With a win against Seattle on Sunday, Detroit's record under Todd McLellan improves to 7-1. They've scored a power-play goal in all eight of those games, converting on 14 of 28 opportunities during this stretch.

With a goal against the Kraken, Alex DeBrincat's point streak grows to seven games. He has six goals and 11 points during this stretch, with half those points coming on the man advantage.

Patrick Kane is in a similar boat, riding a seven-game point streak but also a much more impressive seven-game power-play point streak.

Vladimir Tarasenko posted two points on Sunday, matching his point total over his previous 15 outings. He hasn't been a great fit in Detroit, which is worrying because he still has another year at $4.75 million.

Erik Gustafsson, another one of Detroit's summer signings, had struggled to find a fit with a team and was frequently scratched under Derek Lalonde. But Gustafsson has found new life under McLellan, with six points in eight games. Unfortunately, he's only seeing secondary power-play time, which makes it hard to sustain this level of offense long term.

Dylan Larkin came away from this game with two points – an outcome that applies to four of his last five appearances.

20-year-old Marco Kasper, the eighth overall pick from 2022, has back-to-back multipoint games under his belt after tallying a goal and assist against the Kraken. He's been riding shotgun on the top line beside Larkin and Lucas Raymond for the past few games, which has helped him produce some extra offense.

Speaking of Raymond, two points on Sunday gives him 13 points in eight games under McLellan. He's scoring at a 90-point pace this season, building on last year's 72-point breakout.

He's played poorly for the past three years so it should come as no surprise that Philipp Grubauer is struggling again this season. He allowed three goals on four shots before getting yanked from this one.

23-year-old Ryker Evans had a strong start to the campaign offensively but then injured his hand blocking a shot and hasn't been as productive since. He had a big impact in peripheral categories on Sunday though, racking up seven blocks and four hits.

Matty Beniers, Kaapo Kakko and Jaden Schwartz combined for another goal on Sunday. That line has dominated the opposition since they joined forces nine games ago, controlling 64% of the expected goal share through 100 minutes together (via NaturalStatTrick). During this nine-game stretch, Schwartz has nine points, Kakko has eight, and Beniers has six. More ice time in Seattle is really helping Kakko realize his potential.

Second #SeaKraken goal: Kakko battles, feeds Schwartz below the goal line and another grade-A feed from him gets to Beniers in the slot for the score. pic.twitter.com/x8r2NKdk2V

— Alison (@AlisonL) January 12, 2025

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Lukas Dostal was integral to Anaheim's overtime victory over Carolina on Sunday, stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faced. Dostal's a very talented young netminder but his GAA and SV% are often influenced by an inexperienced Ducks' defense.

Speaking of that young defense, 24-year-old Jackson LaCombe has been on some kind of tear lately. Two assists on Sunday brings him up to 14 points over his last 16 outings yet he's rostered in just 34% of Yahoo Leagues.

Shayne Gostisbehere returned to the lineup after missing the past eight games with an upper-body injury. The Hurricanes boasted a 25.7% PP success rate before Ghost got injured but clicked at just 8% while he was sidelined. The team's man advantage will benefit from having him back.

Brent Burns enjoyed increased offensive opportunity and produced at a respectable rate while Ghost was gone, but that's bound to change with Ghost back. Burns had one last hurrah with an assist and six shots against Anaheim.

A goal on Sunday extends Andrei Svechnikov's point streak to five games. It's a welcome run of offense as he entered this stretch with just three points in his previous 12 outings. I've said before how Svechnikov had been victim to a bit of bad luck as his 5on5 shooting percentage was uncharacteristically low, and we're starting to see some regression to the mean in that regard.

A two-point night for Martin Necas gives him six points in his last eight games – well below the level he was scoring at to start the season, but it's nice to see him showing signs of life as this current stretch was preceded by a six-game point drought.

Hours after getting ridiculed by a Philly fanbase he didn't want to play for, Cutter Gauthier had a big showing against Anaheim, scoring two goals including the game winner in overtime. His rookie campaign hasn't been spectacular, but he's just 21 years old with an impressive goal scoring track record and plenty of time to find his footing in the NHL.

CUTTER GAUTHIER 🤩

His second of the night is your @Energizer OT winner! pic.twitter.com/Fptj8fq66Q

— NHL (@NHL) January 13, 2025

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Josh Norris was all over the fantasy stat sheet Sunday night, posting a goal, four shots, seven hits, two PIMs, a block, and five faceoff wins. He's provided surprising value in banger leagues this season, ranking 31^st in the NHL with 112 hits through 42 outings.

Tim Stützle's goal against Dallas was his second in as many nights but he still has just three points in his last seven appearances. I wouldn't be worried about him long term because it sounds like an illness is responsible for his lacklustre production lately, so things should improve once he's feeling like himself again.

