The 2024 Dobber Hockey Midseason Guide has been released! There is rest-of-year outlooks, prospect updates (including those that may appear before the end of the regular season), which players to keep an eye on for the Trade Deadline, advanced statistics, and a whole lot more. A lot of work from the entire Dobber team went into this, so help support what we do 365 days a year and pick up a copy right here in the Dobber Shop.

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Some not-so-good news on Toronto forward John Tavares:

Maple Leafs F John Tavares has been placed on IR (lower body).

F Fraser Minten has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).

— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) January 16, 2025

The team said he would be week-to-week from here on out. Who knows how long that actually means, but Toronto only has five games in the next 15 days (after Thursday night's game), and only eight leading up to the break for the Four Nations Cup.

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Ottawa defenceman Thomas Chabot missed the game on Thursday night:

Chabot is out for tonight. Day to day. Amadio is in #sens Sebrango plays his first NHL game.

— Chris Stevenson 🇨🇦🏒⛳️🍺 (@CJ_Stevenson) January 16, 2025

Like Tavares, let's hope this doesn't drag on too long because Chabot is a key part of whatever offence the team is able to generate at even strength. He had been having a good fantasy season even without top power play time, too.

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Dallas forward Roope Hintz was not in the lineup for Dallas's game on Thursday night. He left their last game and did not return and still isn't back. This is a Stars team starting to go through a lot of injuries and eventually, it becomes too much for a team to overcome.

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Colorado defenceman Samuel Girard was back in the lineup for the team's home game against Edmonton last night. He had only missed a few games, but it had led to a lot of ice time for top guys like Cale Makar and Devon Toews. Theoretically, that ice time should come down but coach Jared Bednar isn't shy about giving his top players heavy minutes.  

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Columbus picked up two points on Thursday night as they took care of business at home with the visiting San Jose Sharks in town. The Blue Jackets got a big game from their new second line of James van Riemsdyk, Cole Sillinger, and Kent Johnson as JvR had a pair of goals, Johnson tallied once, and Sillinger had four shots and two PIMs in the win. Johnson also assisted on one of the goals from van Riemsdyk, and that gives him 26 points in 31 games played this season. There are several reasons why the Jackets are in a playoff race, but Johnson is near the top of the list as he's brought the secondary scoring the team needs.

Zach Werenski performed as normal with an assist, seven shots, and a block. That gives him 177 shots in 45 games this season, which puts him just shy of four per game. There was always this kind of upside from him, but it's truly another level on this team and with all those minutes.

Elvis Merzlikins stopped 18 of 19 shots for the win. He has now won seven of his last nine starts, posting a .902 save percentage. It is funny (or not, for Jackets fans), to think of where this team could be in the standings had they gotten even .900 goaltending through the first two months of the season (it was .876 through their first 25 games).

Tyler Toffoli scored his 17^th of the season, and that was the only goal San Jose managed on the night. William Eklund assisted on that goal and now has 35 points in 42 games this season. He has 63 points across his last 82 regular season games.

Alexandar Georgiev took the loss, allowing three goals on 30 shots.

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Ottawa managed to take a point off Washington to help keep pace in their own playoff race, but Alex Ovechkin scored his 21^st of the season, this one in overtime, to give Washington the 1-0 win.

Logan Thompson was back in net for Washington and posted his 20^th win (and second shutout) of the season. He has 20 wins in 24 starts, which feels absolutely preposterous, and he hasn't lost two consecutive games all season. Just an unbelievable year from him so far.

Leevi Merilainen was solid for the Senators again, stopping 27 of the 28 shots faced, but took the hard-luck loss. That makes seven starts (eight games) for Merilainen this season, and is up to a .931 save percentage in those games. He has been a great story for the team as they are still without Linus Ullmark, and is showing flashes of the goalie the team wants (and needs) for the next decade. It is far too early for that, of course, but it's better than getting shelled.

