Kyle Conheads Unite

It wasn’t that long ago that Kyle Connor was coming off a 47 goal, 93 point season with over four shots per game.  He was a borderline first round pick going into the 2022-23 season, and while he hasn’t been a big disappointment, we haven’t see him return to that level.  It’s only the first month of the season, but Connor is currently the #2 skater in fantasy behind MacKinnon.  Connor had a goal and two assists, all in the first period, with four shots on goal in the 6-2 win over the Red Wings.  Connor has had at least one point in every game so far this season, with a whopping 9+8 with 40 SOG in ten games.  While he won’t maintain this pace, the four shots per game is crucial.  It will make up for inevitable shooting regression, especially for the Jets on the whole with regards to their power play.  Perhaps this run, with Connor reaching 500 points in his career already, will lead him to get the credit he deserves for being one of the best offensive players in the league.  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:

Elvis Merzlikins – 26 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Islanders.  That’s two straight excellent starts for Elvis, leading the surprise Blue Jackets.  A long road trip is on the horizon after hosting the Jets on Saturday, so it would be risking to roll the hot schmotato.

Neal Pionk – Two goals on three shots and two PIM.  If you had Pionk as a top five defensemen in October, I’ll call you a liar.  He has to be owned everywhere.

Gabriel Vilardi – Goal and an assist with three shots.  The shot rate is down for Vilardi, which is quite frustrating.  I’m still a huge believer so I’m keeping Vilardi on the fringe with his eight points in ten games.

Moritz Seider – Two assists, as did Lucas Raymond.  Seider has been better than I anticipated, but it’s still only a okay stat line unless you’re in hits and blocks leagues.  Raymond is piling up the assists, but the rest is very ugly at the moment.

Jake Guentzel – Two goals on three shots.  Brayden Point had two assists, while Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists.  It feels like a matter of time until Guentzel gets as hot as his linemates in the goal scoring department.  Everything is still in position for him to have a massive season.

Anthony Cirelli – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM.  This is the best Cirelli has looked offensively, and it’s enough to get him on the fringe.  I’m a little hesitant to go past that without the PP1 time and the weak shot rate.

Brandon Hagel – Two assists with three shots playing over 21 minutes.  I was all in on Hagel in the preseason and am re-emphasizing that with Hagel back on PP1.

Cale Makar – Goal and an assist with six shots.  Can’t stop, won’t stop.

Artturi Lehkonen – Slated to return on Tuesday.  Lehkonen should immediately get back into your lineups.  Jonathan Drouin won’t be too far behind, while Valeri Nichushkin is looking like he’ll get activated immediately upon the end of his suspension, which appears to be November 13th.  At that point, with how the big guns and Mittelstadt are playing, Colorado can get back to the team we’re accustomed to.

Connor Ingram – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 5-1 win over the Flames.  The wins are there, but the numbers are brutal right now for Ingram.  3.53/.880 is gross.  I’m probably still holding because of the wins and upside, but it’s ugly.

Mikhail Sergachev – Goal and two assists with two PIM.  The points are great for Sergachev, although it would be nice to see the shot rate above two per game.

Nick Schmaltz – Two assists with three shots.  Schmaltz’ shot rate is actually up a bit, but he has no goals.  He does have an assist per game though, which is enough to put him on the fringe with a lean towards holding.

Dylan Guenther – Two assists with two shots and four PIM.  Guenther has been what I had hoped for when I ranked him 100 spots above ADP.  He’s a clear hold.

Pavel Dorofeyev – Two goals on four shots.  He’s worked his way firmly onto the fringe.

Anze Kopitar – Goal and two assists.  The shot rate is gross, but with over a point per game, it’s hard to keep Kopitar off your roster.

Brandt Clarke – Three assists with two shots.  Clarke has been fantastic with eleven points in eleven games so far.  The talent is apparent on almost every shift.

Kevin Fiala – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Fiala owned his rough start and scratch the other day, so it was great to see him back on the score sheet right away.

Adrian Kempe – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM.  The shot rate is down a bit, but I’m not too concerned about that.  Kempe should end up around last year’s marks.

Mikey Anderson – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  Anderson will stumble into some points, but I don’t see much outside of deep leagues.

Jacob Markstrom – 20 save shutout for the 6-0 revenge game shutout win over the Canucks.  It hasn’t been the best start for Markstrom, but 2.68/.903 isn’t that bad either.  I wouldn’t be panicking at all.  We know how good Keefe teams can be defensively.

