Brad Marchand was back in Boston for the first time since being traded to the Panthers in the Spring. He had an amazing run with the Bruins, and it would be special to see him play there again, but his six-year contract that takes him to being 43 likely spells the end of those chances.
The Bruins put together a tear-jerker of a montage:
Marchand recorded two assists is the Panthers’ win, giving him eight points in eight games on the season, and he’s over three shots per game as well, which is a pace he hasn’t hit in a few years. The time on the first power play unit is helping his production as well, though that may not continue when the whole team is healthy.
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In the battle between the top-two picks from this past summer’s draft, it was Matthew Schaefer who continued to look like he’s head-and-shoulders above the rest of the class. I’ll admit that I was skeptical of him and his ranking, as it seemed that he was injured while he was in the discussion for a top-five slot, and then suddenly he was being billed as the can’t miss prospect. Well, it turns out that the general consensus of the public scouting community does seems to be onto something.
Schaefer is now up to seven points in six games. He’s adding over three shots a game as well, though his contribution in the other peripheral categories leave a little to be desired. If early indications are anything to go on, then Schaefer should be in the conversation with Roman Josi (or at least Josi from a few years ago), Zach Werenski, and Cale Makar very soon, in terms of the upside and statistical profile that he brings.
The number two pick Michael Misa did also notch his first career point, which was an assist on Adam Gaudette‘s first period tally. He has been in and out of the lineup so far, and while the fantasy upside is tantalizing, it won’t be realized for a while yet.
Macklin Celebrini, speaking of number one picks, has continued alternating a scoreless game with a scoring game. He scored a goal to mark his sixth point of the season in game six. The shot rate has left a lot to be desired by fantasy owners this year, but last night’s five shots is a big step in the right direction.
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Another expectation this year that I had that has so far been proven wrong, is the step back that Washington was going to have after running on adrenaline all year last season riding the wave from Alex Ovechkin‘s goal scoring record chase. Ovechkin himself has started very slowly, but the team overall is chugging along with both the offence and the defence rolling. Some of the underlying numbers for Aliaksei Protas, Tom Wilson, and others are still screaming regression, but overall the team looks like it will continue to roll as a playoff-level team.
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Justin Brazeau kept his hot streak going with a goal and two assists, while his linemate Anthony Mantha had two points of his own and is up to six in seven games. Both are still available in plenty of leagues, and are dragging Evgeni Malkin along with them, as he’s slacking off with 10 points in seven games. Malkin hasn’t paced this well in a full season in nearly 15 years, and while it’s unlikely to keep up at this level, it is a good sign that he’s refreshed and motivated.
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For some reason Ottawa continues to scratch one of their best defencemen, who Los Angeles before them decided they wanted Cody Ceci instead of. Yes, I’m talking about the five-foot-eleven Jordan Spence, who has excellent possession metrics, a three-point game to his name this year, and is getting beat out for minutes by AHL-level players. Make it make sense!
Eventually Ottawa is going to figure that out, but in the meantime their goaltending and their scoring is suffering. Edmonton took advantage, and Connor McDavid took advantage, scoring his first goal of the season.
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After Anthony Stolarz came out and called out the skater group for a lack of effort, and the Toronto Blue Jays energized the city with their game seven win on Monday night, the Leafs decided that they would put forward more of the same old lackluster effort and overall disappointment. Stolarz allowed four goals in the 5-2 loss, with Jack Hughes scoring a hat trick, and Jesper Bratt assisting on all three.
Mattias Maccelli has had trouble finding the scoresheet this year, but he scored a goal last night, while he linemates John Tavares and William Nylander each put up two-point efforts.
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Sean Monahan finally got the monkey off his back with an assist on one of the late insurance goals in last night’s win over the Stars. Dimitry Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko have had no issues, and the points will continue to come for Monahan as long as he’s playing with those two. Maybe still a buy-low opportunity here.
