In the Capitals’ 5-1 win over Minnesota, Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal of the season, which is the 898th of his storied career. Ovechkin also added an assist with a plus-3 and three shots. Now 40 years old, the Great 8 is on track to become the first player in NHL history to score 900 goals. The question now remains whether he will hang around long enough to reach 1000 goals. That will probably depend on whether he can continue to be productive, although he is also on the final year of his contract.
Centering the Ovechkin line, Dylan Strome led the Capitals with two goals and two assists along with five shots. After being held without a point in his first three games, Strome has power-play goals and multiple points in back-to-back games. I traded Strome in one league but still ended up with him in two other leagues. I’m thinking he won’t match his career-high 82 points from last season, but he may not fall off that much.
Aliaksei Protas scored again, giving him four goals in his first five games. Add him while he’s hot, but the shooting percentages and other metrics tell me that it’s not sustainable to some degree. He is averaging 3.2 shots per game, which is nearly two shots per game greater than his career averages. This is a very small sample size, so I’m more tempted to sell high than hold onto him.
With a goal and an assist on Friday, Tom Wilson is also off to a fast start with seven points in his first five games. Wilson had only one hit on Friday, but he is still averaging nearly three hits per game so far.
Sonny Milano has been on the Capitals’ top power play for the past two games, but he has no points of any kind in three games. One positive is that he fired five shots on Friday.
The Capitals as a team took 45 shots on Filip Gustavsson on Friday. They are in the top 10 in both shots on goal (31.8 SOG/GP) and shot attempts for (260 SAT For).
In a losing cause, Matt Boldy saw his four-game goal streak snapped. Yet with an assist, Boldy still has points in all five games this season.
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Axel Sandin-Pellikka scored his first NHL goal and first NHL point in the Red Wings’ 2-1 win over Tampa Bay. Sandin-Pellikka also blocked four shots, giving him an average of three blocked shots over his past three games. The rookie is averaging 20 minutes per game while also being paired with fellow young Swede Simon Edvinsson at even strength.
Dylan Larkin factored in on both Wings’ goals, scoring the overtime winner and assisting on Sandin-Pellikka’s goal. Larkin also logged 23:12 of icetime.
Nikita Kucherov missed this game due to illness.
Tampa Bay is off to a slow start with just one win in five games. Brandon Hagel is the most notable Lightning player affected with just a single assist in his first five games. Hagel was on PP1 for this game, but he has been on the outside looking in when it comes to top power-play time in the four games prior. Hagel is capable of breaking out of the slump at 5-on-5, as he was fifth in the league with 72 even-strength points last season. Yet the lack of power-play time seems concerning. I had a suggestion to move Hagel up from #68 in the Top 100 Roto Rankings, but I don’t think he should be any higher than that right now.
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The Mammoth tusked the Sharks by a score of 6-3 on Friday (probably the first time I’ve ever used that verb). Nick Schmaltz led the way for Utah with a hat trick, an assist, plus-3, and six shots on goal. Schmaltz has taken six shots on goal in back-to-back games and has a minimum of three shots in each of his five games. Schmaltz is on the top power play again this season, much to the chagrin of those rostering JJ Peterka. Schmaltz is earning his spot there, with two of his seven points coming on the man advantage.
With a goal and three assists of his own on Friday, Clayton Keller broke out of an early-season slump. Before Friday’s game, the Utah captain had just a single point in four games. Keller and Schmaltz clicked as linemates on Friday, while a Keller/Schmaltz stack helped me get back on track in my head-to-head matchup in one league.
Jeff Skinner is off to a fast start. Yes, that Jeff Skinner. With a goal and an assist on Friday, Skinner has three goals and an assist in four games as a Shark. He is also averaging 2.5 shots per game with sub-15 minute per game icetime. Skinner logged a season-high 14:02 on Friday. There might be a path toward a modest rebound for Skinner in San Jose.
With John Klingberg out of the lineup (lower body), Dmitry Orlov received a turn on the Sharks’ top power play. With a power-play assist on Friday, Orlov has four points in four games. Orlov might be worth a short-term add if you need scoring from your defense.
