It was a rough, if not flat-out scary, weekend for some prominent NHL players. The Red Wings lost Dylan Larkin for the rest of Saturday's contest against the Senators after he was knocked unconscious by Mathieu Joseph's punch to the back of the head/Parker Kelly's crosscheck. A truly frightening scene. While we await official word on Larkin's condition - who, upon regaining consciousness, had to be heavily helped from the ice - it's difficult to believe he's not going to miss time. We'll see. Center Andrew Copp appears the best fit to fill in for Larkin on Detroit's top line for now. But really, here's wishing the club's captain a full recovery, first and foremost.
Then there's Kyle Connor to worry about, after he took a vicious knee-on-knee from Ryan Strome in Anaheim. The Jets' sniper could barely put any weight on it while leaving the ice. This would be a huge loss for Winnipeg and Connor's fantasy managers alike. Again, fingers crossed for a full and speedy recovery. In the meanwhile, keep a view of who rises up the lineup to fill in alongside Mark Scheifele. Winger Alex Iafallo might now earn another go on that top unit.
Tampa's Victor Hedman didn't play the third period against the Kraken on Saturday, while San Jose's William Eklund sat out Sunday's tilt in Vegas with a lower-body injury. Check on the status of both once the Lightning and Sharks decide to share. The Blue Jackets played their first full game without Boone Jenner on Sunday - a 5-2 loss to the Panthers. I wonder how long Adam Fantilli might have to wait before earning a shot at centering Columbus' top line. Coach Pascal Vincent has a bit of time to mull over that possibility, as the Jackets are off until later this week.
We launch this fresh fantasy slate altogether with four games Monday, 10 on Tuesday, and five Wednesday. Along with Columbus, the Wild and Capitals are idle until Thursday.
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Stock Up
Mathew Barzal, F, New York Islanders: Frankly, the Islanders forward should be contributing near such a clip far more often. Anyway, enjoy this hot run now and for however long it lasts. Hopefully a while. Barzal has seven goals and 12 assists on 38 shots in his past 13 games. Now wonder he's averaging 2.9 fantasy points/contest in ESPN standard leagues. New York hosts the Maple Leafs Monday and Ducks Wednesday.
Sean Couturier , F, Philadelphia Flyers: It's hard to argue with a five-game point streak, especially when the Flyers are winning. Plus, Couturier is skating nearly 21 minutes/game these days. Check on the center's availability in deeper ESPN.com fantasy leagues.
Ilya Samsonov, G, Toronto Maple Leafs: We'll find out soon enough if the weekend's shutout of Nashville was a fortuitous one-off or the start of a successful run. The Leafs better hope for the latter, while Joseph Woll sits out with an ankle injury. Look for Samsonov to (probably) start against the Islanders Monday, with Martin Jones available to compete versus the Rangers in Manhattan on Tuesday.
David Savard, D, Montreal Canadiens After losing almost seven weeks to a broken hand, Savard is back and blocking shots with his usual gusto, collecting five (plus-one) in Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Predators. He should be spoken for in any league that rewards such defensive play. Skating on the top pair with Mike Matheson, the Habs' blueliner is also going to pitch in production-wise, regularly enough.
Stock Down
Jordan Binnington, G, St. Louis Blues The Blues are fumbling again. I'm concerned about starting Binnington Tuesday against a Red Wings team - now featuring a fine-looking Patrick Kane - that's plenty capable of tucking the puck in the net, even without Dylan Larkin in the lineup. Or against almost anyone else until St. Louis emerges from their latest funk.
The Carolina Hurricanes: They're not jiving right now, just ask head coach Rod Brind'Amour: "I've never seen our team play this brutal. I'm lost for words, to be quite honest with you." Sebastian Aho hasn't registered a point in four games. Same goes for Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis. Defender Brent Burns is barely registering on the fantasy points scale. While Saturday's tight loss to Vancouver was slightly more promising, there's little justification in running any Hurricanes out there in Ottawa on Tuesday. Not if other, hotter, assets are available on your roster.
Andrei Kuzmenko, F, Vancouver Canucks: You know the marriage is over for good when other teams, plural, start calling about a potential trade, as per Elliotte Friedman. Scratched twice recently, and skating fewer than 11 minutes in Saturday's 4-3 victory over Carolina, the (now) fourth-line winger has one goal and zero assists in nine active games. Unless there's a jarring turnaround in the quality of his relationship with coach Rick Tocchet, kick Kuzmenko to the fantasy curb until/if he lands elsewhere. In related fantasy news, Sam Lafferty - newest member of Vancouver's top line - is humming along with three goals and two helpers in four games.
Streamer Specials
Alex Lyon, G, Detroit Red Wings: Again, until the Blues show tangible signs of another turnaround, opposing goalies deserve a little extra fantasy thought. Like maybe Lyon in St. Louis on Tuesday. Or whoever gets the call to patrol Detroit's crease that evening.
Alex Nedeljkovic, G, Pittsburgh Penguins: Supposing Tristan Jarry earns the start against the visiting Coyotes on Tuesday, the Penguins' backup presents as an intriguing streaming option in Montreal Wednesday. When offered the opportunity to spell off Pittsburgh's No. 1 this season, Nedeljkovic has been better-than-solid. And who knows? Maybe Crosby and Co. can finally snap out their current power-play funk against one of the worst bunch of penalty killers in the league. That would certainly help.