As expected, the Senators have signed Shane Pinto to a one-year, $775,000 contract. Pinto is expected to return from his half-season suspension on Sunday, so it will be interesting to see how the Senators draw their lines up the middle with Josh Norris projected to return at around that time as well. In the Midseason Guide, we projected Pinto to center the third line while scoring at about a 40-point pace. Since he is rostered in only about 4% of Yahoo leagues and 32% of Fantrax leagues, he could be worth taking a flier on in deeper leagues.

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The Hurricanes have claimed backup goalie Spencer Martin off waivers from the Blue Jackets. Carolina has desperately needed a goalie for about a week, so this is probably a signal that Pyotr Kochetkov or Frederik Andersen are not close to returning. Martin should back up Antti Raanta in the meantime, although Martin could be pressed into action given Raanta's injury history.

On the subject of Raanta, he picked up the rare win/really bad start combination on Friday. He allowed two goals but he faced only 13 shots against the Red Wings. He's appeared in five consecutive games for the Canes, and he seems like a strong bet to make it six against Minnesota on Sunday.

Martin Necas returned to the Hurricanes' lineup on Friday after a five-game absence (upper-body injury). He made his presence felt with a goal and an assist with a plus-2 and six shots on goal. I nearly had to drop him in one league because I had more injured players than IR slots, but fortunately I was able to hold on. Glad I did.

When Martin Necas is on, HE IS ON… pic.twitter.com/kqndoAtgVY

— Jason Gold (@JayGold85) January 20, 2024

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The Capitals have signed forward Aliaksei Protas to a five-year extension with a cap hit of $3.375 million. Protas has made steady improvements during his three NHL seasons, sticking with the Capitals full-time this season. The timing of the contract announcement might seem a little strange, since Protas has been held without a point in his last nine games and without a goal in his last 20 games.

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The goalie I dropped for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (see yesterday) was Vitek Vanecek, so I was curious to see how the Devils goalie would fare against the Blue Jackets on Friday. Sure enough, Vanecek stopped 28 of 29 shots in picking up the win. With Vanecek struggling recently (and all season for that matter), Nico Daws was given three consecutive starts this month. Expect Daws to start today (Saturday) against Dallas.

I'm kind of surprised that Vanecek is still rostered in so many leagues (87% Fantrax/67% Yahoo), although that could be because he was drafted in so many leagues. Among the 18 goalies with as many games played as Vanecek (26 GP), only Joonas Korpisalo has a lower quality start percentage than Vanecek (38.5 QS%). New Jersey goalies are still kind of risky while they're battling a bunch of injuries, although they're a team that could be much stronger if they start to return to health. I'd lean toward Daws if picking a Devils goalie, although he could very easily be returned to the AHL if he struggles.

Until recently, injured defenseman Zach Werenski was the Blue Jackets' leading scorer, which gives you an idea of how hit or miss their scorers have been in fantasy this season. One Jacket that might be a sneaky pickup in deep leagues is Cole Sillinger, who scored Columbus's only goal on Friday. Although Sillinger was on the cold list because of three consecutive games without a point, he is showing some very positive signs. Sillinger has averaged nearly 20 minutes and 62% of the Jackets' available power-play minutes over the last five games. He has also centered the top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Yegor Chinakhov. He's also widely available (2% Yahoo/28% Fantrax).

Sillinger and Chinakhov show outstanding chemistry on this goal.

Yegor Chinakhov, that was siiiilky. 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/eYJO0xg2GP

— NHL (@NHL) January 20, 2024

Boone Jenner returned to the Jackets' lineup in this game after missing the past eight weeks with a broken jaw. Jenner did not get a point, but he logged 19 minutes while playing on a line with Jack Roslovic and Adam Fantilli (who was moved to the wing).

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In the Panthers' loss to Minnesota, Aaron Ekblad was in on all four Florida goals. Ekblad filled the statsheet with a goal, three assists, and a plus-4. Ekblad entered this game without a point in his previous five games.

What about Brandon Montour, you ask? Montour was held without a point in Friday's game. It's been tough sledding for Montour, who has just one goal and 10 points in 29 games since returning from offseason shoulder surgery. Montour is at least shooting the puck, having averaged four shots in each of his last three games. The overall icetime (over 23 minutes per game) and the power-play time are also still there, so it simply might be a matter of being patient as his luck will eventually turn around. Yet because of the surgery and late start, 2023-24 simply was never going to be the same as his breakout 2022-23.

In Minnesota's win, Kirill Kaprizov scored twice and added an assist. Kaprizov has five points in his last three games, helping boost him over the point-per-game mark (39 points in 38 games). Expect him to pick up his production a little in the second half.

Brock Faber also contributed three points – all assists.  Like Kaprizov, Faber also has five points over his last three games. This season is turning out better than expected for Faber, who with the trade of Calen Addison and the season-ending injury to Jared Spurgeon should remain on the Wild top power play for the rest of the season. As I've said before, Faber may not have sky-high offensive upside. However, he's logging major minutes for a 21-year-old and figures to already be Minnesota's most important defenseman. He is currently rostered in about 40% of Yahoo leagues, but that number could stand to be much higher.

Marc-Andre Fleury left this game in the second period with an upper-body injury.

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The Blackhawks win! The Blackhawks win! They've actually won two of their past three games, which seems impossible given their scorched-earth roster and the sheer number of injuries. Jason Dickinson scored a goal and added two assists with a plus-3, breaking a four-game point slump. Connor Bedard is still the team's leading scorer and should be for a while, but Dickinson is the leader among non-injured Blackhawks with 24 points in 46 games. There are probably a hundred centers that you'd pick over Dickinson for your fantasy team, but aside from Bedard and Seth Jones and maybe Philipp Kurashev, he's probably your best option if you happen to need to stream a Blackhawk.  

Speaking of Jones, he scored the overtime winner while adding an assist. The goal was his first of the season in his 31^st game, while the points were his first since returning from injury four games ago. Because of his contract he's stuck in Chicago, and so is his fantasy value.

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Yanni Gourde was suspended two games for charging Mattias Ekholm during Thursday's game.

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The LA Kings' Zero G strategy seems to be hitting a snag. Cam Talbot has played well for much of the season, but he's on pace to play around 60 games. That's not what was expected from Talbot, who was expected to be a timeshare goalie with the now-injured Pheonix Copley. It's also not ideal for a goalie who has had his share of injuries the past few seasons. Talbot has also been tagged with two consecutive really bad starts, allowing five goals in each of those two games.

David Rittich has stepped in with two consecutive quality starts, so he at least seems like a possibility to alternate starts with Talbot. Big Save Dave has posted better-than-expected numbers (6 GP, 1.69 GAA, 0.934 SV%), so he might be worth a flier if you need a goalie. I'm not sold on Rittich being the answer in the Kings' net, but goaltending is the most unpredictable position in fantasy, and riding the hot hand is sometimes an effective strategy. The Kings have lost 10 of their last 11 games and are in danger of falling out of a wild card spot if they can't turn things around soon.

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Don't forget to purchase your Midseason Guide, if you haven't already! Second-half projections, sleepers, advanced stats, historical trends, prospects you need to know, and much more.

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