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How Max Verstappen could clinch the world championship at Las Vegas GP
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen could hit the jackpot Saturday night at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen has a shot at clinching his fourth consecutive Formula 1 drivers’ championship to join all-time greats Juan Manuel Fangio, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton among those who have accomplished the feat.
That will also set the stage for Verstappen to pursue a “drive for five” next season and attempt to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of five straight titles.
McLaren’s Lando Norris is the only other driver remaining in the championship chase. Norris will need to go all-in to stay in the race, pun intended, as Verstappen holds a comfortable 62-point lead in the standings.
The cards are in Verstappen’s hands. Here’s how the title could be decided in Vegas:
Verstappen finishes ahead of Norris
The least complicated scenario for Verstappen is to outright win the race — easier said than done, of course — but he doesn’t even need to do that. Just finishing ahead of Norris will be good enough to secure the title.
Verstappen won in Las Vegas last year although it wasn’t the cleanest of victories. He forced pole-sitter Charles Leclerc off of the track at the first turn on the opening lap and was handed a five-second penalty. Verstappen was also involved in a collision with George Russell, although the Mercedes driver was at fault for that one.
The Dutch driver is coming off a huge win earlier this month as he snapped his 10-race winless drought during a rainy and wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix. It was a brilliant performance from Verstappen, who started 17th on the grid due to an engine penalty but charged through the field and took advantage of a red flag to score a free pit stop for fresh tires.
Whether it was skill or luck, or a bit of both, we definitely will not see a repeat of those conditions in the desert of Las Vegas. The odds of that happening are about as likely as a double podium for Alpine. Oh, wait.
Norris fails to outscore Verstappen by at least three points
Even if Verstappen finishes behind Norris, he could still lock down the championship if there’s less than a three-point margin.
One example: Norris could finish third (15 points), but if Verstappen comes in fourth and earns the fastest lap bonus point (13 points) he’s still golden.
Should Verstappen retire from the race or end up out of the points, Norris would have to finish in at least eighth place or come in ninth and set the fastest lap to earn enough points.
Norris will likely have to place much higher though. Outside of his DNF at the Australian GP in March, Verstappen has finished no worse than sixth this season.
Norris retires from the race
The anti-climactic scenario but one we have to consider. If Norris DNFs, then it’s over before the checkered flag even drops.
Could it happen? Well, Norris lost control of his car and crashed out on the third lap of last year’s Las Vegas GP, so it’s a possibility.
Norris has only finished out of the points once this season when he collided with Verstappen during the Austrian GP.
What if Norris manages to outscore Verstappen by three or more points?
There is reason to believe Norris could keep his title bid alive for at least another week. During Verstappen’s 10-race winless skid, Norris outscored him by at least three points on six occasions.
Time is running out though. After Vegas, only two races and a sprint remain on the calendar with a maximum of 60 points available.
The best-case scenario for Norris is if he wins Vegas and sets the fastest lap while Verstappen finishes out of the top 10. That will cut the deficit down to 36 points heading into Qatar.
If the drivers’ championship is decided early, there’s still the constructors’ title to fight over. McLaren enters Las Vegas with a 36-point lead over Ferrari while Red Bull is 49 points back in third place.
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Logan Thompson building strong case for Team Canada ‘dream’ at 4 Nations
WASHINGTON, D.C. — There are dark horses.
There are long shots.
And then there is Logan Thompson, a goaltender of no pedigree swiftly building his case to represent his country in best-on-best hockey.
Not only was Thompson passed over in the NHL Draft after four seasons in the WHL, his first taste of pro hockey arrived only after a full season at Brock University, when he made good on an amateur tryout with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder.
The Calgary native got struck from the Thunder’s roster after eight appearances.
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He then inked a Professional Try-Out with the Binghamton Devils only to get dropped after allowing five goals in his AHL debut.
His first legit pro contract, with the AHL Hershey Bears in 2019-20, did result in a full season’s worth of paid work — down in the ECHL, where he rode the South Carolina Stingrays’ bus.
