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Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! I can say that I’m glad I didn’t take a sick day last Friday to watch the “excitement-challenged” trade deadline unfold the way that it did. I suppose for something to unfold, it would have needed to be packaged up neatly to begin with. All that means is the asking prices were far too high on the “sellers” pieces, and the buyers were not willing to pay them. Nicolas Roy for a conditional first-round pick? No thanks. Corey Perry for a second-rounder? Wow.  Is there ANY Perry worth that kind of premium?
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! Well, fantasy baseball drafts are in full swing (pun relatively unintended), and I’m knee deep in preparations and writing for those. And I’ve been sick for three days. But…HOCKEY IS BACK! And I’m pretty excited to have an 11-game schedule of matchups to run down for y’all on the last Tuesday night of games before the Friday afternoon trade deadline. As for more names on the trade block? Well, I can guarantee this guy isn't going anywhere.
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! It was a night to remember for the Sabres and their franchise defenseman on Tuesday night. Rasmus Dahlin scored one in the first, one in the second, and then finished off the hat trick with an empty-netter in the third. The 3 goals and 2 assists were a career high single-game output for the 25-year-old Swede, and brought his point total up to a robust 42 PTS in 48 GP.  It wasn’t all Dahlin, though, as the rest of the Sabres brought their scoring sticks with them on their trip North of the border. Tage Thompson (1G, 1 A), Alex Tuch, Jack Quinn, and newly extended Josh Doan all tickled the twine for the Sabres, and helped to extend their newest win streak to 4 games. 
It's not that often that you see a team score 10 goals in a game.  In fact, it didn't happen all of last season.  It did on Saturday, with the Bruins smashing the Rangers 10-2 in the afternoon.  It's no surprise that the two highest game scores of the season were Bruins in this game.  It's definitely not a surprise that one was David Pastrnak, who dished a whopping six assists in the game, adding five shots on goal.  The huge surprise was Marat Khusnutdinov, who scored four goals and an assist, finishing +6.  While he didn't record any stats in Boston's game on Sunday, Khusnutdinov did have three assists in his previous four games.  He's currently on the first line with Pasta, so he's worth bumping into the middling streamer range.  There's some upside here, but he only had seven shots in his previous eight games combined, so that will need to drastically change for anything more.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Patrick Kane hit the next milestone in his illustrious career on Thursday night, scoring two goals to reach the 500 goal mark for his career.  He became the fifth American and 50th player ever to score 500 goals.  Kane has been very good for the surprising Red Wings, totaling 8+18 in 30 games with an above average shot rate.  He's firmly on the fringe, meaning whether or not you hold him comes down to team needs.  If anything, he's been a bit unlucky with his shooting percentage, so there's a bit more upside here.  Just don't expect any more empty net goals, as the only reason he was on the ice with one in this game was to get him to 500.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
I celebrated the end of 2025 in the best way imaginable: watching hockey for the entire day.  There were a lot of highlights, starting with my Sabres winning their tenth game in a row.  Yes, Billy Bob, 10!  More on that later.  The most incredible performance though was another Avalanche beatdown.  Not that it was surprising at all against the Blues, but that they scored four goals (and have a fifth disallowed) before the Blues even had a shot on goal!  What a powerhouse. Nathan MacKinnon had his usual 2+2 with seven shots, but the notable performance for a non-superstar was Valeri Nichushkin.  Big Val had a hat trick on six shots in the 6-1 win.  He now has 11+15 in 31 games with a very good shot rate.  He's still available in almost two-thirds of leagues, and that simply needs to change.  Nichushkin is back on PP1 so if there was any doubt, he's must own everywhere.  Sure, he could get injured again, but you have to ride him until that happens.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
I was extremely bullish on Jakob Chychrun last season after his move to Washington, and was a bit above consensus this season.  He's now blowing my expectations out of the water.  Chychrun scored two more goals on Thursday, helping the Capitals beat the Maple Leafs 4-0.  He now has a fantastic 14 goals on the season and has firmly played his way into the Olympic picture.  He's the #2 overall defenseman on the season for fantasy purposes, and while I wouldn't rank him there for the rest of the season, Chychrun is crushing across the board.  He's a clear #1 in all formats.  Let's take a look at what else happened on Thursday night:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! It’s been a bit of a wild ride for Morgan Geekie (2 G, +1, 3 SOG, 1 PPG, GWG). The Geekie Squad was the 67th overall pick in the 2017 draft and wasn’t considered much of a prospect after a 25-point season (in 66 games) for the 2015-2016 Tri-City Americans of the WHL. It was the following year’s breakout that put Geekie on the map (72 GP, 35 G, 90 PTS), and convinced the Carolina Hurricanes that he was worth a gamble in the third round of the NHL Entry Draft.
