It is crazy to think that some teams have already played a double digit amount of games. So at this stage, this is when "starting off hot" starts turning into a trend and something that seems sustainable for more than just a stretch or some players that have had a good stretch start to cool down. For example, what is going on in Pittsburgh with Evgeni Malkin? Can he and his linemates keep up this pace they are on?

If we take a look at how much ice time some players are receiving, there are currently five skaters who are averaging over five minutes of ice time with the man advantage, but these players only come from two different teams: The Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche.

Obviously Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy are the two in Minnesota who will receive the bulk of that extra man time. The question is, can you find someone who will stick with those guys and hopefully receive some residual points from the two stars? They have had a number of combinations on the man advantage the last few games, but one skater who has stuck with them has been Vlad Tarasenko. He started out with five points in six games, but hasn't reached the scoresheet in his last four contests. He is a guy to keep an eye out for because once the ketchup starts flowing out of that bottle, he could be a sneaky producer stashed on your bench.

It is all the usual suspects in Colorado as Nate MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Cale Makar are the three getting the bulk of the five-on-four time. The coaching staff keep rotating Brock Nelson and Val Nichushkin in that four spot, but the fifth skater has stuck with the main three for the majority of the season and that is Victor Olofsson. He is an uber skilled player, his career has just been derailed by the injury bug. He is the perfect complimentary player to guys like MacKinnon and Makar because he has a hard and accurate shot, but also carries some finesse in his game to create chances for his teammates on the rink. BONUS: He carries eligibility for both wing positions, making him a great bench stash… until he gets hurt.

New Jersey Devils – Another player that has quickly risen his team's depth chart this season has been Arseniy Gritsyuk. Coming over from the KHL, he earned a bottom-six spot out of training camp, but has found himself playing with Timo Meier and Nico Hischier the last few games. The skilled winger has found some chemistry with the two Swiss born players and I do not see them mixing these lines up anytime soon as they are currently on an eight game win streak and have the best record in the league at 8-1. Gritsyuk has six points in nine games (nice).

Pittsburgh Penguins – The Penguins were dealt a devastating blow when it was announced Rickard Rakell underwent hand surgery. After posting career highs in goals and points last season, he had picked up where he left off with three tallies and eight points in nine games before the injury. Ville Koivunen was called up as his replacement and he played with Crosby at the start of the season when Bryan Rust was injured, but this time around has started on the fourth line. In six games for the baby Pens, he has four goals and 11 points so here is to hoping he brings some of the confidence up with him.

However, it was Filip Hallander who got the first look on the top line and he contributed with an assist on Rust's first goal of the game.

One line that the Penguins are not going to separate consists of Malkin, Anthony Mantha, and Justin Brazeau. This line scored the second goal of the game for Pittsburgh on Monday night and tacked on an empty netter. Geno currently leads the league in assists and is tied for the lead in points. Another guy in a contract year and maybe wanting one last NHL contract? (with the season he is having, you know a team would be willing to pay him).

With the team's hot start, maybe they make one more kick at the Cup can or he'll force a contender's hand (Panthers?) to trade for him before the trade deadline. Brazeau is third on this team in points (11) and Mantha is tied for second in goals on this squad (with Brazeau at five). This line has been why they are off to such a hot start so if Mantha can stay healthy and this trio keeps competing, Mantha and Brazeau could shatter their personal bests.

Vancouver Canucks – The Canucks had been looking for a center since the draft and they made an under the radar move with a trade involving the Chicago Blackhawks. The Canucks acquired former first round pick Lukas Reichel in exchange for a fourth round selection. I call this one under the radar because Reichel is not typically a center. The Blackhawks have tried him there at times during his tenure, but he is naturally a winger.

Upon his arrival in Vancouver, Head Coach Adam Foote immediately put him in between Evander Kane and Brock Boeser. The trio has not put up the greatest analytical numbers during the trial run, but this is a great spot for him to start in. It shows that they traded for him to be an offensive force with their squad and they will give him some opportunities. If the center experiment does not pan out, a chance with Elias Pettersson would be a welcomed site to fantasy managers.

Good luck to everyone this week. I lost a matchup on the final day because of a few flips of goalie stats. Biscuits!

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