Prague Recap + Previewing Opening Night

The season is underway with my beloved Sabres getting dominated twice by the Devils.  I’m going to start by talking about what was notable in those two games below, before looking at the games over the next two nights.  There’s eight games in total between Tuesday and Wednesday, with some intriguing matchups and some possible early answers to some major questions, so I want to say what I’ll be watching for from a fantasy hockey perspective.  Let’s get to it!

The Devils top line has incredible potential.  Last season, Jack Hughes and Timo Meier didn’t work well together.  It’s only a two game sample size, but it looked much better with Keefe at the helm.  Meier blew some glorious chances, but he still ended up with a goal on ten shots over two games.  Hughes had two assists with eight shots, and Bratt had an assist with seven shots.  It’s pretty remarkable shot volume for all three guys that isn’t sustainable, but I think there’s a good chance that they end up a top five line this season.

Seamus Casey looks like a real value in dynasties.  The former second round pick looked excellent, scoring his first career goal in the series.  He’s getting PP2 time to open the season, which does give him some short term value.  He’ll eventually lose that to L. Hughes when he returns, but regardless, his play was very impressive.  Simon Nemec isn’t going to carry much value right now either.

Everyone but the goalies looked awful for the Sabres.  Devon Levi was outstanding, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen actually had a 0 GSAA despite what looks like a rough outing.  The team better come out strong on Thursday, or that arena is going to be on edge.

J.J. Peterka left the second game injured with a concussion.  Zach Benson missed the second game with an undisclosed injury.  We should get an update later today on both of them later today.  Because our owner and GM are trash, there will be a massive hole on the top line if Peterka is out.  I suspect Jiri Kulich will stay on the second line, while Krebs will go onto the fourth line in NAK’s place.  Beyond that, if Benson is out too, they’ll have to recall someone from Rochester.  Hard to have a worse start in Buffalo.

What I’m Looking For The Next Two Nights:

How are the minutes distributed for the Kraken?  Disco Dan has replaced Hakstol, but we don’t know if he’s going to roll four lines as evenly as Hakstol did, or if some of their top players get a minutes bump.  The two guys for Seattle I’ll be watching are Shane Wright and Chandler Stephenson.  Wright is getting the chance to play with Tolvanen and Bjorkstrand, two of my favorites offensively.  It’s time to see if Wright can make his impact on the NHL.  Stephenson’s assignments (along with Gourde’s) should be very difficult to make things easier for Beniers and Wright.  I want to see how he holds up against some top end offensive talent for the Blues.  Many people, myself included, hated that contract but perhaps he can find his 2022-23 form.

As for the Blues, they aren’t the most exciting team, but Jake Neighbours is getting every chance to break out.  He’s playing with Thomas and on the first line so is Neighbours looking at 18+ minutes regularly?  The former first round pick could play his way into elite streaming territory quickly if it works out.

Boston and Florida are two teams that have a lot of continuity.  Besides seeing if they go with Swayman right away, watching Elias Lindholm‘s debut is the obvious answer for what to watch.  For Florida, I want to see Adam Boqvist.  Their blue line is extremely thin now, so while Boqvist is starting on the third pair, there’s a clear path to the second.  More importantly, how he does on the power play will drive his value.  Hard to imagine a bigger opportunity than what Boqvist is getting, so let’s see how it looks.

Utah’s first game wraps things up on Tuesday and I can’t wait to see the crowd in the Delta Center.  Mikhail Sergachev‘s debut will be what I’m mostly focusing on, although I really want to watch the second line.  Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley are both massive breakout candidates.  For Chicago, it’s still pretty ugly, but I want to see if Teuvo Teravainen can help Bedard make a jump in his sophomore season.  Also, Alec Martinez is somehow going to be on their first pair.  All your blocked shots are belong to Martinez!

Not too much has changed for Toronto from a fantasy perspective.  Can Matthew Knies take a leap forward, and can Morgan Rielly get back to putting up elite point totals now that he has a great defensive partner in Tanev?  Montreal has much of the same crew returning, sadly because of Laine’s injury.  I am a huge believer in Lane Hutson‘s offensive ability, so I want to see how he fares in a very tough matchup.

Rangers vs. Penguins has a couple new faces, but they both have their cores intact.  Reilly Smith is getting every chance to play with Kreider and Zibanejad, so he’ll have a chance to be a very good streamer at the least.  For the Penguins, I’m very interested in Rutger McGroarty.  He’s going to start on the third line, but my expectation is that he’s in the top six sooner than later.  In deep leagues, he’s a big target of mine.

The Oilers come in as Stanley Cup favorites and face the fighting Hellebuyck’s.  For Edmonton, I’ll be watching how Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner fit into their middle six.  There aren’t any new additions of significance for the Jets, so I want to see if their first line can hold their own at all.  For years, the Scheifele-Connor duo has been below 50% xG, but here we are again with a new coach doing the same thing.  It was better in stretches with Vilardi, but I’m still skeptical.

There are some new faces for the Canucks, but Jake DeBrusk is at the forefront.  How he fits into the first PP unit will determine whether or not he can get to a hold.  It’s going to be a tough year for Calgary, but the one way they can surprise is with Dustin Wolf in net.  He’s one of the best goaltending prospects in hockey and the Flames have no reason to not give him 55ish starts.

For the last game of the night, I want to see how Vegas sets their lines and how all of the wingers perform.  We know what we’re getting from Stone in a good way and Barbashev in a boring way, but everyone else has a wide range of outcomes.  It looks like Alexander Holtz and Pavel Dorofeyev will get first crack in the top six and Victor Olofsson will be on PP1.  For Colorado, their lineup is so thin without three of their top five wingers, so it’s a huge opportunity for Calum Ritchie.  The top prospect should be on the second line and get his fair share of minutes in his NHL debut.

That’s all for now guys.  I’ll be back on Thursday recapping the action from the first two nights.  I’ll get back to my normal schedule next week as the league gets back into his normal schedule setup.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!