Max Pacioretty made his long-awaited Carolina Hurricanes debut, as if the Metropolitan Division leaders need to bolster their lineup any further. Pacioretty was held without a point although he registered six shots and two hits if you decided to throw him into your lineup. I'm sometimes hesitant to immediately place a player into my lineup in his first game after a long layoff, but Patches was at least part of the Canes' first-unit power play. He mainly lined up with Derek Stepan and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, which could bump up the value of both should he remain on that line.

Pacioretty's return was eventually overshadowed by the outstanding performance of Juuse Saros. The Hurricanes fired 67 shots (to match Pacioretty's jersey number) at Saros, and he turned away all but three, setting a Predators team record for saves in a game. Moreover, the Canes had 105 shot attempts and still lost 5-3. After a so-so start to the season, Saros has been heating up in the second quarter with 10 quality starts in his last 11 games. Start him against pretty much any opponent, which is more than I would say for most goalies.  

Juuse Saros made 64(!) saves tonight, but none may be as pretty as this… 😲 pic.twitter.com/gB7ZfpEd2F

— NHL (@NHL) January 6, 2023

Shot totals from individual Canes:

Andrei Svechnikov: 8 SOG

Brett Pesce: 7 SOG

Pacioretty, Seth Jarvis, Brent Burns, Brady Skjei: 6 SOG

The 67-shot barrage is the highest single-game shot total since 1991 (remember Nordiques goalie Ron Tugnutt's 70-save effort?) Only the Florida Panthers have averaged more shots per game than the Hurricanes (35.7 SOG/GP).

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The player I decided not to drop to activate Pacioretty recorded three assists on Thursday. That player is Dylan Strome, who now has seven points over his last six games. I might have to rethink my decision of which player to drop.

T.J. Oshie scored a pair of goals in the Capitals' 6-2 win over Columbus. The goals were his first points since December 7, a span of six games along with an interruption due to injury. Oshie has not registered an assist since November 25, which is 13 games that he has suited up for.   

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Mackenzie Blackwood was forced to miss Thursday's game after being struck in the hand by a shot during that morning's skate. Not only was Akira Schmid recalled, but he also received the start against St. Louis. Unfortunately, he was tagged with his first really bad start of the season, allowing four goals on 18 shots. Before he was returned to the AHL following Blackwood's original return, Schmid had been one of fantasy hockey's deep gems this season, posting a 1.96 GAA and .932 SV% before Thursday. I'll still try to start him whenever possible, at least until he shows signs of a slump.

Despite the Devils' loss, Jack Hughes was shooting a ton, scoring a pair of goals on nine shots. He has fired at least six shots in each of his last five games, and he has seven points over his last four games. Only three players currently have more shots than Hughes (174 SOG).

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Eeli Tolvanen is a top Frozen Tools search because many of you are curious if a move to Seattle will re-energize his career. He should at least be a player of interest to you because he now has points in all three of his games as a Kraken, including a goal on Thursday in Toronto. Both of Tolvanen's goals with Seattle have been on the power play, where he's slotted in on the second unit on a team that distributes its power-play minutes fairly evenly between its two units. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde aren't bad linemates for Tolvanen to have, although an average of just under 12 minutes per game with the Kraken isn't ideal. That icetime might be a reason that I'd only suggest adding Tolvanen in deeper leagues.

In the Kraken's 5-1 win in Toronto, Vince Dunn scored a goal and added two assists. Dunn now has six points over his last four games. Not only is Dunn on the first-unit power play, but he only trails Adam Larsson for the team lead in overall icetime. Dunn is averaging 23:38 per game, his highest total in any season of his career.

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Morgan Frost now has two 4-point games this season, the latest being a four-assist effort in the Flyers' 6-2 win over Arizona. Since his previous four-point game (December 11), Frost has 13 points (5 G, 8 A) over his last 11 games. The Flyers might be an afterthought fantasy-wise this season, but Frost has quietly made his way onto the first-unit power play as well as a scoring line (James van Riemsdyk and Owen Tippett). Frost is also widely available, only being rostered in 3% of Yahoo leagues and 28% of Fantrax leagues.

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Klim Kostin was rewarded for his hard work with a spot on the Oilers' top line with Connor McDavid on Thursday. He won't record points every game on that line, as was the case on Thursday. However, he will add a physical presence, as he did with another four hits. Among Oilers that have played at least 20 games, Kostin has the highest hit rate with 18.2 Hits/60. He has averaged about three hits per game since his callup from the AHL, and now he may add a little bit of scoring as well. Feel free to add him in bangers leagues, as he's just 3% rostered in Yahoo and 14% rostered in Fantrax.

