Kirill Kaprizov was a late scratch on Saturday afternoon due to a lower-body injury. Kaprizov briefly left a game against Edmonton earlier in the week after a knee-on-knee hit from Drake Caggiula, so the injury seems to be related to that. Since Kaprizov returned to that game, this injury seemed more day-to-day than one that will lead to a lengthy IR stint. However, Kaprizov is scheduled for an MRI and should be considered questionable for Monday's Central Division showdown with Winnipeg. Kaprizov missing time would be an unfortunate break for fantasy teams, as he is among the league leaders in scoring.

With Kaprizov out of the lineup, Marco Rossi was elevated to the Wild's top power play. Rossi finished the game with the game-tying goal with 34 seconds left in regulation along with a power-play assist. With Kaprizov's status uncertain for next week, Rossi (17% Yahoo) is a great pickup for next week. The Wild are one of many teams to play four games next week.

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The Blackhawks/Flyers matchup was supposed to be a showcase for two of the league's brightest young stars in Matvei Michkov and Connor Bedard. Michkov did his part (kind of), but Bedard was completely shut down.

Matvei Michkov vs. Connor Bedard today:

Michkov #LetsGoFlyers
OTW, 0A, 1 PTS, 1 S, 1 PPG, 17:17 TOI

Bedard #Blackhawks
0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS, 0 S, 2 GV, 18:05 TOI pic.twitter.com/I5tM9G9ooX

— Dylan H. Robillard (@HendrixHockey_) November 23, 2024

Bedard's goalless streak is now at 12 games, while he has been held pointless in five of his past six games. Coach Luke Richardson seems to be shuffling Bedard all over the lineup to find the right combination, and it isn't working given the team's lack of scoring depth. Richardson is also reportedly trying to work with Bedard on the defensive aspects of his game, which isn't helping the offensive totals. I view Bedard as more of a hold than a drop in single-season leagues, as he possesses far much upside than any waiver-wire flavor of the week.

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With Frederik Andersen expected to miss the next 8-12 weeks following knee surgery, the last thing the Hurricanes need is another injured goalie. Unfortunately, Pyotr Kochetkov left Saturday's game against Columbus during overtime after colliding with his own teammate. Coach Rod Brind'Amour didn't have an update after the game, but he admitted that it "didn't look great." Spencer Martin, who entered the game in relief, would be the likely starter should Kochetkov also miss time. Martin has proven to be effective for short stretches throughout his career, but I doubt he could carry the mail longer term. Maybe the Canes will pursue John Gibson if Kochetkov's injury is anything more than day-to-day.  

The Blue Jackets followed up a seven-goal explosion against Tampa Bay on Thursday with another five goals in a 5-4 shootout win over Carolina on Saturday. That makes the Columbus offense red hot with 19 goals over their last four games. Included among that group is Sean Monahan (7 PTS in last 3 GP), Zach Werenski (10 PTS in last 5 GP), and Kent Johnson (9 PTS in 6 GP). Johnson chipped in two assists on Saturday, giving him four points in the two games since he returned from injury. Rostered in just 7 percent of Yahoo leagues, Johnson could be a sneaky waiver-wire pickup.

Since being added off waivers by the Jackets earlier this month, Dante Fabbro has four points in six games. Over the past four games, Fabbro has logged a minimum of 22 minutes of icetime. Not many of those minutes have been on the power play, but Fabbro has been a regular even-strength partner for Werenski. I wouldn't necessarily add Fabbro based on that, but at least he's thriving in his new home.

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In case you were worried that Quinn Hughes left Saturday's game because of an injury, he was actually assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for a hit on Josh Norris (who returned to the game during the power play). I highly doubt that the hit is suspendable, as a five-minute major and game misconduct for this hit seemed debatable. Filip Hronek took over on the top power play, in case you ever want to get an idea what will happen if Hughes is injured. Hronek finished with one assist and a plus-3 in 27 minutes of icetime.

One more reason to add Kiefer Sherwood to your fantasy team: With the injuries to the top players and Jonathan Lekkerimaki being returned to the AHL, Sherwood has been elevated to the Canucks' top power play. Sherwood is also the runaway league leader in hits (125), so he should be rostered in all bangers leagues by now. With a goal and an assist on Saturday, Sherwood now has goals in three consecutive games and points in four consecutive games.

Jake DeBrusk had his best game as a Canuck, scoring two goals and adding an assist on five shots on goal. DeBrusk is finding some chemistry with Elias Pettersson, which seems to be helping both players. After a slow start, Pettersson has 10 points over his past seven games, and many of his even-strength minutes have been with DeBrusk. That's a great sign, as DeBrusk was signed to provide Pettersson with a better-quality linemate than what he had last season.

As the Senators have struggled recently, so has Linus Ullmark. The Sens starting goalie has really bad starts in three of his past four games, including allowing four goals on 21 shots to Vancouver on Saturday. At this point of the season, Anton Forsberg has better overall numbers. The Sens play back-to-backs in California next weekend, but I wouldn't be surprised if Forsberg receives one more start beyond that next week, as the Sens are another team with a four-game week.

The Sens also have their share of cold players, including David Perron (0 PTS in 9 GP as a Senator) and Shane Pinto (0 PTS in last 7 GP).

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Sidney Crosby scored his 600^th career goal on Saturday, which turned out to be the only highlight for the Penguins in a 6-1 home loss to Utah. Crosby is the 21^st player in NHL history to reach 600 goals.

Here's another stat on how it's going for the Penguins this season: They've allowed a league-high 91 goals this season. The Sharks are second-highest with 79 goals allowed. The advice is simple: Don't start any Penguins goalies. Better yet, they're a superb matchup for opposing scorers.