From these humble beginnings has sprung an All-Star Game representative, a Stanley Cup champion, a guy confident enough to request a trade away from a contender, and — surprise — a candidate for Canada’s crease.
“I thought making the NHL was really farfetched for me. And now hearing my name involved with Team Canada, I never really thought that was ever going to be a thing. So, I’m just happy to be in that discussion. I guess we’ll see,” the upbeat Thompson said in a recent sit-down with Sportsnet.ca.
“Every kid dreams about representing his country. And I’d be happy to be there at any role they’d want me to be. Whether that’s practice goalie, backup, or playing games, I would just be very honoured.”
Think about it, Don Sweeney. Your 4 Nations Face-Off roster is due two weeks from today.
Thompson, who did win a silver medal with Canada at the 2022 world hockey championship, is off to the best start of any goalie in the 50-year history of the Washington Capitals.
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With his emotional, 40-save starring role in Sunday’s victorious return to Vegas, Thompson (8-0-1) is the only NHL goalie with five or more starts undefeated regulation, and a major reason for the Caps’ third-place-overall standing Monday morning.
Among Canadian goalies with winning records, only veteran Cam Talbot in Detroit (.927) has a better save percentage than Thompson’s .913.
“I’m just having a lot of fun. It’s good to get here — a fresh start. Everyone accepted me with welcome arms, and I’m just having fun playing hockey and just loving the game. That’s the biggest thing. There hasn’t really been a bad day or a day when I don’t want to come to the rink. You come here, and we’re a big family,” Thompson said.
The 27-year-old thinks back to the one NHL draft he did attend, in June 2024.
Ironically, Thompson was signing autographs for Golden Knights fans inside Sphere in Las Vegas when he learned that he’d been dealt to Washington for a couple of third-round picks.
“It was difficult. I mean, I did ask to be traded,” Thompson explains.
“But at the same time, me and Kelly McCrimmon did have a really good relationship for many years. I was there for a while, and I expressed that I wanted a bigger role, and they just expressed that they had Adin Hill. He was their future goalie moving forward, and that was it. I was a little disappointed and not as upset to ask for a trade, but I think it was the best thing for me and my career.”
If there is a chip on Thompson’s shoulder, he is channeling it the best way possible — with a smile on his face. He has snatched the 1A designation from partner Charlie Lindgren and delivered under pressure.
Coach Spencer Carbery tapped Thompson for both of Washington’s grudge matches with Vegas this season, and the goalie stopped 64 of 68 shots in a pair of W’s.
“He was outstanding. Just proud of him for the way that he battled tonight,” Carbery told reporters in Vegas, following Sunday’s 5-2 win. “Just happy for him and proud of him to beat his former team twice.”
When we caught up with Thompson inside the Capitals dressing room, he looked around at the nameplates and saw leadership from the veteran core and kinship with new teammates who, like him, have been passed over or traded by teams that did see them as integral to success.
Pierre-Luc Dubois. Jakob Chychrun. Andrew Mangiapane. Jakub Vrana. Brandon Duhaime. Rasmus Sandin. Sonny Milano. Dylan Strome. Matt Roy. Lars Eller.
There’s a raft of imports from around the league. Guys who have bounced around and now must band together quickly. (Not so unlike the original Golden Knights, hey.)
“I think the guys that the team brought in were a bunch of guys hungry for a second opportunity. A lot of the guys they brought in are guys that still have something to prove,” said Thompson, who wants to make your pre-season predictions look foolish.
“From the noise around the media — you try to stay off it — I think everyone was doubting us. And I think that fuelled a lot of us too. It’s nice when everyone’s rooting against you, and you come out with a start like this. It’s definitely encouraging and definitely gets the confidence going in this room.
“Look around at the names. For me as a goalie, I saw it in training camp. You’re sitting here like, ‘We’re a good team. We have some elite talent here.’ And I knew that we were gonna surprise everyone. I didn’t know we’d be off to this good of a start, but I’m also not surprised.”