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Florida was hosting a scorching Detroit team, even if they were coming off a loss to San Jose. The top Red Wings players carried the scoring once again, but Cam Talbot was stellar in net, stopping 41 of 43 shots he faced to help Detroit to a 5-2 win. It gave him his 11^th win of the season in 22 starts, but he has won all five appearances in calendar 2025. There have been some ups and downs for Talbot this season, but more good than bad, and he's on a good run right now.

Dylan Larkin finished with a pair of goals (one PP), one assist, and three shots in the victory. That makes 20 goals on the season for Larkin, and he's well on his way to his fourth straight 30-goal campaign. He also has 15 points in 10 games since coach Todd McLellan took over, registering at least one point in nine of those 10 games.

Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist (both PP) for another multi-point game, his sixth in 10 games under McLellan, and he also has 15 points in those 10 contests. He only had 14 points in his 29 games this season before McLellan, so the turnaround has been stark for him, specifically, even if the entire team is benefitting.

Marco Kasper also had a goal and an assist, his third two-point game in his last four outings. He has one fewer point in the last seven days (6) that he did the entire season before that (7). Again, a rising tide raises all boats.

Lucas Raymond had a pair of assists (one PP), three shots, and two PIMs.

Anton Lundell and Evan Rodrigues had the goals for Florida. They both had good multi-category nights as Lundell had that goal on three shots, adding five hits, while Rodrigues also had that one goal on three shots, adding four PIMs.

Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled after allowing four goals on 11 shots.

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Toronto was hosting New Jersey on Thursday night and erased three separate deficits (1-0, 2-1, 3-2) as Auston Matthews scored a game-tying goal late in the third period, his second of the game (the other was on the PP). William Nylander scored in overtime, his second tally of the game, to lift the Leafs to a hard-fought 4-3 win. Matthews totaled five shots and a block.

Going back to December 1^st, Matthews now has 12 goals in 18 games while averaging 3.7 shots per contest, and that's a lot more like him.

After a stretch that had seen Nylander post just three points in nine games, he had three points in this one, adding a power-play assist to the two goals he scored. He is now over a point-per-game pace with 47 in 46 games, and has 26 tallies on the year.

Joseph Woll stopped enough to hold on for the win, turning aside 21 of the 24 shots he faced.

Nico Hischier had a pair of power play goals, and Jack Hughes figured in on all three Devils tallies (PP assists on both Hischier goals, and an even-strength goal of his own), but it wasn't enough to get their team the two points in this one. Hughes finished the game with five shots, and he now has 50 points in his last 39 games, averaging a shade over four shots per game. He could reach 100 points for the first time in his career, as he's on pace for 96 right now.

Jacob Markstrom was very good for the Devils, but did give up four goals on 41 shots for the loss. It was the first time this season Markstrom faced at least 40 shots.

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Tampa Bay split up their power-play units, putting Nikita Kucherov on both halves while one half had Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel while the other had Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel. It seemed to pay off on Thursday night as both units had a power play goal (Guentzel and Cirelli), and Tampa Bay managed a 4-3 shootout win at home to Anaheim.

Kucherov finished with a pair of assists (one on the PP) and three shots. He has now registered at least two points in 18 of the 41 games he's played this season.

Cirelli's goal gives him 18 on the year, and two away from his career-high of 20 he set last season. It is reasonable to assume that he will set a career-high in goals this year.

Darren Raddysh was running one of the PP units, and got a powerplay assist while adding two shots, a block, and a hit in over 21 minutes of ice time. He had over four minutes of power-play time, and just 27 fewer seconds than Victor Hedman. Tampa Bay has a four-game week next week that includes Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, and Detroit. That is not a bad schedule, even if they're all road games, and two of those games are on light days. Something for streamers to keep in mind.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 34 of 37 shots for the win.

Leo Carlsson, Robby Fabbri, and Troy Terry all scored for Anaheim. That was just Carlsson's fifth goal in his last 30 games, so it was nice to see from him.

Terry keeps up his hot streak as he has nine goals and 22 points in his last 22 games, averaging just over three shots per game.

