If you were like me, you might have paid closer attention to Canada's stunning shootout nailbiter with Latvia at the World Juniors than to any of Friday's NHL games. Even as a Canadian, I think it's positive for international tournaments when the smaller hockey nations have their moments. Props to Latvia for a hard-fought win, which have been nonexistent against Canada at the World Juniors up to this point.

By the way, Latvian goalie Linards Feldbergs is 2025 draft eligible. The Sherbrooke (QMJHL) goalie couldn't have done anything more to improve his odds of being drafted with a 55-save performance, plus saves on all eight Canadian shootout attempts. An absolute dream game for this young man.

As for Canada, the debate continues about certain players that were left off the roster. Zayne Parekh, Beckett Sennecke, Michael Misa, and Carter Yakemchuk, to name a few. Yet because the talent pool in Canada is so deep, these "what if" discussions are inevitable. This result might serve as a wake-up call for Team Canada in terms of not taking any team for granted. Or is a wake-up call even necessary, if they simply faced a goalie that played the game of his life?

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Anyway, let's jump in to the first day of NHL action and news following the three-day holiday break.

The Colorado Avalanche truly believe in Mackenzie Blackwood, wasting no time in signing him to a five-year contract with a $5.25 million AAV. Prior to signing the contract, Blackwood had played a grand total of four games for the Avalanche, so this deal carries some risk. Blackwood had not posted a save percentage of at least .900 or a goals-against average below 3.20 in any of his previous three seasons with New Jersey and San Jose. However, goaltending hasn't been a priority for the Avalanche the past few seasons due to cap reasons, while they figure Blackwood’s numbers have been hindered by playing for mainly rebuilding teams (he has never played in an NHL playoff game).

Blackwood continued his successful stint with the Avalanche on Friday, stopping 34 of 35 shots he faced in a 4-1 win over Utah. He has now won four of his five games with the Avs, posting an outstanding 1.82 GAA and .940 SV% while wearing both an Avalanche jersey and his teal-colored Sharks gear.

In the Colorado win, Artturi Lehkonen recorded his first career hat trick. Nathan MacKinnon registered three assists, becoming the first player to reach 60 points this season. Mikko Rantanen extended his point streak to 10 games with 17 points over that span.

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Break up the Sabres – they've now won two games in a row! In their dominating 6-2 win over Chicago, Alex Tuch led the way with a hat trick. Tuch needed that game, as he had not been immune to Buffalo's previous struggles. Prior to Friday's effort, Tuch had been held without a point in his previous four games and had recorded just one point in his previous nine games.

The subject of recent trade rumors, Dylan Cozens is back on the hot list with six points over his last five games. With a goal and an assist on Friday, Cozens has two points in back-to-back games, perhaps reminding the Sabres of his upside. Just 24 percent rostered in Yahoo, Cozens is a potential Sunday streamer with the Sabres in action that day.

Playing on a line with Cozens and JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn also had a goal and an assist on Friday. And like Cozens, Quinn has two points in back-to-back games. He's a possible Sunday streamer for the very deep leagues (2% Yahoo/39% Fantrax).

It was a rough night for Petr Mrazek, who was pulled after the first period after allowing four goals on 11 shots.

With a goal on Friday, Tyler Bertuzzi now has six goals in his last nine games. That streak started not long after Anders Sorensen took over as head coach. Previous to that, Bertuzzi went 12 games without a goal. Bertuzzi's deployment hasn't changed much, as he has remained on the top power play while playing alongside Taylor Hall at even strength. By the way, Hall has five points in his last three games. Both may simply be benefitting from the new coach bump. Also, both are rostered in under 10 percent of Yahoo leagues and are available for Sunday streaming.

The Blackhawks player that fantasy teams really care about is of course Connor Bedard. So it's worth mentioning that since the coaching change, Bedard has 12 points over his last 10 games, including an assist on Friday. I'm sure that getting Bedard going was a driving force behind the coaching change.

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While on the subject of coaching changes, Todd McLellan made his debut as Red Wings head coach on Friday. Unfortunately, the new bench boss experienced the same results as the old bench boss, with the Leafs taking down the Wings 5-2. McLellan might still be in the observation stage, as I didn't notice any major deployment changes with Detroit's lines. Even with a more experienced coach, the team as constructed appears a long way from playoff contention.  

Fantasy Take: Red Wings Fire Lalonde, Hire McLellan

In the Leafs' win, Mitch Marner picked up a natural hat trick. Marner now has 11 points in seven games while leading the Leafs with 49 points in just 36 games – also in the top 10 in league scoring. All of this in a contract year. Even though he's not known for delivering in the playoffs, Marner definitely won't come cheap.

