We're only two games into the season and Aleksander Barkov is staring down another long-term absence. The Panthers placed Barkov on long-term injured reserve on Saturday with the knee injury he suffered during Thursday's game against San Jose. This is not the same leg/knee that was injured before last season, forcing Barkov to miss the entire season. As a result of being placed on LTIR, Barkov will miss a minimum of 10 games or 24 days. Barkov is expected to be re-evaluated on Monday, so more could be known about the severity of the injury soon after. Elliotte Friedman provided a glimmer of hope that Barkov may have avoided the worst-case scenario and could play again this season.

At this point, it seems like those rostering Barkov should hope that the injury isn't season-ending again. In the meantime, expect Anton Lundell to move up the lineup into the top 6. Lundell has consistently logged 19-20 minutes per game since last season, but he does not possess the offensive upside that Barkov does. That could result in a downgrade for various Panthers' wingers, depending on how long Barkov is out of the lineup.

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It might be called Saturday Night Hockey now instead of Hockey Night in Canada (booooooooo), but the action in the Canadiens/Penguins game was no less entertaining. Pittsburgh held a 5-1 lead at one point in the second period, but Montreal's two goals late in the third period with the net empty tied the game at 5. The Habs did not complete the comeback, as Tommy Novak's overtime goal secured a Pittsburgh win that almost got away. Novak's OT goal was his second of the game, while he also finished with an assist. He is off to a great start with four points over his first two games.

MALKIN. NOVAK. GAME OVER 🚨

The Penguins cut the Habs comeback SHORT and win it in overtime 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/hNk3XJ8LJz

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 4, 2026

Evgeni Malkin may now be 40 years old, but he is still very much fantasy relevant. Malkin scored a goal and two assists in nearly 20 minutes of icetime. Malkin has had a solid week with four points over his first two games. With Bryan Rust out of the lineup, coach Dan Muse decided to shake up the power play a bit, moving Malkin to the second unit while promoting Novak and Ben Kindel to the top unit. Something to keep an eye on. Novak (1% rostered in Yahoo leagues) and Kindel (4% rostered in Yahoo leagues) are worth adding for next week, as the Penguins are one of four teams playing four games next week.

Cole Caufield lived up to his Mr. Saturday Night moniker again, scoring a pair of goals. Flip told you to make a prop bet on him in Saturday's Picks and Props. I don't know what it is, but Caufield is a sure thing on that day.

Nick Suzuki is also a safe bet on Saturday or just about any other day. Suzuki finished with a goal and three assists, justifying the use of a first-round pick in some single-season leagues.

Lane Hutson registered three assists while logging 29:06 in icetime.

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Jake Sanderson left Saturday's game after re-aggravating a lower-body injury. Sanderson had been dealing with the injury during the week where his availability for this game was in some doubt. After playing in just one game this week, the Senators are one of four teams that have four games next week. It appears that Sanderson will miss some or all of these games, so look for another option for next week. With Sanderson out of the lineup, rookie Carter Yakemchuk led all Senators defensemen in power-play time (4:35), although he was held without a point and totaled only 17:50 in total icetime.

On the subject of Ottawa defensemen, Thomas Chabot scored a goal and added an assist in the Senators' 3-2 win over Toronto. In his first game as team captain, Chabot also blocked seven shots while logging 27:06 in icetime. Chabot may not be on the top power play anymore, but his minutes could increase even further if Sanderson is out for a while.

Kirill Marchenko scored his first goal as a Toronto Maple Leaf, which was a power-play marker. Marchenko is on the Leafs' top power play and is also on Auston Matthews' wing, which should be a great spot for him. In the Fantasy Take of the recent Toronto/Columbus trade, Puneet Sharma was very optimistic about Marchenko's role with the Leafs. I would have to agree.

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Add Simon Edvinsson to the list of players that are looking to get out of Detroit. According to Elliotte Friedman, Edvinsson would prefer to be traded from the Red Wings. Edvinsson is currently not in the Wings' lineup because he is still without a contract, which Friedman has stated as the basis for the trade request.

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Starting an Edmonton Oilers goalie probably felt like testing fate after how their first two games went (13 goals allowed). Even though Devon Levi allowed seven goals against the Canucks on Thursday, Mike Babcock trusted the youngster again on Saturday against an unimposing Seattle Kraken roster. Levi was up to the task, allowing just one goal on 20 shots in the Oilers' 3-1 win. The Oilers play just two games next week: both on the road in Anaheim and San Jose, so Levi is definitely not a priority add. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he is the Oilers' starter by the end of the season. Tristan Jarry should not instill any confidence in Oilers fans or fantasy teams.

