Hello hockey fans! After a busy Saturday night schedule in the NHL, there are absolutely NO GAMES on today, so therefore everyone who is in a weekly format will now know if they started off the season with a win or a loss. So congratulations or commiserations to each of you, and if you are in a roto league you will be completely indifferent!

It sucks that despite now finally feeling like we are in full swing, we hit a day with absolutely no games. It adds to what was already a very janky first scoring period in most leagues, one that saw a lot of people scrambling to get their minimum goalie starts. Hopefully nobody found themselves on the losing end of that scenario.

With the first handful of games under our belt, I am going to recap a few nice little low-key surprises that stood out to me this week. Keep in mind I am highlighting players with relatively low ownership numbers by design, so don't overreach for these players unless you have a streaming spot to spare moving forward.

David Krejci

Well here's a name I didn't think I'd be covering again in fantasy hockey. After a lengthy hiatus from the NHL, Krejci rejoined the Boston Bruins this offseason on a one-year deal. The 36-year-old Czech forward brings a lot of much needed stability back to the center position for the Bruins this year, especially here in the early going. Admittedly, I didn't think Krejci would make much impact in fantasy, but with some key injuries on the Bruins roster to start the season, he actually finds himself in a quite advantageous position. 

Krejci currently is centering a line with two fellow countrymen in David Pastrnak, and offseason acquisition Pavel Zacha. The three looked great in the opener together, and if the Bruins roll with this line for a while, it could be a promising one. What's even more promising is that Krejci is also drawing in as the fourth forward on the team's top power-play unit. So between his even strength and special teams deployment, Krejci is in great shape to put up some offense for you in the early going.

While this is all great, I would caution readers that this is almost certainly a short-term solution. When the primetime players like Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy eventually make their way back to the club down the road this season, Krejci will almost certainly see his opportunities diminish. It's also important to keep in mind that the veteran centerman is going to be turning 37 in April. I could see the wear and tear of the NHL regular season potentially affect Krejci the deeper into the year we go. 

For now though, he is a decent option that is pretty widely available across most formats. As with all the guys I talk about this week, it's a relatively small sample size to go off of. With that being said though, Krejci has looked solid in the early going. He isn't going to give you much in terms of hits or blocks, so he really needs to continue his offense if you want to get value out of him. He will also provide a little in the faceoff department as well if your league tracks draws. 

Mason Marchment

Last season Marchment was somewhat of a revelation. In just 54 games played, he tallied 18 goals and added 29 helpers for 47 total points. Mind you, pretty much everyone on the Panthers looked like a stud last season, but Marchment definitely turned some heads towards the back half of last season. He took that strong performance and parlayed it into a four-year deal with the Dallas Stars this offseason. He finds himself starting the season out on the second line with long-time prospect Ty Dellandrea, and Tyler Seguin.

In the Stars' season opener Thursday, Marchment came out firing both literally and figuratively. He scored two goals, one of which was on the power play, on five shots. He followed that up last night with one more marker to give him three already through his first two games. He also has chipped in four hits to boot. He seems to be pretty confident in his new home already, having fired eight shots in his opening two games. These stats all bode well for Marchment, though don't expect him to be scoring 60 goals this season! He's scored on three of his first eight shots on goal this season, so expect the law of averages to do its thing over time.

As good as Marchment looks, I don't think he will crack the team's top power-play unit barring any injuries to the other top players, so fantasy owners will have to settle for the second power-play unit. This will certainly hamper his offensive output to a degree, but despite that I am still high on him to start the year. The only other real thing to consider here is his spotty injury history. He has the dubious distinction of being a certified "Band-Aid Boy" by Dobber, so hopefully he can stay on the ice long-term. 

He is only owned in about a third of all Yahoo leagues, and less in Fantrax leagues, and his ownership is shooting up quickly from this strong start. He is a left winger, but Yahoo does grant him dual-wing eligibility, so that is a nice added bonus for flexibility's sake in your lineup. 

Brandon Montour

Finishing up this week, we switch our focus to the blueline, and this pick is definitely one suited for deeper leagues. Montour caught my eye yesterday afternoon while I was watching the Sabres/Panthers game. To my surprise, the Panthers are rolling with a traditional three-forward and two defensemen setup on their power play. It was even more surprising when I saw Montour out there with Aaron Ekblad on the top unit. 

Montour is 28 and enters his seventh season in the NHL. Throughout his career he's always been a solid middle or bottom-pair defensemen. I don't expect massive numbers from him, but if he is getting top-tier opportunities, he's worth taking a flier on as one of your bench players. Florida should boast a pretty potent special teams unit with Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart and newly-acquired Matthew Tkachuk all manning the team's  top power-play line. I'm not sure if this is a temporary audition or if it is permanent, so that's something you will need to keep track of. 

Paul Maurice took over as head coach of the Florida Panthers following the Panthers playoff exit. If there's one thing I know about Maurice during his time in Toronto and also watching him coach in Winnipeg, it's that he loves his guys. If Montour has been able to endear himself to Maurice, he will certainly be leaned on for big minutes. Through the first two games, Montour has averaged over 23 minutes per game, which is by far the most minutes he's seen in his career up to this point. He isn't a huge hitter, so don't expect a ton of hits from the blueliner, though he should average just under one per game. The same could be said for blocks, but through two games he already has five of them, so maybe he is buying into his larger role with the club.

Montour should be up for grabs across most leagues and formats. Yahoo has him at just 14 percent rostered, while Fantrax has him at just over 40 percent. As I already mentioned, closely monitor his power-play deployment, as a lot of his value might ride or die with being on that top unit. It's a golden opportunity for him and he has already managed to bury one goal on the man advantage. If you are thin on the blueline or are in a deep league where there aren't a ton of options, Montour could be worth a look!

Well that's it for this week folks! With absolutely no games on this Sunday, you'll have to find other avenues to amuse yourselves for the day. At least you have a full slate of football to watch if you are into the NFL. Or alternatively, tonight you could watch the Guardians hopefully put the final nail in the coffin on the New York Yankees! October is such a great time of year for sports! Until next week, stay vigilant on the waiver wires and good luck!