Auston Matthews (upper body) missed Friday's game, and he is also expected to miss today's (Saturday's) game.

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The Blue Jackets have been a sneaky good source of fantasy value recently. That was all on display in a 6-2 win over Boston on Friday.

Zach Werenski might be even better than you thought. Werenski picked up four assists in this game, giving him seven assists in his last two games. Only Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes have more points among defensemen. Werenski is also tied with Makar for goals among defensemen, while he leads all defensemen with 130 shots on goal and 26:21 ATOI. If he keeps this up, he might receive a few Norris Trophy votes.

Before the season, it seemed like Werenski was the only Blue Jacket worth drafting in standard-sized leagues. Yet the top line of Sean Monahan, Dmitri Voronkov, and Kirill Marchenko is making a ton of noise right now. Voronkov was the most dominant on Friday, scoring two power-play goals and adding an assist with five shots, while Marchenko had a goal and two assists and Monahan scored twice. All three have been red hot recently: Voronkov with 10 points over his last six games including three consecutive multipoint games, Marchenko with 13 points over his last seven games, and Monahan with eight points over his last four games.

Marchenko is now rostered in two-thirds of Yahoo leagues and Monahan nearly half of Yahoo leagues, so the play here might be for Voronkov (10% Yahoo/36% Fantrax). His season started in early November, so fantasy teams might be late to the party on him. With 22 points in 27 games, he's on an 82-game pace of 67 points. However, some of the advanced stats indicate a regression could be on the way at some point, including a 23.5 SH%. Voronkov averages just under two shots per game, while his game-to-game shot total has been all over the map. Sticking on the top power play will help his cause, though.

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Even without Kirill Kaprizov (lower body injury), the Wild walked out of Dallas with a 3-2 overtime win. Marcus Foligno scored a goal that resembled his dad's goal celebrations while also receiving time on the top power play and delivering five hits.

Check out the height Marcus Foligno got on this goal! 👀 pic.twitter.com/Z8QvqywZxN

— NHL (@NHL) December 28, 2024

If Kaprizov remains out of the lineup on Sunday, Foligno could be a useful streamer that day, especially in bangers leagues.

For the Stars, Mason Marchment left the game with an upper-body injury.

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With a win on Friday, Jacob Markstrom now has six consecutive wins and six consecutive quality starts. Over those six games, Markstrom has been nearly unbeatable with a 0.84 GAA and .952 SV%.

If you've been patient with Luke Hughes, you're now being rewarded. With a goal and an assist on Friday, Hughes now has eight points over his last six games. Since November 23, the youngest Hughes brother has 15 points over his last 16 games. Prior to that, Hughes had just two points over his first 13 games. Perhaps he needed some time to get in gear after missing the first nine games of the season with a shoulder injury.

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In the Blues' 7-4 win over Nashville, new Blue Cam Fowler led the way with a goal and two assists. After a slow-ish start in St. Louis, Fowler has picked it up recently with five points over his last four games. Fowler has also been propped up by a move to the top power play over the last three games, with one of his assists on Friday coming on the man advantage. Fowler had a great multicategory game on Friday, taking four shots and blocking six more. The six blocked shots led all players on Friday. Fowler is just 6 percent rostered on Yahoo and 26 percent rostered on Fantrax, so he is worth adding while things are going his way.

Robert Thomas scored a pair of goals for the Blues on Friday. That gives him two consecutive multipoint games and 18 points over his last 12 games.

Offseason free agent acquisitions Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos each registered a goal and an assist for the Predators in a losing cause. After all their struggles earlier in the season, both have found their way onto the Frozen Tools hot list. Marchessault has an eight-game point streak with 13 points over that span, and within that a five-game goal streak. Meanwhile, Stamkos has nine points over his last eight games. Hopefully you didn't bail when things were rough for both. They may have simply needed more time to adjust to their new surroundings.

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The Canucks have battled injuries all season, and it looks like they won't shake them after the holiday break. Both Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes are considered doubtful for Saturday. Hughes is literally the quarterback for this team from both an even-strength and power-play standpoint, distributing the puck a ton while leading the team with 42 points. I can't help but think that other Canucks scorers will be affected if he has to miss a few games. With Filip Hronek also sidelined, the Canucks might be forced to use Erik Brannstrom on the top power play with such a severely undermanned defense. Do with that what you will.

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In the Golden Knights' 6-3 win over San Jose, Alex Pietrangelo led Vegas with three assists. Prior to Friday's game, Pietrangelo had just one point over his previous 11 games. He's still a valuable defenseman for the Golden Knights, but his scoring isn't what it used to be.

My final take of the day: Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith are better at hockey than they are at re-enacting LeBron videos.

The chemistry between Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith is LEGIT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/An5Q7aD5o6

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 28, 2024

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