Here's hoping your fantasy hockey Halloween bag was filled with more treats than tricks. Let's dive right in on a busy Halloween day and night of games.

Rookie Anton Frondell had his strongest game of the season on Saturday, scoring a pair of goals while taking nine shots on goal and 13 shot attempts. Frondell entered this game without a point in his last six games and without a goal in his past nine games. However, recent changes to the Chicago Blackhawks' top power play resulted in Frondell being moved up to the top unit. His icetime increased over seven minutes from 11:44 on Thursday to 19:15 on Saturday, although this game also went to overtime. Frondell was a top-5 Calder Trophy candidate entering the season, and it seems like his chances of winning improve with stronger deployment.

Connor Bedard scored a goal and added an assist with six shots on goal. Bedard is now riding a five-game point streak and has points in seven of eight games played this season.

In the Boston Bruins' 5-4 win over Chicago, Elias Lindholm scored the overtime winner. Lindholm has been productive recently with eight points over his last eight games. Four of those eight points have been on the power play, where Lindholm has been on the top unit.

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Emmitt Finnie's power-play goal on Saturday gives him five goals and nine points over his past nine games. With Dylan Larkin deciding he will never play another game for the Detroit Red Wings, Finnie has been promoted to the top power play, increasing his value even more. Finnie saw 21:13 in icetime on Saturday, but he even had two other 20+ minute games while Larkin was still in the lineup. Centering two productive wingers in Alex DeBrincat and Viktor Arvidsson, Finnie (14% Yahoo/49% Fantrax) is an ideal pickup for next week with the Red Wings playing four games.

Although Arvidsson was held off the scoresheet on Saturday, he has been on fire over the past two weeks with 10 points over seven games. Arvidsson is also worth adding for next week, even though he is less likely to be available (34% Yahoo/59% Fantrax).

In the St. Louis Blues' 5-4 win over Detroit, Justin Barron and Jimmy Snuggerud each scored a goal while adding an assist. Snuggerud now has goals in back-to-back games.

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The Edmonton Oilers are finding the scoring that they need beyond Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a pair of goals in the Oilers' 4-0 win over the New York Islanders. Since his season debut that was delayed because of a lower-body injury, Nugent-Hopkins has seven points in five games.

A shutout win for the Oilers? That means Tristan Jarry now has back-to-back shutouts. That is not a trick! If you were daring enough to start Jarry this week, you are laughing because he has posted three quality starts. Jarry has been difficult to trust over the past few seasons, but he could be getting into a rhythm as the Oilers' starting goalie with the other experienced options injured. Jarry only had to face 18 Islanders shots, but a shutout is a shutout. Because of the back-to-backs, journeyman AHL veteran Matt Tomkins is expected to start today (Sunday) against the New York Rangers.  

Isaac Howard left this game with a lower-body injury after taking a hit from Emil Heineman. The Oilers believe that the injury isn't serious, but Heineman was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for kneeing.

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With the news surfacing on Friday about wanting out of Tampa Bay, more eyes were on Nikita Kucherov than normal on Saturday. In case there was worry about any lack of try while he is thinking about another NHL home, Kucherov assisted on three goals with a plus-3 in 23:41 of icetime. The Lightning eventually lost 5-4 in a shootout to the Nashville Predators, though. If Kucherov is in the lineup, he should still be productive. The worry for fantasy teams should be if he decides to get serious about the trade offer and head home.

What do you think the two of them are talking about?

Kucherov meets up with former teammate Steven Stamkos and the two share a laugh during the opening faceoff 😆👀 pic.twitter.com/CblGVHP7T6

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 31, 2026

Against his former team, Steven Stamkos scored the game-tying goal in the third period and then scored a goal in the shootout to secure the Preds' win. Stamkos is off to a hot start with eight goals and 16 points in just 14 games. Maybe his four-year contract in Nashville won't turn out as bad as we thought after he struggled in his first season there. However, it should be noted that he is riding some high advanced stats (24.2 SH%, 10.8% 5-on-5 SH%, 3.6 PTS/60).

Back to the Lightning: Charle-Edouard D'Astous registered an assist, giving him six points in his last six games. D'Astous also chipped in four hits and three blocks in a season-high 25:25 of icetime. He also remains on Tampa's top power play over veteran John Carlson. The Bolts are playing four games next week, so D'Astous should continue to be added where available.

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Tage Thompson scored two goals on eight shots in the Buffalo Sabres' 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Thompson could have had a chance to score hat tricks in back-to-back games with an empty-net goal late in the game, but he took himself off the ice with a penalty late in the third period. Even without a hattie, Thompson now has 10 goals on the season, five of which have been in the last two games. He has also collected eight points and 18 shots over his last three games.

