After losing their first three games of the season, the Buffalo Sabres have strung together two wins in a row. Alex Lyon made 32 saves in earning a 3-0 win over the two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Lyon has started all five games for the Sabres this season, earning quality starts in four of them, three of which were losses. That is because Lyon has faced a minimum of 30 shots per game in each of his five games. Signed as goaltending insurance in the offseason, Lyon looks like he’ll give Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen a run for the starting job once the latter returns from injury.
Josh Doan scored a pair of power-play goals for the Sabres while taking six shots on goal. Add that to his three assists on Wednesday and Doan is finding some early-season success. Doan was also inserted onto the top power play, which makes him rosterable in many leagues. Doan is rostered in only 1% of Yahoo leagues and 31% of Fantrax leagues. Also adding to his appeal is the fact that Buffalo plays four games next week.
Remember how unstoppable Sam Bennett was during the playoffs? The 2025 Conn Smythe Trophy winner has been dealing with a serious Stanley Cup hangover with just a single point (goal) in seven games and no points in his last three games. Bennett is also a team-worst minus-9.
This is a new one. Maybe Brad Marchand needed his teddy bear. (You might only get that if you live in Canada and are inundated with Tim Hortons commercials.)
–
Because the season is only a week and a half old, we’re going to see all kinds of unexpected results. Case in point is Shane Pinto with a league-leading seven goals already. Pinto added to his total on Saturday, scoring a goal in his third consecutive game. Pinto also took a team-high six shots, which gives him an average of 3.5 SOG/GP. Despite the torrid scoring run, Pinto was left off the Senators’ top power play. Remaining on PP2 would be a clear sign that his current pace is unsustainable. Pinto is most likely a sell-high, but his first 40-point season seems like a strong possibility at this point. He may even get to 30 goals with what he has banked so far.
In the Islanders’ win over Ottawa, Anders Lee scored a goal and added two assists. The points were Lee’s first of the season, as he had been held off the scoresheet for the Islanders’ first four games.
Ilya Sorokin registered his first win of the season in four starts. However, he has allowed four goals in each of those games. I drafted him hoping for better ratios because I didn’t think he’d pile up the wins like other top-level goalies. A high goals-against total seriously compromises his value. Based on a track record of sub-3.00 GAAs and over .900 SV%s in each of his prior seasons, I would have to assume things turn around.
Matthew Schaefer has played in five NHL games and registered a point in every one of them. He is already better than I expected.
–
In the Devils’ 5-3 win over Edmonton, Jack Hughes led the way with two goals and an assist. Hughes now has goals in back-to-back games and six points over five games.
Dawson Mercer scored a goal, extending his point streak to four games with five points on the season. Mercer (7% Yahoo/39% Fantrax) seems to have less appeal this season than he has in past seasons, so it’s easy to forget that he is only about to turn 24 years of age. That might have something to do with a 56-point season as a sophomore followed by two sub-40-point seasons. The Devils play four times next week, which makes Mercer worth at least a stream. Mercer is also reliable in terms of games played, as he has not missed a game in his 4+ NHL seasons.
For the Oilers, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins led the way with a pair of goals. Nugent-Hopkins has six points in five games to start the season.
–
Jimmy Snuggerud is building his Calder Trophy case early in the season. The Blues rookie scored a goal on Saturday against Dallas, giving him three goals this week and four points in his last four games. Snuggerud is rostered in only 20% of Yahoo leagues, if you’re interested in targeting a young player with considerable upside.
–
Toronto and Seattle faced each other on Saturday… in a hockey match. In what Blue Jays fans hope isn’t foreshadowing of what will take place in Game 6 of the ALCS, Seattle won 4-3 in overtime.
Ontario boy Shane Wright scored a goal and added an assist for the Kraken. Wright now has goals in back-to-back games, four points over his last three games, and 11 shots over his last two games. The Kraken play four games next week but face a tougher schedule including three on the road. However, Wright is rostered in only 5% of Yahoo leagues, so he might make sense if you need some potential scoring volume.
The Leafs received a power-play goal from John Tavares, which was one of his two goals in this game. However, the Leafs are only 2-for-14 on the power play (14.3%) to open the season. The Leafs power play had a 24.8% success rate last season. Is it possible that they already miss Mitch Marner?
