Hey, it’s Ian filling in for Cliffy, who will be filling in for me later this week.

According to Panthers reporter Armando Velez, Aleksander Barkov is expected to be sidelined for 10-12 weeks with his most recent knee injury. That timeline would mean that Barkov would return around Christmas or New Year's Day. Kevin Bissonette broke down the Barkov injury in more detail in the latest Injury Ward. To add to that, I'll share the Panthers' line combinations from Sunday's game against Anaheim:

11:45    23.0%   SAM BENNETT – CARTER VERHAEGHE – MATTHEW TKACHUK

10:23    20.3%   EETU LUOSTARINEN – ANTON LUNDELL – SANDIS VILMANIS

8:52       17.3%   BRAD MARCHAND – SAM REINHART – BRADY TKACHUK

5:12       10.2%   LARS ELLER – GARNET HATHAWAY – BOKONDJI IMAMA

That isn't really flattering for Anton Lundell, who was expected to benefit by moving up the lineup. Lundell was also not on the top power play, although that was not to be expected. The Panthers have adjusted by moving Sam Reinhart to center. Reinhart logged 22:19 in this game, while Sam Bennett received 21:52. Bennett is the player who could stand to gain the most, as he was also on the top power play. Lars Eller could also be a player to watch, even though he has at age 37 cemented himself as a defensive specialist.

–

Alex Ovechkin has announced that this season will be his final one. Based on his on-ice performance, Ovechkin has the numbers to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer as the all-time leader in goals (929). Unless he somehow has a 70-goal season in him (which he has never done), Ovechkin will not become the first player to score 1000 goals in his career. Breaking Wayne Gretzky's goal record is enough of an accomplishment, since that record seemed unbreakable at one point. 

Ovechkin may have noticed the writing on the wall based on his season deployment: two games with 12:46 and 13:34 in icetime. He is still taking his normal place on the Capitals' top power play, but the Capitals' depth at forward is resulting in Ovie's fantasy value taking a hit. In two games, Ovechkin has no goals and just one shot on net.

–

Macklin Celebrini was a late scratch for Monday's game in Dallas because of a lower-body injury. That threw off the Sharks, who were forced to move Alexander Wennberg into Celebrini's usual spot with Will Smith and Mason Marchment in a 5-0 loss to the Stars. A rising tide lifts all boats, and that is what Celebrini does for the San Jose Sharks. For now, Celebrini is considered day-to-day, and he is still being evaluated according to coach Ryan Warsofsky. The Sharks next play on Thursday against St. Louis.

Meanwhile, the Stars were able to shake their scoring slump, as they entered Monday's game with just a single goal in their first two games. Jason Robertson and Jamie Benn each scored a goal and added an assist, while Roope Hintz registered two assists.

How out of sorts were the Sharks without Celebrini? Jake Oettinger had to face only 13 shots in picking up his first shutout of the season. Oettinger has quality starts in both of his games this season, and he has only faced a combined 35 shots over those two games.  

–

Cole Perfetti scored the game-winning goal in the Winnipeg Jets' 3-2 win over Pittsburgh. Perfetti now has five points in three games, with points in all three games. On Sunday in Detroit, Perfetti exploded for three power-play points (1 G, 2 A) in another 3-2 win. What makes Perfetti appealing is the fact that he is on the top line with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, as well as the top power play. He's rostered in only 23% of Yahoo leagues, so he is a player worth targeting if he is available in your fantasy league.

Alex Iafallo led the Jets with a goal and an assist in the win, while Adam Lowry also scored a goal.

Ben Kindel and Declan Carlile paced the Penguins with a goal and an assist in the Monday loss. I saw someone on X recently comment that Carlile is looking like Randy Carlyle* right now with four points over his first three games. He has not received any power-play time and has appeared in over 20 minutes just once over those three games. However, Carlile is also contributing peripherals such as eight shots and six blocked shots over those three games.

*The ex-Penguins defenseman version, not the ex-NHL coach version.

