Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!

Well, yesterday was my final Top 100 Starting Pitchers article and Year in Review. (Click on that link if you want to check it out!).

Now, I can officially, and undistractedly, present to you a fully focused MarmosDad who has shifted entirely into hockey gear!

Does that mean I’m fully invested in tracking the ins and outs of the preseason rankings that I ran through in September? 

You betcha!

Will I be ready to answer any questions you throw at me here each week with nothing but my day job, fatherhood, mentoring, planning, coaching in school and winter workouts for our baseball team, and the general ridiculousness of life getting in the way?

Absolutely!

Is that also a good indication that I will likely break multiple remote controls by hurling them across the room in disgust when Hampus Lindholm and/or Mason Lohrei look like pee-wee level skaters in another Bruins loss?

Oh, that’s not a certainty, but it’s also quite possible. 

It was a toss-up between a big night from Alexis Lafreniere and a certain Sabres goalie for our lede, but I went with the backstop from Buffalo.

How did the second-year goalie’s season debut go last night?

Colten Ellis – 18 saves on 20 shots and his first win of the year! Knock knock. Who’s there? Not Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen or Alex Lyon! It kind of sucks to be a third-string goalie, but I’ll bet it doesn’t suck if the guys ahead of you are injured. The Sabres are hoping Ellis is stacking pads and not “L’s” while their top two netminders are on the shelf. So far, so good.

And the good news is, there was a lot of good to go around last night in a 9-game schedule.

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

Jesper Wallstedt – 25 saves on 28 shots in the 3-2 OT loss at Buffalo. Minnesota was up 2-0 after two periods, and fell apart in the third. Then Owen Power (1 G, 1 A) sealed the deal for the Sabres in OT.

Danila Yurov – 1 G, 2 SOG, 1 H, 14:21 TOI. This guy was a game-time decision because of an ‘upper body injury’. Scoring a goal usually means everything is fine, but I’d keep an eye on him either way.

Quinn Hughes – 1 A, 1 SOG, 1 BLK, 29:30 TOI. Almost a half hour of total ice time and this was all he could add to the scoresheet? Woof.

Tage Thompson – 1 G, +1, 9 SOG, 1 BLK, 20:23 TOI. I was the 23rd overall pick in a startup dynasty league last year, and I took Tage as my 1st round selection. He’s not an elite point-getter by any means, but I wanted a younger goal scorer who could help me insulate the shots-on-goal category each week in the head-to-head league. All the boxes are checked off!

Rasmus Dahlin – 1 A, +1, 3 SOG, 2 PIM, 1 HIT, 3 BLK, 29:15 TOI. He wasn’t as flashy as his fellow defender, Owen Power, but Dahlin added a little bit of everything across the board for us multi-category leaguers. 

Owen Power– 1 G, 1 A, +3, and (as mentioned above) the game-winner in OT. 

Juuse Saros – 32 saves on 37 shots and the 5-4 OT loss at TOR. Too many Juuse rebounds in this one. High five me!

Nils Hoglander – 2 G, +1, 2 SOG, 2 HITS, 10:38 TOI. Fun fact: This is also the official title of E.B. White’s children’s classic, “Charlotte’s Web”, in Sweden. Is Nils Hoglander radiant? Terrific? That is some hog.

Steven Stamkos – 2 G, 3 SOG, 1 HIT, 19:43 TOI. I didn’t watch this one, but I wonder how many Leaf fans are still crusty that Stamkos didn’t choose to sign with them in 2024. 

Filip Forsberg – 2 A, +1, 2 SOG, 1 HIT, 1 BLK, 21:00 TOI. Don’t mess with Filip or he’ll give ya the old ‘Benicio Del Toro’. For real.

Anthony Stolarz – 21 saves on 25 shots and the 5-4 OT win. He was down 3-0 by the 3-minute mark of the second period, so credit where it’s due to the Leafs and Stolarz for sticking with it and fighting back to get two points.

Gavin McKenna – 1G, 1 A, +1, 4 SOG, 1 BLK, 14:45 TOI. True story alert! A kid at school asked if I was going to watch Gavin McKenna score his first career goal tonight, and I said he must have missed the first two games of the season because, from what I heard from Toronto media, this kid was going to score 200 goals this year. Credit where it’s due, though. The kid “finally” found the scoresheet. 

Auston Matthews – 1 G, 3 A, +2, 4 SOG, 1 HIT, 1 BLK, 25:09 TOI. Ah, yes. Noted setup man, Auston Matthews. Hey, all jokes aside, this guy was so underrated heading into this season it was almost criminal. If he’s healthy or only misses a dozen games overall, you’re going to get 40 goals and a push for 90-100 points. The Leafs have a lot of very good players; one night I’ll have to mute the broadcast and actually watch them.