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Darcy Kuemper made a very successful return to the Kings’ net in a 2-1 overtime win over the Blues. He only faced 18 shots, but his 17 saves helped bump his save percentage back close to an NHL-average number. He was due to step back from his Vezina-caliber numbers from last year, but his .883 save percentage is an over-step that will rebound. Another buy-low opportunity here.
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Calgary waiving Daniil Miromanov is likely an indication that Zayne Parekh will be up with the Flames for the foreseeable future. He is pointless through his first five games, and saw his ice time plummet in Monday’s tight match against the Jets. He also hasn’t been seeing time with the top power play unit. This usage feels suboptimal, and with the Flames not putting Parekh in the best position to succeed, I would be wary of him turning a corner this year and being productive and useful in fantasy.
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As the owner of Mackenzie Blackwood and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in one league, and Alex Lyon in another, I have been trying to sort out how best to approach those two goalie situations with the impending return of both incumbent starters. The good thing for both Buffalo and Colorado has been that the backups have played very well thus far, meaning there hasn’t been a rush to bring the injured starter back before he’s ready.
Scott Wedgewood especially has been fantastic, with a sparkling 1,48 GAA and .938 save percentage entering Tuesday night’s showdown with Utah. Though somehow that’s almost expected, as Colorado has a way of making things easier on its goalies, especially with the main roster pretty much at full health.
Lyon has been similarly excellent, and while his numbers aren’t quite as shiny, Buffalo isn’t exactly the same defensively adept team as Colorado is, and the Sabres have had some injuries to contend with early in the season, especially on the blueline.
When both of the starters return, both teams will have to determine how to share the crease between the capable backups that are on a roll and the higher-paid starters with the more proven track records. I do wonder whether there will be more of an even split to start, as the Avalanche can afford to ease Blackwood in while their team sits so high in the standings. They will want Blackwood to be their main starter in the playoffs without being overworked in the regular season. Him getting 40-45 of the remaining 70 games would be very realistic, and would also mean that there would be lots of value to be milked from Wedgewood the rest of the way.
In Buffalo, things are a little more complicated. They are really under pressure to move back up the standings, they added Colton Ellis off waivers, who they would likely lose back to St. Louis if they waived him, and they are likely hoping Devon Levi takes over the starter’s job in the next year or two anyways. An initial loss or two from Luukkonen upon his return could mean that Lyon is given more leash, and ends up controlling the net until his play slips. Once his grip on the role loosens though, I wouldn’t expect him to gain it back later in the year, which makes him riskier to hold on to.
Working in Lyon’s favour as well is Luukkonen’s injury history, and the fact he has had two lower body injuries in the last few weeks, which might indicate a bit of a pattern that Luukkonen could have a tough time shaking off and recovering from this season. Again, the added risk factor with Lyon, making it more palatable to sell high if you can.
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For those in very deep leagues (I’m talking at least 16 teams and rosters of 25+ players, Charle-Edouard D’Astous is a darkhorse name I’m highlighting again. He’s someone that I made note of in a summer Ramblings page when he signed, as he had some excellent numbers over in the SHL last season. It’s a big jump to the NHL, but there are some folks who saw him play last season who thought that he could bring some mobility and vision with the puck and transfer those skills well to the NHL.
Well, it appears that the Lightning also see that possibility, as the recalled him on Monday, and he might make his NHL debut on Thursday. At 27-years-old, D’Astous would be right in his prime years, and it could be that he just isn’t an NHL-level player, but after putting up three points in four games in his first taste of AHL action since 2022.
Victor Hedman seems to be banged up for the Lightning, while Daren Raddysh has already been healthy scratched a few times this year, so there might be a slot D’Astous could fill that would see him with some fantasy upside. He’s also six-foot-two and over 200 pounds, so it’s not like he’s an undersized puck mover either. There’s some potential for a physical component to his impact as well.
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See you next Wednesday, and if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments you can find me on BlueSky @alexdmaclean.