Auston Matthews missed Saturday's game after being reinjured during Friday's game. According to Craig Berube, Matthews took a cross-check late in the third period on the power play and re-aggravated the upper-body injury that forced him to miss time earlier this season. Matthews should be considered very questionable for Monday's game against Winnipeg, but it would make perfect sense for the Leafs to not dress him for that game and let him rest over the holiday break.

I could not determine who would replace Matthews on the Leafs' top power play. That is because not a single penalty was called in the Leafs/Islanders game. The Oilers/Golden Knights matchup on December 3 is the only other penalty-free game this season.

William Nylander scored twice for the Leafs while taking seven shots on goal. Nylander has five goals in his last three games as well as a six-game point streak with 10 points over that span.

Anthony Duclair returned to the Islanders' lineup on Saturday after missing the past two months with a lower-body injury. Duclair picked up an assist while playing on a line with Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson.

In the Islanders' 6-3 win, Bo Horvat scored a goal while adding two assists.

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Let's check in on Jonathan Huberdeau. In the Flames' 6-4 win over Chicago, Huberdeau had a goal and an assist. That gives Huberdeau 13 points (6 G, 7 A) in his last 10 games. The Flames are hanging around the playoff race, so one reason they may be a better team than expected is that Huberdeau has bumped up his scoring pace recently. Huby is rostered in only 26% of Yahoo leagues, so this might be a good time to add him. He is riding the wave of a 21.7 SH%, but a 16.7% secondary assist rate means that he can still provide even more of the stat that has been his calling card throughout his career.

Also each with a goal and an assist, Matt Coronato has six points in his last four games, Connor Zary has four points in his last three games, and Blake Coleman has six points in his last five games.  

Are things starting to turn around for Connor Bedard? In a losing cause, Bedard scored a goal and added two assists. Since December 7, Bedard has 10 points over his last eight games. Here's an interesting question about what Bedard's upside is.

After 100 games in the NHL, do you feel that Connor Bedard's career production will mimic more closely to John Tavares, Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid?

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) December 19, 2024

If you have a Bedard owner in your league who thinks his upside is that of John Tavares, I'd submit that buy-low offer. Let's not lose sight of the fact that Bedard is only 19 years old and will have a long career. Bedard will be a better player once he is surrounded with more talent. It's plain to see that the Blackhawks need more time with their rebuild, so patience is the key for the big reward.

On Bedard's line, Tyler Bertuzzi scored two goals and added an assist. Bertuzzi also accrued 14 minutes in penalties, which had much to do with this sequence:

Tyler Bertuzzi gave Jonathan Huberdeau a NASTY chop to the back of the legs during a scrum 😳 pic.twitter.com/sLSEIYnPdp

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 21, 2024

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Yaroslav Askarov deserved better on Saturday. The Sharks rookie goalie made 39 saves, but that was not enough for a win against the Oilers. Recently recalled due to Vitek Vanecek's upper-body injury, Askarov has quality starts in all three of the games he has played in this season. Vanecek is expected to be out for the next 2-3 weeks, while Alexandar Georgiev hasn't consistently proven he should be an NHL starting goalie.

Clearly the goalie of the future for San Jose, Askarov could easily push for starts as long as he is up with the big club. Vanecek and Georgiev are both in the final season of their contracts and are thus trade bait for the rebuilding Sharks, so Askarov could be a permanent NHLer by the trade deadline. Askarov is only 10 percent rostered in Yahoo, so he's worth a flier in single-season leagues.

In the Oilers' overtime win, Connor McDavid assisted on all three goals. McDavid has 17 points over his last eight games as he continues to make ground in the NHL scoring race.

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On Askarov's old team, Justus Annunen is making a case for more playing time. In the Predators' 3-2 overtime win over the Kings, Annunen made 22 saves. Annunen has not allowed more than two goals in any of his three games with Nashville. It might be worth the Predators' while to give Juuse Saros more rest if Annunen can continue to play well.

Roman Josi returned to the Preds' lineup on Saturday after missing three games with a lower-body injury. Josi picked up an assist in 26 minutes of icetime.

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Matt Rempe has been offered an in-person hearing for his hit on Miro Heiskanen on Friday. That means he could be facing a suspension of more than five games. The fact that this hearing is on the table surely means that Rempe will be suspended.

