If this was J.T. Miller's last game with the Canucks, he gave the team a sample of what they will be missing. Miller had a highly effective game, picking up two primary power-play assists in the first period in a 3-2 win over Edmonton. Miller was also 18-for-23 in faceoffs, also getting matched up against Connor McDavid and not allowing a goal at 5-on-5. Miller also broke a five-game point drought, giving him 31 points in 35 games.

Based on what the hockey insiders are saying, the Canucks seem to have decided to trade Miller as opposed to Elias Pettersson. According to Elliotte Friedman, the Canucks were working on a Miller trade with the Rangers on Saturday, but it fell apart. Now we wait and see if a trade happens soon. From what I understand, New Jersey and Dallas have also been in the Miller mix.

That wasn't the only major fantasy-relevant storyline from the Canucks/Oilers rivalry match that concluded Hockey Day in Canada. Connor McDavid and Tyler Myers were both assessed match penalties for separate cross checks near the end of the game. They will both receive automatic hearings from the NHL as well. McDavid's situation will obviously be watched more closely as arguably the league's brightest star and the franchise player on fantasy teams everywhere.

Before the cross check, Conor Garland should have been penalized for lengthy and egregious interference on McDavid during the game's final seconds and the Oilers trying to score the tying goal. McDavid then lost his cool on Garland, who is skilled at getting under an opponent's skin.

Connor McDavid snaps with a BRUTAL cross-check on Conor Garland at the end of the game 😳

McDavid received a match penalty and was ejected. pic.twitter.com/Y3BwVI0N8S

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 19, 2025

McDavid has been suspended in the past. He received a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Nick Leddy back in 2019. You may also recall that McDavid escaped suspension or even a penalty for a fly-by elbow on Marcus Johansson on Wednesday, forcing Johansson from the game and out of the Minnesota lineup on Saturday. McDavid may not be so lucky this time, although you could also argue that he will receive the benefit of the doubt when it comes to receiving a suspension.

The Canucks and Oilers meet again on Thursday in Edmonton in what promises to be a spicy affair.

Lost in all of that was the fact that Quinn Hughes and Leon Draisaitl each scored two goals for their respective teams. Hughes scored twice on the power play in the first period, giving him four goals in his last four games and 50 points for the fifth time in six seasons (the other season being the 56-game COVID season). Meanwhile, Draisaitl scored twice in the second period, extending his league lead in goals with 33. Draisaitl is also second in points with 69. Both of these players deserve Hart Trophy consideration.

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Seth Jones is another name that is floating around the trade rumor mill recently. Jones picked up a goal and two assists in the Blackhawks' 5-3 win over Vegas on Saturday. If Jones is in fact on the trade block, he has been boosting his value recently with five points over his past three games. I'm sure the Blackhawks would have moved on from Jones by now if not for his $9.5 million cap hit that will last for five more seasons after this one. Perhaps the Hawks are considering retaining salary in any trade, although one would have to assume that the team will be in some sort of competitive window by then.

If Jones is in fact traded, he likely wouldn't log the 24-26 minutes that he has with Chicago in his four seasons there, which would hurt his counting stats. As well, he may not be featured on another team's top power play. However, that could be offset by more 5-on-5 offense that he could gain from playing on a higher-scoring team.

The Blackhawks have several other players that would be easier to trade than Jones before the deadline. The Midseason Guide provides an explanation of who those players on the trade block might be, not only for the Blackhawks but also for all 31 other teams.

Tyler Bertuzzi scored a pair of goals for the Hawks. That gives him multiple points over back-to-back games. He also has nine shots over that span. He has fantasy value as long as he is playing on a line with Connor Bedard.

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About the Midseason Guide: in case you missed it, it is now available! You'll find second-half projections by team in the PDF guide and on a downloadable spreadsheet, upsides, analysis, goalie situations, trade deadline breakdowns, advanced stats, prospects information, our usual NCAA and European free agents to watch, and much more. Head over to the Dobber Sports Store, or check your Downloads if you pre-purchased it.

