LOTS of early Black Friday hockey, so I won't waste your time with a lengthy intro.  

The knives are out on the Rangers, who have now lost five consecutive games. (Comparing them to the NFL Giants and Jets? Nasty!) Along with being out of the lineup due to an upper-body injury, Chris Kreider is rumored to be on the trade block. Jacob Trouba and K'Andre Miller have also been mentioned in recent trade rumors.

No Rangers skaters are in the middle of deep slumps at the moment, but a bunch of players reside on the Frozen Tools cold list. Those include Trouba and Miller (0 PTS in 4 GP), Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin (0 PTS in 3 GP), Kreider (1 PT since November 12), and Mika Zibanejad (1 PT and -8 in last 5 GP). Zibanejad in particular seems to be squeezing the stick.

Mika Zibanejad had the game-tying goal on his stick, but he missed the net 😬 pic.twitter.com/3w25bTCXOg

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) November 29, 2024

This might be nothing more than a usual slump that teams go through every season, but maybe something else is brewing.

Something we're not used to seeing from Igor Shesterkin: four consecutive losses. Three of those four losses have been quality starts for Shesterkin, while he has faced over 40 shots in two of those games.

With two goals on Friday, Travis Konecny has 19 points in his last 12 games. Konecny is also far and away the Flyers' scoring leader with 29 points in 24 games. He is making a strong case to be selected for Canada at the Four Nations Tournament, which will be announced on Wednesday.

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The San Jose Sharks scored eight goals on Friday. Yes, the rebuilding Sharks. It was a true team effort, as no player had more than two points. Luke Kunin and Ty Dellandrea were the only Sharks forwards to be held without a point.

Jake Walman might be the most surprising defenseman in all of fantasy this season. With two goals, Walman now has 17 points in 21 games, including five points in his last four games. Walman has taken the opportunity of top even-strength and top power-play minutes and run with it. Just four points from his career best, Walman has a track record that suggests he will cool down at some point. The baby Sharks are just having fun with zero expectations, and he's along for the ride.

With a goal and an assist on Friday, Macklin Celebrini has six points in his last three games. With eight goals and 13 points in 14 games, Celebrini is right back in the mix for the Calder Trophy after missing time with a lower-body injury.

Klim Kostin has bounced around the last few seasons, but he has found his way to San Jose. Kostin had a bangers buffet on Friday, which included a Gordie Howe hat trick (1 G, 1 A, 7 PIM) and six hits. Over his last seven games, Kostin has averaged nearly five hits per game. He should be able to help you in that one category, but it doesn't look like the scoring will be there.

Philipp Grubauer was in net for all seven Sharks goals. Grubauer has just one win in eight games and as many really bad starts as quality starts (3 of each). The Seattle net now belongs to Joey Daccord, who is playing well enough to warrant consideration for Canada at the Four Nations… if he wants to play for Canada. Meanwhile, I wonder if Grubauer gets bought out this offseason.

Despite the Seattle loss, Chandler Stephenson scored a goal and added two assists. He was also a minus-3. Hey, that's a Draisaitl Hat Trick! (Goal, assist, minus, in case you forgot.) That's because his two assists were on the power play. Stephenson's goal was his first in 18 games and just his second this season.

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With injuries and inconsistency hitting the Canucks' top forwards, their two leading goal scorers happen to be Conor Garland and Pius Suter. Garland scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season while Suter scored his eighth goal in a 4-3 overtime win over Buffalo.

Garland also added an assist, giving him ten points in a seven-game point streak, while Suter has four points in his last three games. Garland in particular is benefitting from playing on the top power play while J.T. Miller is out of the lineup. He also took six shots and logged 23:37 in icetime, both the highest total among Canucks forwards on Friday. Only Quinn Hughes has more points and power-play points than Garland (20 PTS, 7 PPP) among Canucks. Garland is rostered in just under half of Yahoo and Fantrax leagues.

ABSOLUTE ROBBERY from Kevin Lankinen at one end and Conor Garland gets the OT winner going the other way 😱🫨 pic.twitter.com/elddPA6G6F

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) November 29, 2024

Check out the leg lift by Conor Garland on the OT winner pic.twitter.com/9FXKmK7XRH

— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) November 29, 2024

Garland, by the way, also finished with a Draisaitl Hat Trick. He was a minus-1 in this game.