First off, I just wanted to apologize to everyone for not having the usual Monday morning post this week, but after traveling this weekend, I wasn't able to carve out the time to do a proper summary of things around the NHL.  The good news is I'm here now, and it's time to heap some more praise on the #1 goalie in fantasy right now, Logan Thompson.  Thompson recorded his 100th win on Sunday, getting a 39 save shutout in the 2-0 win over Columbus.  Thompson is sitting with an outrageous 1.96/.925 on the season, proving last season wasn't a fluke.  There's just no way Hockey Canada keeps him off the Olympic team now, right?  No matter how much politicking kept him off the Four Nations team because McPhee was butthurt about Thompson being mad he had to backup for Hill, he's clearly one of the three best Canadian goalies.  Do I think he'll finish as the #1 overall goalie?  Probably not, but I'd be stunned if he's not in the top 5.  He's in elite form and the team in front of him is playing very well.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last couple of nights:
It was ridiculous enough that Tom Wilson set career high in both goals and assists in his 12th season in the NHL, especially after coming off a horrible 2023-24.  So of course, Wilson is blowing last season out of the water so far in his age 32 season.  Wilson had a goal and an assist with two shots on Friday against Toronto, before scoring two goals and an assist with three shots and two PIM against the Isles on Sunday.  Wilson is somehow sitting with 15 goals already, adding 14 assists, in only 26 games.  Add in 54 PIM and 69 hits already and Wilson is having a top five fantasy season for a forward as we enter December.  Am I buying this?  Definitely not.  Guys just don't go from a 40-50 point player to 65 and then blow that 65 out of the water at age 32.  However, I also wouldn't be looking to move him without getting an insane return.  The PIM and hits are locks to be elite and he has turned into a good play driver.  With where you drafted Wilson, you're already playing with house money, so let it ride!  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Twenty-two games.  One regulation loss.  That's what the Colorado Avalanche have done so far, cementing themselves as the best team in the the league.  In fact, the teams tied for second place as closer to 25th in the standings than they are to Colorado.  They're in the midst of a nine game winning streak, with two wins over the weekend, both by shutout.  It started with a MacKenzie Blackwood masterpiece on Saturday, making 35 saves in the 3-0 win over Nashville, before Scott Wedgewood had an easier 22 save shutout in the 1-0 win over Chicago.  Wedgewood has been the #1 overall player so far because why not?  Yay goalies.  Blackwood is back now from injury and getting his fair share of starts.  Yes, right now Wedgewood is the #1, but it should only be a matter of time until it flips back.  Regardless, both of them are clearly must own for the time being, and barring injury, both should be for the rest of the season.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! We had an 8-game schedule to dip into on Tuesday night, and none had a bigger asterisk in the record books than the New Jersey Devils’ visit to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning. Coming into Tuesday night’s game, superstar Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov: 1 G (9), 1 A (9), 2 PIM, 2 SOG, 1 PPA, 1 GWG, 1 HIT - sat tied for third place on the all-time Tampa Bay goal-scoring list with 365 goals.  It was only a matter of time before Kucherov blew past an old legend, and current Montreal bench boss, Martin St. Louis. The good news is it didn’t take Tampa’s active star RW very long to snap #366 past the Devils’ giant netminder, Jakob Markstrom, on their way to a 5-1 win.  If you can guess which two players sit above Kuch on the All-Time Lightning Lamp-Lighting List, throw it in the comments below. I messaged Viz last night and said I really wished it were Brian Bradley. Alas, he’s 14th (111 goals) and nestled between Vaclav Prospal (127!) and Brandon “Cream Cheese” Hagel (102).