Just as we shouldn’t be surprised if Logan Thompson gets named to Team Canada.
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Monday Matchmaker: Two blockbuster matchups could emerge from UFC 309
Sometimes, the next step is both obvious and unassured.
In the wake of UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the way forward for heavyweight champion Jon Jones is apparent to everyone, but that doesn’t guarantee we’re going to get the fight everyone wants to see.
Over the weekend, Jones did what most anticipated, retaining his title with a third-round stoppage win over returning two-time champ Stipe Miocic, ostensibly ending the fight with a spinning back kick to the midsection that sounded gnarly in real time and likely felt even worse before the academic follow-up blows officially brought the night to a halt.
Jones looked dominant.
Long, quick, and diverse in his attacks, he rifled Miocic to the canvas with a powerful trip early in the first and spent the remainder of the frame punishing him from top position, crashing home elbows not only meant to inflict damage, but also show the 42-year-old challenger that he was completely outgunned.
In the second, Jones was content to stand, happy to throw hands with the Ohio native, trusting his ability to roll with and counter the best shots Miocic could muster. He did the same for much of the third round before driving his left heel into his opponent’s ribs, instantly sending Miocic crashing to the canvas in agony.
While Miocic was decisive regarding what comes next — “I’m done. I’m hangin’em up. I’m retiring. Thank God.” — Jones was less direct when asked about what comes next for him.
The champion, who has been pushing back against a fight with interim titleholder Tom Aspinall for some time while floating the idea of a bout with light heavyweight ruler Alex Pereira, said he wanted to sit down with the UFC brass to see what they had in mind, acknowledging that he might be convinced to stick around a little longer, which could potentially result in everyone getting a heavyweight unification bout.
At his media availability following the event, Jones stated he was seeking “(Bleep) You Money” in order to fight Aspinall, whom he personally finds annoying, and this is where things get complicated.
A fight with Aspinall is without question the next fight to make, for an abundance of reasons, the most obvious is he’s the interim champion and finding out who is the undisputed top heavyweight in the UFC at the moment is something everyone — save for perhaps Jones — wants.
Stylistically, it’s fascinating as well, as the British standout brings a different level of athleticism and well-roundedness to the Octagon than either of the two men Jones has bested during his brief run at heavyweight.
Against Ciryl Gane, he was able to easily wrestle the Frenchman to the canvas and exploit his deficiencies on the ground, securing the fight-ending choke in a touch over two minutes. On Saturday, he beat a 42-year-old man that hadn’t fought in well over three years who looked the part.
That’s not said to take anything away from Jones’s performance — he was dialed in and dangerous from the jump and breezed through Miocic — but rather to make it clear that Aspinall is an entirely different type of problem to deal with. He’s big, strong, fast, and has a diverse skill set of his own, with clear power in his hands and a wealth of skills on the canvas should the fight ever get there.
Ironically, the biggest reason Jones should actually want the fight — in my opinion, of course — is the one reason he’s been giving for why he has little interest in facing the interim champion.
Jones has been framing a win over Aspinall as doing nothing for his legacy, which is the one thing he values above all else. In his eyes, taking out the 31-year-old who earned gold in his stead and doesn’t have a Hall of Fame resume at the moment doesn’t add much to the incredible list of accomplishments he’s amassed over the course of his 16-year UFC career.
At the start of last week, I made the same argument my colleague here at Sportsnet, Aaron Bronsteter made Saturday evening, suggesting a win over Aspinall does a great deal to further bolster Jones’s legacy because he’d be taking out the leader of the next generation of talents, and someone many believe is capable of beating him.
While Jones sees beating a two-division champ like Alex Pereira as a greater achievement, it’s also a more favourable style matchup, at least on paper, as he could — in theory — wrestle “Poatan” to the canvas and dominate him there; easier said than done, sure, but we are talking about the greatest talent to ever grace the Octagon here.
UFC CEO Dana White recognized this on Saturday night and poured water on the notion of Jones and Pereira facing one another, backtracking enough to leave the window of opportunity to make that fight happen slightly ajar for the time being.