Lukas Dostal saved as many shots as Vasilevskiy during regular play, just not as many in the shootout, and took the loss.

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A trio of assists (one SH) from Travis Konecny was the boost the Philadelphia Flyers needed to topple the New York Islanders 5-3. Those three assists push him to a 95-point pace on the season as his superb season continues without much slowing down.

Sean Couturier had a goal and an assist, and Noah Cates, Morgan Frost, Garnet Hathaway (SH), and Cam York all got in the goal column.

Joel Farabee was in the lineup for the Flyers and managed two assists, three shots, two blocks, two PIMs, and a hit. That was his first multi-point game of the season.

Samuel Ersson stopped 26 of 29 shots for the win.

Bo Horvat had a goal (PP) and an assist to go with seven shots and a pair of hits. Mathew Barzal had a goal on two shots while Anders Lee had the other tally, managing two shots overall. That was Lee's 20^th goal of the season in 44 games played, as many as he had in 81 games last season.

Ilya Sorokin gave up four goals on 23 shots in the loss.

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St. Louis's fantastic second line had another big game as Brayden Schenn had two goals (one PP), Jordan Kyrou also scored, and Dylan Holloway had a pair of assists as St. Louis took a 4-1 win at home to Calgary. The Blues have taken four points off the Flames this week, and now sit one point behind them for the final Wild Card spot.

Schenn finished with two goals on three shots with two hits. He now has 12 points in his last 15 games, totaling 32 hits along the way.

Colton Parayko had the other goal and finished with three shots and a hit. That was Parayko's 10^th goal of the season and he now has the same score line (10 goals, 16 assists) in 46 games as he did in 82 games last season.

Joel Hofer stopped 28 of 29 shots in the win.

Yegor Sharangovich scored Calgary's lone goal. That is three goals in three games for him as Rory Kerins seems to be making a difference on that third line.

Dustin Wolf allowed all four goals on 29 shots.

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Filip Forsberg scored a late goal in the third period to tie Nashville's home game against Chicago 2-2, and the Predators toppled the Blackhawks in the shootout to earn the extra point. Forsberg finished with seven shots and six hits, and now has goals in four straight games. That buy-low window has slammed shut.

Steven Stamkos scored the other goal for Nashville (PP). He now has eight goals and eight assists in his last 16 games, though just 26 shots so beware of that shooting percentage (30.8%).

Juuse Saros stopped 24 of 26 shots for the win.

Connor Bedard and Alec Martinez scored for the Blackhawks. Bedard finished with three shots and a hit in nearly 25 minutes of ice time and has 10 goals and 17 assists in his last 27 games.

Arvid Soderblom had a very good game in net, allowing two goals on 41 shots, but took the loss in the shootout.

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Montreal is in the midst of a 22-game stretch between Christmas and the Four Nations Cup break that features 16 games against teams either in or just outside of a playoff spot (like Vancouver). With a 3-1 win in Dallas on Thursday night, the Canadiens are now 8-1-1 in that stretch. They need just five points in their next 12 games to go .500 for that difficult stretch.

Juraj Slafkovsky, Alex Newhook, and Joel Armia all scored for the Canadiens. Slafkovsky finished with three shots and three hits to go with his goal. It isn't huge production, but he does have nine points in his last 14 games. He just isn't shooting much (18 shots in those 14 games).

Nick Suzuki had two assists with a shot, a block, and three hits in 19:15 of ice time. He is now over a point-per-game pace (45 in 44 games) and could reach 150 shots, 70 blocks, and 70 hits along the way. A very good multi-cat effort thus far.

Jakub Dobes was a big difference-maker again for the Canadiens, stopping 32 of 33 shots for the win. He now has a .963 save percentage in four starts, allowing four goals along the way. Those four starts have all been on the road, and include Florida, Washington, Colorado, and Dallas. It is hard for a goalie to have a more impressive start to an NHL career.

Jason Robertson had a goal on four shots with a pair of hits in the loss. He now has seven goals and 22 points in his last 18 games, landing nearly three shots per game as his season has turned around in a big way.