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Jordan Binnington didn't have much fun facing the Colorado Avalanche. Binnington was in for all six goals of the St. Louis Blues' 6-1 loss, facing 36 shots. Two of the goals were due to Binnington misplaying the puck while behind his net, but even those miscues didn't affect the outcome of this game. The Blues' net belongs to Joel Hofer at this point, which is the final year of Binnington's contract. Hofer earned a shutout on Friday against Dallas. I wouldn’t even bother rostering Binnington.

ANOTHER MISPLAY FROM BINNINGTON AND IT'S 6-0 AVS OH MY 😵🫨 https://t.co/0DGkmcMlvG pic.twitter.com/vd5wpqaD2G

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 4, 2026

Martin Necas scored two goals and added an assist for the Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon pitched in three assists.

Artturi Lehkonen scored his third goal of the season while adding an assist. Lehkonen is the lucky third man on the MacKinnon-Necas line. He is definitely worth adding where available, but his value will fall if he is moved off that line. Keep in mind that Lehkonen is also a Band-Aid Boy who has missed at least 10 games per season in each of his last four seasons.

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Elias Pettersson recorded an assist on Saturday, but more notably he managed to deliver eight hits on the Calgary Flames. In fact, the last hit in the video clip below led to a Vancouver Canucks goal. Pettersson now has eight hits in each of his last two games, which is not what you expected from him. Petey is also a lowkey shot blocker, leading all forwards with 108 blocked shots last season. If he isn't scoring, he is finding other ways to contribute to multicategory teams. I wrote more about EP40 in yesterday's Ramblings.  

Elias Pettersson has thrown EIGHT hits in each of his last two games 😳

This version of EP40 has an edge to him 💪 pic.twitter.com/xVilgBQwiB

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 4, 2026

Leevi Merilainen's Canucks debut was a success, as he topped 23 of 24 shots in a 4-1 win. During Thatcher Demko's run of injuries over the past two seasons, Kevin Lankinen has been overworked. Having another NHL-caliber goalie will lighten the load for Lankinen, so Merilainen has a chance to assert himself with Vancouver. As for Demko, the last update has the Canucks hoping that he will be ready to return before Christmas.

Also for the Canucks, Filip Hronek blocked eight shots and delivered three hits in 28:52 of icetime. Expect him to play a lot this year.

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Ivar Stenberg recorded his first NHL point on Saturday, which was an assist on Tyler Toffoli's power-play goal. Stenberg, who was playing in his second NHL game, has been on a line with Alexander Wennberg and Collin Graf. He logged 15:37 in his second game, up from 13:35 in his first game. If you're keeping score, Gavin McKenna has no points over his first three games. Who the better player is between the 2026 first and second overall picks still has a long way from being decided, though.

In the San Jose Sharks' 5-4 win over Los Angeles, Igor Chernyshov scored two goals while adding an assist. The three-point game was the first of his career. Chernyshov has been on the Sharks' top power play, making him a popular sleeper pick in fantasy drafts. He is rostered in only 17% of Yahoo leagues, so he is definitely a player to add in many formats. Keep in mind that he is in more of a third-line role at even strength, playing alongside Toffoli and 19-year-old Michael Misa.

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In Utah's 4-1 win over Columbus, Nick Schmaltz scored a pair of goals while Dylan Guenther scored a goal and added two assists. Both Mammoth forwards filled the statsheet in multicategory leagues as well. All three of Guenther's points were on the power play, while Schmaltz fired eight shots. Guenther is off to a roaring start with five points (all on the power play) along with 10 shots over his first two games.

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Sebastian Aho scored two goals along with an assist and six shots on goal in the Carolina Hurricanes' 3-2 win over Philadelphia. Aho was held without a point in his first game, but he now has three goals over his last two games – scored on back-to-back nights. Aho has also been strong on the faceoff dot with 27 total faceoff wins and a 60%+ success rate in each of his three games.

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Ilya Sorokin stopped all 37 shots he faced in the Islanders' 6-0 win over New Jersey. In the first week of the season, Sorokin has justified his early-round draft value (Yahoo ADP 33) with two quality starts in two games.

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In the Wild's 4-1 win over Boston, Kirill Kaprizov scored a pair of goals. Kaprizov now has three goals over his first two games.

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RIP Lyle Odelein. Gone far too young.

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Data was taken from Frozen Tools unless otherwise noted.

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