But Aspinall? There’s no clear and obvious route to victory for Jones; at least not in the way that there was against Gane, there was against Miocic, and there appears to be against Pereira.
It’s a dangerous fight, and one that everyone wants to see.
Now we just have to wait and see if Jones wants it enough to forego that “(Bleep) You Money” in favour of further bolstering his legacy and giving the fans what they want most.
OLIVEIRA IN TITLE QUEUE, BMF TITLE FIGHT AVAILABLE
Charles Oliveira could very well be in a position to sit tight and wait for the opportunity to face the winner of the anticipated lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan that is likely to happen in the first quarter of 2025.
At age 35 and coming off a largely dominant effort against Michael Chandler, the Brazilian has done all he needs to do in order to station himself as the No. 1 contender in the lightweight division, and his history with both champion and challenger make a bout with either appealing.
But that’s only when you look at it from the Oliveira side of things, and there are no guarantees that either man will be all that keen on running it back with the dangerous former titleholder. Makhachev was ready to give Oliveira a rematch last year, but that ship may have sailed and selling Tsarukyan on fighting him for a second time in a little over a year, this time with the title on the line should he beat Makhachev, might be challenging.
That’s where a potential matchup with Max Holloway for the BMF Title feels like a possibility worth exploring.
While they too have history, their initial encounter took place years ago, and a rematch now with the BMF Title and a lightweight championship opportunity hanging in the balance could be one way to inject further intrigue and excitement into the divisional title chase.
OTHER POST-309 PAIRINGS WORTH CONSIDERING
Bo Nickal improved to 7-0 and his win over Paul Craig was viewed as a measuring stick moment for the collegiate wrestling standout. Although he got the victory, the fight showed he’s not quite ready to be dropped into a top-15 matchup.
That’s not a bad thing, either.
Nickal is only seven fights into his career, and while the expectation is that he becomes a contender, he’s clearly not there yet. His striking is still a work in progress and he simply needs more reps, so slowing things down in the wake of his UFC 309 win would likely be better for him long term.
Beating Craig is still a solid accomplishment, especially given that there was zero wrestling involved, so what about a fight with someone a little more aggressive on the feet, like Gregory Rodrigues? “Robocop” has won three straight and five of his last six, has considerable power in his hands, and is strong on the ground, though he rarely looks to grapple.
It’s another solid test for Nickal and the kind of bout that would likely answer more questions about the Penn State alum.
Viviane Araujo halted Karine Silva’s unbeaten run inside the Octagon, outworking her compatriot over three rounds to get herself back into the win column and lockdown her place in the top 10 heading towards the end of the year.
As much as she wants to fight forward, the reality of the division and her recent results make her an ideal fighter to continue to occupy the gatekeeper role she’s held for the last year and change, which means another fight with an ascending flyweight hopeful, and there is an obvious choice available.
Araujo was booked to face streaking Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius earlier this year in Denver before having to withdraw. Jasudavicius stayed on the card, beat Fatime Kline, and has since added another win over Ariane da Silva to extend her winning streak to three. On Saturday night, the Niagara Top Team standout posted a facepalm emoji following the contest, voicing her thoughts on the fight with a single click of a button.
Re-booking Araujo and the ascending Canadian makes a great deal of sense given the current complexion of the division and how things have been going for each fighter as of late.
And lastly, since Jim Miller picked up another win and floated the idea of getting to 50 UFC fights before calling it a career — he’s now at 45 after his submission of Damon Jackson — let’s figure out what comes next for the Sparta, N.J., native.
The smart thing Miller and UFC have done over the last five years or so is largely keep him away from established contenders and dynamite emerging talents, which has resulted in the 41-year-old going 10-5 during that time. Sticking to that approach, a bout with Chase Hooper, should he get by Clay Guida next month at UFC 310, feels like a reasonable pairing for both sides.
