Hopefully you were able to watch hockey while eating your breakfast or brunch on Saturday. If so, you would have seen the Devils complete the sweep of the Sabres in the two-game Global Series in Prague to start the regular season.

In New Jersey's 3-1 win, Seamus Casey scored his first NHL goal and was then named the player of the game. I wrote about Casey yesterday after he looked strong in Friday's opener, and he added to that by scoring a power-play goal on Saturday. Casey, a 2022 second-round pick, is making an NHL impact earlier than what was expected, so he might be worth adding in deeper leagues at the moment. As I said yesterday, he may be back in the AHL once Luke Hughes is back in the lineup. He logged only 12 minutes on Saturday, with the Devils leaning much more heavily on Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, and newcomer Johnathan Kovacevic.

Paul Cotter scored his second goal in as many games, giving him three points over his first two games. He probably isn't going to jump into the top 6 unless there's an injury, but he might have bangers league value because of his hit total.

Timo Meier scored the other goal for the Devils while taking eight shots and blocking three more. Ability to fill multiple categories is a big reason we like Meier here.

The Sabres failed to pick up a point over the first two games, and they're also dealing with injuries. Zach Benson missed Saturday's game with a lower-body injury. As well, JJ Peterka left Saturday's game in the first period with a concussion. Peterka was a popular sleeper entering the season, so this will affect a lot of fantasy teams. The Sabres don't play again until Thursday, when they are back home against Los Angeles. Given the time that teams should be evaluating players following concussions, Peterka should be considered doubtful for that game with Benson's status unknown.

Back to the two teams playing the first two games of the regular season. With two wins, the Devils look much improved. They've got a new coach in Sheldon Keefe who might be relieved to be out of the pressure cooker in Toronto, an upgrade in net with Jacob Markstrom, and a whole host of other new players who are immediately contributing. They look like a playoff team and are even being discussed as a potential Stanley Cup contender. Too early for that?

Meanwhile, it's more of the same old for the Sabres. They've scored just two goals in two games. Since it's only two games, I'd rather not identify players starting the season slowly or assume that they will miss the playoffs again. They have faced only one opponent on a different continent. In other words, it's too early to do anything with the Sabres on your roster. Don't be the knee-jerk manager that panic drops anyone here.

While we are talking about teams, look for the writer's 2024-25 season picks to appear later today or tomorrow. We've broken down our picks for division winners, Stanley Cup finalists and winner, major award winners, and players to rebound and disappoint. I think my own picks are very boring and unoriginal, but some of the other writers have some interesting choices.

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After missing the entire preseason with an upper-body injury, Erik Karlsson expects to be ready for the Penguins season opener against the Rangers on Wednesday. Karlsson may be a little rusty, but it looks like he should be available for fantasy teams.

According to coach Mike Sullivan, Karlsson and Kris Letang are both expected to be on the Penguins' top power play to start the season. I haven't reported much about line combinations and power-play units during preseason, as it is the time for teams to experiment with different groups as opposed to committing to something all season. Since this news is straight from Sullivan himself, I trust Letang will be back on PP1 to start the season. Bryan Rust being out with a lower-body injury is likely factoring into this decision.

After double-digit power-play point totals for nearly all of his long career, Letang was held to just five power-play points in all of 2023-24 while playing on the second unit behind Karlsson. This news is at least a short-term boost to Letang's value, although Rust may bump him off the top power play once he returns. The Penguins are a team that battles its share of injuries, so Letang could be in and out of that spot throughout the season.

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Free agent forward Kevin Labanc has signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with Columbus. Labanc was on a PTO with the Devils and had an impressive preseason with six goals in just four games. One advantage of a player accepting a PTO is that he is free to sign with another team, not just the team granting the PTO. With recent upper-body injuries to both Boone Jenner and Dmitri Voronkov, Labanc should have an immediate opportunity to contribute to the Blue Jackets lineup. Labanc was held to just two goals and nine points in 46 games with the Sharks last season, so fantasy leaguers should ignore him unless he starts making noise with his new team.  

One PTO that was not successful was that of Calen Addison, who was released from his PTO by the Senators. Addison has the offensive upside to be worth taking on by an NHL organization, even if his defensive skills need a lot of work. Maybe the AHL is the place for him for now. Addison is only 24, so this hardly seems like the end for him. I'll have more on one player who benefits from Addison's departure later on.  

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Labanc's strong preseason had me curious about who the top scorers are in the preseason. Here is what I pulled from Frozen Tools on Saturday evening:

Even though preseason games often don't include full opening-night rosters, there are some interesting names on this list anyway. Matvei Michkov and Logan Stankoven are examples, although we already know that both should be in the mix for the Calder Trophy. I'll handpick three other less expected top scorers and discuss whether their preseason results should matter.

Jesse Puljujarvi

Now 26 years of age, onetime top prospect Puljujarvi hasn't disappeared from the NHL landscape quite yet. The points haven't come with Pool Party playing on a line with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin as you might think, but instead mainly the Pens' top prospect in Rutger McGroarty. I think the training camp performance should secure an opening-night roster spot for Puljujarvi, but I wouldn't bet massively on him finally finding the success that eluded him in Edmonton. Instead, he could find himself in a supporting role on the Penguins just trying to maintain some semblance of a meaningful NHL career.

What about McGroarty, you ask? He picked up a goal and five assists in his six preseason games and at this point is more of a player of interest than Puljujarvi. I'm guessing he makes the team as well, but Sullivan keeps the Pool Party – Rutger combination together to start. That could mean McGroarty doesn't exactly burst out of the gate, but you should be playing more of the long game with him anyway.   

Samuel Honzek

The first-round pick of the Flames in 2023 (16^th overall), Honzek burst out of the gate with five points in his first two preseason games. Since then, the reality of playing more NHL-like rosters has hit, as he has just two points in his last four games. Honzek still has a strong chance of making the Flames' opening-night roster, but he's likely a year or two away from making a real impact. Some AHL time this season also seems likely. Something else to consider: Honzek has been a bit of a Band-Aid Boy, playing in just 43 and 33 games during his two seasons with the WHL's Vancouver Giants. Honzek suffered a lower-body injury in a preseason game for the Flames last season, sidelining him until December.

Carter Yakemchuk

The seventh overall pick in this year's draft, Yakemchuk appears to have made the Senators' opening-night roster based on their most recent cuts. That is an impressive feat, as defensemen very rarely make NHL rosters in their draft year. The next step is to see how Yakemchuk fares in the nine-game trial granted for junior-eligible players. If he doesn't make it, then it's back to the WHL's Calgary Hitmen, where he scored 30 goals and picked up 71 points in 66 games last season. It won't be easy for Yakemchuk to make an impact in those first nine games, as he'll need to compete with Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson for power-play time.  

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