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The Ottawa/Boston game was a fantastic start to Hockey Day in Canada. Necessary nastiness for a strong division rivalry, a Josh Norris game-tying goal with just 12 seconds left in regulation, and an eventual 6-5 shootout win for the hometown Senators.

Norris' goal was his second of the game, which is just one goal shy of Brady Tkachuk for the team lead. Nick Jensen, Tim Stutzle, and Claude Giroux also had two points for the Senators. The Senators also brought the shots, taking 44 on Jeremy Swayman. Tkachuk and Shane Pinto each took 8 SOG and Jake Sanderson took 7 SOG.

Even though Tkachuk provided the peripherals (5 hits and 4 PIM as well), he is without a point in his last six games. The good thing about having Tkachuk on your roster in multicategory leagues is that you don't have to completely rely on his scoring.

Leevi Merilainen allowed five goals, which snapped his string of quality starts at four games. However, Merilainen has picked up wins in four of his last five games. With the injury to Linus Ullmark, Merilainen has unseated Anton Forsberg as the Senators' starter for the time being. Expect Forsberg to start today (Sunday) against New Jersey, although Merilainen clearly has the upper hand at the moment. The Senators will have a decision on their hands when Ullmark returns, but the most likely course of action is that Merilainen will be sent to the AHL because he does not need waivers.  

David Pastrnak led the Bruins with a goal, two assists, and six shots on goal, giving him three consecutive games of three points. After a so-so first half, Pasta seems ready for a second-half surge. He's back over the point-per-game mark (51 PTS in 47 GP) and nearly a 90-point pace.

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In Colorado's 6-3 win over Dallas, Artturi Lehkonen led the way with two goals and two assists and a plus-4. In fact, the Avalanche's second line of Lehkonen, Jonathan Drouin, and Casey Mittelstadt carried the team in this game. Drouin and Mittelstadt each finished with a goal and two assists of their own. Lehkonen is a true Band-Aid Boy, having not played more than 74 games in a season since 2018-19. Yet when he's in the lineup, he's a must-start. He has 18 goals in just 35 games.

Cale Makar scored a pair of goals for the Avalanche. He leads all defensemen in scoring with 52 points in 47 games.

In the loss, Jason Robertson scored two goals and an assist, while Wyatt Johnston registered three assists. After quiet starts to the season, both players are turning up the offense. Robertson has 27 points in his last 24 games after just 13 points in his first 21 games, while Johnston has 23 points in his last 24 games after just 12 points in his first 21 games. The two haven't been linemates for much of the season, but they have been recently.

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Spencer Knight made 34 saves in picking up a 3-0 shutout win over the Ducks. Knight has now picked up quality starts in each of his past three games. Knight has also started two of the past three games for the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky has hit a rough patch recently, having allowed four goals in each of his last three games while getting pulled for Knight in his last start. It would make sense for the Panthers to give Bobrovsky as much rest as he needs to keep him fresh for another long playoff run, which would mean more starts for Knight.

Sam Reinhart was ejected for kneeing Isac Lundestrom, who left the game after the hit. We'll have to wait and see whether Reinhart receives any supplemental discipline.

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The Canadiens looked like they had things under control with a 3-0 lead over the Leafs after the first period on Saturday. But then the Leafs countered with seven unanswered goals en route to a 7-3 win. Oliver Ekman-Larsson led the way with a goal and two assists and a plus-4. The points were OEL's first in six games. At least his cap hit is at a more manageable $3.5 million these days.

Auston Matthews isn't having his best season with the injury worries. Yet with a goal on Saturday, Matthews now has six goals in his last six games. If he can stay healthy, he could be in for a better second half.

Mitch Marner chipped in another two assists, giving him 64 points in just 47 games.

Mitch Marner has been an integral part of the Maple Leafs offence pic.twitter.com/SnW0WNrAjN

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) January 18, 2025

Patrik Laine has 11 goals in just 17 games this season. Ten of those goals have been on the power play. That ties Canadiens a record for fewest games to 10 power-play goals, which was set by Yvan Cournoyer in 1970-71. Laine will obviously come back to earth, but health and not effectiveness is the main concern with Laine anyway.