Hooper is 3-0 since moving to lightweight, with slick finishes in each of his last two outings, and if he can get by one tenured veteran, a date with another in 2025 Q1 would give him a chance to keep moving forward. As for Miller, it’s a matchup with someone that isn’t going to storm through him with power or athleticism, and would therefore be a winnable fight against a surging talent that could elevate him into a slightly higher profile pairing as he works towards 50 UFC appearances.
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Monday, 18 November 2024
Senators Notebook: ‘Dark cloud’ has lifted for Perron after family health scare
OTTAWA — For many of us, hockey is a distraction from the ups and downs of life. Unfortunately for Ottawa Senators winger David Perron, a terrifying episode took over his life when his fourth child, Elizabeth, was born with a mass in her lung on Oct. 27.
In August, doctors had identified the mass, allowing for Elizabeth to immediately undergo emergency surgery to remove it when she was born. To state the obvious, hockey means nothing in moments like these.
“There were a couple of scary moments where you think they’re going to have to take the whole lung out and you start wondering,” said Perron. “You start wondering what’s that life going to be like?
“In August, when we found out, we had to make an emergency trip to Toronto and the mass was pushing so much on the heart that we thought she may have a heart attack.”
Hockey took a back seat for Perron, but the good news is that his daughter looks to be on track for a healthy life.
“It was a dark cloud hanging over my head that you’re trying to manage and live your life normally,” Perron said. “There’s so many people that go through this situation. Now, it seems like it’s more under control.”
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Ottawa’s 4-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday marked Perron’s first game since Oct. 19 because he was away from the team with his wife, Vanessa, and newborn, Elizabeth.
Perron was excited to return to the ice to distract himself with the game he loves.
“It’s just good to be around the guys,” said Perron before the game. “The last several days of skating, and taking part as much as I can, it’s good to be around, honestly. This is what we do for a living and sometimes there’s bigger things and I had to take care of it.”
During camp Perron had to travel back and forth to Toronto two to three times a week to be there for his wife and soon-to-be daughter.
“We didn’t know (what was happening) and we had appointments all the time,” said Perron. “We were in a hotel for almost all of training camp, and it’s been a crazy time, but I’m glad it’s almost over with. We’re not fully out of the woods, but we’re getting there.”
On the ice, Perron had unquestionably played well through camp and the first four games of the season, despite the concern for his family.
Though he did not record a point in his first four games of the season, Perron had been noticeable on a line with Michael Amadio and Shane Pinto, which had been dominant, out-shooting opponents 47 to 31 according to Natural Stat Trick, with a 73 per cent expected goals percentage.
On Saturday, along with the entire Senators team, his line struggled, getting out-shot 4-to-1. For a brief moment it looked like he had contributed on the scoreboard for a poetic return.
In the second period, Perron manoeuvred past a Carolina defenceman to find Tim Stützle backdoor with a beautiful pass, to seemingly tie the game 1-1. But the goal was called off because of a questionable interference penalty on Stützle for stick-checking Andrei Svechnikov.
If the goal had stood, the story arc would have been that Perron was a hero in his comeback. But playing hockey with a wounded heart is valiant regardless of the outcome.
Why Ottawa?
Part of the reason the 36-year-old Perron signed a two-year, $8 million deal with Ottawa this off-season was because of his family. A francophone from Sherbrooke, Que., Perron wanted his kids to learn his culture and language after years of living in the United States. That is why Perron was excited to move to a bilingual city.
“We go around the city and we hear more French than English at times, and we’re like, where are we again?” said Perron to Sportsnet during training camp. “I hope that these next couple years will even help get (the kids’) French to be better.”
Perron speaks French at home to his kids: Mason, 9, Victoria, 7, Sofia, 21 months, and now Elizabeth. As part of raising a francophone family in Ottawa, Perron has enrolled his older kids in French schools.
During training camp, Perron said he was struck by how French was spoken in the city of Ottawa.