–
Artemi Panarin entered Saturday’s game with just two points over his first six games. However, he broke out of that slump in a big way with his first goal of the season and three assists in a Rangers’ win over the Canadiens. Panarin’s possession numbers (1:12 Avg OZ Poss/GP) indicated that he would eventually get back to his normal scoring pace. That happened to Clayton Keller on Friday night as well.
Kaiden Guhle is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks with a lower-body injury. Guhle is an important defender for the Habs, as he has primarily been partnered with Lane Hutson this season at even strength.
–
Hot on the heels of Pinto for the goal lead is Mark Scheifele. With a goal on Saturday, Scheifele now has six goals, including goals in each of his last four games. Scheifele has become more of a goal scorer in recent seasons, as his two highest goal totals (42 and 39) have come over his previous three seasons. Scheifele is shooting at over 40%, so the goals will cool off. He should still be starting in all leagues based on his ability to pile up points.
Jonathan Toews registered two assists, but in five games has yet to score his first goal as a Jet.
–
Vladimir Tarasenko seems to be fitting in with the Wild. With his first goal of the season on Saturday, Tarasenko now has five points in six games. He is also receiving favorable deployment on the Wild’s top power play, with all four of his assists coming with the man advantage. The Wild play four games next week, which means that Tarasenko is worth adding for next week (16% Yahoo/29% Fantrax) if available. Tarasenko had a rough 2024-25 season with Detroit (33 PTS in 80 GP), so it would be a reach to assume he will bounce back to similar numbers that he had with St. Louis in the earlier part of his career.
–
The Carolina Hurricanes are a perfect 5-0-0, thanks to a 4-3 overtime win in Los Angeles. Jordan Staal led the way for the Canes with a pair of goals.
Brandon Bussi has started (and won) two of the past three games for the Canes. It appears he will alternate starts with Frederik Andersen while Pyotr Kochetkov is sidelined. This might be more about keeping Andersen healthy than anything. Bussi might be a name to consider if you need a goalie start next week. The Hurricanes meet up with the big dogs of the Western Conference on their road trip next week (Vegas, Colorado, Dallas), so keeping that win streak alive will be a monumental challenge.
Shayne Gostisbehere left this game with a lower-body injury. The Canes blueline is already without Jaccob Slavin.
–
A Tristan Jarry shutout, in this economy? Jarry turned aside 30 San Jose shots to earn his second win and first shutout of the season. Jarry also has two quality starts in three games, essentially splitting starts with Arturs Silovs so far. I have Jarry as a “if goaltending emergency, break glass” option in one of my leagues. Do I dare start him with one of my other goalies injured (Darcy Kuemper) and another facing stiff competition next week (Frederik Andersen)? Some of us like to live dangerously.
Evgeni Malkin has a team-leading nine points in six games. He’s rostered in fewer than half of Yahoo leagues because many of you thought he was washed up. Maybe he will run out of gas as expected this season, but it doesn’t look like “stick a fork in him” time yet.
Small sample size and all, but the recent play of Jarry and Malkin might be proof that the Penguins won’t be as bad as you think.
–
Life is grand in Las Vegas. Jack Eichel leads the league in scoring with 15 points in just six games, Mark Stone is right behind him with 13 points, and Mitch Marner scored his first two goals as a Golden Knight. Stone and Eichel both finished with four points (Stone 2 G, 2 A; Eichel 4 A), while each had three power-play points. The Hockey Night in Canada late game was hardly worth staying up for with Vegas dismantling Calgary 6-1.
If you roster Stone, you’ll know that he is a point machine when he is in the lineup. But you’re always waiting for the other shoe to fall. That might have happened during the third period, when Stone left the game after falling. He also did not come onto the ice when he was announced as the first star of the game, and coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t provide a post-game update. Stone has not played 70 games in a season since 2018-19 – the season he was traded from Ottawa to Vegas. Enjoy the ride, but be prepared when he misses a chunk of games. Maybe you’ll get lucky and this will be nothing serious. At least hiding him on LTIR before the playoffs is no longer an option – a CBA rule change that could benefit fantasy teams a wee bit.
Dustin Wolf was mercy pulled at the end of the second period after allowing five goals. Wolf is a promising young goalie, but early returns on the Flames are that they could really struggle this season. After an opening-night win against Edmonton, Wolf has failed to record a win or quality start in four games. Wolf should provide goaltending volume and will probably even steal a few games for Calgary, but it looks like he’ll lean on the side of being a risky play due to the team in front of him.
–
Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Bluesky @goodsfantasyhockey.bsky.social