As has been rumored for the past couple weeks, the Blackhawks have pulled the plug on Jeremy Colliton. For more on what it means, you can check out the Fantasy Take that I wrote earlier today.

One other stat that I found out after I posted the article: The Blackhawks actually have the fifth-best penalty killing (87.5%) and are about a middle-of-the-road power-play team (thank you to my father for those stats). As you'd expect, they've been one of the worst 5-on-5 teams in the league (45.09 CF%) and will need to shore up in that area in order to be more competitive.

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Aleksander Barkov was a last-minute scratch for Saturday's showdown with the Hurricanes because of a lower-body injury. As a result of Barkov's absence, Anton Lundell was moved up to the first-unit power play and also played on Jonathan Huberdeau's line, scoring a goal while playing 19 minutes. Since the Panthers play four games next week, Lundell could be a built-in replacement for you should Barkov miss further games next week. Lundell has six points in his last five games (interrupted by a recent injury), so he's a bona fide option even though he's a rookie.

Barkov's absence didn't matter for the Panthers, who fired in four first-period goals. Frederik Andersen, who has been dynamite otherwise as a Hurricane, was pulled after the first period. However, he was forced to return after Antti Raanta was injured in a collision with Ryan Lomberg. Raanta should already be on the Band-Aid Boy all-star team, but just about anyone would get hurt after getting run over like that.

Antti Raanta injured after a collision with Ryan Lomberg. Lomberg gets five and a game pic.twitter.com/4V8rJ4fp8W

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) November 6, 2021

Anthony Duclair was the scoring star for the Panthers, scoring a power-play goal and adding two power-play assists in the first period alone. Duclair would eventually score an empty-netter for a four-point game. He is now riding a six-game point streak and has a team-leading eight goals and is tied for the team lead with 12 points. His production shows that the Panthers are the kind of team that has plenty of other options if a guy like Barkov is sidelined.

Someone asked me about Duclair today, raising his icetime as a concern. True, Duclair has averaged under 14 minutes this season. However, a closer look shows that he has been in the 16-17-minute range over his last five games. Duclair will ultimately cool off, but he had a career-high point pace in Florida last season (0.74 PTS/GP, 43 GP, 32 PTS), so he's now more of a known quantity that he was in previous seasons when he drifted from team to team.

In the end, Carolina received its first loss of the season in its tenth game of the season. In a way-too-early projection, maybe we see these two teams in the Eastern Conference Final.

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A strange game for stats between conference finalists Vegas and Montreal. After one period, the Habs had 20 shots compared to the Golden Knights' one shot and held a 2-0 lead. Then at one point in the second period, Jake Allen had allowed three goals on seven shots as Vegas took the lead. Eventually the Golden Knights would pull this one out 5-2, thanks to an impressive goaltending display from Robin Lehner (36 saves). Meanwhile, Montreal is left paying the bill from last season's run.  

The Habs (last year's Cup Finalists) are now 3-10 to start the season pic.twitter.com/DEntcWnyiF

— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) November 7, 2021

It only took 11 games, but Vegas finally scored its first power-play goal of the season, a marker from Alex Pietrangelo. Every team now has at least two power-play goals, as the Golden Knights scored a pair with the man advantage on Saturday.  

Jeff Petry has just two points (both assists) in 13 games. This isn't what I expected, considering that the Habs need to lean on him even more with Shea Weber out. Petry's last regular-season goal was on May 1, so his goal drought has extended to 18 games. This is a surprisingly low number for a blueliner who hit double-digits in goals over his previous four seasons. Petry is not helping his cause in the shot department, as he is averaging just over a shot per game when he would average just over two shots per game in his previous few seasons. If you're waiting for improvement, look for an increase in shots. He at least took two shots on Saturday.

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Tyler Bertuzzi, the unvaccinated one, had another four-point game. In scoring two goals and adding two assists on Saturday, Bertuzzi is the second player to record multiple four-point games this season (Leon Draisaitl is the other one). Even though Bertuzzi was held without a point in his previous three games, he has exploded out of the gate with eight goals and 13 points in just nine games. Want to know the best news if Bert is on your roster? The Red Wings don't cross into Canada for a game until after the Olympic break (February 26)! Lots of time for him to get vaccinated, don't ya think?

Bertuzzi's linemate Lucas Raymond continues to impress in his rookie season. Raymond recorded three assists while firing six shots on goal. Raymond is now over a point per game (13 PTS in 12 GP) and is becoming both a serious Calder Trophy candidate and a must-own in single-season leagues.

Maybe you'll find some hidden fantasy value in Buffalo this season. Rasmus Asplund provided two assists for the Sabres, giving him a six-game point streak and 10 points in 11 games. Not surprisingly, that point total leads the Sabres. Keep in mind that he's eligible at all three forward positions in Yahoo and two of three (C, RW) in Fantrax. A bare cupboard in Buffalo has led to a near five-minute-per-game increase in icetime over last season, as well as first-unit power-play time from nothing last season. The advanced stats suggest a regression, but he's worth at least taking a flier on because of the heavier usage.

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Kasperi Kapanen had to wait until his tenth game to score his first goal of the season, but then he scored two more for his first-ever NHL hat trick. Linemates Jason Zucker and Evan Rodrigues each assisted on two of Kapanen's goals. Given the Pens' injury situation, it should come as no surprise that Kapanen's 17:40 in average time on ice is the highest of his career. He's also receiving first-unit power-play time, which seems to be a first for him. Keep in mind that this usage may decline once the Penguins are fully healthy, though.