“I was grabbing a coffee, and I think the person recognized my accent a little bit and just started speaking French for me right away,” said Perron. “I was caught off guard. Even seeing all the signs everywhere, like, even I went to Canadian Tire last night for Halloween, Halloween signs were both in French and English, two versions of it. Honestly, that’s the first time I’ve seen that.”
Two things can be true
In my other job as a psychotherapist, I tell my clients that two things can be true, to help them makes sense of a sometimes incomprehensible world. Senators fans might feel eternal gloom after seasons mired in disappointment and losses. On Saturday, their dark mood would be justifiable based on both the refereeing and the Senators’ overall play.
The referees made two clear-cut mistakes. First, they retracted Stützle’s tying goal and then shortly after gave Pinto two minutes for a phantom slash on Hurricanes netminder Spencer Martin, which Carolina capitalized on to score their second goal of the game.
“I think that was a huge part of the game,” said Ottawa coach Travis Green. “I really don’t understand how that’s not a goal or how it’s a penalty. It’s a big moment of the game. Could have been 1-1. And then the call on Pinto is for me, another one that really changed momentum all of a sudden. Not only are we 1-1, but we’re short-handed and take the too-many-men, which you don’t like to take, but we shouldn’t have been short-handed there as well.”
Green is right, but his team had not painted themselves with any glory to that point or throughout the game. Carolina threw 64 shot attempts compared to Ottawa’s 47 in the game. There was no question who the better team was. Senators deserved a better fate with the stripes, but not with the win column.
Languishing special teams
After a red-hot start on the power play with 10 goals on the first 25 opportunities for the Senators, the team has been pedestrian ever since with the man advantage, scoring six times on their last 33 attempts for an 18 percent mark. At that rate, the Senators would have the 19th-ranked power play in the league, compared to their current sixth, running at 27.6 percent. It’s a worrisome sign.
Against Carolina, the Senators’ puck movement was poor on the power play, and they had difficulties entering the Hurricanes’ zone, leading to missing out on all four power-play opportunities, while only generating only six shots on goal and one high-danger opportunity according to Natural Stat Trick. Meanwhile, the Senators allowed two goals while shorthanded. First, on a five-on-three, they left Sebastian Aho all alone for a one-timer to double the Hurricanes’ lead to 2-0. Then, to open the third period on the power play, Jackson Blake pushed himself past Thomas Chabot to give the Hurricanes a commanding 3-0 lead.
“You don’t like to give up two power-play goals on the road,” said Green.
The Senators are running a 78 per cent penalty kill, which places them 23rd in the league. A poor penalty kill and a slumping power play are a recipe for consistently lacking success. If the Senators want to win, special teams will be their key.
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20 Fantasy Thoughts: Stutzle’s torrid start is erasing doubts from last season
I’ll raise my hand as being wrong about Tim Stutzle this year.
Heading into the season I had a choice as to who my final keeper would be and it came down to Stutzle or Joel Eriksson Ek. I had my doubts about Stutzle because of his regression in 2023-24 and even with a low shooting percentage, his numbers were still down in almost every metric. Plus, my league counts faceoff wins and Eriksson Ek is one of the best options available for category coverage, so I ultimately went with him. It’s still early, and I try to avoid looking back in fantasy hockey, but I’m definitely starting to feel some regret.
Stutzle has been a force of nature this season. He has points in all but four games (some would argue it should be three after a questionable disallowed goal on Saturday), five multi-point games and is starting to look like a legitimate superstar. The Ottawa Senators forward is exerting himself physically as well, on pace for a career-best 148 hits. Stutzle is really starting to develop into a multi-cat stud who should be a high-end draft pick across all leagues.
The Sens have also moved Stutzle around in their top six this season, jumpstarting their top two lines at different times throughout the year. He’s been split pretty evenly between Brady Tkachuk and Ridly Greig, as well as Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson. Stutzle can play just about anywhere and with anyone, and still help drive his line.