Dylan Guenther scored two power-play goals and added an assist for Utah, while Clayton Keller added three assists. Guenther now leads the Hockey Club with nine goals.

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One-quarter of the NHL season has passed, and Jonathan Marchessault finally has a 5-on-5 point. Marchessault scored a goal and added an assist in the Predators' 4-1 win over Winnipeg. In addition, Marchessault now has 11 shots over his last two games, so he is showing signs of turning things around. With a 0.7% 5-on-5 SH%, and a 5.9 SH%, Marchessault could be considered a buy low.  

Saturday was also the first game that Marchessault and fellow free agent signing Steven Stamkos had both scored a goal in the same game. With a power-play goal, Stamkos now has three power-play goals over his last three games. Of Stamkos' seven goals this season, six have been with the man advantage.

Roman Josi scored the Preds' other two goals in this game.

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Playing on Jack Eichel's line is turning Ivan Barbashev into a fantasy star this season. Eichel and Barbashev each scored a goal and added two assists in the Golden Knights' 6-2 win over Montreal. A player who has only surpassed 50 points once in his career, Barbashev is now over a point per game (22 PTS in 21 GP). The Eichel-Barbashev-Mark Stone (now injured) trio has been the top even-strength line this season, according to Frozen Tools. On Saturday, Callahan Burke occupied the third spot on that line, and he scored a goal while taking four shots.

There is still some buyer beware with Barbashev, as he is still a low-volume shooter (under 2.0 SOG/GP) with a high shooting percentage (25.0 SH%). Even if the scoring dips, Barbashev is still averaging two hits per game, so he should still hold bangers league value.  

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Valeri Nichushkin needed four games to register his first point of the season, but he rewarded patient fantasy teams with a goal and two assists and a plus-3 on Saturday against Florida. With the Avalanche returning closer to full health, Nichushkin lined up with Mikko Rantanen, who finished the game with a goal and three assists and a plus-4. Get Nichushkin back in your lineup if you haven't already.

Jonathan Drouin scored a pair of goals on four shots in the Avalanche win, giving him four points over his last three games. He was on a line with Nathan MacKinnon, who somehow had just one assist in a seven-goal outburst for the Avs.

After an awful start, Alexandar Georgiev now has five consecutive wins. The wins are coinciding with Nichushkin, Drouin, and Artturi Lehkonen returning to the lineup, so the recent run shouldn't be a huge surprise. During those wins, Georgiev has settled down with a 2.58 GAA and .905 SV%. The Avs are more likely to win playing a run-and-gun style, so Georgiev should be projected to be a source of empty calories (strong win totals, average-at-best ratios) for your fantasy team.

With a goal on Saturday, Sam Reinhart has extended his point streak to 13 games. Over that span he has 19 points. Reinhart also has goals in three consecutive games.

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In the Lightning's 4-2 loss to Dallas, Anthony Cirelli scored both Tampa Bay goals. Cirelli has been finding the net recently, scoring a goal in five consecutive games. Cirelli also took eight shots on Saturday, a season high for him. Over his past seven games, Cirelli has also logged a minimum of 20 minutes each game. While he is on this heater, Cirelli has been benefitting from playing on a line with Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel.

Higher-than-normal advanced stats along with a lack of first-unit power-play time could force Cirelli back down to earth, although it's worth noting that 19 of his 21 points have been at even strength or shorthanded. Only Hagel has more non-power-play points among Lightning players.

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Two games, two wins for Joe Sacco as Boston head coach. The Bruins have scored just three total goals over those two games, but they have allowed only one goal. After allowing a combined 12 goals over his past two games, Jeremy Swayman found his form on Saturday and allowed just one goal on 19 shots in a 2-1 win over Detroit. The new coach bump is worth keeping an eye on. After all, more struggling teams might try it too!

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In his second game as an Oiler, Kasperi Kapanen was thrown onto a line with Connor McDavid. Kapanen assisted on one of McDavid's two goals, giving him just his second point of the season in 12 games. I doubt this will suddenly invigorate Kapanen's fantasy value long term, but it at least gives the Oilers an opportunity to see what they have in waiver-wire pickup Kapanen.

Playing on a line with Leon Draisaitl is finally paying off for Vasily Podkolzin, who scored his first goal this season and first as an Oiler. This was his first goal in 44 games (since March 23, 2023).

Darnell Nurse returned to the Oilers' lineup on Saturday, scoring a goal. He missed three games after taking a hit from Ryan Reaves last Saturday.

Jonathan Quick entered Saturday with back-to-back shutouts. That shutout streak got wiped out big time against an Oilers team in Edmonton. Although he faced 39 shots, Quick allowed six goals, which is more goals than he allowed in his other five games combined.  

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Only one game is on the schedule today, if you need that extra push to win your head-to-head matchup. Stream your Utah and Toronto players if you need to. You could look to recently signed Alex Nylander to help your team… wait, what?

Toronto media is buzzing about the Nylander brothers, William and Alex, ahead of tomorrow night's Leafs game. Meanwhile, @YahooFantasy seems to be asking, "Alex, who?"

It's been a tough week for streaming, but grabbing Alex Nylander for tomorrow would've been a fun move.… https://t.co/ogXxVOorXz

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) November 24, 2024

At least Nylander is in Fantrax. He's already on my roster in my 20-team deep league.

Also for the Leafs, Auston Matthews won't play today, but he is being described as a possibility for Wednesday.

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Joe Thornton. Class act.

That's who the Thorntons are. 💙#19ForeverTeal x #GreatestOfAllTeal pic.twitter.com/qPeMJnSfmL

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 23, 2024

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