Sean Couturier had a game that nobody expected. The Flyers' captain smashed a 32-game goal drought with a hat trick and two assists and a plus-5, reaching 500 points while leading his team to a 7-5 win over Minnesota in a matinee game. Couturier had hardly made an impact before Saturday, as he entered this game with just one assist in seven games this season.

Couturier had recently been placed on the Flyers' top line with Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov, which could make him fantasy relevant if he can remain there and remain healthy and remain on the scoresheet. I'm not sure he can do all of that that, but it would be a great story if he did, considering the serious injury troubles that he's had. He is just 2 percent rostered in Yahoo leagues and 19 percent rostered in Fantrax leagues.

Konecny finished the game with a goal and four assists, while Michkov scored a goal and added an assist. Michkov has been held off the scoresheet just twice in eight games, so he has been remarkably consistent for a rookie.

The Flyers have also reassigned 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko to the OHL. Luchanko was held without a point in his four NHL games.

The loss was the Wild's first in regulation this season. Despite the loss, Marcus Foligno scored a pair of goals, while Kirill Kaprizov recorded two assists.

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Tage Thompson's production can be all over the map, but right now it's very much on the hot side. Thompson scored a pair of goals and added an assist in the Sabres' 5-3 win over Detroit in another Saturday matinee game. Thompson now has goals and multiple points in each of his last three games while also tallying 10 points over his last six games. One strength in Thompson's game is his hard shot, and he hit the high end of the radar gun in this game.

When you shoot the puck at 104.69 mph, good things are bound to happen.

Tage Thompson is having himself a day, including becoming the 2nd player in 3 days to set a new benchmark for hardest shot recorded in the NHL EDGE era (since 2021-22).#NHLStats: https://t.co/LljVRQRcWY pic.twitter.com/vXX4PC9ogE

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 26, 2024

Rasmus Dahlin finally had the kind of game we've been waiting for. Dahlin picked up three assists on Saturday, which is more than he had produced prior to this game. Dahlin entered this game with just two assists in eight games. Your buy-low window might be closing.

Lucas Raymond is no longer a member of the goalless club, scoring a goal for the Wings despite the loss. With an assist as well, Raymond has eight points in eight games, so he has still been productive for fantasy teams.

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Darcy Kuemper made his return to the Los Angeles lineup from a lower-body injury, stopping 23 of 25 shots in the Kings' 3-2 win over Utah. The win was Kuemper's first since the Kings' first game. Throw away the eight goals he allowed to Ottawa on October 14 and Kuemper has allowed no more than two goals in his three other games – all quality starts. Kuemper should hold the upper hand over David Rittich as the Kings' starter going forward.

Brandt Clarke filled the statsheet with a power-play goal, an assist, a plus-1, and four blocked shots. With seven points in nine games, Clarke is now at the point where he should be rostered in non-keeper leagues as well as keeper leagues. With four power-play points, Clarke is filling in admirably for Drew Doughty on the Kings' top power play.

Joel Edmundson scored a pair of goals for the Kings in their win.

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The Winnipeg Jets are still undefeated at 8-0-0. Looking for hot Jets? Take your pick. Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers both scored for the Jets in their 5-3 win over Calgary, with both currently at over a point per game. Neal Pionk added two more assists, giving him nine points over his last five games and a share of the team scoring lead at 10 points. Those players aren't likely available in your league, but a few more are.

Cole Perfetti also scored, giving him nine points over his last five games played. Throw in the first three games when he didn't register a point, and Perfetti is a point-per-game player. His shooting percentage (15.8%) is a little bit higher than normal, but he's also shooting more often (2.4 SOG/GP). Perfetti won't score at this pace all season, but there's reason to believe he could reach 50 points. He's rostered in just 30 percent of Yahoo leagues, but that number is climbing.

Nino Niederreiter (6 PTS in last 4 GP) and Mason Appleton (5 PTS in last 4 GP) are both scoring at a point per game as well. I'd prioritize Perfetti over both, but Niederreiter and Appleton are solid streamers if you're looking at the Jets lineup.

Yegor Sharangovich made his season debut after being out with a lower-body injury. He was held without a point while playing on a scoring line with Nazem Kadri and Andrei Kuzmenko, and he was also on the top power play for the Flames.

Rasmus Andersson scored another goal, which ties him for the league lead among defensemen with four. Andersson has exploded out of the gate with 10 points in eight games. Andersson is a decent scorer who could reach 40-50 points, but he seems to be riding the coattails of the Flames' hot start. Since Andersson is not on the top power play anymore, he is a player you could try to sell high on.

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Sorry, Leafs fans and Brad Marchand haters. The Bruins captain picked the perfect time to score his first goal, breaking an eight-game goal drought to start the season. A second assist could be given to Auston Matthews, who handed the puck to the Bruins on a silver platter.

Matthews with the giveaway, Marchand with the OT winner 😱🔥 pic.twitter.com/OqsVcaGsB4

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 27, 2024

Matthews at least ensured the Leafs picked up a single point with the game-tying goal at 18:43 of the third period.

Marchand and David Pastrnak each scored a goal and assisted on each other's goals while taking four shots each.

Elliotte Friedman also reported that the Bruins and Marchand are closing in on a three-year extension. That could make Marchand a Bruin until he is nearly 40 years of age. After the game, Marchand stated that the report is false, for what it's worth.

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Kirby Dach scored his first goal since March 23, 2023. That is a long time, but Band-Aid Boy Dach played just two games in 2023-24 and was out of the lineup from late March onward the previous season. That works out to an 11-game goal drought, which isn't terrible but illustrates how difficult it can be to get into a rhythm when battling injuries. Dach also recorded an assist, giving him at least a point, 4 SOG, 1 PPP, and 3 HITS in each of his last two games. Dach seems like he'll be a serviceable player in fantasy leagues in time, but I'm not sure he'll meet the expectations he had as a third overall pick in 2019.