Dylan Cozens was assessed both a holding penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty early in the third period of this game. That must have motivated him, as he scored a goal and then assisted on the game-tying goal once he was out of the box.

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In six games this season, Marc-Andre Fleury has yet to be tagged with a regulation loss (5-0-1). On Friday, he made 20 saves in a 3-2 win over Chicago. He isn't starting very frequently, but he is one of the better goalies to stream with the Wild playing as well as they have this season.

In the Wild's victory, Jared Spurgeon scored his first two goals of the season to go with a plus-3.

Ryan Donato scored both of the Blackhawks' goals. He is the surprising team leader in goals with 10, although he had not scored a goal in his previous five games. I don't think I'd rush to add him (18.9 SH%), although it's worth noting he is shooting the puck more this season (2.5 SOG/GP) and he has been on the top power play since early November.

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Because Timo Meier is on one of my teams, I noticed that he had a nice multicat day: 1 G, 1 A, 1 PPP, 5 SOG, 7 HIT. The scoring hasn't always been there for Meier this season, but he contributes to fantasy lineups in other ways. He might be worth a buy low, although he is currently on the outside looking in when it comes to a place on the Devils' top power play.

With a goal on Friday, Lucas Raymond has now scored goals in five consecutive games. This after he scored just two goals in his first 18 games. Raymond is a player you could have bought low on, but that window has probably closed now that he's up to a point per game.  

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Even though he is now 34 years of age and the Islanders aren't an offensive juggernaut, Anders Lee is still showing flashes of brilliance. In spite of the Isles losing in OT to Washington, Lee scored a goal and added two assists with a plus-4 on Friday. With Mathew Barzal out of the lineup, Lee is benefitting from additional icetime, up from 15:36 in October to 18:10 in November, along with 14 points in 14 games this month. Lee hasn't been immune to the Islanders' recent struggles, as he entered Friday's game with just one point in his previous six games.

Lee's linemate Simon Holmstrom scored two goals on six shots. In three games this week, Holmstrom is averaging 19 minutes per game. He doesn't jump out offensively, but Patrick Roy is finding a place for him. Holmstrom tied Travis Konecny for the league lead in shorthanded goals last season (5 SHG), although he has not scored a shortie this season.

In the Capitals' win, Tom Wilson scored two goals, while Dylan Strome and Connor McMichael contributed three points each. This probably wasn't in anyone's preseason predictions, but Strome is in the top 5 in league scoring with 34 points in 23 games. The Alex Ovechkin injury has had no effect on Strome so far, as he has six points over his last three games. Four of those points have been on the power play, which has been cruising right along for the Capitals even without Ovie.

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Columbus continues to score. Adam Fantilli scored two goals, while Kirill Marchenko scored a goal and added two assists in their 5-2 win over Calgary. Marchenko in particular is hot with seven points over his last four games. In spite of what was perceived to be a weak offense entering the season, both he and Zach Werenski are currently sitting above the point-per-game mark. Marchenko is still available in about two-thirds of Yahoo leagues.

With these being the two teams that Johnny Gaudreau played for, there were some nice tributes in this game.

Dan Vladar's wearing a new mask honouring Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau as the Flames and Blue Jackets meet for the first time this season. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BqY6AUL6S6

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 29, 2024

A tiny tribute to Johnny Gaudreau and his two kids near the bottom of Sean Monahan's sticks. pic.twitter.com/DK8RCHJ5G0

— Eric Francis (@EricFrancis) November 29, 2024

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With his league-leading 18^th goal, Sam Reinhart has scored at least one goal in 12 of his last 15 games. Even with a near-30% shooting percentage, he's not slowing down.

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In his NHL debut, Erik Portillo stopped 28 of 29 shots to lead the Kings to a 2-1 win over the Ducks. Portillo was recalled recently after Darcy Kuemper was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. David Rittich has quality starts in four of his last five starts, allowing one goal in each of those games (while allowing seven in the other!) Since Rittich seems to have a handle on things, Portillo might be limited in the amount of starts he receives while Kuemper is sidelined.

The Kings as a team allow the fewest shots per game in the league (24.3 SA/GP). That might help explain why Rittich and Kuemper both have goals-against averages of just above 2.50 despite average-to-below-average save percentages for Kuemper (.902 SV%) and for Rittich (.886 SV%).  

