games, with 13 of those points coming on the man advantage. It will be interesting to see his usage once the injured flank returns, but until then, drafters are being greatly rewarded.

Winger – Jamie Benn (DAL)

This is cheating a bit, as Benn has often played pseudo-center alongside Wyatt Johnston, but he does have a left wing fantasy designation so here we are. It has been a career renaissance for the former MVP as he's on pace for five-year highs in goals and assists. In fact, five more goals would give him a four-year high, something he could easily reach by the end of the month. His PP production is the highest it's been since 2017-18. As long as he keeps that role, more fantasy goodness lay ahead.

Defence – Josh Morrissey (WPG)

Morrissey is the first choice here. He was an afterthought in some smaller fantasy leagues, going outside the top-150 picks consistently, but he's a top-5 blue liner on Yahoo! this year. He set a career-high in assists (26) through just 27 games, and currently is second in points among defenders in the league, trailing only Erik Karlsson. One thing that I have noticed is how good his skating is. It was never a weakness, but it seems his edgework has gone to another level. He is a big reason why Winnipeg is fighting for a division title.

Defence – Erik Karlsson (SJS)

This was the other option alongside Morrissey, making them basically 1A and 1B. The veteran Sharks blue liner had an unbelievable start to the season with 11 goals and 28 points in 20 games. The goal scoring has predictably fallen off, with just two in his last 21 games, but he still has 26 points in that span. The former Senator has already set a five-year high in goals and points, and needs 37 points in the second half to set a career-best. He is in the Norris conversation for a reason.

Goalie – Alexandar Georgiev (COL)

This was close with Logan Thompson from Vegas, but Thompson has a .906 save percentage over his last 20 games. While Georgiev is at .905 in his last 15 games, he's been getting marginally more starts of late and that was the tiebreaker. Georgiev is a top-5 goalie on the season and was often drafted outside the top-100. What would his season look like if they didn't have an entire scoring line injured, more or less, at all times?  

And now to the East.

Center – Tage Thompson (BUF)

There are going to be a few Sabres on this list and Tage Thompson is at the top with a bullet. He sits third and fifth in the league in goals and points, respectively, being tied for fourth in power-play points and top-10 in shots on goal. He has done more than build off his breakout 2021-22 season, he's blown the doors off of superstardom. I suppose his hit and block peripherals aren't very strong so, I guess, that's the bad part? There is no way around it: Tage has arrived.

Winger – Alex Tuch (BUF)

We could probably just put the entire top line on this list but we'll pick between the two wingers, and Tuch is ranked higher on Yahoo! because of more games played (and blocked shots?). It has been a great performance from the centrepiece of the Jack Eichel trade as he sits with 18 goals and 43 points on the season. Three more goals and 10 more points set career-bests, and he could get there by the All-Star break.

Winger – Martin Necas (CAR)

For a bit of variety, let's include the breakout from Carolina winger Martin Necas. He had two good-not-great seasons to start his career but seemed to take a step back in 2021-22. There were still signs of progress, though, and anyone that believed in him has been rewarded with 17 goals and 38 points this season, with 12 PPPs and 140 shots. Necas has started to tap the offensive prowess he showed very early in his career and the Hurricanes, and fantasy owners, are reaping the rewards.

Defence – Rasmus Dahlin (BUF)

It is really hard to pick anyone else besides the number-1 blue liner in fantasy that had an ADP outside the top-80 picks on Yahoo!. Dahlin's scoring chance creation numbers (per Corey Sznajder) rank among the top defencemen like Roman Josi and Erik Karlsson, so this isn't all a mirage. If Buffalo can maintain its offensive play, Dahlin stands a very good chance of getting to the 80-point mark, even if he doesn't play a full 82-game slate. Much like Thompson, this is the season the 1^st overall pick from 2018 has finally arrived.

Defence – Hampus Lindholm (BOS)

With Charlie McAvoy injured to start the season, there was some feeling that Matt Grzelcyk would be running Boston's top PP unit when healthy. That distinction went to Hampus Lindholm instead, though, and he made the most of his opportunity: 13 points in 13 games with McAvoy out of the lineup, including four PPPs. He has just 15 points in the 27 games since, but even that works out in excess of a 45-point pace, and his plus/minus is absurd (remember that this format includes plus/minus). From afterthought to top-10 defenceman in the first half of the season. Not bad.

Goalie – Linus Ullmark (BOS)

There likely wasn't much doubt that one of Boston's goalies would succeed, but it was a matter of which one, and to what degree they'd earn starts. Linus Ullmark (.938 SV%, 22 wins) has been considerably better than Jeremy Swayman (.905 SV%, nine wins) even if the team is still rotating starters. Regardless, the uncertainty in goal led to Ullmark having an ADP outside the top-10 rounds on Yahoo! and, as of Monday afternoon, he's the number-2 goalie. Pretty good!

Alright, those are my valued-based all-star lineups based on Yahoo! scoring. Where did I go wrong? Let us know in the comments.