Could the Sabres be trying to showcase Bowen Byram? With 32:34 of icetime, Byram registered more icetime in a game than any player this season. Byram did not earn a point on Saturday, but he is still hot recently with five points over his last five games. You may have heard that Byram has been the subject of recent trade rumors.

In the Sabres' 3-2 shootout win over Calgary, Tage Thompson picked up his tenth goal of the season, placing him in the top 5 in that category as of Saturday afternoon. He now has goals in three consecutive games.

Jonathan Huberdeau's assist on Saturday was just his second point in his past eight games. After a strong start to the season that included a four-point game during the second game of the season, Huberdeau's production has dried up yet again. He's now into his third season of underwhelming production in Calgary, so feel free to cut him loose if you need to make a move.

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Jake Oettinger was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots against the Jets, which is his second really bad start in his last three games (although also just his second of the season). All six of Oettinger's wins this season have come against teams below the playoff bar, while all three of his losses have been against teams currently occupying playoff spots.

Oettinger was also the target of a creative chant from the Winnipeg faithful.

Winnipeg is beating Dallas 4-0 and Jets fans chanted "U.S. Backup" to Jake Oettinger 😂 pic.twitter.com/dO7JH8NZ1L

— BarDown (@BarDown) November 9, 2024

Wyatt Johnston remains a player of concern in fantasy leagues. Johnston was held off the scoresheet again on Saturday, meaning that he has been held without a goal in his last 10 games with just one assist over his last eight games. Johnston has consistently taken two shots per game over his last five games, which is okay but not great. After looking strong in the playoffs (10 G in 19 GP), Johnston appeared to be a breakout candidate entering the season. He is only 21, so this may simply be a rough patch. Hold him for now, but don't be afraid to move him to your bench on busy nights.

Roope Hintz scored Dallas' only goal on Saturday, breaking a four-game point drought.

Jason Robertson was held without a point, extending his point drought to three games. He has no goals and just one assist in his last five games.

Alex Iafallo and Vladislav Namestnikov each scored a goal and added an assist in the Jets' victory. Cole Perfetti finished with two assists.

Connor Hellebuyck entered the game with back-to-back shutouts, and he nearly finished the game with a third consecutive shutout. The Hintz goal came at 18:38 of the third period. Those with Hellebuyck on their roster shouldn't be complaining, given the win-loss record and some outstanding ratios.

The Jets are now 14-1, which is now the best record in NHL history after 15 games. Just like we all thought. Right here, you'll see that none of our writers predicted that the Jets would win the Central Division.

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Matvei Michkov was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game. John Tortorella's decision doesn't seem to be production-related, as Michkov is second in rookie scoring with 10 points in 13 games, although Michkov has just one point in his last five games. Sitting Michkov again might have to do with the fact that Torts doesn't like to mess with winning lineups, with the Flyers winning on Thursday against Tampa Bay.

However, the Flyers lost in a shootout to Florida on Saturday. So maybe we have to assume that Michkov will return to the lineup next week. Regardless of the outcome, below are the thoughts of a Philly beat writer. Don't click that drop button on Michkov just yet.

Nah, I'd be shocked if Michkov wasn't back in the lineup Monday, regardless of how this game plays out. He'll play. https://t.co/zPCEfFvf8b

— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) November 9, 2024

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In his return to Boston, Linus Ullmark was hardly tested, facing only 16 shots. He was effective enough to backstop the Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Bruins.

Brady Tkachuk had a massive multicategory game: one goal (the overtime winner), one assist, 12 shots, and eight hits. The 12 shots is the highest shot total in a game this season. He also leads the league in the Frozen Tools category of SOG+HIT+BKS with 120. Only seven of those are blocked shots. He is firmly in the top 10 in the other two categories. On top of that, Tkachuk has recorded at least one point in 12 of 14 games this season.

That effort from Tkachuk on Saturday might be the difference between a win and a loss in one of my head-to-head matchups this week. Folks, that's why he's worth a first-round pick in multicategory single-season leagues.

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Washington continues to be a wagon. Just when you think they might cool off, they lay an 8-spot on St. Louis.

Could Alex Ovechkin really break the goal record this season? After scoring his 9^th and 10^th goals of the season, he's only 31 goals away from it. By reaching 10 goals, Ovie is only one behind the league lead (shared by three players as I type this). I hate to be the spoil sport, but his advanced stats on Frozen Tools mostly appear in red. That means he is due for some regression. I think Ovechkin breaks the record early next season, but it wouldn't be a complete shocker if he finds a way to do it this season.

Ovechkin has found his new Nicklas Backstrom, and his name is Dylan Strome. With three assists on Saturday, Strome is up to 18 assists, which ties him for second in that category with several other players. Strome's helper total is partially tied to Ovechkin's goal total, so he could also be affected by any Ovie downturn. If you can land an elite player or at least a consistent 70+ point player (Strome's career high is 67 points), sell high on Strome.

Connor McMichael has scored nine goals in his past nine games, including two on Saturday. The Capitals have been strong this season because they have been able to roll out two strong scoring lines – Ovechkin, Strome, and Aliaksei Protas on one line, and McMichael, Tom Wilson, and Pierre-Luc Dubois on the other line. I might also sell high on McMichael in single-season leagues, but at age 23 he has a bright future in keeper leagues.

