Nico Daws' first game since the 2021-22 season was a success. Daws made 25 saves in the Devils' 6-2 win over Ottawa. Daws was recalled earlier this week when Akira Schmid was sent to the AHL. Although Vitek Vanecek has played a little better recently, Daws could easily push him for starts in Jersey with some strong play. Vanecek should start today's (Saturday's) game against Boston. At the very least, Daws should start one of the Devils' two back-to-back home games next weekend against Chicago and Vancouver. Feel free to take a flier on him if you need a goalie next week.

By the way, Daws had played only three AHL games this season because he underwent hip surgery in June and needed six months to recover. He posted a solid 2.39 GAA and .929 SV% over those three games.

The Jesper Bratt – Jack Hughes duo exploded for seven combined points in this game. Bratt scored a goal and added three assists, while Hughes had a goal and two assists of his own. In fact, this was a plentiful day if you are a Hughes brother playing for the Devils, as Luke Hughes also scored a goal and added two assists.

Dawson Mercer was a pickup today for one of my teams, and he made good with a goal. Mercer now has three goals and six points over his last four games. One of the reasons Mercer grabbed my attention is that he had exceeded 20 minutes in each of his last two games. He fell just short on Friday with 19:58 in icetime. After an ice-cold start with no points in his first 10 games, Mercer seems to be finding his groove.

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I could have added Johnny Gaudreau on one of my teams today and didn't. Why? Because I've already got him on two other teams. If you have multiple teams, do you avoid adding a player because you already have enough stock in that player in your portfolio? I know that it would be ideal to have Connor McDavid on every one of your teams, but a common piece of advice from investment advisors is to never put all of your eggs in one basket. I think the same goes for fantasy hockey to some extent.

Gaudreau scored the overtime winner and added two assists in the Blue Jackets' 6-5 win over Toronto. If you've cast Johnny Hockey to your league's waiver wire (down to 54% in Yahoo and 79% in Fantrax), you should know that he has found his way onto the hot list with nine points in his last seven games. With all the injuries in Columbus, the Russian line might be considered the new first line. So Gaudreau's line now consists of Adam Fantilli and Justin Danforth. We know that Fantilli has promise, and he has delivered recently with six points in his last six games. However, the 30-year-old Danforth is also delivering with three points over his last three games.

If one or more of these players interests you in a single-season league, the priority should be Gaudreau, then Fantilli, then Danforth. Not sure you needed me to tell you that, but just so we're clear. Gaudreau isn’t going to put up the kind of numbers in Columbus that he did in Calgary, but he has enough upside to be rostered in far more leagues than he is.

Here's your Ilya Samsonov update:

Small correction: Ilya Samsonov is 59th out of 60 NHL goalies this season with an .862 save percentage.

Full Sheldon Keefe quote: "It's the NHL, we need saves, we need points and we need wins. So I'm sure (GM Brad Treliving) is going to consider everything."

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) December 30, 2023

With six goals allowed on Friday, Samsonov has allowed at least five goals in each of his last three games – all really bad starts. Whether the Leafs stay patient with him or send him to the AHL to help him find his game, Samsonov should be nowhere near your starting lineup.

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One player who has been sitting at the top of one of my league's waiver wires for a while is Jake Walman. Not even the league members who live in Michigan have grabbed him. Maybe that's a sign to keep avoiding him. Walman scored a pair of goals and added an assist on Friday, which were his first points in seven games. Moreover, Walman entered this game with just one point in his last 11 games. This league does not have any peripherals aside from icetime (Walman averages nearly 20 minutes), so Walman has been buoyed by a strong start of five goals and 12 points in his first 21 games.

Alex DeBrincat finished Friday's game with a Gordie Howe hat trick. More specifically, a goal, two assists, and a second-period fight with Roman Josi. DeBrincat is on fire right now with nine points over his last four games.

With two goals and an assist of his own on Friday, Gustav Nyquist has a four-game point streak with six points over those four games. Playing on the Predators' veteran top line with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly as well as the first-unit power play is an opportunity that he probably wouldn't receive with a bunch of other teams. He's widely available (10% Yahoo/29% Fantrax) if you need depth scoring on the wing.

