Ramblings: Michkov Holding the Hot Stick, Gritsyuk Extends Goal Streak, Cooley Playing it Cool (Oct 25)

Ian Gooding

2026-10-25

In the Anaheim Ducks' 5-4 matinee game win in Philadelphia, Tristan Luneau stood out as the top fantasy performer for the Ducks. Luneau delivered a goal, two assists, two shots, two blocked shots, and a plus-3. Luneau hasn't been a big scorer throughout his short NHL career, but the fact that he is signed to a long-term deal with a $7.2 million cap hit starting next season suggests organizational trust.

Forever a villain in Philly for demanding a trade after being drafted by the Flyers, Cutter Gauthier recorded an assist while firing four shots on goal. Flyers fans will be thrilled that Gauthier has been held without a goal and has just two assists over his past eight games. Gauthier is still averaging over three shots per game but has been unlucky in terms of shooting percentages (5.9 SH%, 5.7 5-on-5 SH%), so he could be worth targeting as a buy-low option.  

Despite the Flyers loss, things are starting to look up for Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone. Michkov scored a pair of goals, extending his point streak to five games. Michkov is also up to eight goals in just 13 games, including six goals in his last five games. In fact, only six players have more goals than Michkov this season. His shooting percentage is 42%, so he is getting a bit lucky while taking under two shots per game. However, Michkov is rostered in less than half of Yahoo leagues, which has less to do with talent and more to do with how he has been handled by the coach.

As for Martone, he scored a goal and added an assist on Saturday. With just five points in 13 games, Martone appears to be less fantasy-ready than Michkov.

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Arseny Gritsyuk's empty-net goal extended his goal-scoring streak to five games. That gives him a team-leading sixth goal of the season for the New Jersey Devils. Gritsyuk has been taking full advantage of playing on the top line with Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes, which is a step up from the even-strength deployment he had last season with the likes of Cody Glass and Connor Brown. A shooting percentage of 24.0% means that Gritsyuk will slow down, but the current line usage is enough to make Gritsyuk a waiver-wire add (12% Yahoo, 37% Fantrax).  

Jake Allen's usage is about to take a hit with the acquisition of Connor Hellebuyck. Yet Allen has back-to-back quality starts, which included a light 12 saves in a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs absolutely rolled the Oilers in Edmonton by a score of 7-2. William Nylander scored two of the Leafs' goals, one of which was on the power play. Nylander is up to 18 points in just 13 games, including six points over his last four games.

Easton Cowan's assist gives him seven points over his last five games and 12 points in 13 games. On the surface, he appears to be on the verge of a breakout in his second NHL season, especially with recent deployment with one Auston Matthews. However, the advanced stats for Cowan are much higher than normal (17.9 SH%, 12.5 5-on-5 SH%, 3.7 PTS/60, 71.4 Sec Asst %), so proceed with caution if you are planning on adding him. Don't expect a point-per-game pace for the rest of the season, although improvement from last season (29 PTS in 66 GP) seems inevitable.

With both Oilers goals, Leon Draisaitl extended his goal streak to six games. Draisaitl now has 12 goals in just 11 games. Draisaitl also fired seven shots while winning 11 faceoffs on Saturday. He may be overshadowed by the exploits of Connor McDavid, but he is still contributing over two points per game with 23 points in 11 games. Who knew that a line with the twin towers of McDavid and Draisaitl would put up a ton of points?

On that note, the Oilers' scoring really, and I mean really, thins out after McDavid (33 PTS), Draisaitl (23 PTS), Evan Bouchard (21 PTS), and even Vasily Podkolzin (12 PTS). The team's next-leading scorer is Mathieu Joseph, with just five points. Zach Hyman has just one goal and no assists in five games, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has two points in two games.

With injuries to both Frederik Andersen and Devon Levi, it's all up to Tristan Jarry to stem the tide in the Edmonton crease. Jarry allowed six goals to the Leafs, with another goal into an empty net. If ratios matter to your team, Jarry shouldn't be starting. He's an empty-calorie win goalie.

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Dylan Strome and Alex Tuch each scored two goals in the Washington Capitals' 4-3 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres. Strome also added an assist with five shots, while Tuch took three shots. Both forwards exceeded 20 minutes in icetime (Tuch 22:32, Strome 20:59).

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I'm mentioning the icetime because it's clear that the Capitals are no longer prioritizing Alex Ovechkin. The 11:43 that Ovechkin played on Saturday was the lowest time on ice of his career, not including injuries and ejections. The only Capitals to receive less icetime on Saturday were rookie Ilya Protas, Anthony Beauvillier, and Dylan McIlrath. Ovechkin is still on the top power play, but he has just a single goal and three assists in 10 games. It might be time for a conversation about whether the 41-year-old Ovechkin should still be universally rostered. Regardless, it has been an outstanding run.