The Capitals have been so strong that Logan Thompson has a 7-0-0 record. He has posted quality starts in each of his last three games, allowing a combined five goals. Thompson is alternating starts with Charlie Lindgren, although Thompson has the slightly better numbers. I nearly dropped Thompson in one league early in the season, but I'm glad I decided to hold.

It seems like Scott Perunovich has been a prospect for a while, as he is already 26 years of age. So it might be hard to believe that he finally scored his first NHL goal in his 79^th NHL game.

Hopefully you didn't start Jordan Binnington, who was in net for all eight goals. It would have been nine goals had he not made this miraculous save.

HOW DID BINNINGTON MAKE THIS SAVE? 😱 pic.twitter.com/RqAYmCLeGw

📢 advertisement:

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 10, 2024

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Auston Matthews was out again on Saturday. That wasn't an issue for the Leafs again, who won their third consecutive game. Mitch Marner and William Nylander each scored a goal and added an assist. Marner's point streak is now at eight games with 13 points over that span. 

It wasn't all good for the Leafs, who lost Max Pacioretty near the end of the first period. Pacioretty had to be helped off the ice, as he could not put any weight on his leg. Given his recent injury history and the fact that he battled a major Achilles injury, this has to be concerning.

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If you needed a goalie streamer, Jonathan Quick might have been your best bet. Quick stopped all 37 shots he faced to pick up a 4-0 shutout of the Red Wings. This was a good spot to use Quick, as the Wings are in the bottom 5 of the league in goals for per game. Meanwhile, Quick has a sparkling 1.17 GAA and .964 SV% in four games – both league bests among any goalie that has played at least one minute this season.

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After their aggressive summer in the free agent market, the Predators' struggles so far have been well-documented. However, they put together a strong effort on Saturday against the Utah Hockey Club.

Juuse Saros made 26 saves in picking up his second shutout of the season. Saros has four quality starts over his last four games, so you should be starting him regardless of the outcomes of the team in front of him.

Filip Forsberg scored a pair of goals, while Jonathan Marchessault also picked up two points. Marchessault had not scored a goal in his previous six games.

Earlier in the day, the Predators placed former first-round pick Dante Fabbro on waivers. Now 26 years of age and over 300 games later, Fabbro seems like a fringe NHL player with little fantasy value. 

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Jack Hughes scored two goals and assisted on another in the Devils' 4-3 overtime win over the Islanders. Hughes now has three points and five shots in back-to-back games. 

Dougie Hamilton added three assists, giving him five points over his last three games. Of Hamilton's 12 points this season, six have been on the power play. Meanwhile, Luke Hughes has just one point in eight games, with no points in his last seven games. Things can change suddenly, but hopefully you chose Hamilton. I saw Hughes get dropped in one single-season league recently, which makes sense as he seems hard-pressed to match his 47-point rookie campaign last season.

While we're on the subject of struggling defensemen, Noah Dobson has no points in his last six games and has not scored a goal all season – the only player with at least 40 shots without a goal. I made a point to get Dobson on at least one of my teams this season, but so far, he hasn't delivered. A couple of positive signs: 1) Dobson has ranged between 28-30 minutes of icetime the past three games, and 2) He is averaging over three shots per game this season. You could send a buy-low offer – maybe even to an Islanders fan. He sure has his share of criticism from that fanbase, judging by the comments I've seen on X.  

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In the Avalanche's 6-4 win over Carolina, Nathan MacKinnon scored a goal plus three assists, while Mikko Rantanen scored two goals while adding an assist. To give you an idea of how much Colorado is struggling depth-wise with all their injuries, all members of the MacKinnon-Rantanen-Artturi Lehkonen line logged at least 25 minutes in this game.

Another symptom of the Avs' lack of depth: Nikita Prishchepov skated just 5:35 in this game. Prishchepov might be the most unlikely player to play an NHL game this season, as he was a seventh-round pick of the Avalanche… in this season's draft. Yes, the 2024 draft. He was drafted as an overager at 20 years old, but how often do you see a seventh-round pick enter the NHL in the year he is drafted?

In a losing cause, Jordan Martinook scored two goals and assisted on another. Martinook has scored goals in three consecutive games.  

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In his 10^th game as a Canuck, Kevin Lankinen had his first really bad start, allowing seven goals. He was probably due, as Saturday's game against Edmonton was his first regulation loss of the season. In addition, Lankinen likely isn't used to playing as often as he has recently. If Arturs Silovs had been playing better, this would be more of a goaltending battle. Yet it appears that the Canucks will have to lean on Lankinen until Thatcher Demko is ready to return… whenever that will be. Demko has been working out recently, but he still has no expected return date.

Weird split for the Canucks. Have to think this normalizes as the season wears on.

Canucks GAA this season

On Road 1.99 (2nd in NHL)
At Home 4.58 (Last in NHL)

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 10, 2024

Brock Boeser was out of the lineup Saturday with what was called an upper-body injury. Judging by the blindside hit he received from Tanner Jeannot, Boeser is likely dealing with a concussion.

The Oilers poured it on in the third period with four goals en route to a 7-3 win over the Canucks. Connor Brown scored a pair of goals on five shots, while the other Connor (Connor McDavid) scored a goal along with two assists.

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Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Threads @goodsfantasyhockey