I don't like to assume what happens one or two games into the season will be telling about what will take place over an entire season. Observations are more of what I'm aiming for at this point. A lot can change between now and the end of the season, so it's easy to become hyper focused on a roster that was just drafted. That being said, I'll start off by pointing out a few players that could benefit from very favorable early-season line combinations.

Trent Frederic: The 6-3, 221 lb. forward was on the Oilers' top line with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid for their opener against Calgary. If that seems unusual, remember that the Oilers signed Frederic to an eight-year contract shortly after the Stanley Cup Final, so they may view him as a power forward with untapped potential. This probably won't last the entire season, as Draisaitl and McDavid usually play on separate even-strength lines, and Zach Hyman is out of the lineup. Bangers leaguers should take note of Frederic anyway, as he seems certain to exceed 100 hits with a healthy dose of penalty minutes.

Ivan Barbashev: The Golden Knights are trying their latest shiny toy Mitch Marner with leading scorer Jack Eichel, with Barbashev the lucky third man. Barbashev took full advantage of the situation on opening night, scoring a goal with an assist along with five hits. Barbashev seemed like a candidate for regression after a season with a 20.7 SH% and 15.3 5-on-5 SH% on his normal average of 1.5 SOG/GP. However, he has experience in playing on a line with Eichel and Mark Stone last season, with Eichel far and away his best even-strength linemate. Barbashev is also an asset in bangers leagues, although his hits frequency dropped last season to less than 1.5 hits/GP.

Matias Maccelli: We could see from a mile away that Maccelli would receive a go in the Leafs' top 6, especially with the departure of Marner. Sure enough, Maccelli was right there on a line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies on opening night on Wednesday. Maccelli had full-season averages of 63 and 57 points in his final two seasons with Arizona, but he stumbled to just a 27-point full-season pace in his only season in Utah. The Leafs happen to have a strong upcoming schedule, so Maccelli might be worth a look if he's still available in your league.

Emmitt Finnie: Making his NHL debut on Thursday, 2023 seventh-round pick Finnie was thrust onto the Red Wings' top line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. Unfortunately, Finnie couldn't do much with the opportunity, as he was held to just a single shot on goal in just over 12 minutes of icetime. As an unproven 20-year-old who seemed like a longshot to make the roster, Finnie will need to prove himself straight away to be able to stick on the top line. Victor Nuno will have more on Finnie in this week's The Journey, appearing later today.

Don’t forget that you can check out last game line combinations over at Frozen Tools.

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Filip Chytil isn't on the Canucks' top line or the top power play, but things are looking up for him after the first game. Chytil scored two third-period goals on Thursday, appearing to be past the concussion issues that ended his 2024-25 season early. The talent is noticeable for Chytil, so I think he has sleeper potential IF he can avoid further concussions. The Canucks would consider a healthy and productive Chytil exactly what they need to fill the second-line center role they unsuccessfully spent the summer trying to fill. For that reason, don't expect him to be buried down the lineup as he was in New York.

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An early-season prediction: Dustin Wolf will lead the league in games played for goalies. Wolf started both of the Flames' first two games, which were on back-to-back nights in Edmonton and Vancouver. Coach Ryan Huska doesn't seem overly confident in the Flames' backup goalie options, which include Devin Cooley and Ivan Prosvetov. Cooley, who currently holds the role, is a 28-year-old with six career NHL games. Prosvetov is 26 years old with 24 career games, returning to the NHL after a season in the KHL.

The way goalies are managed now, I doubt Wolf reaches 70 games like Miikka Kiprusoff did for seven consecutive seasons. But I could easily see 60 games, which only five goalies reached last season. Expect Wolf to start again for the Flames' home opener today (Saturday) against St. Louis. Cooley should be in line to start on either October 14 (vs. Vegas) or October 15 (@ Utah).

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Jonathan Drouin has been suspended one game for a crosscheck to the head of Connor Dewar. Assume that Drouin will serve the suspension tonight (Saturday) against Washington. In his Islanders debut, Drouin scored a goal while logging nearly 20 minutes and appearing on the Isles' top power play.  

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I'm looking for feedback for the Top 100 Roto Rankings for October. As has been the case for the past two seasons, we have joined forces with Hockey Bangers to provide the update the September rankings. But maybe something has changed since then, or a certain player's ranking doesn't make sense to you. Let us know.

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I was looking forward to finally writing about actual games when I suddenly realized…

That means you should receive a longer Ramblings tomorrow than you did today (a 15-inning baseball game might have also had something to do with that). The NHL sure loves its balanced schedules, doesn’t it? I know that creating a schedule is difficult with all of the constraints concerning travel, facility availability, and so on. Still, this is throwing a bucket of cold water on the early-season excitement of NHL hockey returning.

Every team is in action on Saturday, which means you'll be forced to make some difficult start/sit decisions (and of course, you'll second-guess them later). Some of these decisions are quite honestly a coin flip, and if you were to ask me that's probably what I would do. All kidding aside, matchups matter to some degree, but I might default to the higher-ranked player this early in the season. As I said before, we need more of a sample size before we draw any sweeping conclusions.

If you're in a tight head-to-head matchup, it might come down to an all-important Capitals/Rangers matchup on Sunday. Let's discuss what these two teams might have to offer.

I placed a waiver-wire bid on Connor McMichael in one of my leagues following the draft because of the Capitals' favorable schedule, but I lost out. Low waiver-wire priority is a disadvantage of being able to draft another Connor (McDavid) second overall.

If McMichael is out of reach in your league too, former first-round pick Ryan Leonard might be worth taking a flier on in single-season leagues. Leonard took three shots in his 2025-26 debut while playing on the Capitals' second power-play unit. His deployment is more bottom-6 with just 13 minutes of icetime, but he has the upside to capitalize if he is quickly moved to a scoring line.  

As for the Rangers, Alexis Lafreniere is an obvious stream on Sunday if he happens to be available. Over two games he has 11 shots to go with a goal and an assist, so you might have to keep him longer than that if his strong start continues.

Will Cuylle has yet to find the scoresheet in two games, even on a line with J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad. However, he still contributed eight hits on opening night, so he'll still be productive in bangers leagues.

If your league is too deep for Lafreniere or Cuylle to be available, Conor Sheary might be worth a look. Normally I wouldn't advocate for Sheary, as he hasn't been a productive option in several years. However, Sheary was elevated to the top 6 after Vincent Trocheck left Thursday's game with an upper-body injury. Keep an eye on Saturday's lines over at Frozen Tools before making a Sunday add, though.

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Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Bluesky @goodsfantasyhockey.bsky.social