After playing each other the previous evening, the Flames and Ducks are idle this hectic Saturday. That's it; end of dormant list. Literally every other NHL team is in action otherwise, beginning with the Bruins - aspiring to shake off Thursday's disappointing loss to the Oilers - who host the Red Wings in the first of a home-and-home set at 1 p.m. Then, more than nine hours later, the Predators and Kings wrap up matters in a weighty tilt in Los Angeles.
Other Saturday highlights include this season's first meeting between the Rangers and Sabres: The former is starting to develop some all-important chemistry with newbie Patrick Kane - who scored his first for New York on Thursday - as Buffalo, tumbling well out of playoff contention, hopes to shake off Thursday's 10-4 shellacking at the hands of Dallas. After failing to earn a personal point in Boston, Connor McDavid seeks to equal or better his last two-goal/one-assist performance against the Maple Leafs, who reportedly have John Tavares back in the fold but not at the second-line center position. That gig seems to belong to Sam Lafferty for now.
It's a battle of divisional leaders when the surging Hurricanes welcome the Golden Knights, who themselves have lost only once in their past five contests. Four points shy of a playoff spot, the Senators visit the Canucks, while Minnesota begins competitive life without Kirill Kaprizov, sidelined for the next three to four weeks with a lower-body injury. Someone else, or a consortium of others, are now tasked with stepping it up in the scoring department, starting Saturday night against the Sharks. And it's a big night for the Kraken, as the third-placed team in the Pacific hosts those aforementioned 10-goal-scoring Stars.
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All times Eastern.
1 p.m., TD Garden, Watch live on ESPN+ and ABC
The Red Wings are giving up a fair number of goals these days - 4.29/game through seven contests these past two weeks - while the Bruins should sport a little extra scoring pop after blowing a 2-0 lead to the Oilers on Thursday. Beyond the obvious fantasy assets - Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak etc. - I also like Jake DeBrusk (rostered in of 61.7% ESPN.com leagues), Tyler Bertuzzi (48.3%), defenseman Dmitry Orlov (41.0%), and even Charlie Coyle (6.2%) to make some raucous fantasy noise for the home side at TD Garden.
Nick Schmaltz, Arizona Coyotes (52.9%): An underappreciated asset who's become a fixture in this space, the Coyotes forward now has 10 goals and eight assists, including five power-play points, in his past 14 contests. Yet, despite averaging 2.7 fantasy points/game in standard competition, remains available in nearly half of ESPN.com leagues. It's also worth noting that Schmaltz scored a goal and provided an assist on Alexandar Georgiev the last, and only, time Arizona played the Avalanche this season.
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Erik Haula, New Jersey Devils (3.1%): Sizzling haut with three goals and three assists in three contests, he's now centering a dynamic (and rhymey!) line with Jesper Bratt and Ondrej Palat. The Devils visit the feisty-but-weary Canadiens in Montreal on Saturday.
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Samuel Girard, Colorado Avalanche (14.5%): The Avalanche defender is on a nice little run with a goal and five assists in five contests, including two points on the power play. Averaging nearly 22 minutes/game, Girard also contributes a healthy number of blocked-shots.
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Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild (56.9%): Of Minnesota's two netminders, the lesser-rostered in fantasy competition has been the better of the two, which speaks volumes considering how well Marc-Andre Fleury has also played. Since the All-Star break, Gustavsson is rocking a .956 SV% and 1.31 GAA through 11 appearances - tops in the league on both counts amongst goalie who compete regularly. The rebuilding Sharks appear poised for a rough go of it, scoring-wise, in Saturday's match-up.
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