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Patrik Laine scored yet again on Saturday. That gives him five goals in three games and eight goals in nine games this season. I wrote about Laine yesterday, and nothing much to add today except to reiterate that he is on quite a run. So are the Habs, if you consider a three-game win streak consisting of a win against Buffalo and back-to-back wins against Detroit to be an accomplishment. To that, all a team can do is play the games that appear on the schedule.  

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The battle for top spot in the Central Division was a one-sided affair, with the Jets taking the Wild by a score of 5-0. Connor Hellebuyck turned away 19 shots for his 21^st win and fourth shutout of the season – both league-leading totals. Hellebuyck also has four wins and five quality starts in his last five games. No issues to speak of here.

Cole Perfetti led the Jets with a goal and two assists on Saturday. Perfetti had not scored a goal in his previous 10 games, although he is heating up with six points in his last six games.

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With a goal on Saturday, Brad Marchand extended his point streak to nine games. Marchand has 10 points over those nine games and has earned exactly one point over each of his last seven games.

After returning to the Sabres' lineup on Friday, Rasmus Dahlin missed Saturday's game. However, coach Lindy Ruff said that Dahlin's absence was planned.

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Jacob Markstrom faced a grand total of 12 shots in picking up a shutout over the Penguins. The lack of shots faced shouldn't take away from the fact that Markstrom has been hot recently with four wins and four quality starts over his last four games. Over those four games, Markstrom has allowed just three total goals. His fantasy value has improved with the trade to New Jersey during the offseason.

In the Devils' 3-0 win, Nico Hischier scored a goal and added two assists. That gives him five points over his last four games.

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Owen Tippett scored the game-winning goal in overtime and added three assists in the Flyers' 5-4 win over Columbus. Tippett hasn't always offered consistent production this season, but he is heating up with six points over his last three games.

Travis Konecny chipped in three assists for the Flyers. He has been feasting for much of the season with 30 points over his last 22 games.

All five of the Flyers' goals in this game were either in the third period or overtime.

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The Ottawa Senators are putting it together. An overtime goal from Jake Sanderson extended their win streak to six games, giving them a 5-4 overtime win over the Canucks. Sanderson had an excellent game, also adding two assists with three shots and three blocked shots.

Shane Pinto was invisible for the first month of the season with only three points in his first 20 games. Since then, Pinto has five goals and an assist over his last five games. Pinto scored a pair of goals and chipped in an assist in Saturday's game. He would be better off with top-6 deployment instead of centering Michael Amadio and Nick Cousins, which means he's better served for deeper leagues.

Quinn Hughes scored a goal, added two assists, and took five shots in this game. Hughes is now up to 40 points, which is just two points behind Cale Makar for the scoring lead among defensemen. This looks like it will be a two-horse race – maybe even for the Norris Trophy as well.

Brock Boeser scored a pair of goals for the Canucks. Boeser had scored just two goals in his previous 14 games before Friday's game. The Canucks have been struggling with scoring from their top forwards recently, so it was nice to see Boeser get back on the scoresheet.

Since Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller are a hot topic, I'll mention that Miller broke a three-game point drought with an assist. Miller is still without a goal in seven games, which is before he took his leave of absence. Miller also has difficulty with defensive coverage in overtime, which is how the Canucks have lost two of their last three games.

Pettersson is still without a point in his last six games. With his lack of production, the Canucks' OT loss, and the rift between him and Miller all building up, Pettersson was visibly frustrated in his post-game interview. This situation has clearly gotten into his head, so it may be a while before his production is back to where we expect it to be. Maybe when this story blows over, or when the Canucks get back into the win column. He could definitely use the holiday break to regroup, but the Canucks still have one more game against San Jose.

"I don't know why people still try and make s**t up."

Elias Pettersson addresses the reported rift between him and J.T. Miller. pic.twitter.com/6DblnvHSlZ

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 22, 2024

(This is the end of the interview, not the full interview.)

Kevin Lankinen started for the second consecutive game, even with Thatcher Demko back in the lineup. Demko was the backup in this game, so I'm not sure this is anything more than a rest issue for him.

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Mark Stone scored a goal and added two assists in the Golden Knights' 6-2 win over Seattle.

Jared McCann is without a point in his last four games and has just two goals in his last 17 games.

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This is my last Ramblings before December 25, so I would like to end this by wishing you the best this holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope this is an enjoyable time for you, however you spend it.

Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Threads @goodsfantasyhockey