William Nylander – 1 G, 2 A, +2, 1 SOG, 22:48 TOI. Somehow he always escapes being the scapegoat. I’ll assume racking up points has something to do with it. Hey, as long as this team is winning games, no one is going to run him out of town as they did with a certain other young, talented forward.

Karel Vejmelka – 30 saves on 33 shots and the 5-3 win at NJ. That’s two wins now for the Veggie-Milk! He’s gonna give us sneaky good value if he’s the clear-cut starter this year.

Nick Schmaltz – 1 G, 2 A, +1, 4 SOG, 2 HITS, 19_47 TOI. Every time I hear this guy’s last name, I picture an old Jewish grandmother licking her thumb and trying to wipe stuff off of a kid’s T-shirt. Schmutz, Schmaltz, who cares? He’s good.

MacKenzie Weegar – 1 G, +1, 6 PIM, 3 SOG, 2 HITS, 6 BLK, 20:17 TOI. More than a wee bit of multi-category help from Weegar.

Mikhail Sergachev – 3 A, 2 SOG, 15:04 TOI. I still can’t believe the Habs flipped this kid AND a second-round pick to Tampa Bay for Jonathan Drouin. At least the Lightning got a haul for him when they traded him to the Mammoth (JJ Moser, Connor Geekie, 2nd-round pick, 7th-round pick). No matter what he was traded for, Utah is reaping the benefits of a superstar in the making. 

It’s a good example of a strong young core building around one of the toughest things to find in hockey: a great, young, #1 defenceman. I wouldn’t be surprised if he surpassed last year’s 60 points this season. He’s a stud. EDIT: I was a bit concerned when I saw the low ice-time total, so I looked for news and found that Sergachev took a puck off the dome in the 2nd period last night and had to leave early. If you’re in a daily league, make sure he’s suited up for today’s Bruins matchup. Utah may err on the side of caution and rest him.

Jake Allen – 26 saves on 31 shots in the 5-3 loss. Oh, Jake. Whatever happened to the days when you were the clear-cut heir apparent to Brian Elliott and the next big thing between the pipes? I mean, the easy answer is Jordan Binnington happened, and you got run out of town shortly thereafter, but still. 

Luke Evangelista – 2 G, +1, 2 SOG, 1 BLK, 18:18 TOI. I tried to remember what his name reminded me of, but after I googled Linda Evangelista, I decided it wasn’t worth pursuing much further.

Timo Meier – 1 A, +1, 4 PIM, 8 SOG, 2 BLK, 18:14 TOI. Shot, Shot, Shot, Shot Shot Shot. Every Timo!

Brandon Bussi – 16 saves on 20 shots and the 6-4 win at MTL. It’s fitting that a B.B. came out on the right end of a shootout in Montreal. 

Mark Jankowski – 1 G, 1 A, +2, 2 SOG, 1 HIT, 12:37 TOI. There’s some kind of janky line to use here, but I can’t really put a finger on it. I will say, though, between this guy and the next one, this team would have a ton of names that would work in the “Hockey Player or Politician” game.

Eric Robinson – 1 G, 1 A, +1, 1 SOG, 1 HIT, 3 BLK. And here’s to you, Eric Robinson. I don’t know about heaven, but Carolina holds a place for those who score; that’s for sure.

Taylor Hall – 2 G, +2, 4 PIM, 4 SOG, 3 HITS, 13:07 TOI.  Wtf. Is this guy 50 years old yet?

Sebastian Aho – 1 G, 2 A, 2 PIM, 3 SOG, 2 HITS, 19:56 TOI. That’s 7 points in his first 4 games. This 1C is about as good as it gets, and he’s still underrated. I’d be hard-pressed to name more than 5 centremen in the East that are better.

Jakub Dobes – 28 saves on 33 shots and the loss. Juraj Slafkovsky scored in the third period to push it to 5-4, but an Andrei Svechnikov empty-netter sealed the deal for the Canes. Sorry, bro. 

Alexandre Texier – Between this guy and Alexandre Carrier, it got me wondering. If we changed some more names up, like Alexandre Suzuki, Alexandre Xhekaj, and Alexandre Caufield, would the Habs win 70 games? If a guy spells his name with the ‘R’ at the end, does it make him less desirable as an asset in Montreal? Has anyone checked in to see what Alexandre Daigle is up to these days? Inquiring minds…

Zachary Bolduc – 2 G, +2, 3 SOG, 2 HITS, 1 BLK, 14_07 TOI. Are we sure he doesn’t spell his name “Zacharie Bolduque”? For the record, this started as a joke until I looked it up and saw he was born in Trois-Rivieres. Because, of course, he was.

Nick Suzuki – 1 G, 1 A, +1, 2 PIM, 2 SOG, 2 HITS, 21:49 TOI. You sure it’s not “Nicque Suzuque”? (Ok, I’ll stop now).

