Aleksander Barkov put on a show for the fans in his native Finland, scoring a goal and adding three assists in the Panthers' 6-4 win over Dallas on Friday. The Florida captain has piled on six points in just two games since his return from a lower-body injury, so hopefully you've been able to get him back into your lineup.

Fellow Finn Esa Lindell led the Stars with a goal and an assist in this game. Lindell has points in back-to-back games after being held without a point in his first eight games.

Sam Reinhart is picking up where he left off last season. With two goals and an assist on Friday, Reinhart has four goals in his last three games as well as nine goals in 12 games. Reinhart is maintaining his shot pace from the previous two seasons (2.8 SOG/GP). His 26.5 SH% would normally be cause for concern, but it is only slightly higher than his shooting percentage from last season (24.5 SH%). Any regression will have to wait.

Aaron Ekblad contributed three assists, which were his first points in five games. Maybe based on previous point totals, Ekblad seems to be overvalued in fantasy leagues (51% Yahoo/81% Fantrax). His peripherals are okay but not spectacular, and on top of that he is averaging under 1.5 SOG/GP. On top of that, the Panthers would rather try relatively unproven options on the top power play than the veteran Ekblad, who has experience there. 

The most recent blueliner on that top power play is Uvis Balinskis, who has just a single even-strength point in 12 games this season. I'm not sure I'd make a point to add him until the power-play points start coming in. The Panthers tried Adam Boqvist there to start the season, but Boqvist registered just two points (both on the power play) in nine games and has been a healthy scratch for the past two games. Florida still has one of the league's better power plays, but the loss of Brandon Montour this offseason means this is an area they need to sort out at some point this season. Maybe they address this need via a trade before the deadline.

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The Winnipeg Jets continue to roll, earning their 10^th win in 11 games this season. That's exactly how long Kyle Connor's point streak has lasted. Connor picked up an assist, giving him 18 points over those 11 games. Shooting at a 20% clip, Connor will eventually cool off a bit. Yet he is averaging four shots per game over the season and has at least that many shots in each of his past four games, which are great signs. The skills are definitely there.

You have to see this move from Kyle Connor because it is FILTHY 🤢 https://t.co/ZWu49kjMXk pic.twitter.com/6VTkju1W64

— NHL (@NHL) November 2, 2024

Nikolaj Ehlers scored three times and added a power-play assist with five shots to power the Jets. Ehlers has been red hot recently with 13 points over his last eight games and 15 points in 11 games on the season. At long last, Ehlers is finally on the Jets' top power play, with four of his points this season on the man advantage. In a contract year, Ehlers is really cashing in early. But like many players off to a hot start, the metrics show that a bit of regression should happen. I wouldn't consider Ehlers a sell high, though.

For the Blue Jackets, Dmitri Voronkov made his season debut. He was held without a point in 13 minutes of icetime.

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That's seven consecutive multipoint games for Kirill Kaprizov. Over that span, Kaprizov has accrued 15 points, including a goal and an assist on Friday against Tampa Bay. As I type this, Dolla Bill is on top of the NHL scoring race with 21 points over 10 games. One number that enables Kaprizov to pick up so many points, assuming he doesn't get tired: Kaprizov has logged at least 20 minutes in every game this season except for the Wild's first game. He likely won't reach the 172 points he is currently on pace for, but the second 100-point season of his career is a definite possibility.

Have you ever seen TWO pucks in play? 😂

Now you have pic.twitter.com/cdYVbqAJcJ

— Lightning on FanDuel Sports Network (@FDSN_Lightning) November 2, 2024

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Ilya Sorokin has quality starts in each of his six games this season. On Friday, Sorokin made 32 saves in picking up a 4-3 win over Buffalo. Sorokin earned the win in spite of the Islanders losing two defensemen (Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly) to injury in the second period. He might be alternating starts with Semyon Varlamov, but he is providing quality goaltending in a time when ratios are becoming more inflated.

Bo Horvat and Maxim Tsyplakov each scored a goal and added an assist for the Isles. Tsyplakov is currently among the top 5 in rookie scoring with seven points in 11 games.

Mathew Barzal missed this game, as he is out with an upper-body injury.

With an assist on Friday, Tage Thompson extended his point streak to eight games. Over that span, Thompson has six goals and six assists. Thompson also has a six-game assist streak – one assist per game, if you haven't done the math yet.

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Igor Shesterkin has faced a ton of shots this week. After the Capitals took 45 shots on him on Tuesday, Shesterkin stopped all but one of the 41 shots from the Senators on Friday. That was the difference, as the Rangers took this game 2-1. Shesterkin has quality starts in each of his last six games, with four of them turning out to be wins.

Alexis Lafreniere scored one of the Rangers' goals and assisted Artemi Panarin on the other. Lafreniere has scored at a point-per-game pace (10 PTS in 10 GP) so far.

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Jacob Markstrom's return to Calgary as a New Jersey Devil went well for most of the game. Then ex-Devil Blake Coleman broke a scoreless tie with just over five minutes left in regulation, Jonathan Huberdeau scored less than a minute later, and Coleman scored his second of the game into an empty net to seal a 3-0 win for Calgary. The Flames snapped a four-game losing streak with the win.

Markstrom's former backup Dan Vladar stole the show, stopping all 22 shots he faced to pick up his first shutout in three seasons. Vladar has been alternating starts with Dustin Wolf for a Flames team that until recently has been better than expected. Widely available in fantasy leagues, Vladar is at least a solid streaming option.

Huberdeau continues to be inconsistent. After bursting out of the gate with five points in his first two games, he entered Friday's game with just two points in his last eight games. Huberdeau has just three assists in 11 games and an inflated 31.3 SH%, which are not positive signs for a player whose scoring totals have usually been assist-heavy.

Andrei Kuzmenko was benched during the third period, finishing the game with just 10 minutes of icetime. He has no points in his last three games and no goals in his last seven games. Defensive issues usually land him in the doghouse, so his deployment in Sunday's Battle of Alberta showdown is something to keep an eye on. As soon as the icetime starts to dwindle for Kuzmenko, it's time to start looking elsewhere.

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Here are some weekend streamers. I'll take players from teams that play on Saturday and Sunday, which are Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Toronto, and Washington.

Mason Lohrei – I'm not sure Lohrei sticks on the Bruins' top power play long term, but he's there while Charlie McAvoy (0 PTS in last 9 GP) is trying to find his game. Lohrei himself is without a point in his last five games while the Bruins as a team have struggled recently. You could take a flier on Lohrei if defensemen on the top power play are hard to find in your league.

Teuvo Teravainen – I'm all about the slumping players today, I suppose. A player with no points in his last six games might not be the strongest recommendation, but Teravainen is still on Connor Bedard's line. Turbo can be a hot and cold player, and he was hot earlier in the season when he started the season with seven points in his first five games.

Matty Beniers – With six points over his last four games, Beniers might finally be tapping into his upside as the second overall pick in 2021. He is only 16 percent rostered in Yahoo, so now would be the time to get on board.

Max Pacioretty – As mentioned yesterday, Patches is on a scoring line with John Tavares and William Nylander. He also has four assists over his last two games. He's just 9 percent rostered in Yahoo and 30 percent rostered in Fantrax.

Connor McMichael – I also mentioned McMichael in yesterday's Ramblings.

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