Jack Quinn continued his fine early-season production with a goal and an assist on Saturday. Quinn has six goals over his last seven games. Quinn has been discussed as a potential sell-high by a few Dobber writers (including myself), but to clarify a question I received earlier in the week, that sell-high recommendation is probably truer in single-season leagues than in keeper/dynasty leagues. I am absolutely retaining Quinn in my dynasty league unless someone makes me an offer that blows me away.

After a slow start of just one point in his first five games, Zach Benson has been scoring consistently. Benson chipped in two assists on Saturday, giving him 12 points over his last nine games.

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Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto, and Tim Stutzle each scored a goal and an assist in the Ottawa Senators' 5-1 win in San Jose. Stutzle finds himself in the top 10 in NHL scoring with 21 points in 15 games.

Stutzle is also tied for the team lead in goals (9) with Drake Batherson, who has been on fire recently with six goals and 12 points over his last seven games. Stutzle and Batherson have been driving the Senators' bus without Brady Tkachuk.

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It might be time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to consider a goalie rotation, at least in the short term. Anthony Stolarz posted his third consecutive quality start, making 26 saves in a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Meanwhile, Sergei Bobrovsky has been struggling in his first season with the Leafs, allowing at least three goals in all but one of his 10 games. The main issue with Stolarz is health, as he has never played at least 35 games in a season. Meanwhile, Bobrovsky has appeared in at least 50 games every season since 2016-17 (COVID-shortened 2020-21 aside). So as much as Leafs fans might desire a 50/50 split, it may not end up happening.

By the way, Stolarz leads all goalies with three assists this season, including an assist on an empty-net goal on Saturday. No other goalie has more than one assist. Your league should be counting goalie assists. Make it happen if it doesn't! (If it's possible.)

William Nylander and former Canuck Teddy Blueger led the Leafs with a goal and an assist each on Saturday. Nylander has five goals and nine points over his past seven games, as well as 10 goals and 21 points over 16 games.

The Auston Matthews rebound season seems to be happening. With 11 goals over 16 games, Matthews is tied for fourth in the league in goals.

The Canucks won't win many games this season, but it's worth mentioning that Leevi Merilainen has started each of their last four games. Merilainen hasn't looked terrible, but he did not earn a quality start in any of those four games. Only one of those games resulted in a really bad start, but he was also credited with a win in that game – a 6-5 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks. Merilainen should only be added if you are desperate for a starting goalie.  

Even though he was held without a point on Saturday, Elias Pettersson was credited with three hits and five blocked shots. Pettersson leads all forwards with 21 blocked shots. His willingness to block shots resulted in him being called upon to help kill a 5-on-3 in this game.

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Although the Pittsburgh Penguins lost 5-4 to the Montreal Canadiens, Sidney Crosby and Erik Karlsson each scored a goal and added two assists for the Penguins. Karlsson is now over the point-per-game mark with 16 points in 14 games, including 11 points over his last eight games. On the other hand, Crosby has struggled a bit this season, as he had entered this game with seven points in 13 games. The 39-year-old Crosby has one more season left on his contract, but it seems as though he would like to continue playing after this season.

Josh Anderson led the Canadiens with two goals and an assist. Anderson had been held without a point in his previous six games, although he is now second on the Habs with six goals in 14 games.

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Jake Oettinger rebounded from two really bad starts by stopping 24 of 25 shots in the Dallas Stars' 3-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite the recent hiccup, Oettinger has been one of the league's top goalies early in the season. Among goalies with at least 10 games played (15 goalies), only Jesper Wallstedt has more quality starts and a higher quality start percentage than Oettinger (10 QS, 72.7 QS%).

Thomas Harley‘s goal on Saturday was his first of the season. In fact, it was his first goal since March 14 of last season.

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Artturi Lehkonen continues to score. With two more goals on Saturday, Lehkonen now has 12 goals in just 14 games – tied for second in the league. Lehkonen also has a nine-game point streak in which he has piled up nine goals, 13 points, and a plus-10. He has also shot 42.9% over the entire season, so nearly half the shots he has been taking have gone into the net!

Lehkonen could get to 30 goals for the first time in his career, especially if he stays on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. However, regression combined with the fact that he is a Band-Aid Boy (at least 12 games missed over each of the previous four seasons) means he should be considered a sell high. Simply put, he can't continue to score a goal per game if he is taking only two shots per game.

In Saturday's late game while many kids were out trick-or-treating, Cale Makar handed out helpers like Halloween candy. Makar assisted on four Colorado Avalanche goals in the 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames. Makar had been on a surprising cold streak entering Saturday with no points in his previous three games. He wasn't going to stay down for very long, though.

Joel Farabee continues to produce points. With a goal on Saturday, Farabee now has five goals over his last six games and 12 points over his last eight games. I wrote more about Farabee yesterday.  

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Data was taken from Frozen Tools and NHL.com unless otherwise noted.

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