Jake Oettinger allowed two goals on 23 shots in the loss.

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Winnipeg limited Seattle to just 19 shots, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 18 of them as the Jets took a 2-1 win at home. Mark Scheifele (PP) and Dylan DeMelo scored for the Jets, and that was Scheifele's 27^th goal of the season. He is on pace for 48 goals and that would shatter his previous career-high mark of 42.

Hellebuyck now has 28 wins in 36 starts with a .929 save percentage and a 1.97 goals against average. He has been far-and-away the best fantasy goalie on the season and could be the top fantasy player (skater or goalie) in a lot of formats this season.

Matty Beniers scored the lone Kraken goal, managing that one shot and two blocks. He now has five goals in his last 10 games after scoring just four in his previous 35 appearances.

Joey Daccord was excellent in net for the Kraken, saving 34 of 36 shots, but took the loss.

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Artemi Panarin scored twice to help lift the New York Rangers to a road win in Utah. He now has eight points in his last six games, registering 18 shots along the way. The Rangers have turned their play around over the last few weeks and he's reaped the reward.

Arthur Kaliyev scored his first goal in a Rangers uniform as Reilly Smith (SH) and Chris Kreider had the other goals. Alexis Lafreniere had an assist, four shots, a block, two PIMs, and a hit in a very good multi-cat night.

Igor Shesterkin stopped 28 of 31 shots for the win.

Matias Maccelli scored twice for Utah, managing five shots and a block. That makes four goals in six games for Maccelli after scoring just three times in the previous 37 games. Maccelli also has 15 shots on goal in those six games as he, Barrett Hayton, and Josh Doan have formed a very good second line as Logan Cooley moved to the top line in Dylan Guenther's absence.

Cooley had the other goal for Utah (on the PP). He finished the game with two shots and a hit in over 20 minutes of ice time, and he has 26 points in 25 games dating back to late November.

Karel Vejmelka allowed four goals on 24 shots in the loss.

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Edmonton fell behind Colorado 3-0 through the first 12 minutes of the first period, and the Oilers were playing their second game in as many nights. It seemed like a wrap for this game, but then Viktor Arvidsson scored late in the first period to claw back one goal. Brett Kulak and Connor McDavid both scored in the second period, and then Evan Bouchard capped off the comeback with an overtime winner to lift the Oilers to a 4-3 win. It was a very impressive win in a tough situation, especially considering Colorado goalie MacKenzie Blackwood had given up two-or-fewer goals in his 12 prior starts with the Avalanche. He gave up four goals on 27 shots for the loss.

McDavid finished with a goal and an assist, and now has 17 goals and 37 assists in 32 games since returning from injury in early November, totaling 99 shots along the way. Those 82-game paces are for 44 goals, 95 assists, and 254 shots.

Bouchard totaled a goal, an assist, five shots, and a block. He got burned by Nathan MacKinnon for a goal against but more than made up for it elsewhere.

Stuart Skinner stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced for the win.

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Los Angeles's new(ish) top line buried Vancouver early as Alex Turcotte scored twice with Adrian Kempe adding another through the first 10 minutes of the game. Unlike Edmonton, Vancouver would not mount the comeback as the Kings took a 5-1 win.

Turcotte managed those two goals on four shots, assisted on Kempe's goal, and added a block along the way. He now has 11 points in his last 15 games, and none of those points have come on the power play.

Both Kempe and Kevin Fiala finished with a goal and an assist (Fiala's goal was on the power play). Kempe is now up to 21 goals and 20 assists on the season and could surpass his previous career-best goal mark of 41 goals in 82 games back in 2022-23.

Warren Foegele had the other goal for the Kings, managing three shots, two blocks, and a hit.

Darcy Kuemper stopped 20 of 21 shots for the win.

Quinn Hughes scored Vancouver's lone goal, totaling three shots and a block.

Thatcher Demko allowed all five goals on 21 shots faced.