Nine games were on tap Monday evening, and there was no shortage of goals. 

 

The Panthers defeated the Senators 7-5 in one of the early affairs. Florida was led by perennial all-star and fantasy stalwart, Juho Lammikko and his four assists. Wait, do you not know who Lammikko is? Well fret not, you’re not alone. The 22-year-old forward is working on a quiet rookie season but had some fun on Monday. But please, don’t race to add him.

 

However, the win came with a cost. Vincent Trocheck left the game after a nasty looking ankle injury. He needed to be stretchered off the ice and it’s expected he’ll be out long term.

 

 

This likely means we see a player like Jared McCann getting a look up the lineup. But more importantly, it should also spell the promotion of Henrik Borgstrom. The team’s top prospect has been playing quite well in the American League thus far. He’s recorded 14 points in as many games.

 

There's also an opening on the top power-play unit. Mike Hoffman makes some sense, but we'll see. 

 

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Matt Duchene recorded a goal and two helpers to continue his tremendous season. He’s up to 27 points in 21 contests. That’s good for a share of fourth most in the league. This guy is going to get paid.

 

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Speaking of UFA’s to be, teammate, Mark Stone has 24 points in 21 games. Jeff Skinner is rolling in Buffalo with 14 goals and 22 points in 21 contests, and Artemi Panarin is up to 22 points in 20 games.

 

It’s my expectation that three of these players will be in different uniforms next season. Likely by March.

 

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Speaking of Panarin, he’s been reunited with Cam Atkinson and Pierre-Luc Dubois of late and the Blue Jackets’ top line has been dangerous. The trio came together for five points on Monday evening but it wasn’t enough against the Maple Leafs.

 

Toronto took the game 4-2 on the backs of two-point nights from Mitch Marner and John Tavares. Marner now has 28 points in 21 games and sits third in league scoring. He’s an RFA next summer and the Leafs may be in trouble. They’re struggling to sign William Nylander to a deal in the 6-7-million-dollar range, and the monster contract that Marner will be looking for won’t be any easier.

 

Morgan Rielly tacked on an assist to extend his point streak to six games and eight points. He’s been held off the scoresheet five times this year. He has 26 points in the other 16 games. He’s seventh in league scoring.

 

Ridiculous.

 

 

Meanwhile, Freddy Andersen had another terrific evening stopping 37 or 39 shots for his league-leading 12^th win of the year. He’s sporting a 0.935 save percentage and is giving his team a chance every single night.

 

This team is a fantasy gold mine.

 

 

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Cal Petersen is enjoying life in California. The rookie netminder made 24 stops to record his first career shutout as LA blanked the Blues 2-0.

 

 The 24-year-old has been better than average in his four appearances and looks to have the ball for now. He’s worth an add if you need some quick depth.

 

Robby Fabbri skated on the top line with Vladamir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly in this one. He saw 17 minutes and put a single shot on net. It wasn’t a very pretty game for any Blues’ skaters so we’ll see if Fabbri gets another shot on the big line.

 

It would obviously be huge for his value. Keep an eye out.

 

 

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In a battle of Conference powerhouses, the Predators beat the Lighting 3-2 on Monday evening. Ryan Johansen led the way with the game-winning goal and an assist. He’s had just one point in his previous four games so this was a nice little slump-bumper.

 

The 26-year-old is up to 20 points in 21 games.

 

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Brayden Point kept his hot streak alive with a two-assist evening. He has seven points in his last three games and is sitting at a tidy 26 points in 21 games. That’s leading the Lightning.

 

The 22-year-old has nine power-play points and is creeping up to his career-high 12 for that stat that he set in 68 games as a rookie in 2016-17. It’s a great sign for the historically deadly five-on-five scorer.

 

The 27 percent conversion rate will be dropping soon enough, but this is a second line centre who will flirt with a point-per-game this year. Those are a rare breed outside of Pittsburgh.

 

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I’ll just leave this here.

 

If the Oilers could go back in time to change one move, what would it be?

— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) November 20, 2018

 

 

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The Flames dumped the Golden Knights 7-2 in a game that was as close as the score would indicate. It was 7-zip before the 25-minute mark and it was a cruise-fest for the rest of the way.

 

Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk led the way with four points each. Tkachuk leads this team in scoring with 25 in 21 games – a point ahead of both Gaudreau and Monahan. Expected to be a multi-category stud, this kid may just be a points-only darling as well.

 

All this while playing away from the aforementioned top offensive talents on the team at even-strength.

 

Dave Rittich wasn’t overly busy in this one stopping 18 of 20 shots. It’s his fifth straight victory and second-consecutive start. The Flames appear to have a new starting goalie for the moment. He’s another guy that’s worth an add if you’re crease lacks some punch.

 

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Tanner Pearson got off the schnied and buried his first goal of the season in his 20^th game. The newest Penguin tallied an even-strength marker and added an assist on the night. It was just his second and third points of the year.

 

I said last week that Pearson would be a decent speculative add to see if he’d grab some points off of the adrenaline from playing with Malkin and Kessel at even-strength. So far, so good.

 

It wasn’t enough though as the Sabres came back from being down 4-1 to win the game 5-4 in overtime. Jack Eichel played the hero with his fifth goal of the season. The Sabres’ captain is playing some of the most inspired hockey of his young career and is sitting with 24 points in 21 games. All the while seeing his shooting percentage crater to nearly half his career norm.

 

The pucks are going to start going in with more frequency and when they do, this guy may start to get the respect he deserves as one of the most valuable keeper options out there.

 

The Sabres are now fourth in the NHL standings with 28 points but are sitting third in their division. So far, the Atlantic has been a murder’s row. For reference, the fifth-place Bruins would be leading the Pacific.

 

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Jeff Petry continues to be arguably the most underappreciated fantasy asset out there. The Habs’ blueliner chipped in a goal and an assist in a 5-4 loss to the Capitals on Monday night. He’s now sixth in defensemen scoring with 17 points in 21 games.

 

Shea Weber is inching closer to a return which will all but assuredly cut into Petry’s production, but it’ll be hard for the coaching staff to move him off of that top unit with the way he’s been playing.

 

Max Domi kept it rolling with an assist on the night. It extended his point streak to 10 games and 14 points. The fourth-year breakout hypothesis is fitting nicely with the former Coyote.

 

He has 43 points in his last 42 games dating back to last season.

 

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Two assists, four shots, six hits, and two blocks for Tom Wilson in his third game back from suspension. He’s animal in a multi-cat setting.

 

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The Jets and Canucks were the late game on Monday and it was all Winnipeg early on. They outshot the Canucks 23-7 in the first period and led 3-1.

 

The score became a little closer after that but Winnipeg held on for the 6-3 win. They outshot Vancouver 49-25 when it was all said and done.

 

Kyle Connor scored his fourth goal in five games and added three assists. Meanwhile, Patrik Laine potted his second hat trick of the season and the sixth of his career. He’s up to 11 goals on the season.

 

 A big sigh of relief form Laine owners who have been suffering through his mediocre production and third line deployment. He was up with Connor and Little on line two on Monday. Here’s hoping he stays there.

 

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The Canucks have lost six straight and the magical early season success appears to be officially over.

 

Elias Pettersson is still out there doing stuff though. He ripped this gorgeous one-timer on the power play for his 12^th goal in 17 NHL games. He's the first rookie to accomplish that feat since Alex Ovechkin in 2005. 

 

 

 

With a goal and an assist, Nikolay Goldobin has nine points in his last nine games. The Russian winger is enjoying life next to Pettersson and seeing his personal and on-ice shooting percentages start to climb back to a respectable number after some poor luck early on.

 

He’s a streamer that could be worth a longer look

 

Of note, Sam Gagner was recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL where he was on loan. He jumped right to the top line with Bo Horvat and the top power-play unit. Something to watch if that deployment sticks. The Canucks lack offense at the moment and he’s proven capable of providing that for stretches. Especially when sheltered. 

 

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Thanks for reading and feel free to follow me on Twitter @Hockey_Robinson