Michael Kesselring was a player that you probably didn't know much about before the season, but he seems to be doing all right for himself. On Saturday, Kesselring registered the first-ever Gordie Howe hat trick in Utah Hockey Club history. He is now up to 14 points in 26 games, trailing only Mikhail Sergachev in scoring among Utah defensemen. Kesselring's spot on the second power play could disappear once Sean Durzi returns, but for now he seems to be a worthwhile blueline option in deeper leagues.

Nick Schmaltz was held without a goal in his first 23 games. Yet over his last three games, Schmaltz has four goals, including one on Saturday. Schmaltz also has five shots in three of his past four games, clearly trying to make up for lost time in the goal department.

As for the Sabres, it's just more of the same. They've lost six games in a row and are without Rasmus Dahlin. JJ Peterka, who seemed destined for a breakout season, has just one point in his last nine games. Jack Quinn and Peyton Krebs, who are part of the future, are without a point in eight and six games, respectively. All teams go through highs and lows during a long season, but for some reason the Sabres' lows seem like rock bottom because of the team's playoff drought. For now, it seems like they're two years away from being two years away yet again.

–

Matvei Michkov's fine rookie season continued on Saturday. Michkov scored a pair of goals, giving him seven points over his last three games. Michkov leads all rookies with 11 goals, 24 points, and 11 power-play points. The only player close to Michkov on a point-per-game level is Macklin Celebrini, so that probably describes where the Calder Trophy race is at. John Tortorella would be crazy to healthy scratch him again, but I could see it happening again for some trivial reason.

Trent Frederic scored a pair of goals for the Bruins in their overtime win over the Flyers. That gives him five points over his last five games. Frederic is on pace to finish below his 40-point career high set last season, but he provides enough hits to be rosterable in bangers leagues.

–

New coach, same result for the Blackhawks. Anders Sorensen's NHL coaching debut turned out to be a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Jets. At least Connor Bedard registered an assist while logging 20 minutes of icetime. Let's see if this coaching change can give his scoring totals a boost.

Petr Mrazek left Saturday's game in the first period with an injury. Arvid Soderblom took over in net and would likely start if Mrazek misses any time.

One area that the new coach will need to work on is getting shots through. The Hawks took only 14 shots on Connor Hellebuyck, with two of them getting past him. Chicago's average of 26 shots per game is the third-lowest average in the league.

–

Jean-Gabriel Pageau led the Islanders with a goal and two assists in their 4-3 win over Carolina. Pageau's icetime had increased with Mathew Barzal out of the lineup, but he entered this game with one point in his previous eight games.

Andrei Svechnikov scored two power-play goals while firing seven shots on net. Svechnikov has been on a heater this week. Over his last two games, he has six points, 11 shots, and four power-play points.

Shayne Gostisbehere added three assists for the Canes. Over the past month, Ghost Bear has been one of the league's hottest defensemen with 15 points (14 of them assists) in 13 games. Of those 15 points, 12 have been on the power play, which is his specialty. In fact, Gostisbehere leads all defensemen with 17 power-play points on the season. It seems like Rod Brind'Amour made the right choice of Gostisbehere over Brent Burns on the top power play. Need more proof of that? Burns does not have a single power-play point this season. Age also seems to be catching up to Burns, who has just two points in his last 16 games.

–

Matthew Tkachuk has had quite a week. With another two goals on Saturday, Tkachuk has scored five goals, six assists, and 17 shots in three games this week. Over the last six games, Tkachuk has 15 points as he attempts to make up for lost time in the scoring race. Expect him to be named the NHL's First Star on Monday, as he leads all scorers this week with 11 points.

–

Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust each scored a goal and added an assist in the Penguins' 5-2 win over Toronto. Rakell now has four goals and two assists in his last six games. He also leads the Penguins with 11 goals. Rust has four points over his last four games.

Philip Tomasino's hot streak will have to wait. Tomasino missed Saturday's game with an upper-body injury.

Max Pacioretty returned to the Leafs' lineup after missing nearly the past month with an upper-body injury. He was placed on the top line with red hot Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. Pacioretty might be worth adding in deeper leagues if he can take advantage of the situation, but his recent injury history makes him too unreliable for fantasy leagues at this point of his career.

Marner, by the way, has piled up 18 points in 10 games. That kind of production can get you a spot on Team Canada.

In case you hadn't noticed, the Leafs have recently been using a five-forward power play. Matthew Knies has now become a regular with the core four.

–

In a matchup between two goalies who were in the discussion for spots on Team Canada, Logan Thompson and the Capitals out-dueled Sam Montembeault and the Canadiens by a score of 4-2. Want my opinion about who was chosen? Here it is.