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In the Canucks’ 3-2 shootout win in Chicago, Jake DeBrusk scored his first goal of the season. He also set a career high with 10 shots on goal. He had not taken more than two shots per game in any of his previous four games. Go figure.
Since his callup from the AHL, Max Sasson has goals in back-to-back games. With Braeden Cootes sent back to junior, Sasson has an opportunity to stick with the Canucks. He has received less than 10 minutes per game in both games, though.
After being held without a point in his first three games, Ryan Donato has goals in back-to-back games and points in three consecutive games.
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Anze Kopitar is currently listed as week-to-week with a foot injury. Kopitar, along with Darcy Kuemper, were not in the lineup for Thursday’s loss to Pittsburgh due to injury. Phillip Danault took Kopitar’s place on a line with Adrian Kempe and Andrei Kuzmenko. In addition to that, Alex Turcotte was slotted onto the Kings’ five-forward top power play for Thursday’s game. Alex Laferriere practiced with Kempe and Kuzmenko on Friday.
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Jonathan Huberdeau was activated off IR on Friday. In a corresponding move, Matvei Gridin was assigned to the AHL. This move should not affect the keeper league status of the 19-year-old Gridin, who has one goal in four games for the Flames.
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In case you missed it on Thursday, the Vegas Golden Knights have signed Carter Hart to a PTO (professional tryout agreement). The earliest Hart can appear in Vegas’s lineup is December 1, as he is serving a league suspension until then for his part in the recent sexual assault trial involving members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team.
I would assume Hart would challenge Adin Hill for starts once he is ready, with Akira Schmid likely being sent to the AHL once that happens. Although fantasy teams will undoubtedly be adding Hart over the coming days (he is currently on waivers in the Yahoo player pool in my leagues), his near-two-year layoff related to the events of the trial have me wondering how much his talent level might have fallen off. He’s still worth adding where it makes sense, but expectations shouldn’t be sky high.
Hart was at one time a top-level goalie prospect, but he is now 27 years of age. That’s not old by goaltending standards at all, but he has missed out on game action and important development around a professional hockey team during that time. Hart had also struggled in recent seasons in Philadelphia, but he may benefit from moving to a top team like Vegas.
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Looking at the weekend schedule, every team plays at least one game on Saturday and Sunday. Boston and Edmonton are the only teams to play both Saturday and Sunday, so those teams could be the ones where you focus your streaming efforts. Let’s look at some possible names.
Pavel Zacha – Only 21% rostered in Yahoo, Zacha is off to a strong start with five points in five games. He’s also on the Bruins’ top power play and is eligible at both center and left wing.
Nikita Zadorov – He’s strictly an option for hits, blocked shots, and/or penalty minutes. If you combine the three (as you can see on this Frozen Tools report), Zadorov is second in the league with 37 PIM+HIT+BKS.
Andrew Mangiapane – There’s a huge dropoff in ownership after the top eight players for the Oilers, but you could at least consider Mangiapane for some short-term offense. He has three points in his first four games with Edmonton.
Jack Roslovic – Recently signed by the Oilers, Roslovic has been inserted onto a scoring line with Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He doesn’t have any points so far, but he might be worth a weekend add in case he catches fire.
Don’t forget to check GoaliePost for the latest goalie start information. As of Friday night, the only confirmed starter for Saturday is Ilya Sorokin (@ Ottawa). Sorokin is off to a rough start with four goals allowed in each of his first three games, but he may be visiting the Senators at the right time with Brady Tkachuk out of the lineup. He will still have the red-hot Shane Pinto to deal with, though.
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Shohei Ohtani tonight:
Hit three home runs
Allowed just two hits
Pitched six shutout frames
Struck out TEN batters
Greatest #Postseason performance EVER?
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2025
Shohei Ohtani – one of a kind. In hockey terms, would this be equivalent to a goalie not allowing a goal for two periods, then removing the goalie equipment and scoring a hat trick in the third period? Hey… anything to help Blue Jays fans forget about that bullpen meltdown in Game 5 of the ALCS.
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