Jack Campbell has been awful since signing with the Oilers, but he picked up a win and quality start on Thursday. The quality start was just his second since mid-November. On the plus side, he has seen action in all of the Oilers' last three games. That means even though Stuart Skinner has supplanted Campbell as the starter, Campbell could at least start with increased frequency going forward.  

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Jack Eichel returned to the Golden Knights lineup on Thursday, scoring a goal and adding two assists with a plus-2. Those who added Michael Amadio might be wondering if this is the end of his run, and on the scoreboard it was. Amadio was held without a point, snapping his seven-game point streak. The good news is that Amadio remained on the Mark Stone – Chandler Stephenson line, while Eichel centered Reilly Smith and Nicolas Roy. For that reason, you may not want to drop Amadio quite yet.

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With Jake DeBrusk moved to LTIR with a fractured fibula, the Bruins decided to load up their top line again with Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak. Maybe not good for their scoring depth, but great for all three (not that they were having issues scoring before). You already know what these players are all about, so I won't go in depth any further.

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Including a 29-save 4-2 win over Colorado on Thursday, Collin Delia has quality starts in each of his last three games. Four if you include an AHL win he recorded just before Christmas – a game that I attended in person. Assuming the Canucks don't rush Thatcher Demko back, Delia should push Spencer Martin for more starts.

Let's face it: the J.T. Miller situation in Vancouver this season has been rotten (his empty-net goal on Thursday was just his third goal in 17 games). That being said, Andrei Kuzmenko has been a breath of fresh air for Canucks fans. Kuzmenko scored a pair of second-period goals just two minutes apart, giving him 17 goals on the season. Over a full season, Kuzmenko is on pace for at least 30 goals, and having fun while scoring goals. If you took a chance on him before the season not knowing what his production would be, nice work. He's still available in under 50% of Yahoo leagues for some reason.

What a sick pass by Andrei Kuzmenko who finishes the play off with a #Canucks goal pic.twitter.com/3wQGdmIKmL

— Harman Dayal (@harmandayal2) January 6, 2023

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Congratulations to Canada for another World Junior gold medal. Dylan Guenther scored the golden goal in overtime. I didn't get to watch much of the semifinal or the final due to other commitments, but I know that the quarterfinal game against Slovakia was one of the best games that I have watched in a while.

DYLAN GUENTHER IS THE OVERTIME HERO 🚨

CANADA WINS GOLD 🥇#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/6jbHJ8TwaM

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 6, 2023

Need any more verification that Connor Bedard will be the first overall pick in the upcoming draft? He’s in a class of his own.

The final tally for draft-eligible skaters at the WJC:

• Bedard 23
• Carlsson 6
• Šalé 6
• Fantilli 5
• Brindley 4
• Scherzer 4
• Čiernik 3
• Dvorský 3
• Stramel 3
• Strbak 3
• Reinbacher 2
• Hämeenaho 2
• Bukarts 2
• Rullers 2
• Sandin Pellika 1
• Müller 1

— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) January 6, 2023

In our Midseason Guide (available in about a week), look for our top 20 fantasy ranking of draft-eligible prospects (points-only leagues). And of course, a whole lot more.

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Finally, the recent on-field cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has dominated the sports news this week. Although this is not a hockey-related story, I'd like to share two thoughts anyway.

1. Human life comes first and foremost here. Although there are many implications to postponing the game both from a real-life NFL and a fantasy football perspective, that doesn't matter nearly as much as this young man's life. Imagine if this was your son, brother, friend, or teammate, and you saw someone complaining about their fantasy team or bet not turning out right because of this. Give Twitter credit: Most of the tweets I saw seemed to grasp the concept that the players would be too shaken to continue.  
2. Much less important, but the Bills/Bengals game will not be completed. That means I will lose a fantasy football head-to-head matchup that I probably would have won, since I have three Bengals on my roster. I'm sure many others are in the same boat. COVID taught us that games don't always proceed as normal, and more importantly that life isn't always fair. Also, it might be a good time to review your league's contingency plan. I won't get into what that should be, and game providers like Yahoo might even have their own. Knowing what to do when the unexpected happens helps de-escalate or even prevent nasty conflicts (I've seen a few of those through the years).

I hope and pray that Hamlin continues to make positive steps in his recovery, and that the players in the sports that we enjoy remain safe from life-altering injuries in what can be potentially dangerous activities.  

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Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.