Maybe we shouldn’t be that surprised about Stutzle’s start because he does have a 90-point season to his credit already. That said, he hasn’t produced anything close to that in his other three campaigns and it’s always fair to wonder if that was an anomaly until you see more consistency from a player. There’s still a long way to go, but right now Stutzle is providing massive value for where he was taken in drafts for 2024-25. Stutzle is on a 102-point pace while sitting in the top 20 in league scoring with no signs of slowing down. I’m certainly not doubting him anymore.
1. A bounce-back campaign could be in the cards for John Tavares. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward had just 65 points a year ago, after posting 80 in 2022-23, and clearly looked like he was losing a step. He very well may be, but Tavares does look a little fresher this season and is close to a point per game once again with nine goals already.
Maybe relinquishing the captaincy to Auston Matthews has actually done him some good. Tavares already has three power-play goals this season, which is a third of his total on the man advantage from 2023-24. If Toronto’s power play can maintain its recent pace, there’s a good chance Tavares could easily surpass all his totals on the man advantage from last season.
2. In the six games that Matthews has missed, Mitch Marner has multi-point games in five of them. Most players’ value would take a massive hit after losing their superstar centre, but Marner is thriving. His contract negotiations, whenever they heat up, are going to be fascinating.
3. It’s tough to justify rostering Max Domi at this point. He doesn’t have a point in 13 games, hasn’t scored yet this season and wasn’t able to take advantage of a promotion to the top line with Marner when Matthews was sidelined. Domi had some value coming into the season in leagues that count penalty minutes and the fact that he had some chemistry with Matthews last year, but any upside is quickly eroding.
4. After a slow start, Rasmus Dahlin has now tallied 14 points in his past 10 games. The Buffalo Sabres defenceman regressed offensively a bit last season, which bumped him down in drafts from that top tier of blue-liners in drafts. If Dahlin can get anywhere close to 70-75 points, he’ll be a steal in 2024-25 because of the hits and blocks coverage he provides.
5. It looks like the net was going to be Alexandar Georgiev’s again in Colorado before he sustained an injury. He recently made four starts in a row and won three straight games. I think the plan was to always try to get him going again because he gives them the best chance to win right now. If Justus Annunen is to remain fantasy-relevant, he’s going to have to make the most of any playing time he gets with Georgiev sidelined.
6. The Avalanche got some reinforcements back this week, too. Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin returned, with both starting on the second power-play unit. That means Artturi Lehkonen and Casey Mittelstadt remain on the coveted power play one for now with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Maybe most encouraging was Gabriel Landeskog joining the morning skate the other day for a few drills. Perhaps he’s getting closer.
7. Matvei Michkov returned from his two-game stint in the press box and promptly recorded five points in his next three games. He’s up to 15 points in 16 contests now, so there’s major value there when he’s in the lineup. It wouldn’t shock me at all if Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella sits him here and there again throughout the season, but Michkov is still important enough to hang onto.
8. If you need help between the pipes, Ivan Fedotov is worth a short-term look with Samuel Ersson sidelined. He’s now 3-0-0 with a .918 save percentage in his past three starts. The trouble is the Flyers have a tough schedule next week, with games against Colorado and Carolina. Not an ideal time to add him but if you’re desperate, there are worse options than Fedotov right now.
9. Jordan Martinook is on an incredible recent scoring surge. The Carolina Hurricanes forward has six goals and eight points in his past six games while playing on the third line and getting virtually no power play time. It’s hard to see this lasting long term, especially now that Seth Jarvis is going to miss some time, but Martinook could be a good streamer for Sunday and then see where this goes next week.
10. Do you take a gamble on Spencer Martin? Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen are both injured, so Martin could get a handful of starts here for a team known for being very goalie-friendly. It seems like a low-risk, high-reward move that could help you in net in the short term and Martin is off to a good start with a shutout Saturday.
11. Joey Daccord is starting to take over the crease for the Seattle Kraken. After alternating starts with Philipp Grubauer at the start of the year, Daccord has now played in nine of the past 11 games with excellent results. If you look a little further down the road as well, the Kraken have a great schedule to close out November. Seattle has back-to-backs with San Jose and Anaheim, which could give Daccord a really good stretch to help you win a matchup or two.