–

Porter Martone has appeared in four games and is still without a point. More was expected from Martone after he debuted late last season with 10 points in nine games – numbers that made him a pre-season favorite for the Calder Trophy. More was also expected from the Philadelphia Flyers, who are still winless. Martone is averaging just over 13 minutes of icetime, so hopefully he is not receiving the same treatment from Rick Tocchet that Matvei Michkov received last season. He's not droppable in single-season leagues yet, but he can probably be benched whenever a roster conflict exists until he shows signs of a turnaround.

In the Tampa Bay Lightning's 4-1 win over Philadelphia, Pontus Holmberg and Ilya Mikheyev each scored a goal and added an assist. Nikita Kucherov finished with two assists.

–

In the Ottawa Senators' 4-1 win over Boston, Tim Stutzle led the way with a pair of goals and an assist. Stutzle now has four points over his first two games.

In Jake Sanderson's absence, Carter Yakemchuk was on the Senators' top power play. He did not register a point and appeared in just under 15 minutes total, so his even-strength minutes are being capped. Meanwhile, both Thomas Chabot and Jordan Spence logged over 24 minutes in this game.

It wasn't all good news for the Sens on Monday, as Linus Ullmark left the game after a collision in the crease. Coach Travis Green said that Ullmark was pulled after two periods for precautionary reasons, so for now the injury doesn't sound serious. Samuel Ersson took over from Ullmark for the third period. Expect Ersson to start today (Tuesday) in Detroit, since the game is the second of back-to-backs. Ullmark's status should be considered uncertain after that.  

–

In a bit of a surprise, the Flames have placed Connor Zary on waivers. Zary has played in two games this season, registering one assist in 13:38 of icetime while being a healthy scratch on Saturday against Vancouver. Zary's scoring rate has dipped from 0.54 PTS/GP in 2023-24 (34 PTS in 63 GP) to 0.34 PTS/GP in 2025-26 (25 PTS in 74 GP). The Flames as a team have scored just three goals in three games. Zary was a first-round pick in 2020 who just turned 25, so other teams should have interest. Zary's $3.77 million cap hit won't appeal to every team, though.

–

Lots of crazy things happen during the first week of the season. Who would have guessed that the team leading the NHL in goals as of Monday morning would be… the Vancouver Canucks. That is partially because the Canucks were one of two teams to play four games last week, but also because the Canucks' goal totals in those four games were 6, 7, 4, and 2 goals. 

Even more inexplicable is the fact that the player leading the team in goals and tied for the team lead in points is Paul Cotter. That output was enough for Cotter to earn the NHL's Third Star of the Week. In just four games, Cotter has already scored four goals while adding two assists, tying Elias Pettersson for the team lead in points.

For the Canucks, Cotter is this year's version of Kiefer Sherwood. Since Cotter is on a one-year deal, the Canucks could receive a solid return for him at the trade deadline. To give you an idea, the Canucks received two second-round picks for Sherwood last season. That's exactly what a team that just started a rebuild needs.

For fantasy teams, Cotter provides a ton of hits, with scoring being the added bonus. Cotter has averaged over 200 hits per season over his past three seasons (not including this one). However, his highest goal total is 16 (from 2024-25), while his highest point total is 25 (from 2023-24). This isn't a guy that has suddenly figured out how to score. This is a guy who is riding an absurdly high 57.1% shooting rate (4 G on 7 SOG).

Under normal circumstances, Cotter is not a power-play option at all. Yet with Jake DeBrusk missing the Canucks' weekend games, Cotter was elevated to the top power play on Sunday, as well as a scoring line with Brock Boeser and Liam Ohgren. DeBrusk's absence may simply be related to illness, so Cotter's promotion could be very short-term.

Cotter is worth adding in bangers leagues for his hit total, but consider the scoring a short-term run. This is to say that you shouldn't feel bad if you missed out on Cotter.

–

Data was taken from Frozen Tools unless otherwise noted.

Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Bluesky @goodsfantasyhockey.bsky.social