All I want for Christmas – some players coming off absence this week were Dylan Larkin, Andrei Svechnikov, Auston Matthews, Cale Makar, Jacob Markstrom, Aaron Ekblad, Charlie McAvoy, Jack Quinn  – injuries are inevitable, but the NHL is better to have these men playing.  Now my January wishes will be for Kyle Connor, Jake Oettinger,  Max Pacioretty, Barrett Hayton, Bryan Rust, Mikhail Sergachev…. the list seems to expand endlessly.  

The Grinch – okay the schneid – players who've yet to score a goal by the Christmas break:  Rickard Rakell, Jared Spurgeon, Connor Brown, Seth Jones, Thomas Chabot, and Aaron Ekblad, although some of these guys have missed 20-plus games.  Jeff Petry scored his first on Monday, and Justin Faulk exited this list Tuesday. And before his overtime winner Thursday broke a 15-game drought, I would've included Alex Ovechkin here.  If you drafted any of these players, you expected more. 

The Ugly Sweaters – kudos here to those who do the dirty work that often defines winning, but rarely getting a headline. Category leaders thus far for penalty minutes are Brady Tkachuk (74), Liam O'Brien (70), Radko Gudas and Tom Wilson (65 each).  The Senators' captain also leads in PIMs drawn, which I only wish was a Yahoo category. Hits leaders are Tanner Jeannot and Jeremy Lauzon (115 each), Evander Kane, and Paul Cotter, all over 100.  Blocked shot guys Brayden McNabb (100), Jacob Trouba, and Mario Ferraro have thus far avoided the injury list, but it's more than even money that at least one will find an Injured Reserve tag at some point this season.   

Cash or coal in my stocking?  Even if Connor McDavid hasn't held up to that #1 expectation (so far, he's #22 in my most inclusive Yahoo league), he's still money in your fantasy league, even if his Oilers teammate Zach Hyman ranks at #21. And Filip Forsberg (#8) has far exceeded expectations, especially after the Nashville buy-outs of their top two centers. But we're still waiting for Matthew Tkachuk (preseason #10) to return the draft value that had him taken as a late first-round pick. Same for Igor Shesterkin, rough start and currently ranked at 243 from his Yahoo preseason #20. Timo Meier (Yahoo #484), who I traded for, is barely getting 15 minutes of ice time, and had just 12:34 against Edmonton Wednesday.  His 12 points leave him currently tied for 280th in NHL scoring. But these guys can at least compare with the most devalued player of the preseason top 100 – no surprise – Jonathan Huberdeau, who's dropped 455 spots from preseason rank #98 to his current 553. You drafted or kept him? Hopefully you've moved on. Just be happy that you're not financing that $10.5 million deal.  

My numbers come from QuantHockey, StatMuse, MoneyPuck, and Yahoo Sports. All are entertaining sites to browse.

Saturday's matchups:

San Jose Sharks @ Vancouver Canucks.  The Sharks have now lost four straight after having had a 6–2-2 stretch after U.S. Thanksgiving. (Don't worry, they're still in last place.)  Tomas Hertl ($5800) has 7+7, fourteen points is as many games. However, the Canucks, at home, are my favorite picks for this night. Brock Boeser ($6900), with 24 goals trails only Auston Matthews thus far, and would be a solid goalscorer prop wager (+125) as well. Third-liner Dakota Joshua ($2600), seeing more ice time in the last two weeks, has as many points as Quinn Hughes ($6800) in that span (six in the past five contests).  Hughes is second in the league in total ice-time, and first in on-ice goal differential, at +45.  Vancouver leads the NHL with 3.76 goals/game scored this season, and the Sharks have allowed just over four per game in their last ten. 

Arizona Coyotes @ Colorado Avalanche – Here's some hard data – in the last 14 days, how many players have more shots on goal than Nikita Kucherov? 41. How many have more points than his 13? One. Nathan MacKinnon ($9900). Scoring streak of 15 games, then four goals and an assist on Thursday, there's not a hotter stick in the league right now. 14 of 23 games since Nov. 7 have been multi-point matches. Mikko Rantanen ($8500) and Valeri Nichushkin ($7300) each have six-game streaks, with eleven points. Arizona is no longer an easy game though, and the Avalanche haven't been burying opponents – only five wins in their last twelve. For the 'Yotes, consider Alex Kerfoot ($3700), now solidly the top line center, and Sean Durzi ($5600), just back from a lower-body injury and playing quarterback for the first power play (23%). And play the "over" on this one, I'll pass on both netminders.

Chicago Blackhawks @ St. Louis Blues – the Hawks have not won a second half of back-to-back games yet this season (0-5-0), and they're the second-lowest scoring team in the league (San Jose), so whichever goalie starts – Jordan Binnington ($8100) or Joel Hofer ($7900) – will by my play in net. Robert Thomas ($5700) has quietly joined the NHL scoring leaders (21st, with 35 points), and has eight points in the Blues' last four games. Jordan Kyrou ($5500) has six points in those same four games, and at least three shots in seven of his last ten.

My lineup:

Centers – MacKinnon and Thomas

Wings – Kyrou, Boeser, and Joshua

Defense – Vince Dunn ($4800, at Anaheim) and Ian Cole ($2700, blocked shots leader for the Canucks)

Goalie – St. Louis (Binnington or Hofer)

Utility skater – Kerfoot

Props bet – Boeser to score a goal.

Last week?  I was happily on the Yucatán peninsula.  Oh yeah, my last wager on December 9?  The Blackhawks beat my favored Blues 3-1, and yet here I am doubling down on that matchup tonight. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all, and a reminder here to watch the World Junior Championships starting on December 26.