12. William Eklund is getting some crazy ice time right now and has notched 13 points in 18 games. He’s gaining the trust of the San Jose Sharks coaching staff, averaging over 20 minutes per night so far. Add in the fact that Eklund is getting top time on the power play as well, and I think he’s more than just a streamer. Eklund is worth hanging onto and is especially valuable next week with the Sharks being one of the few teams to play four times.
13. Give Logan Thompson the edge in the Washington Capitals crease. He’s been better than Charlie Lindgren and recently started two in a row, as the Caps deviated from alternating between the two for the first time this season. I’d still keep the tandem if you can as Washington appears to be a strong team and things could always shift back to Lindgren, but if you’re choosing between them, Thompson is the guy to roster right now.
14. There’s still plenty of value with Vegas Golden Knights forward Pavel Dorofeyev, especially while Mark Stone is injured in the top six. Dorofeyev is already up to nine goals and has very consistent shot volume. Maybe he drops back down when Stone comes back, but right now take advantage of the fact that Dorofeyev is skating next to Jack Eichel.
15. I certainly didn’t have Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment scoring four points in a period on my bingo card for this week. The Pittsburgh Penguins are giving up a lot of high-quality chances and goals, so it’s worth considering anyone going up against them as streamers in one-game scenarios. Marchment actually finished with four goals and nine points in three games this week, probably winning a whole bunch of matchups essentially all by himself.
16. Tristan Jarry’s return to the Pens crease didn’t go so well, giving up five goals to the Columbus Blue Jackets. I saw a few people scoop him back up off waivers in the hopes he can find his game, but I just don’t see any Penguins goalie having value this season.
17. There are some very encouraging signs that Elias Pettersson is breaking out of his funk. He recently had back-to-back multi-point games and has four goals in his past six contests, while upping his shot volume in the process. Pettersson also looks like he’s playing a bit more North and South and I noticed he was really demanding the puck last Saturday against Edmonton. Jake DeBrusk was also moved back to Pettersson’s line and now has points in six of seven games.
DeBrusk is an important piece for Pettersson to build chemistry with, as the Vancouver Canucks typically play J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser together. When DeBrusk was also moved up with Miller and Boeser, that didn’t leave much for Pettersson to work with. Hopefully, DeBrusk sticks and he and Pettersson can continue to feed off each other offensively.
18. Thursday was a tough night if you’re rostering Josh Morrissey. The Winnipeg Jets defenceman played almost 27 minutes and had zeros across the board in his statline. I’m not even sure how that’s possible. You’d think Morrissey would’ve accidentally bumped into someone with all that time on the ice or a puck would’ve hit him by mistake for a hit or a block. There are few things more frustrating in fantasy when a player gets a ton of ice time but produces absolutely nothing.
19. Only Edmonton, Utah and San Jose play four times next week, so there won’t be that many options on the waiver wire to maximize the schedule. If you need help in goal I’d take a look at Karel Vejmelka, who’s been excellent lately. Vejmelka had 49 saves in a win over the Hurricanes this week and is starting to get more playing time.
I mentioned Anders Lee last week as a short-term option, but he’s starting to look like he’ll be tough to drop. The New York Islanders forward has 10 points in his past eight games and ranks in the top 20 in the NHL when it comes to shots on goal. I’d grab him while you can.
Is this the week you drop Quinton Byfield in one-year leagues? It’s a tough call. The Los Angeles Kings play only twice and Byfield is down to 36 per cent rostered, while being on pace for 39 points. That said, he does have triple-position eligibility and has the talent to get on a hot streak going forward. He’s just tough to keep right now with his low-shot volume, as he doesn’t fill enough categories. Go with your gut.
20. I’d take a look at Frederick Gaudreau as a short-term fill-in if Eriksson Ek is out for a few games with an injury. Gaudreau has nine points in his past nine games playing mainly in the bottom six, so he should hopefully be able to get close to maintaining that pace if he gets a promotion in the lineup.
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