Auston Matthews missed his second consecutive game on Friday, but that was no problem for the Leafs, who were victorious over the Wings by a score of 3-1. Matthews may return to the lineup tonight in the Saturday night clash with the Habs. In Matthews' absence, Matthew Knies has been on the top power play.

With a goal and an assist in this game, Mitch Marner extended his point streak to seven games. Over that span, Marner has 11 points (2 G, 9 A).

Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves, including one with his bare hand. Stolarz has started three consecutive games for the Leafs, picking up quality starts in all three of them and allowing three combined goals. He seems to have the upper hand over Joseph Woll as the Leafs' starter at the moment with some impressive season numbers (2.00 GAA, .930 SV%). Playing a heavier workload might catch up to Stolarz at some point, as he has never played 30 NHL games in a season.

Anthony Stolarz just made a save WITH HIS BARE HAND 🫨 pic.twitter.com/XwW08AUo2K

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 9, 2024

–

Friday's Penguins/Capitals matchup served as a reminder to enjoy what Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin provide to the game while you can. They met for their 70^th regular season head-to-head matchup on Friday, literally joined at the hip as long-time divisional rivals and the franchise players for their respective teams. What's also remarkable is that for as long as both have been in the NHL, they are both still fantasy relevant in the 2024-25 season.

Crosby vs. Ovechkin is a tale as old as time itself. ⏳

📺: @penguins vs. @Capitals TONIGHT at 7:30p ET on @ESPNPlus and @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/LGfdUlS7gC

— NHL (@NHL) November 8, 2024

Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet, while Crosby finished with one assist in the Penguins' 4-2 win. Evgeni Malkin, who has been along for nearly all of the ride too, scored the game-winning goal in the third period and added an assist.

Bryan Rust was activated from IR before the game. He registered the primary assist on Malkin's goal. Rust also returned to his spot on the top power play and picked up five shots on goal. Get him back into your lineup.

Erik Karlsson has been much maligned recently for his overall play, but he found his way onto the scoresheet with a goal, an assist, and five shots. However, he was on the ice for both Capitals goals. Karlsson's goal was his first goal since the second game of the season – a span of 13 games without a goal.

You can probably justify dropping Michael Bunting for his ice-cold start of no goals and one assist in his first 12 games. However, Bunting has goals in two of his past three games. He has also accrued nine hits over his past three games.

–

Daniel Sprong has re-sprung in Seattle. The Canucks sent Sprong down the I-5 to the Kraken for the oft-traded future considerations. Sprong's brief time in Vancouver ends with a goal and two assists in nine games. With the reputation of not being defensively conscientious, Sprong likely wasn't a favorite of Rick Tocchet and had even been healthy scratched a few times. Trading Sprong could also be a signal that Dakota Joshua is ready to return to the lineup, or it could create a roster spot for either Arshdeep Bains or even Jonathan Lekkerimaki. The Canucks' first-round pick in 2022, Lekkerimaki already has five goals in seven AHL games.  

In his only full season with Seattle (66 games), Sprong scored 21 goals and 46 points – both career bests. He should fill the role of a secondary scorer in a team full of them, likely with 11-13 minutes per game and second-unit power-play time. His reacquisition shouldn't have a huge fantasy impact on the Kraken overall, but it could push someone like Shane Wright, Andre Burakovsky, Eeli Tolvanen, or Oliver Bjorkstrand out of the power-play mix completely. Given his usual lack of icetime and even the possibility of a healthy scratch, Sprong himself doesn't seem trustable in fantasy leagues.

–

Sprong wasn't in the lineup for the Kraken against Vegas on Friday night. They didn't need him, as Brandon Tanev scored two goals while Jared McCann scored in overtime to power the Kraken to a 4-3 win.

Mark Stone missed Friday's game because of a lower-body injury, which is being called day-to-day by the Golden Knights. Stone has busted out of the gate with 21 points in 13 games, but an injury seemed inevitable because he has missed nearly half of his team's regular-season games over the past three seasons. Hopefully this is nothing serious and he can play something more closely resembling a full season instead of battling an ailment that miraculously heals just in time for Game 1 of the playoffs.