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In his second game with the Penguins, Philip Tomasino scored his first goal of the season while taking six shots on goal. With his new team, Tomasino has been slotted in on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Michael Bunting while skating on the second power play. Maybe a fresh start will help.

Two Wins in a row for Tristan Jarry… pic.twitter.com/W9QbT15aQy

— GoaliePost (@GoaliePost) November 30, 2024

In allowing just one goal on 33 shots in a win over Boston, Tristan Jarry now has more quality starts (2) than really bad starts (1). The Penguins have still allowed more goals than any other team (3.96 GA/GP), but at least Jarry is in a better place this week. That being said, he's got a lot of ground to make up before he should be trusted in fantasy again.

David Pastrnak has a lot of ground to make up if he is to challenge for the Rocket Richard. Despite taking seven shots on Friday, Pastrnak has now been held without a goal in seven games. Pasta leads the league with 100 SOG, so eventually the goals have to start going in again. However, it appears that he hasn't benefitted from the coaching change thus far.

Things have turned around for Jeremy Swayman since Joe Sacco took over from Jim Montgomery. Swayman now has three consecutive quality starts, allowing a combined four goals over that span. Before the coaching change, Swayman had a 3.47 GAA and .884 SV%. So if there's anything to pull, it's that the Bruins have been better defensively, but the scoring hasn't improved. The Bruins now have a combined seven goals over their last six home games. The Beantown faithful can't be happy about that.

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Ivan Barbashev is scorching hot right now. Barbashev scored a pair of goals on Friday, giving him 10 points over his last five games. He is also above the point-per-game mark for the season (27 PTS in 24 GP). Playing on a line with Jack Eichel has made a huge difference, as he is well on his way to a career season. Some higher-than-normal advanced stats (28.6 SH%, 15.3 5v5 SH%) could catch up to Barbashev, especially since he averages fewer than two shots per game and isn't on the top power play. But he's getting prime deployment at even strength.

Eichel assisted on both of Barbashev's goals. Finally staying healthy, Eichel is among the league's top scorers with 36 points in just 24 games.

Brett Howden also scored a pair of goals for Vegas. He is in the Cy Young race with a 10-1 statline (10 goals to one assist).

In the loss, Cole Perfetti scored a pair of goals, which were his first since November 3 – a span of 11 games without a goal.

Nikolaj Ehlers left this game with a possible leg injury. Something to keep an eye on.

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Tyler Seguin, Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment all factored on the same goal for the ninth time this season – the most by any trio of teammates.

Watch the @DallasStars in the Thanksgiving Showdown finale on @NHL_On_TNT and @SportsonMax. #NHLStats: https://t.co/l682TYcpDg https://t.co/HYAooxbJ4N

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 30, 2024

Maybe Tyler Seguin, Matt Duchene, and Mason Marchment are the Stars' actual first line. Marchment scored two goals along with an assist in the Stars' 5-3 win over Colorado. He also added five shots and four hits for a solid multicategory game. All three of these players are above the point-per-game mark now.

Meanwhile, the line you thought would be the top line is providing mixed results. Wyatt Johnston's weak start has been well-documented here, but he now has a five-game point streak. Roope Hintz scored a goal that Johnston assisted on, giving Hintz four points over his last four games.  

Then there's Jason Robertson, who continues to be ordinary. Even though the Stars scored five goals, Robertson was held off the scoresheet on Friday. With 13 points in 22 games, Robo is currently on a 48-point pace. His shooting percentage of 9.8% suggests he could be having better luck, but he is averaging only 2.3 SOG/GP – way down from the average of 3.8 SOG/GP from two seasons ago. Looking big picture, Robertson seems like an 80-point player who also happens to have a 100+ point season on his resume. Hopefully you didn't draft him in the early rounds.

With a goal on Friday, Mikko Rantanen now has 11 goals over his last 12 games.

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Auston Matthews is expected to return today (Saturday) from an upper-body injury that has sidelined him since early November. Get him back into your lineup. The Leafs have been just fine without Matthews, having gone 7-2-0 during his absence.  

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Looking ahead to the weekend, every team plays at least one more game this weekend. Montreal and Ottawa are the only teams to play both Saturday and Sunday, so you'll get the most mileage from streamers from those teams. That might be the only reason I ever add Nick Jensen, who I'm hoping will help with peripherals.

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