Need a blocked shots streamer today? Look to the Habs. Mike Matheson isn't likely available, but David Savard should be and Kaiden Guhle might be.

Canadiens rank 2nd in the NHL in Blocked Shots despite playing 3 fewer games than the league leading Devils)#GoHabsGo

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) October 26, 2024

With a goal on Saturday, Jake Neighbours now has four goals and an assist over his last five games. This after he was held without a point over his first four games.

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Lukas Dostal is legit. In making saves on 30 of 32 Ranger shots he faced, Dostal picked up his fourth consecutive quality start. Yet over those quality starts, Dostal has just one win, which was on Tuesday against the Sharks. Why so few wins? Because the Ducks have averaged only two goals per game over that span. They're a team with a bright future, but they're clearly not there yet. In the meantime, Dostal is tied for the league lead in quality starts (5) with four other goalies. He's still rostered in under half of Yahoo leagues, but that won't be for much longer. Add Dostal to help with your ratios, and maybe the wins will start to trickle in.

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With a 32-save shutout, Andrei Vasilevskiy broke a string of three consecutive really bad starts. Vasilevskiy should again rack up wins and show decent ratios, but I wonder how much better he'd be with a decent backup that could play about 25-30 games.

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Matthew Tkachuk on Saturday: two goals, one assist, six shots, one power-play point, one hit, and one stolen goalie stick.

Where there's a will, there's a Matthew Tkachuk in front of the net 👍 pic.twitter.com/Zpa1Mi1Zza

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 27, 2024

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It was only a matter of time. Elias Pettersson scored his first goal of the season in the Canucks' 4-3 win over Pittsburgh. The vibes haven't been good for Pettersson this season, as he had gotten into an altercation with J.T. Miller in practice earlier in the week. At least he has points in three consecutive games, although I'd like the shot totals to increase. Petey has averaged just 1.6 SOG/GP over his seven games. That's a big drop from two seasons ago, when he averaged 3.2 SOG/GP. He's not out of the woods, but scoring a goal should feel like a monkey off the back of a player whose confidence seems to waver.

It’s time to give Kiefer Sherwood a look in bangers leagues. Sherwood scored on Saturday, giving him five points over his last four games. He also added six hits, giving him a league-leading 50 hits. The Canucks thought he was a pain in the butt to play against in their first-round series with Nashville, so they made a point to sign him. Sherwood doesn't play on the power play and will only likely move up to a scoring line in the event of an injury. However, he's doing a great job of replicating Dakota Joshua while Joshua is out of the lineup.

Evgeni Malkin has had an up-and-down season. Malkin flew out of the gate with 11 points in his first five games, then he went ice cold with no points in four games. On Saturday he was back with a goal and two assists. Malkin crashed into the net on his goal, causing a brief scare. However, he was back shortly after as the Pens pushed to tie the game. Only Mark Stone and Kirill Kaprizov have more multipoint games this season than Malkin, who has five multipoint efforts this season (tied with three other players). Malkin could well outperform his 165 ADP in Yahoo.  

Bryan Rust suffered a lower-body injury early in the third period and did not return to the game.

No teams have allowed more goals than the Penguins (38 GA) this season.

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Speaking of Stone, he has six multipoint games this season, including a goal and two assists on Saturday. Stone is now up to an astounding 17 points in just nine games, and he is leading the league in assists (13) and points (17). I made a point to stay away from Stone in all my drafts, and it looks like a missed opportunity. But can he stay healthy for an entire season? In the last three seasons, Stone has played 37, 43, and 56 games. That's an average of 45 games played per season. He's barely played more games than he's missed over that span. Even if he is completely over his back issues, I would 100% try to sell high for an elite player. I'm just be worried that another long-term absence is around the corner.

Pavel Dorofeyev looks like a sneaky good pickup. Dorofeyev scored a goal and two assists with nine shots on Saturday, giving him seven points (4 G, 3 A) in nine games. He's also on the Golden Knights' top power play with the red-hot Stone and Jack Eichel. His icetime and shot rates have both been increasing, while his shooting percentage isn't crazy high compared to previous seasons. All of that for a guy who is rostered in just 4 percent of Yahoo leagues and 28 percent of Fantrax leagues.

In Vegas' 7-3 spanking of San Jose, Brett Howden scored a pair of goals. That gives him five goals (without an assist) in nine games. He has benefitted from being on a line with Dorofeyev and Tomas Hertl.

William Karlsson made his season debut, and he scored his first goal of the season. The thank-you card to Vitek Vanecek is in the mail.

🗣️ IF YOU'RE A GOALTENDER, TEND THE GOAL 🗣️

William Karlsson capitalizes on Vitek Vanecek coming WAY out of his net for his first of the season 🤣 pic.twitter.com/8WnxFDQRqq

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 27, 2024

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Some first NHL goals of some young players of interest:

Mackie Samoskevich

Conor Geekie

Arshdeep Bains

Of these players, Geekie likely holds the most current value, as he is averaging the most icetime and power-play time and is on a decent scoring line with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel.

Bains is the least known of the three, as he was undrafted at both the WHL and NHL level. Despite that, he has scored at every level and will work hard enough to play to his full potential.

Surrey's own Arshdeep Bains scores his first NHL goal, extending the Canucks' lead to 4-2!

🎙️- @MantarBhandal & @HarpPandher#LetsGoPens | #Canucks | @OMNITelevision pic.twitter.com/qNG03xxl0b

— Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi (@HkyNightPunjabi) October 27, 2024

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