Bryan Rust returned to the Penguins' lineup on Saturday, recording two assists while taking six shots on goal. Get him back into your lineup, as he will easily slot into the Penguins' top six.

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Mark Scheifele was injured during Saturday's game with what appears to be a leg injury from a hit. After the game, Paul Maurice suggested that Scheifele has at least a bruise, but they would have to see what it looks like the next day. Since the Jets are off on Sunday, we may have to wait until Monday for an update, which won't make things easy if you need to figure out whether to start him during the upcoming week (Winnipeg next plays on Tuesday). Scheifele has had a rough season, having already spent five games in COVID protocol.

Paul Stastny was also injured in Saturday's game, having taken a shot in the foot.

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Mikko Rantanen, Andre Burakovsky, and Devon Toews all returned to the Avalanche lineup on Saturday against Columbus, with Toews making his season debut. Good spot for an Avalanche win, right? Nope, it was a 4-2 win for the Blue Jackets. At least Burakovsky scored both goals for Colorado.

Cole Sillinger scored the game-winner for Columbus with about a minute left in regulation, giving him four goals on the season. For more on Sillinger, see this week's The Journey.

Playing on Sillinger's line with Jakub Voracek, Yegor Chinakhov recorded his first two points of the season (both assists) in a season-high 16:19 of icetime. Chinakhov was the Jackets' first-round pick (21^th overall) last season, so the Jackets are pairing their first-round picks together.

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Add Mitch Marner to the list of players who recorded four points. Marner scored a goal and added three assists in 23 minutes of icetime in the Leafs' 5-2 win over Boston. After an ice-cold start to the season (one point in his first seven games, which coincided with the panic attack that Leafs Nation was having), Marner is now on a five-game point streak where he has recorded 11 points. Everything is good again.

Auston Matthews and John Tavares each scored a pair of goals, with Tavares adding an assist for a three-point game. After an injury and slow start, Matthews has now recorded two points in each of his last three games. Tavares has a five-game point streak.

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Ondrej Palat scored the game-winning goal late in the third period and added two assists and six shots in the Lightning's 5-3 win over Ottawa. Palat broke a three-game slump where he not only didn't score a point but also didn't even take a shot on goal. Palat was on a line with Brayden Point (3 A) and Anthony Cirelli (1 G, 1 A). For those leagues that still count game-winning goals, Palat's 3 GWG trails only Draisaitl (4 GWG).

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Karel Vejmelka was pulled 59 seconds into the game after he allowed two goals, which was one second shy of the NHL record. As that happened, I was thinking to myself, when will the Coyotes finally win a game? This month? Next month? Next season?

But there was still another 59 minutes of a hockey game to be played. As it turned out, Arizona squeaked out their first win of the season, a 5-4 win over Seattle thanks to Lawson Crouse's second goal of the game with just over a minute in regulation. You were waiting for a Vejmelka win to finally happen after all his strong play, and it was recent waiver-wire pickup Scott Wedgewood who swiped the W. Not fair!   

The Jakob Chychrun point watch has finally ended, as he recorded his first point of the season (an assist). Maybe this is the beginning of the turnaround? Chychrun also delivered five hits, while goal scorer Crowse was credited with six hits.   

Shayne Gostisbehere recorded three assists on Saturday, which gives him five points over his last four games and nine points in 12 games. He had another three-assist game, which meant he also went five games without a point. The inconsistency is still there, but he's still outscoring Chychrun by a wide margin and has also averaged a little more power-play time. If you had to pick an Arizona defenseman to roster, Ghost might actually be the one at this moment. But there's not a lot of fantasy value there to begin with, which means I've given the Coyotes more space than I should here.

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With a 22-save effort against the Rangers on Saturday, Jacob Markstrom leads the league with four shutouts. Markstrom's five wins does not place him at the top of that category, but his 1.65 GAA and .942 SV% places him among the league leaders in those categories. As I've mentioned before, last season was unusual for him between adapting to a new team and the COVID situation. He appears to be settled down and thriving, so you've received great value so far if you chose him well after pick 100 in your draft.  

Matthew Tkachuk led the way for the Flames in their 6-0 win over the Rangers, scoring a goal and adding three assists. Tkachuk made headlines this week as a rumored piece heading to Buffalo for Jack Eichel, but his recent play should really be what we are discussing. Tkachuk is on a four-game goal streak, a four-game power-play point streak, and a six-game overall point streak. I had pretty much tuned this game out because it was so one-sided, but this goal was worth watching.

Between the legs. 🔝 shelf.

What a goal by Matthew Tkachuk! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XiRTme1LHY

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 7, 2021

Oliver Kylington is on the Frozen Tools popular profiles list thanks to a point streak that is now at six games. Kylington kept the streak intact with an assist, giving him seven points in his last six games. I can't put my finger on what is specifically driving these numbers, as Kylington is receiving under 20 minutes of icetime per game and virtually no power-play time. It could be pure talent, as Kylington has demonstrated some offensive upside at the AHL level and seems to be impressing with his two-way play this season. The Flames have been on a heater to start the season, which has helped Kylington pick up some points along the way.

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I'm going to take a much-needed break next weekend, so I'll chat with you again here in about two weeks. In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding