Welcome to the lookahead: A preview of the fantasy hockey landscape for the NHL covering games from Monday, Oct. 16, to Wednesday, Oct. 18.
As the schedule flips to the second full week of NHL action, we only have 34 games worth of information to glean insights from. It's not a lot, but we'll happily take what we can get now that the long offseason wait is over.
Remember not to read too much into the small sample of averages. "Auston Matthews on a hat trick-per-game pace" and "Nathan MacKinnon averaging nine shots on goal" are the type of true statement that may be fun now, but will be forgotten soon enough.
The early part of this week brings us five games on Monday, nine games on Tuesday and two more games on Wednesday. The Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals and Arizona Coyotes are the only clubs that play twice in this window of action.
Personally, I have the Dallas Stars at Vegas Golden Knights circled on Tuesday to watch. This has my vote as the conference final pairing from the West. Additionally, a new stat I'm tracking this season is fantasy points against per game (FPAPG) -- which is the cumulative total of fantasy points by skaters for the opposition averaged per game. It's only one game for the Stars this season and only three for the Knights, but these teams rank second and third in fewest FPAPG so far (17.1 for Vegas and 17.4 for Dallas). (For reference, the Edmonton Oilers have allowed a league-worst 40.45 FPAPG.)
The Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues are the only three teams not in action on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Stock Up
Lucas Raymond, W, Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings made a quick pivot after losing their first game and shuffled the lines. The result was a 6-4 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, with the top line popping off for three goals together. The future could be bright for Raymond if he can hang onto this spot with Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin.
Logan Cooley, C, Arizona Coyotes: Sure, two power-play assists is great for an NHL debut. But what might be more exciting for the long-term is that Cooley played more than 19 minutes in Friday's shootout win against New Jersey.
Sean Durzi, D, Arizona Coyotes: As we highlight time on ice stats that might be slightly inflated by overtime for the Coyotes, let's also be sure to note that Durzi played 6:57 on the power play in Friday's game.
Teuvo Teravainen, W, Carolina Hurricanes: Andrei Svechnikov still needs some time to get in game shape, but Teravainen is making the most of an extended hole in the top six to begin the season. After a poor showing in 2022-23, Teravainen was slated to be on the fourth line if everyone was healthy. Now Teravainen has four goals and is making a case to stay on the second line after Svechnikov returns.
Elvis Merzlikins, G, Columbus Blue Jackets: Be careful here, oh, so careful. But the returns through two games have been pretty positive when it comes to Merzlikins patrolling the crease. Did the massive upgrade in defense make a difference? Or is this just two games of data and the Blue Jackets are ready to obliterate your goaltending statistics the moment you trust them? Time will tell. Merzlikins left Saturday's game due to illness, so we may not see him again until later this week.
Evan Rodrigues, C, Florida Panthers: This could be a permanent spot this season next to Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe. Rodrigues has turned two games with the role into 7.6 fantasy points. Sam Bennett is expected to return by next week, but has a spot reserved on the other scoring line with Matthew Tkachuk. One of Rodrigues' four points came on the advantage and he may not end up keeping a spot top power-play unit all season. But time with Barkov can go a long way to producing fantasy stats; just ask Verhaeghe.
Brock Faber, D, Minnesota Wild: How's this for a balanced line for an all-around defender through two games this season: one goal, one assist, three shots, three hits and three blocked shots. He'll be Jonas Brodin's defense partner all season and they may be the top pairing when all is said and done.
Nicholas Paul, C, Tampa Bay Lightning: The power-play role is real, but don't overestimate the value. Alex Killorn played this exact role for years: third line and fourth forward on the advantage. While there will be more games like his three-point start to the season, there will also be more like the last two games (no points and minus-5 rating).
Roope Hintz, C, Dallas Stars: Not that his stock was down much, but Hintz was back at practice after missing the Stars season opener, so expect him back soon.
Andrew Mangiapane, W, Calgary Flames: If Jonathan Huberdeau and Elias Lindholm are going to bounce back to their 2021-22 form, being on their wing is going to be a valuable spot. Mangiapane has shown the early returns of the role with two goals and four points through two games.
Stock Down
Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets: This guy just can't catch a break. In his first game since Nov. 10, 2022, Werenski left in the second period after taking a hit (which was penalized for "kneeing"). He went on the IR, so don't expect him back until next week at the earliest. Future fantasy star David Jiricek was called up to fill in and scored in his season debut. Damon Severson took over the power-play duties.
Morgan Rielly, D, Toronto Maple Leafs: It's not as if Rielly really drove his fantasy value through special teams to begin with, but not being on the first unit is bound to have an impact on his overall fantasy points. John Klingberg has been a specialist in the role for the first two games.
Devon Levi, G, Buffalo Sabres: There will be growing pains this season -- and these first two games look like some early ones. The Sabres remain a team poised to be upstart on paper and Levi remains their best option in net. Maybe this slow start can depress his value if you are interested in acquiring him.