Tim Stützle says it's not an excuse but he hasn't had a lot of energy with his illness the last few games. Also says the bug has been going around the #Sens locker room:

"I think a lot of guys haven't been feeling great. Right now, it's just getting back to the routines and…

— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) January 6, 2025

Just hours after shutting out the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, Leevi Merilainen was back in action against Dallas on Sunday. He stopped 24 of the 26 shots thrown his way to secure a second-straight victory. With Ullmark injured and Anton Forsberg playing poorly, it looks like it'll be Merilainen's net in Ottawa for the foreseeable future.

A goal and assist on Sunday gives Evgenii Dadonov 12 points in his last 12 games. He's been thriving on Dallas' top line beside Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz but is rostered in just 3% of Yahoo Leagues.

Speaking of Robertson, it's funny how quickly opinions can change. About a month ago, fantasy managers were rightfully concerned because Robo had just 15 points through 25 appearances (0.58 points/game). Fast forward to present day and he has 20 points in his last 16 outings (1.25p/g), more in line with the elite offensive player we know him to be.

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An upper-body injury kept Evgeni Malkin out of the lineup against Tampa Bay, causing him to miss a fourth-straight game. He was placed on Injured Reserve Sunday, but since he's already missed the mandatory week of action that comes with such a move, the transaction doesn't say anything about his status. Coach Mike Sullivan said Malkin is day-to-day.

Michael Bunting also missed this game because he was involved in a car accident before the contest. Fortunately, Sullivan said Bunting was okay.

With Malkin and Bunting unavailable, Kevin Hayes saw some extra power-play time and ended up scoring with the man advantage. I don't expect this opportunity will last long, but Hayes could provide some extra value if both Malkin and Bunting miss more action.

Rickard Rakell stayed hot with a goal and assist on Sunday. Since November 27^th, Rakell leads the league with 15 goals (Leon Draisaitl also has 15). He also ranks 14^th in the league with 26 points through 22 games during this span. A really impressive run from someone who was probably sitting on your league's waiver wire early in the season.

Nikita Kucherov took over this contest with the tying and game-winning goals, adding an assist on Tampa's first empty netter for good measure. He's casually clicking at a 130-point pace, leading the league with 1.59 points per game.

Brandon Hagel added another page to his monstrous campaign with a goal and assist on Sunday. He's building on last year's 75-point breakout with a 96-point pace this season. As a result of more power-play opportunity, Hagel's ice time is up two minutes relative to last year. He's also averaging 2.8 shots per game after finishing with 2.2 last season. His 5on5 shooting percentage is a little high, but even if there's some regression in the second half, I like him to finish with around 90 points.

Jonas Johansson has been hit or miss in limited action this season, but he was solid on Sunday, stopping 31 of the 33 shots thrown his way.

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Minnesota released some injury updates prior to puck drop against Vegas, including encouraging news about star forward Kirill Kaprizov, who seems to be nearing a return after sitting out for the last three weeks because of a lower-body injury.

Some #mnwild injury updates from Guerin:

Kaprizov continues to skate in the Twin Cities and is possible to return Wednesday. Obviously, the Wild want to make sure he's 100% healthy

Faber has begun working out off the ice

Lauko continues to skate

Brodin's gonna be a bit

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 13, 2025

Like Minnesota, Vegas also missed their top scorer in this game as Jack Eichel was sidelined with an illness.

Pavel Dorofeyev led the late game in scoring, potting two goals and an assist against Minnesota. This offensive outburst was surprising as Dorofeyev entered the contest with just four points over his previous 18 outings. Prior to that, he had opened the year with 17 points in 24 games. His recent regression is partially explained by a change in power-play opportunity. During that early productive stretch, he was seeing 56% of Vegas' PP time and tallied five PPPs. In the dry spell leading up to Sunday, he saw a 37% share of PP time and didn't register a single PPP over 18 games. Eichel's absence on Sunday gave Dorofeyev more time with the man advantage and helped him score two power-play goals.

With two assists on Sunday, Mark Stone is up to 38 points in 29 games this season. His 1.31 points per game ranks top 10 in the league.  

After an excellent start to the season, Filip Gustavsson has started to look a little more human in recent weeks. In his first 20 appearances, there were only two occasions where he conceded 4+ goals. However, he's now allowed 4+ in five of his last 10 games. I imagine key injuries to Kaprizov, Jonas Brodin and Brock Faber have had an effect on Gustavsson's recent numbers, so the Wild getting back to full strength will be important in Gustavsson getting back on track.

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After sitting out of Vancouver's last six games as a healthy scratch, Erik Brannstrom was placed on waivers Sunday. He cleared waivers at the beginning of the season, but with teams facing different circumstances at this stage of the campaign, it'll be interesting to see if he gets through again. I can't help but feel there's still untapped potential with Brannstrom, but it's looking less and less likely that he's going to be placed in the right situation to realize that potential.

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The Dobber Team has working away on our midseason guide, which comes out this Thursday January 16^th. We've meticulously compiled projections, important trends and prospect information into one handy dandy resource that'll bring you closer to a fantasy hockey championship and bragging rights. Pick up your copy to support the site and get closer to that trophy you deserve!

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Thanks for reading! Hope you have an awesome week ahead!