Andrei Svechnikov made his season debut on Friday, playing his first game since injuring his ACL in March. He did not record any points, but he was credited with three hits and four shots in 13:40 on a line with Stefan Noesen and Jack Drury. Not exactly the Canes' top line, and he didn't play on the top power play either. It's possible he was eased into the lineup in his first game, so don't assume that he will be stuck in that same spot all season.  

Here are the Hurricanes' forward line combinations on Friday, according to Frozen Tools.

Even strength:

MICHAEL BUNTING – MARTIN NECAS – JESPERI KOTKANIEMI

JORDAN STAAL – JESPER FAST – JORDAN MARTINOOK

TEUVO TERAVAINEN – SEBASTIAN AHO – SETH JARVIS

STEFAN NOESEN – ANDREI SVECHNIKOV – JACK DRURY

Power play:

TEUVO TERAVAINEN – SEBASTIAN AHO – MARTIN NECAS – SETH JARVIS

STEFAN NOESEN – MICHAEL BUNTING – JESPERI KOTKANIEMI – ANDREI SVECHNIKOV

Teuvo Teravainen scored all three of the Canes' goals in their 3-0 win over San Jose. He now leads the team with seven goals, which is just five goals shy of his total from all of last season. Yet like last season, he is still averaging just over two shots per game. With a 35 SH%, don't expect him to challenge for 50 goals. However, he should be able to improve on his assist total (just one so far) playing on one of Carolina's scoring lines. I was fortunate to add Turbo off waivers to one of my teams a few weeks ago, so I'll continue to stick with him for the time being.  

Antti Raanta stopped all 20 shots he faced in earning a shutout. Pyotr Kochetkov was sent back to the AHL on Thursday, which means both Raanta and Frederik Andersen are healthy. I'd be willing to bet that this isn't the last we see of Kochetkov this season, given the injury history of both goalies – particularly Raanta.

–

Thomas Chabot is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks with a fractured hand. Chabot had recently lost the top power-play role on the Senators, so his fantasy value was already taking a hit anyway. Store him on IR, but it may be possible to drop him outright in shallower leagues with roster spots for fewer than four defensemen. Erik Brannstrom and Artem Zub are also injured, which could mean continued struggles for Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg (both with sub-.900 SV%). Jakob Chychrun logged 28 minutes on Thursday (with 9 SOG as well), so he might see some heavy usage over the next month. Same with Jake Sanderson.

–

A stat you didn't expect: The Oilers have scored just 17 goals in seven games. Maybe they wouldn't have been shut out by an aging Jonathan Quick on Thursday if Connor McDavid were in the lineup. As I mentioned last week, Edmonton's lack of depth beyond their top five scorers is a serious concern.

One of those top five scorers is of course Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. After a fast start of six points in three games, Nugent-Hopkins has no points and is a minus-8 in his last four games. I'm not sure whether I should recommend him as a buy-low, since I already thought he would regress from his 104-point season.

Connor Brown has yet to record a point in seven games as an Oiler. His most frequent linemates have been Dylan Holloway and Ryan McLeod, not McDavid as hoped. Of course, line deployments can and will change, but you shouldn't be clinging onto Brown the same way you would with an underproducing superstar.

The Oilers and their Alberta rivals are on a collision course of struggling teams for Sunday's outdoor game. So far, Jonathan Huberdeau's struggles from last season have carried over to this season. He generated zero shots on goal on Thursday with just 14 minutes of icetime. In fact, the top line of Huberdeau, Elias Lindholm and Nazem Kadri did not generate a single shot attempt together at even strength on Thursday. I still think Huberdeau can be a lot better, but it's hard to cite bad luck with specific samples like this one. Plain and simple, Huberdeau seemed better suited for his situation in Florida, whether that be the team's system or the external setting such as the weather or playing in a Canadian market.

Points-wise, Kadri has been even worse that Huberdeau (just a single assist in eight games). Kadri has at least taken 23 shots in eight games, so the goals should start to come. Interestingly enough, there are a few players (former Flames Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau, Scott Laughton, Roman Josi) who have taken more shots than Kadri, but have yet to score a goal.  