The Capitals have one of the deepest forward groups in the league. That seems to be a major reason that former first-round pick Ivan Miroshnichenko has been given permission to seek a trade, according to Elliotte Friedman. Miroshnichenko simply can't get into the lineup, having played just three games this season.

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Drake Batherson delivered the category coverage on Saturday with a hat trick, assist, three shots, four hits, and two blocks. Batherson now has a four-game point streak with seven points over that span.

Since his return from a lower-body injury earlier this week, Jake Sanderson has five points in three games. That includes a goal and two assists in the Ottawa Senators' 7-4 win over the New York Rangers.

It might have been too early to call former first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere a bust. With a goal on Saturday, Lafreniere now has nine goals and 15 points in just 13 games. His career high is 28 goals, so he is well on pace to surpass that. Lafreniere also took a season-high seven shots, which bumps his shot total to over two per game. Practically all of his advanced stats point to some form of regression, so the goals and point pace should slow down. However, the fact that he is now on the top power play and has the highest icetime total of his career (19:00) means that reaching 60 points for the first time in his career is a definite possibility.

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Pyotr Kochetkov might have been forgotten about with the emergence of Brandon Bussi last season, but he's doing all he can to make you remember him again. Kochetkov posted a 24-save shutout of the St. Louis Blues, giving him a 7-0-0 record with a 1.70 GAA and .916 SV% to start the season. Six of Kochetkov's seven games have resulted in a quality start. Meanwhile, Brandon Bussi has a 3.27 GAA and .865 SV% over six games. Advantage Kochetkov in the Carolina crease.

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Victor Hedman missed Saturday's game against the Utah Mammoth, as he is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. That meant that Charle-Edouard D'Astous logged 20 minutes of icetime for the second consecutive game. D'Astous recorded a power-play assist, extending his point streak to four games and his power-play point streak to three games. D'Astous received less power-play time than veteran John Carlson, but there's still lots to like about D'Astous as a waiver-wire option. I wouldn't be surprised if he finishes with around 40 points, as he also showed some offensive upside last season by finishing with 10 points in 22 games.

In the Mammoth's 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dmitri Simashev scored his first NHL goal to tie the game in the second period. Then Simashev scored his second NHL goal to win the game in overtime. Simashev entered Saturday with just three points in 39 career NHL games, but he demonstrated some offensive upside with 35 points in 40 AHL games last season. His DobberProspects page describes him as a better real-life prospect than fantasy prospect, though.

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If you're the Calgary Flames, what have you got to lose by riding the hot hand in net? That's what Devin Cooley is right now. Cooley received his third consecutive start on Saturday, stopping 28 of 29 shots in the Flames' 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Cooley has now won three games in a row while allowing just four total goals. It's way too early to assume he has unseated Dustin Wolf as the Flames' starting goalie, but I can unequivocally say that he is the best interview in the NHL.

Cooley is widely available in fantasy leagues (5% Yahoo/17% Fantrax), and the Flames play four games next week. However, all of the teams the Flames are facing are in the top 10 in scoring: Edmonton, Colorado, Toronto, and (believe it or not) Seattle. But if you are in complete control of your mind, don't worry about those opponents and start Cooley with the same kind of confidence he is showing. It doesn't hurt to have a lucky rabbit, either.

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From an offensive standpoint, Joel Farabee led the way for the Flames with a goal and two power-play assists. Farabee is now riding a four-game point streak, also leading the Flames with nine points in 10 games. Calgary isn't exactly a goldmine of fantasy-ready talent, but Farabee checks some boxes that you look for: top power-play time, over two shots per game, and strong icetime (over 18 minutes per game). He's also doing all of this with only a 1.6 5-on-5 SH%. Rostered in just 4% of Yahoo leagues and 16% of Fantrax leagues, Farabee is worthy of consideration.

Matt Coronato, who has lined up with Farabee at both even strength and on the power play, is also on a four-game point streak. Coronato registered two assists on Saturday and is just one point back of Farabee for the Flames team lead in points. Coronato is also rostered in a small number of Yahoo leagues (5%), and his higher upside could make him the player you add from Calgary. Yet he is rostered in 40% of Fantrax leagues, so he may not be available to you there.

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Prior to Saturday's game against Minnesota, the Seattle Kraken placed Jared McCann on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. McCann played in just 52 games last season, so injuries are starting to become a concern for him.

The Wild won that game 5-1, led by Blake Coleman's two goals. Coleman entered this game without a point in his previous seven games, but he added five shots and two hits along with the two goals.

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Data was taken from Frozen Tools unless otherwise noted.

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

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