Lane Hutson has an assist on nine of Laine's 11 goals this season. Hutson did in fact assist on Laine's goal on Saturday, giving Hutson 11 points over his last seven games. However, all of those Toronto goals meant that Hutson finished the game as a minus-5. Hutson can obviously bring the scoring as the rookie scoring leader, but his defensive game might need some work.

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Are the Calgary Flames in a playoff spot because of Dustin Wolf? The rookie goalie made 38 saves in the Flames' 3-1 win over Winnipeg. Wolf now has four wins and four quality starts over his last five games. Wolf leads all rookie goalies in games played (25), wins (16), and quality starts (15). Among all goalies, Wolf is seventh with a 12.34 GSAA (goals saved above average).

Blake Coleman led the Flames with a goal, two assists, and four shots on goal.

Andrei Kuzmenko scored his first goal in 28 games, dating all the way back to October 15. He has now been healthy scratched by two teams. Since he's on the last year of his contract, I wonder if he's back in the KHL next season. He can't be trusted defensively, so he doesn't have any value to a team if he is not scoring either.

Since his callup from the AHL, Rory Kerins has four assists in four games. His icetime total isn't super high (11:48 on Saturday), but he is seeing some power-play time. He could continue to get a look in the NHL as long as Connor Zary is out. Kerins was a sixth-round pick in 2020 who scored 34 points in 34 AHL games this season, so his keeper league value has been on the rise.

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Saturday also featured a rare shutout loss. Daniil Tarasov stopped all 26 shots he faced in regulation and overtime, but the difference was that he could not stop Vincent Trocheck in the shootout in the 1-0 loss to the Rangers. Zero goals were scored for fantasy teams, so I'll only focus on goalies from this game. Tarasov now has back-to-back quality starts for the Blue Jackets, a team that has struggled in net for much of the season. Elvis Merzlikins has four wins and two quality starts in his last four games, so Columbus goaltending has improved recently.

At the other end, Igor Shesterkin stopped all 27 shots he faced, giving him four wins and four quality starts in his last five games. The Rangers seem to have passed through the storm, having won four of their past five games. That seems to have helped Shesterkin get back on track. Despite the Rangers not meeting expectations, Shesterkin has 21 quality starts this season, which is good for sixth in the NHL.

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Charlie Lindgren dressed as the backup goalie on Saturday after missing the past few games with an upper-body injury. Not that Lindgren has been ineffective, but the Capitals should consider giving the starting job to Logan Thompson outright. Thompson lost his bid for a third consecutive shutout midway through the third period, but still picked up a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh. His shutout streak of 198:23 is the third-longest in Capitals history. Playing four consecutive games did not hurt his effectiveness at all, so maybe Spencer Carbery will start him with more frequency going forward.

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No one was banking on a Jaden Schwartz bounce back this season, but that is what is happening. Schwartz picked up a hat trick on six shots in the Kraken's 4-2 win over Los Angeles. With the three goals, Schwartz now has seven points over his last five games, and he is currently on a 58-point pace (33 PTS in 47 GP). He is also shooting the puck more, averaging more than a half shot per game more (2.4 SOG/GP) compared to last season (1.9 SOG/GP).

Kaapo Kakko assisted on all three of Schwartz's goals. Since being traded to Seattle, Kakko has 13 points in 14 games. Much of his time with his new club has been spent on a line with Schwartz and Matty Beniers, so Kakko's acquisition seems to be helping Schwartz as well. Kakko's icetime is up over three minutes per game (13:17 to 16:38) from where it was with the Rangers. If you've been waiting on him in keeper leagues, then it appears that this trade might be exactly what he needed.

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With a goal and two assists on Saturday, Logan Cooley has goals in three consecutive games and six points over his last four games. In his second season, Cooley is only three points shy of his point total all of last season and is scoring at a near point-per-game pace (41 PTS in 45 GP). He has also benefitted recently from moving onto a line with Clayton Keller, who had a goal and three assists in the Utah Hockey Club's 4-2 win over St. Louis.

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