–

The NHL has no more undefeated teams. Vegas lost its first game of season by a score of 4-3 in overtime to Chicago. One of the Blackhawks' goals was scored by Connor Bedard.  

The pass.
The release.
Nick Foligno + Connor Bedard. 🫢 pic.twitter.com/O9kQ3xBwGc

— NHL (@NHL) October 27, 2023

Philipp Kurashev scored the overtime winner while playing nearly 20 minutes while on Bedard’s line at even strength. Bedard’s linemates have hardly been consistent this season, so we might have to wait a while to find out which spaghetti strands stick to the wall here.

–

A couple notable injuries in the Devils/Sabres game. First, Nico Hischier left the game after taking a hit to his head from Connor Clifton, who received a match penalty and will also have a hearing with the NHL for a possible suspension. Lindy Ruff said that Hischier was held out in the third period for precautionary reasons, for what that's worth.

Eric Comrie also left the game with a lower-body injury, replaced in net by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The Sabres started the season with too many goalies, but they may have too few if both Comrie and Devon Levi miss more than a few games. Levi should still be considered day-to-day, as he is dealing with soreness.  

Rasmus Dahlin scored his first goal of the season on Friday, but he is now also riding a seven-game point streak.

Jack Hughes leads the league with 18 points in seven games. My biggest regret might be passing him up for Jason Robertson in one of my single-season drafts. But I'll check up on that one again in a few months.   

–

There's been a lot of talk here in Vancouver about the lack of love that Quinn Hughes has received from the eastern media, particularly with a lower-than-expected ranking from two different well-known hockey writers. In case you are from that side of the continent and didn't stay up late to watch the Canucks and Blues, Hughes scored a pair of goals in the Canucks' 5-0 win. From a pure hockey standpoint, Hughes might currently be playing better than he ever has in his career. From a fantasy standpoint, he's shooting the puck a lot more (3.6 SOG/GP), which should naturally lead to more goals.

Quinn Hughes

First player in #Canucks history with a +10 rating through the team's first 7 games of a season

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) October 28, 2023

Phillip Di Giuseppe has goals in back-to-back games and points in three consecutive games. More importantly, he's on a scoring line with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser. Di Giuseppe has been a Rick Tocchet favorite for his hard work, having been promoted from the AHL not long after Tocchet was hired. He's more of the player that will fetch pucks and do the dirty work so that Miller and Boeser can score, but he will pick up a few points along the way as well. He looks like he'll stay on this line as well, so he's a name to consider for deeper leagues.

Miller scored a shorthanded goal and added two assists with a plus-3. He's off to a fast start with 11 points in seven games, including seven points in his last four games. He has four multi-point games but has yet to record a one-point game in any of his seven games.

As the Canucks outplayed the Blues by a wide margin, Thatcher Demko wasn't peppered with shots as he often has been the last few seasons. He was able to post a 22-save shutout on Friday, which was just the fourth of his career. Demko has never recorded multiple shutouts in a season. The Canucks look more defensively structured (so far, holding my breath) this season, which could result in Demko outperforming his 98 ADP on Yahoo. Upgrading the backup goalie by acquiring Casey DeSmith will also provide Demko with much-needed rest more often.

Lots of Blues on the Frozen Tools Cold List (what an appropriate sponsor) at the moment. Most notably Torey Krug (0 PTS in 7 GP) and Brayden Schenn (0 G, 1 A in 7 GP). Could Craig Berube be the first coach fired this season?

–

Sean Durzi scored a highlight-reel goal on Friday, giving him four points over his last four games.

OKAY SEAN DURZI. 🐺 pic.twitter.com/1WgWYTI8F7

— NHL (@NHL) October 28, 2023

The Kings ended up with the last laugh in this game. Drew Doughty scored the game-winning goal with just under two minutes to play. The goal was Doughty's second of the game, also giving him four points in his last four games.

Drew Doughty scores a late one to complete the comeback in Arizona! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/07iLjSypHW

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 28, 2023

–

Follow me on Twitter/X and Threads.