The National Hockey League had just six games in a rare light slate for Saturday. But we still had plenty of outstanding fantasy performers, including Toronto’s Frederik Andersen with the near shutout. In addition, we had a handful of multi-point showings which made fantasy managers and DFS players extremely happy. There were plenty of big names doing big things, but also a few unheralded players making some headlines, too. Let’s get started!
MONTREAL CANADIENS 2, OTTAWA SENATORS 1
The Canadiens tasked backup Jake Allen with the start for Saturday’s matinee game, and he and Senators backstop Matt Murray were locked in a nice goaltender duel. When the dust settled, Allen came out ahead.
The first period featured a couple of power-play goals, which was no fault of either of the netminders. Jeff Petry got on the board first for the Habs with an unassisted goal on the man advantage to break the ice, while Colin White leveled the score with his second of the season from Derek Stepan and Josh Norris.[[ad:athena]]
Norris is already up to five assists on the season. In fact, the 21-year-old Norris has two goals and seven points, including five points (2 G, 3 A) on the power play. He has emerged as a waiver-wire addition in deeper pools and a surprising low-cost DFS play.
Allen stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced to move to 4-1-0 with a 1.81 goals-against average and .940 save percentage. He isn’t your typical ‘backup’, and the 30-year-old is looking like one of the best offseason additions for general manager Marc Bergevin.
Murray was an offseason addition, too, and he has been more shaky in Ottawa. He deserved a better fate in this one, though. He allowed two goals on 32 shots, with a goal 95 seconds into the third period by Josh Anderson as the difference. Anderson is up to eight goals on the season, sitting amongst the top players in that category.
ARIZONA COYOTES 3, ST. LOUIS BLUES 1
The Blues gave Jordan Binnington a rare rest, and it cost them. Ville Husso made just his third start of the season, and he wasn’t terrible. He allowed two goals on 18 shots in the loss, falling to 1-2-0 with a 3.69 GAA and .870 save percentage.
Jakob Chychrun got Husso early, hitting an even-strength goal just 2:50 into the game with help from Clayton Keller and Conor Garland. The Blues quickly evened the score, however, as Robert Thomas netted his first from Torey Krug and Colton Parayko, both of whom tallied their seventh assists of the season.
Clayton Keller beat Husso on the power play midway through the second period, and that goal stood up as the game-winning tally. Chychrun returned with an empty-net, and it was on the power play, too, and Garland was back with the lone helper for his second point of the evening.
While Johan Larsson didn’t score, he had an interesting night. He picked up a major penalty and two hits while winning eight of his 13 faceoff attempts (61.5 percent). Larsson dropped the gloves with Brayden Schenn midway through the second period. Schenn was also feisty, posting four shots, the major and three hits in his 19:13 of TOI.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS 4, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 3
The Isles and Pens played an entertaining, seesaw affair on the Island.
Jordan Eberle got things started midway through the first period with his fourth of the season, but Pierre-Olivier Joseph notched his first NHL goal to level the score 1-1 just three-plus minutes later. His shot was pretty, snapping one over the right shoulder, top shelf, on a pass from Jake Guentzel from the left faceoff circle. Eberle made it 2-1 with his second, returning the favor just two minutes later.
Michael Dal Colle had a rare two-point night, picking up secondary apples on both of the Eberle markers. Eberle was feeling it, too, as he had seven SOG, while the rest of his teammates had three or fewer on the night.
Evgeni Malkin tied it up for the Pens late in the second, and Guentzel gave the team its only lead of the evening with his fourth goal of the season at 3:19 of the third. However, Cal Clutterbuck‘s first of the season tied it up for the Isles. Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas also had their first assists on Clutterbuck’s goal.
The game appeared headed for overtime, but Teddy Blueger was whistled for delay of game late in regulation. Captain Anders Lee took advantage, wiring a power-play goal past Tristan Jarry for the lead at 17:16. Ryan Pulock and Mathew Barzal helped out on the difference maker.