In Stone's place, Nicolas Roy was moved to the top line with Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev and to the top power play. Roy scored a goal and added an assist while logging a season-high 20 minutes of icetime. Roy is already on a 59-point pace while playing mainly on the bottom 6. His line deployment for most of the season explains why he is just 2% rostered in Yahoo and 15% rostered in Fantrax. Vegas doesn't play again this week, but they play four times next week – all on light days. Whether Stone is back next week or not, Roy seems like a worthwhile pickup if you want to maximize the schedule.

Eichel picked up three assists in this game, which means he has three points in back-to-back games. He is in the top five in scoring with 22 points in just 14 games.

–

The Anaheim Ducks seem like the ideal team to stream. They regularly lead the league in playing on light nights, which is the case again this season. They also have a roster full of players that aren't rostered in every league, so there's always lots to choose from. Frank Vatrano is the only Duck to be rostered in more than 50% of Yahoo leagues, and that number could fall below 50% soon given his slow start.

Unfortunately, the Ducks are also in the middle of a rebuild, which means they can often leave you empty-handed. For example, I streamed Leo Carlsson on Friday and received a meager two shots. Sometimes you get lucky, but in the end fantasy matchups are more often won by a team's foundational pieces.

Right after I sung his praises last weekend, Lukas Dostal has crashed back down to earth. Over his last three games, Dostal has allowed 14 goals, including five to Minnesota on Friday. All of those three games were Ducks losses, as they simply do not have the scoring punch to win if the goaltending doesn't bail them out. Despite the rough stretch, Dostal still has a solid .922 SV%, while Friday's game was his first really bad start of the season. I'd continue to roll him out for ratios, but don't expect a ton of wins.

Kirill Kaprizov continues to amaze. The Wild winger scored two goals along with an assist in a 5-2 win over Anaheim. Kaprizov now leads the NHL scoring race with 27 points in 14 games, which is a major reason that Minnesota has exceeded expectations early in the season. He is shooting the lights out with a 22.0 SH% with nine goals, so he will cool off at some point. I won't suggest that you sell high, since his upside is as one of the league's best. However, you'll need to budget for him to cool off a bit. Despite that, reaching 100 points this season is a very real possibility.

Frederick Gaudreau has quietly amassed a six-game point streak with eight points over that span. As a possible waiver-wire option, I'd take a pass on him for now because the Wild play only two games next week.

–

NHL Player Safety has suspended Tanner Jeannot for three games for a blindside hit to the head of Brock Boeser on Thursday. Boeser was forced to leave the game, and his status for the Canucks' showdown with the Oilers tonight is uncertain. Jeannot was assigned a match penalty for the hit.

–

As far as weekend streamers go, look to either Columbus and New Jersey to maximize games played. They are the only two teams to play on both Saturday and Sunday.

Stefan Noesen, who has been on the top power play recently, is one potential target. Andrew described his situation in detail in this week's Looking Ahead.  

Paul Cotter is another Devil to consider as a streaming option, particularly in a bangers league format. Cotter had tailed off after a fast start, but he has assists in back-to-back games. He also averages three hits per game.

Any of Sean Monahan (30% Yahoo), Kirill Marchenko (22% Yahoo) and Yegor Chinakhov (15% rostered in Yahoo) are worth a look as well. All of them regularly appear on Columbus' top power play and appear on the closest thing the Blue Jackets have to a top line. Who you pick up depends on who is available. Monahan is your guy if you need help with faceoffs, while Marchenko is the only Jacket with at least a point-per-game average (13 PTS in 12 GP). Chinakhov has taken nine shots over his last two games.  

The only Columbus player to appear on the Frozen Tools Hot List at the moment is Damon Severson. To earn his spot there, Severson has three points over his last four games, including an assist and six shots in 22 minutes on Tuesday.

Pittsburgh, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Vegas all play zero games this weekend. You could consider dropping fringe players from those teams if you need help this week.

–

Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Threads @goodsfantasyhockey