Another day, another two postponements. This time it's the Canucks and Senators tonight (Saturday). Both teams will now be without any games this week. Next Saturday's Senators/Jets game in Winnipeg has also been postponed. Up until Monday's still-scheduled game in Edmonton, the Senators will have played once in 23 days. That's not easy if you roster the likes of Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, or Thomas Chabot (the latter two are on one of my teams).

Snapshot of the last Sens game pic.twitter.com/8fzwQRWupW

— Matty Go Sens (@Gerv_Rebrand) January 8, 2022

Even with the Olympic break now available for rescheduled games, it seems like those potential dates are filling up quickly. Elliotte Friedman suggested earlier this week that teams don't have much runway left to postpone games. I don't think further postponements would jeopardize the season, since the recent reasons for postponements in Canada aren't necessarily COVID-related but more business-related. If restrictions in Canada continue regarding crowd sizes, the games will eventually get played, just with little to no fans. The owners of Canadian teams are just trying to delay the games so they have at least an opportunity to earn revenue later.  

The best advice on this (from my father, who doesn't play fantasy hockey but watches a lot of Canucks games): "Nothing these days seems to be certain until the very last minute." That's just how it is in the 2021-22 season. Just getting that game played is half the battle.  

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The Midseason Guide will be available on January 14, which is about a week away. If you’ve already purchased an Ultimate Fantasy Pack or a Gold/Platinum subscription, you will be able to download it then. If you purchased a Keeper League Fantasy Pack or a Silver subscription, you will need to purchase it separately. Pre-order it here.

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According to David Pagnotta, John Klingberg has requested a trade out of Dallas. Klingberg is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and he and the Stars have not been able to agree on a long-term contract. As Pagnotta said, whether Klingberg actually gets shopped may depend on the Stars' playoff hopes. Currently they are below the playoff bar in the Western Conference, although they have several games in hand on the teams they are trying to leapfrog over.

Klingberg wants out of Dallas?@TheFourthPeriod | #NHLNow pic.twitter.com/esj4v4fVLH

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) January 7, 2022

Based on recent point production, the Stars might get their best return for him right now. After getting off to a slow start (3 PTS in first 12 GP), he has heated up over the past month-plus (13 PTS in last 13 GP). Currently he is on a five-game point streak in which he has seven points. He currently also leads all Stars players in power-play icetime.

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After scoring at over a point per game in the AHL (29 points in 24 games), Martin Frk was called up his first game of the season on Thursday. He was immediately placed on a line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe as well as the first-unit power play. He finished the game with a power-play goal, six shots, and four hits. Not only is he without a vowel in his last name, but he is also without a team in nearly every fantasy league. Keep an eye on him for tonight's late-night game against Detroit.

He quite literally has the hardest shot in hockey, this was bound to happen. @Frky91 💪 #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/gw55yP8z1V

— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 7, 2022

If you do add Frk, you should probably keep your expectations short term. He's a consistent AHL point-per-game forward dating back several seasons, but hasn't been able to stick in the NHL. He's now 28 years of age, so he won't receive many more chances. At least he's being given a ride on an actual scoring line as opposed to trying to make it work for 10 minutes per game on the checking line.

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If Bowen Byram had played in more games, perhaps we'd hear his name more in the Calder Trophy conversation. Of rookies that have played in at least as many games as Byram, only frequently mentioned names Lucas Raymond and Trevor Zegras have a higher point-per-game average than Byram (0.69 PTS/GP). Maybe I'm biased because I saw him play numerous time in junior, but I think Byram is the real deal. Concussions have been a major issue (three since his NHL debut a year ago), but when he's healthy, he's been more productive than any rookie defenseman – including Moritz Seider (0.65 PTS/GP).

Power-play time might be an issue, although the Avalanche can throw solid secondary scoring onto their second power-play unit. The fact that 10 of Byram's 11 points have been scored at even strength suggests that he deserves additional power-play time. That Cale Makar guy is pretty good, though.

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In the Canes' 6-3 win over Calgary, Andrei Svechnikov led Carolina with a pair of goals and six shots. That gives him back-to-back games with multiple points, as well as 14 shots over those two games. Svechnikov is helping his cause by increasing his shot output to 3.3 shots per game, the highest of his career. He leads the Canes in both shots (97) and shot attempts (181).

Brady Skjei – I don't know what to say. I needed a defenseman that would play two games in three days, so I added him from the waiver wire on Thursday because he's been hot recently. Sure enough, Skjei scored a goal and added two assists on Friday, giving him three goals and seven points over his last four games. He must simply be feeling it right now because he's had a grand total of nine seconds of power-play time over that span. Other than a recent spike in shots (15 over those four games), there's nothing to suggest that his recent run is sustainable.

Hey, hey whaddya Skjei! 😏 pic.twitter.com/BvgyrXI73a

— NHL (@NHL) January 8, 2022

With an assist, six-million-dollar man Jesperi Kotkaniemi also has a six-game point streak (eight points over that span). He hasn't been held without a point in a game since December 11. He's been used all over the Carolina lineup, but on Friday he was on a line with Martin Necas and Jordan Staal.

With the win (36 saves), Frederik Andersen has now won seven consecutive games. Only Andrei Vasilevskiy has posted a higher win total than Andersen (18). Don't tell Leafs fans, but Andersen has also posted some solid ratios (1.97 GAA, .929 SV%, 60.9 QS%) in his first season in Carolina.  

Dan Vladar started back-to-back games for Calgary, as Jacob Markstrom appears to be dealing with some sort of injury (described by Darryl Sutter as "not 100%"). Vladar allowed 10 goals over those two games, but back-to-back matchups in Tampa Bay and Carolina aren't exactly what I would recommend for a streaming option.

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Pavel Buchnevich scored a pair of goals and added an assist in the Blues' 5-1 win over Washington. Although he started off slow in St. Louis, Buchnevich has been on fire since late November. Over his last 16 games, Buchnevich has picked up 23 points (9 G, 14 A).

Buchnevich's assist was on Ivan Barbashev's goal with less than a second left in the second period. Barbashev continues to pile up the points himself recently, scoring nine goals and adding nine assists over his last 15 games.  

BUZZER-BEATER! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/jpjg4klwKT

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 8, 2022

In his first start in exactly one month, Ville Husso stopped 26 of 27 shots to earn a win. Although he won't get to start a ton behind Jordan Binnington, Husso has posted some very respectable numbers (2.28 GAA, .931 SV%, 62.5 QS%). Husso had just returned to the lineup from an injury. Perhaps his overall play this season will result in more frequent starts.

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