Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!

It’s Charlie Daniels week in Winnipeg!

Ok, maybe not. But to be fully transparent, we won’t be diving too deep into a satanic banjo battle.

Tuesday night’s short hockey schedule had no shortage of drama and excitement even before the puck dropped at 7:00 EST.

If you’ve logged into any news or social media site, you likely saw that Connor Hellebuyck’s newest employer fumbled the hottest story north of Minnesota ahead of Tuesday night’s game.

So, if we’re using metrics or “expected win probability” to dictate playing time, then New Jersey’s backup goalie MUST have some excellent career numbers against the Jets…right?

Uh…maybe not?

We could run through a whole article on this drama alone, but kudos to one of the reporters who asked some good questions in the media chat with Hellebuyck yesterday. 

Whoever this reporter is, they deserve a raise. #GoJetsGo #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/2f3ibmmUyI

— Sam Len (@SamLenSports) November 10, 2026

Now, I haven’t been to Winnipeg, and I’m sure it’s a lovely place to visit at any point in time, but there’s something to be said about a player wanting to play in a place where both he and his family are comfortable.

Am I getting sick of hearing about players wanting to bail on their team and/or current contract?

Perhaps.

Do I fault the player every time we see another trade demand and modified trade list?

Sometimes.

But last night was a good opportunity for Hellebuyck to put the “story” to bed by facing the wrath of the Winnipeg winter-dwellers, and the Devils still went with Jake Allen instead.

Did the Devils make the right call? 

Well, Jake Allen (21 saves on 24 shots and the 4-2 loss) certainly didn’t add any positives to those career numbers in Manitoba. For what it’s worth, though, the post-game analysts did say that Jake Allen was New Jersey’s best player in the third period.

I guess the good news takeaway is that Connor Hellebuyck didn’t hurt himself while he worked the bench gate as a backup.

And, of course, it gave us a pretty fantastic graphic from the Jets’ PR team after the final horn sounded.

Expected Win Probability 100% ✈️@Wawanesa | #GoJetsGo pic.twitter.com/1SIWKkjSUK

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) November 11, 2026

Was anything else as exciting as the Devils going down to Manitoba last night?

Here’s what else I saw in Tuesday night’s NHL action!

Cody Glass – 1 G, 3 SOG, 1 BLK, 12:35 TOI. Four points in 19 GP is about as brutal as it gets for a former first-round pick (6th overall in 2017). He’s not terrible by any means, but when a guy is a Top Ten pick and has hit the 35-point threshold just once in 9 years? That’s what we call a bust, kids.

Jesper Bratt – 1 G, 2 SOG, 21:20 TOI. He’s racked up 70+ points in five straight seasons, and with 19 points in 19 games this year, he’s well on his way to another one.

Nico Daws – 19 saves on 21 shots and the 4-2 win. One of the pieces of the Hellebuyck trade delivered immediate dividends in this one. The 3-3 record isn’t much to write home about, but the 2.72 GAA is solid if you’re looking for a young backup goalie to stash in those dynasty leagues.

Kyle Connor – 2 G, 7 SOG, 1 BLK, 23:18 TOI. He’s up to 15 goals now, and if you’re in a multi-category league that counts shooting percentage, his 18.5% is as good as it gets. (He ranks 11th overall when sorting by skaters with 50+ shots on net this year).

Dawson Mercer – 2 G, 3 SOG, 2 BLK, 16:11 TOI. Hey, wouldja look at that! Another one of those names that came from Jersey to the Great White North! 10 points in 19 games isn’t much to get excited about, but if he keeps getting time on the power play and second-line duty at even strength, this kid should easily post career numbers. (His best year was 56 points and 27 goals in 2022-2023).

Cole Perfetti – 2 A, 1 H, 15:38 TOI. He’s clicking on that second line with Mercer.

Logan Thompson – 24 saves on 26 shots, and the 3-2 OT win at OTT. That’s back-to-back wins for Thompson, and you can bet that come hell or high water, he’ll be facing Connor Hellebuyck and the Devils later this week. (Pun fully intended).

Cole Hutson – 1 G, 1 A, 3 SOG, 2 H, 2 BLK, 21:47 TOI. Ok, so maybe the brother comparison isn’t quite as distant as the Wayne and Brett Gretzky one, but Cole is holding his own in the “Huston scoring race”. His 11 points in 15 games are a respectable total compared to Lane’s point-per-game pace (18 in 18 GP).