Semyon Varlamov was grateful, earning his first win since a 3-0-0 start, allowing three goals on 31 shots.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS 5, VANCOUVER CANUCKS 1
The Maple Leafs are white-hot right now, and Frederik Andersen nearly helped them to a shutout in this one.
The home side got off to a quick start, and Wayne Simmonds scored on the power play, helped out by Morgan Rielly and Mitch Marner. The Leafs weren’t done in the first, as Auston Matthews scored his ninth of the season with Marner and Zach Hyman on the sheet as well.
The second was more of the same, as Hyman beat Braden Holtby for his third of the season. Marner added his third assist of the night, and Mikko Lehtonen also got into the act.
Matthews bagged his league-leading 10th of the season to start the third, and Simmonds also grabbed his second of the night. Lehtonen helped out with primary, getting to two points on the evening, too.
It looked like we were done, and Andersen was going to post a shutout, but a late hooking call on Jake Muzzin changed things. Brock Boeser scored his ninth of the season, hitting on the power play, denying Andersen his shutout. Quinn Hughes posted primary assist, his 15th of the season. He sits behind just Edmonton’s dynamic duo of Connor McDavid (17) and Leon Draisaitl (16) for the league lead.
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CALGARY FLAMES 6, EDMONTON OILERS 4
Speaking of McDavid and Draisaitl, they were in action in the first of 10 meetings in the Battle of Alberta. This first installment went to the southern provincial representatives.
Elias Lindholm got the party started just 56 seconds in, potting his third of the season with help from Matthew Tkachuk and Dillon Dube.
Jujhar Khaira posted his first of the season with William Lagesson getting on the board for the first time with an assist. McDavid answered on the power play, grabbing his ninth goal and 26th point to give Edmonton a 2-1 lead heading to the room.
Milan Lucic and Mikael Backlund worked together nicely in the second. Both had goals and assists in the second, as Calgary led for the first time all evening.
Jesse Puljujarvi scored his third of the week (and the season) with help from McDavid just 78 seconds into the period to make it 3-3. However, Dillon Dube restored the lead for good, netting a power-play goal, as Backlund notched his third point of the game on the assist. Johnny Gaudreau also had a goal, as Mark Giordano picked up a second straight assist. Darnell Nurse put a bow on the scoring for Edmonton, closing it to 5-4, but that’s as close as the visitors would get.
Sam Bennett drew back into the lineup, and he scored his first of the season for the final tally of the night, as Johnny Hockey and Sean Monahan helped out.
Jacob Markstrom‘s night was anything but pretty, but he turned aside 28 of 32 shots to best Mikko Koskinen in a wild one.
ANAHEIM DUCKS 2, SAN JOSE SHARKS 1 (SO)
The last game of the evening wasn’t as great from a fantasy perspective, unless you started one of the goalies.
Devan Dubnyk made 32 saves with just one goal allowed, but he slips to 0-3-1 with a 2.71 GAA and .917 SV% following a hard-luck loss.
Ryan Miller gave John Gibson a breather, and he shined between the pipes. He allowed just one goal on 27 shots to pick up his first win of the campaign, moving to 1-1-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .916 SV%.
Logan Couture and Isac Lundestrom were the goal scorers in regulation, with Evander Kane and Mario Ferraro getting the helpers for the Sharks, and Kevin Shattenkirk and Hampus Lindholm doing the honors for the Ducks. Lundestrom was jumping to get out of the way on a screamer from the point off of Shatterkirk’s stick. It hit him in the upper body and deflected past Dubnyk for his first NHL goal.
In the shootout, Troy Terry and Max Comtois beat Dubnyk on the first two attempts for the Ducks. Ryan Donato beat Miller on the first attempt for the Sharks, but Couture and Kevin Labanc were denied, giving the home side a win to even up at 5-5-3 on the season.