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According to Capitals coach Spencer Carbery, Charlie Lindgren will be out for the "foreseeable future" after leaving Friday's game in the first period with an upper-body injury. Lindgren has been one of the better waiver-wire pickups in net this season, pushing Darcy Kuemper for starts. Kuemper played most of this game for the Capitals, allowing five goals for the second consecutive game. The Capitals will likely have to turn to Kuemper again today (Saturday) against Nashville.

Carbery used the same words to describe Martin Fehervary, who also left this game. Fehervary doesn't score that often, but he's a great category filler for hits and blocked shots.

Over various stretches through the years, Jean-Gabriel Pageau has been a hot waiver-wire pickup. That hasn't happened so far, but Pageau was holding a hot stick on Friday with two goals and two assists and a plus-4. Pageau had been held without a point in his previous three games and without a goal in his previous eight games. I'd only recommend Pageau this season if the scoring becomes more consistent.

Pageau's linemate Julien Gauthier was also a plus-4 with two goals and an assist. Gauthier had not recorded a point in his previous seven games.

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How about the scorpion save from Jonathan Quick:

VINTAGE JONATHAN QUICK 🔥😱 pic.twitter.com/X4WdzDqMbq

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 30, 2023

Friday must have been a night of saves, since Juuse Saros made his own highlight:

👀 OH. MY. 👀

This one is going to be on the highlights for years to come!!@PredsNHL | #Preds pic.twitter.com/WrBicOmwdw

— Bally Sports: Preds (@PredsOnBally) December 30, 2023

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The 2024 Midseason Guide will be available in two weeks, on January 12, 2024. Look for second-half projections, sleepers, advanced stats, historical trends and prospects you need to know. For more information and to make your purchase, click here.

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Roope Hintz completed a hat trick with the overtime winner for the Stars in a 5-4 decision. Hintz now has a five-game point streak with seven points over that span.

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Even though the Avalanche won 2-1 over St. Louis, Nathan MacKinnon's point streak has ended at 19 games. Over that span, Nate Dogg had piled up 36 points (13 G, 23 A). MacKinnon only trails Nikita Kucherov in the scoring race.

It's taken a bit of time, but Jonathan Drouin's career might be rebounding in Colorado. With an assist on Friday, Drouin now has eight points in eight games. Prior to that, Drouin had registered just eight points in his first 26 games with the Avalanche. Perhaps due to injuries, Drouin has also been receiving time on the first-unit power play for over a month. He's rostered in only 5 percent of Yahoo leagues and 34 percent of Fantrax leagues if you feel inclined to add him.

The opposite kind of streak to McKinnon is that of Brayden Schenn, who has no points in his last nine games. Schenn’s analytics show that he could use a bit of puck luck, but right now he’s droppable in leagues that don’t count hits or faceoffs.

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I don't know if it had anything to do with me mentioning him yesterday, but Egor Zamula had one of the top-searched Frozen Tools profiles on Friday. Zamula received the equivalent of second-unit minutes (29.7% PP) in the Flyers' overtime loss to Seattle. Cam York, who is 8% rostered in Yahoo, is probably the player to target here. However, York has just two points in his last nine games. Maybe Zamula gets a look on PP1, although the Flyers power play is one of the worst in the league, scoring on just 11.2% of its chances.

Joey Daccord should be on your safe starter list. He has picked up quality starts in seven of his last eight games with wins in five of them. Over that span (since taking over for the injured Philipp Grubauer), Daccord has a sparkling 1.61 GAA and .946 SV%. He's available in just over half of both Yahoo and Fantrax leagues. I added him on one team where I went total Zero G and finally got around to starting him today against a Flyers team playing the second of back-to-backs on the road. I think he has a legit shot at keeping the Kraken starting job even when Grubauer returns.

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Speaking of Zero G, Connor Ingram posted another shutout on Friday. He is now the league's co-leader in shutouts (with Tristan Jarry) with four clean sheets. Only five goalies have more quality starts than Ingram (14). Every season, at least one goalie appears out of nowhere to carry fantasy teams, and this season's version has been Ingram. It's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time when adding these goalies, and not thinking that they won't help your team if they're not name brand or don't play for what is believed to be a strong team. By the way, Arizona currently holds a wild card spot in the Western Conference.

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