Nico Hischier – Goal and two assists with two shots.  I have to admit that I didn’t see Hischier being the #3 forward right now behind MacKinnon and Connor, but here we are.  Granted, part of that is the Devils having played 13 games already, but the massive jump in shot rate is doing him wonders.  I wouldn’t be looking to sell high.

Jack Hughes – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Hughes has established such a high floor that 12 points in 13 games with 3.5 shots per game feels disappointing.

Dawson Mercer – Goal and an assist with three shots.  The bounce back from Mercer is nice to see, although with only 1.5 shots per game, he’s a middling streamer.

Nick Suzuki – Goal and an assist.  Fantastic start for Suzuki across the board.  He looks to have a real chance to beat last season’s 77 points.

Lane Hutson – Two assists.  Hutson is showing flashes, but he’s also been a disaster defensively.  He has only eight shots on goal in eleven games, so for now, he probably belongs on the waiver wire.

Alex Ovechkin – Goal and two assists.  Saints gets his second correct three point challenge pick in a row!  Excellent start to the season for Washington and Ovi, who has a point per game and three shots per game.

Tom Wilson – Gordie Howe hat trick with five shots.  Incredible start to the season for Wilson, although I’m not expecting this to continue.  Hold him and hope for the best.

Trevor van Riemsdyk – Two assists with two shots.  There’s some deep league value here for TVR, who is getting decent assists and a lot of blocks.

Dylan Strome – Two assists with two shots and two PIM.  Strome has at least one point in all but one game so far.  Easy hold everywhere.

Aliaksei Protas – Goal and an assist with two PIM.  Protas might have the most difficult first name for me to remember.  The struggle is real!  Anyways, he’s on the first line right now making him a solid streamer despite the lack of PP time.

Joseph Woll – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 4-1 win over the Kraken.  Another injury is the biggest concern for Woll.  Stolarz playing well doesn’t help his cause either.  Things could still break right for Woll to be a solid #2, but the downside remains immense.

William Nylander – Two goals on six shots with two PIM.  Fantastic start to the season for Nylander, which is no surprise.

John Tavares – Two assists with three shots.  Six game point streak for Tavares, who continues to put up strong offensive numbers despite being one of the worst skaters in the league.

Auston Matthews – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM.  The shot rate for Matthews is through the roof, which gives him the best chance of pushing 60+ goals again.

Sidney Crosby – Two goals on six shots with two PIM.  Crosby tied the game in the third before winning it in overtime.  The Pens are a mess, but it’s certainly not Crosby’s fault.

Alex Nedeljkovic – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 2-1 win over the Ducks.  I’m not particularly interested in any of the Pens goalies right now.  I wasn’t in preseason and it’s been worse than I thought.

Samuel Ersson – 20 saves on 21 shots in the 2-1 win over the Blues.  Two good starts in a row for Ersson, but next week, Philly has Carolina, Tampa and Florida all on the road.  Pass.

David Pastrnak – Two assists with three shots.  The Bruins are struggling mightily, but the problem is pretty much everyone besides Pastrnak.

Martin Necas – Goal and three assists with two shots. This is the Necas that people have been hoping for for a long time.  The minutes are at an all-time high and I’m fully buying in.

Andrei Svechnikov – Two goals and an assist with four shots.  Svechnikov is averaging four shots per game, the number we’ve been dreaming of.  With the PIM’s he provides, we could be looking at a top 25 player if things break right.

Shayne Gostisbehere – Two assists with a shot.  Gostisbehere has been better than I expected given that he’s on the third pair.  Easy hold everywhere.

Jack Roslovic – Two goals on six shots.  Middling streamer while he’s on the first line.

Seth Jarvis – Two assists with three shots and two PIM.  Jarvis has been fine, although I was hoping we’d see him take the next step like the other Carolina players are.  Definitely a hold in all leagues though.

Calvin Pickard – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 5-1 win over the Predators.  With McDavid out 2-3 weeks, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Oilers try to tighten things up for the time being.  It would help Skinner and Pickard both.

Leon Draisaitl – Two goals and an assist with three shots.  It’s great to see Draisaitl play like this in his first game without McDavid.  We know that he’s capable of carrying the team for extended stretches, and there’s no better time than now.

Connor Murphy – Two assists.  There’s some deep league value for PIM/hits/blocks, but that’s about it.

Will Smith – The first two goals on his NHL career.  Smith has tremendous long term upside and should continue to get better as the Sharks do.  His dynasty value is top end, but for now, he’s waiver bait outside of the deepest of leagues.

That’s all for now guys.  I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!