Pierre-Luc Dubois – 1 G, 1 SOG, 1 H, 17:35 TOI. With 10 points in 11 games, Dubois isn’t exactly at a Cody Glass level of disappointment, but I don’t know if we’ll ever see an 82-game season from this guy again. He’s just 28 years old, but it feels like he’s been around forever.

Samuel Ersson – 14 saves on 17 shots and the 3-2 OT loss. Maybe the Senators sat Linus Ullmark because they thought Ersson was their best bet to avoid “a reduction in win probability”?

Hayden Hodgson – 1 G, 1 SOG, 1 H, 6:35 TOI. And there’s your annual Hayden Hodgson update!

Thomas Chabot – 2 A, 1 SOG, 1 BLK, 21:03. He’s a quiet producer who’s posted 10 points in 15 games. 

Jesper Wallstedt – 27 saves on 28 shots, and the 2-1 OT win at MTL. This was one of those goalie battles that, unfortunately, someone had to lose. I mean, it’s unfortunate if you’re not Jesper Wallstedt, I guess.

Kirill Kaprizov – 1 G, 1 SOG. Yep, that’s 100% shooting percentage. (No calculator required!)

Bobby Brink – 1 G, 5 SOG, 1 H, 1 BLK, 13:11 TOI. Nope, that’s NOT a 100% shooting percentage! (I didn’t need a calculator for that one either!)

Jacob Fowler – 22 saves on 24 shots and the OT loss. After giving up 9 goals in two starts, Fowler bounced back strong at TOR on Saturday night and could have won last night, too, if his teammates could have scored another couple against Wallstedt.

Nick Suzuki – 1 G, 3 SOG, 1 H, 1 BLK, 18:16 TOI. The Habs are at their best when this guy and Cole Caufield are clicking. Suzuki has 4 points in 3 games since returning from a two-week absence (hand injury), and it’s looking like he’s feeling pretty good already.

Cole Caufield – 1 A, 2 PIM, 2 SOG, 2 H, 16:04 TOI. I’m still taking Caufield over Suzuki if I have to choose between the two, but this is a perfect example of a good place to use the “Why Not Both?” GIF if I’ve ever seen one.

Lane Hutson – 1 A, 6 SOG, 26:47 TOI. He lost the Hutson DFS battle last night, but it’s not for lack of trying. He’s a horse.

Jacob Markstrom – 37 saves on 38 shots and the 4-1 win. He’s 5-3-1 and has some solid ratios. But even with a 2.52 GAA and .900 save percentage, I still don’t trust him as a number one goalie in anything but very deep fantasy leagues.

Sam Bennett – 2 G, 2 PIM, 4 SOG, 1 H, 17:01 TOI. A guy who scores goals, gets PP time, and can give us a healthy dose of shots and hits has a place in those multi-category leagues. If a manager in your league isn’t happy with the 10 points in 19 games, I’d be trying to pry him loose as long as the price is right.

Sam Reinhart – 1 G, 3 SOG, 1 BLK, 17:08 TOI. I was about to say that it’s just a matter of time before this whole team starts clicking, but Reinhart is producing at almost a point-a-game pace, so he doesn’t need to kick it up into a new gear anytime soon.

Aaron Ekblad – 2 A, 20:55 TOI. I don’t think we’ll ever see the 57 points in 61 games that we got from Ekblad in the 2022-2023 season, but that doesn’t mean he’s not serviceable in deeper leagues. He’s always going to give us minutes, so at the very least that’s one way to fill the rest of the scoresheet (with shots, PIMs, and blocked shots).

Anton Lundell – 2 A, 2 SOG, 1 H, 2 BLK, 16:34 TOI. He’s not blowing up the scoresheet by any means, but there’s a reason why the Panthers were reluctant to include this kid in trade talks…and it’s the same reason why other teams always asked about him. He’s not there yet, but this guy is going to be very good.

Cam Talbot – 24 saves on 27 shots and the 4-1 loss vs FLA. I mentioned twice in the last two weeks. For a guy who is supposed to be a backup goalie, it sure is looking like a straight time share in Columbus with Talbot and Jet Greaves. Both guys have started 9 games this year, and Talbot’s 5-3 record is a lot better than the two wins we’ve gotten from Greaves. That said, it’s not time to panic just yet. But polish up that monocle if you haven’t been looking closely enough.