Agree that Thompson shouldn't have been overlooked. But I'd leave Montembeault off instead.

— Ian Gooding (@Ian_Gooding) December 5, 2024

Thompson made 22 saves in the win, but it wasn't as easy as the stat line would suggest. Thompson allowed both goals in the first period, while he had to stop four breakaways in the third period. Montembeault was even busier, stopping 31 of 35 shots he faced.

Tom Wilson took his non-selection in stride, scoring a pair of goals while shooting four shots and taking another shot to the face. With 22 points in 27 games, Wilson is on pace for his best season. Even though the shooting success rate will probably cool off a bit, Wilson should continue to play on a scoring line and deliver hits. That should be good enough for every bangers league.

"It doesn't look so hot."

Tom Wilson chats with @ShawnMcKenzieSN after he scored two goals and took a puck to the face in the Capitals win in Montreal. pic.twitter.com/aUGu17asvz

📢 advertisement:

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 8, 2024

–

After being shut out on Thursday against Montreal, the Nashville Predators were nearly shut out on Saturday. Fedor Svechkov's goal late in the third period broke a 121-minute goal drought for the Predators. That's the equivalent of two full games. That's not what the Preds had planned when they made a splash in offseason free agency.

The list of slumping Predators is growing.

Tommy Novak: 0 PTS in 14 GP (last point on October 25)

Filip Forsberg: 0 PTS in 6 GP

Gustav Nyquist: 0 PTS in 5 GP

Brady Skjei: 0 PTS in 5 GP

Steven Stamkos: 0 PTS in 3 GP

Jonathan Marchessault: 1 PT in 7 GP

Juuse Saros can also be included here, as he is without a win or quality start in his last six games. Fortunately, Saros has not had a really bad start during those six games, consistently allowing three goals in each of his last five games. Take away the win-loss record during that time (which he doesn't have total control over) and he'd be considered "mid." Trouble is, you were expecting Saros to be better than mid.

Linus Ullmark lost a shutout with just under two minutes to play. No worries, as he is finding his game with four consecutive quality starts, with three of those turning out to be wins. The Senators have a lot riding on Ullmark, so maybe he is turning it around.

Drake Batherson's eight-game point streak came to an end on Saturday. Over those eight games, Batherson had accumulated 11 points.

–

What had to have been projected to be a high-scoring game between Colorado and Detroit ended up… 2-1? Yes, that was Alexandar Georgiev with the quality start, turning aside 29 of 30 shots he faced. You might find this hard to believe given the Avalanche's challenges with keeping the puck out of the net, but Georgiev has six quality starts in the past 30 days. What makes his numbers stink is the fact that those six quality starts are all of his quality starts this season, and he has the same number of really bad starts.   

Ross Colton returned to the Avalanche lineup on Saturday, playing on a line with Casey Mittelstadt and Valeri Nichushkin. Although he was held without a point, Colton finished with three shots, three hits, and two blocked shots. Don't expect him to score at the same rate that he did before his injury, although he should be useful in bangers leagues.

–

Darcy Kuemper returned to the Kings' net on Saturday, stopping 22 of 23 shots in a 4-1 win over Minnesota. The Kings have been stingy this season with a top-5 team goals-against average (2.59 GAA). That total has been aided significantly by the defense, which has allowed an average of 24.3 shots against per game – the lowest total in the league. The fact that the Kings are playing in a strong defensive system should help Kuemper's numbers and those of David Rittich too – even if their save percentages are nothing spectacular (Kuemper .907 SV%, Rittich .891 SV%).

Anze Kopitar has now played 1400 NHL games, and he still keeps getting it done. With an assist on Saturday, Kopitar has 10 points over his last seven games. If you're waiting for him to decline, it hasn't happened yet, as he is still scoring at above a point per game (31 PTS in 27 GP).  

–

Dylan Holloway continues to be hot, scoring a goal on five shots against the team he left in the offseason. Holloway now has nine points over his last six games and has even grabbed a share of the Blues team lead in goals with nine (along with Jordan Kyrou and Jake Neighbours). Holloway’s hot streak coincides with the hiring of new coach Jim Montgomery. Yet keep in mind that regression will probably hit for Holloway, and he’s not on the top power play. But he’s rostered in 20 percent of Yahoo leagues and climbing, so you might have to get on board soon. His overall value has improved with the move to St. Louis, as his icetime has increased over four minutes per game over last season.

The Oilers had the last laugh against Holloway, Philip Broberg, and the Blues, winning by a score of 4-2. Zach Hyman now has three goals and nine shots since his return from injury two games ago. After a rough start, Hyman appears to be finding his game. He could be worth trying to buy low on.

–

Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Threads @goodsfantasyhockey