Ivan Provorov – 1 G, 6 SOG, 20:57 TOI, and a surname that reminds me of fancy cheese.

Sergei Bobrovsky – 22 saves on 27 shots and the 6-3 loss (at home) to COL. Folks, it’s gonna be really tough for “this to be the Leafs’ year” if they don’t win hockey games. This one was their 4th straight loss. You’re STILL off the case, Bobrovsky!

Jack Roslovic – 1 G, 1 A, 5 SOG, 18:20 TOI. Yep. There he is. The guy we all predicted would be the Leafs’ third-best goal scorer this year. And by “we all”, I mean no one.

Easton Cowan – 1 G, 1 A, 4 SOG, 3 H, 19:04 TOI. He’s been a breath of fresh air in a season full of stink for Toronto.

Darren Raddysh – 1 G, 1 A, 2 SOG, 1 H, 1 BLK, 21:36 TOI. If you were one of the guys who dropped Raddysh after a slow start, shame on you for cutting bait too early. He has 6 points in his last 6 games.

Mackenzie Blackwood – 28 saves on 31 shots and the 6-3 win at TOR. Sure, last year’s tandem split time a lot more evenly, but make no mistake; this is the Avs goalie you want to roster. 

Gabriel Landeskog – 2 G, 4 SOG, 1 H, 15:16 TOI. Hopefully y’all had a peek at my preseason writeups during draft season. If you did, here’s hoping you believed me when I said that as long as Landeskog is healthy, he’s going to be a steal of a pick where he was going off the board. 

Devon Toews– 1 G, 1 A, +5, 2 SOG, 22:06 TOI. I don’t usually list off the plus/minus in these recaps, but if your league tracks that as a category, Toews’ +5 rating last night was a nice boost for your head-to-head numbers.

Cale Makar – 2 A, 1 SOG, 2 BLK, 23:23 TOI. Sure, he’s not as flashy as Evan Bouchard, but he’s going to put up points for us in fantasy leagues, and, for what it’s worth, I wouldn’t take any other defenseman over him in a real-life situation either.

John Gibson – 30 saves on 33 shots and the 3-2 loss at STL. He got peppered with rubber again last night, and he’s seen 25+ shots in half of his last 10 starts. Come on, Wings. Start laying down in those lanes!

Andrew Copp – 1 G, 1 A, 3 SOG, 1 H, 2 BLK, 19:11 TOI. The bad news is he has just 8 points in 19 games. The good news? Five of those were from his last five games.

Mortiz Seider – 1 G, 6 SOG, 3 H, 26:24 TOI. He certainly didn’t have as many hits as teammate Michael Brandsegg-Nygard did (10 hits!), but Seider filled in some boxes for us multi-category leaguers.

Lucas Raymond – 2 A, 2 SOG, 1 BLK. He’s at a point-per-game pace.

Joel Hofer – 32 saves on 33 shots and the 3-2 win vs DET. His best blocker save was arguably the one he made on the gloved punch exchange with the Wings forwards at the end of the third period, but this kid has been developing just as predicted back in the preseason. Don’t let the 7-5-1 record fool you. The 2.33 GAA and .920 save percentage are the real indicators that this kid is ready to take the next step in St. Louis. He’s lucky to be learning on the job from Jordan Binnington, but I said it before: I wouldn’t be surprised if Hofer took the starting job and finished with more games played than his mentor did by the end of the year.

Jimmy Snuggerud – 1 G, 1 A, 3 SOG, 1 H, 18:39 TOI. He was last year’s kids breakout pick in my preseason review, and if you need a goal scorer to build around in your dynasty league, this is a good one to lock in for the long term.

Robert Thomas – 2 A, 2 SOG, 19:23 TOI. Give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it. 

The “Late” Game

Juuse Saros – 7 saves on 7 shots with 18:00 left in the second period. It’s not over by any measure here, but so far so good for Saros. He came into last night’s game with a .914 save percentage. Not too shabby for an “old guy” (He’s 31).

Filip Forsberg – 1 G, 2 PIM, 2 SOG. Solid. Grandpa Peter would be proud.

Anton Forsberg – 10 saves on 11 shots with 17:00 left in the second period. Solid. Grandpa Peter…Hey! Wait a second!

That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.