Samuel Ersson – 31 saves on 35 shots in the 5-3 loss at DET. I watched this game because I couldn’t stomach listening to the Toronto cheerleaders on TSN1. I will say, though. Ersson makes it very easy for even a casual fan to figure out why he’s the Sens backup, and Ullmark is the starter. He looked softer than a Dairy Queen cone in August on a few of those Red Wings goals. In his defense, he saw a lot of rubber last night.

William Eklund – 1 G, 1 A, +1, 3 SOG, 1 BLK, 20:09 TOI. The old Shark and newest Sen finally hit the scoresheet. He had the third-highest TOI among forwards behind Stutzle and Cozens, so it looks like Ottawa will give Eklund plenty of time to prove his worth with the new club.

Drake Batherson – 1 G, 1 A, 4 PIM, 2 SOG, 5 HITS, 17:07 TOI. This guy is way cooler than his ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’ namesake from Ontario, that’s for sure.

Tim Stutzle – 1 G, 1 A, 2 SOG, 5 HITS, 21:37 TOI. His (almost) two SHG Monday night against the Bruins were enough to get me to shut the game off before the end of the first period. He’s on a heater right now, and if he keeps this up, he’ll be well on his way to smashing that career high of 39 goals and 90 points (in 2022/2023).

John Gibson -22 saves on 25 shots and the 5-3 win. How does it feel to make 25 straight playoff appearances…then miss the playoffs for 10 straight years? Ask a Wings fan. Hey, at least they’re in the win column now. 

Alex DeBrincat – 2 G, 1 A, +2, 4 PIM, 3 SOG, 1 BLK, 18:45 TOI, and the first star of the game. I mentioned this a few times last year, but I’m still sour that the Bruins didn’t draft this guy when they could have in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Is he small? Sure. Does it matter? It sure doesn’t when you’re pumping an average of 30+ goals a year in a 9-year career. 

Dylan Larkin – 1 G, 1 A, 2 PIM, 4 SOG, 1 BLK, 20:41 TOI. If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a noise? Similarly, if Dylan Larkin scores two points in a Red Wings home victory, do 20,000 fans make a noise, too? For the record, after the game, the broadcast guys said that, “The boos subsided as we got further through the game tonight, so we’ll see where that goes.” All I know is it’s a messy situation. And that this (photo below) made me chuckle.

Viktor Arvidsson – 1 G, 1 A, 3 SOG, 17:20 TOI. Silly side note – I heard that Simon Edvinsson announced that he wanted to be traded out of Detroit, and for a second, I thought it was this guy. It won’t be the last time I sigh and triple-check the spelling of someone’s name this year while pining for those easy-to-remember baseball names like Dylan Cease and Chris Sale.

Lucas Raymond – 3 A, -1, 6 SOG, 1 BLK, 19:47 TOI. Everybody loves Raymond!

Semyon Varlamov – 19 saves on 22 shots and the 5-2 loss at NYR. The battle of New York was a bit anticlimactic as the Islanders tied the game at 2-2 before the end of the third period, then let the Rangers score 3 unanswered.

Brayden Schenn – 2 A, 7 PIM, 2 SOG, 1 HIT, 1 BLK, 16:16 TOI. He’ll never be a league winner in points leagues, but the hit totals are going to be good, and the PP points give him more value in multi-category leagues.

Bo Horvat – 1 G, -2, 2 SOG, 17:49 TOI. Bo knows goals.

Igor Shesterkin – 17 saves on 19 shots and the win. He’s 3-1 with a 1.75 GAA and .926 SV%. He should be right there at the end of the year in the Vezina conversation. 

“Ya, but did he score again last night?” 

No, Mr. Italics Guy. He didn’t. (P.S. Don’t pay any attention to the italics guy. He’s a troll.)

Alexis Lafreniere – 3 G, 1 A, +4, 2 PIM, 3 SOG, 1 BLK, 18:54 TOI. He was almost the lede today. Could you imagine what the Habs would trade for this guy? “Take your pick of 4 roster players, and we’ll throw in Youppi and Bonhomme de Neige”. That’s a direct quote from one of the “Alexandre fans”.

Oliver Bjorkstrand – 2 G, +1, 5 PIM, 3 SOG, 1 HIT, 1 BLK, 8:58 TOI. He’s well on his way to a bounceback season with his new club. He’s closer to that 6-time 20-goal scorer than to the 32-point guy who played in Tampa last year. I wouldn’t expect a 60+ point season, but a bounceback to a 45-55 point season isn’t out of the question.

Joel Hofer – 17 saves on 19 shots and the 4-2 loss at CHI. Well, that’s not getting Hofer to the HOF anytime soon.

Mason McTavish – 1 G, -1, 2 SOG, 3 HITS, 17:20 TOI. I’ve seen more than a few write-ups about Mason McTavish as a bounce-back candidate this year, and if he gets top 6 minutes and PP1 time, I can see it. I’d be buying in if the price is right. 

Spencer Knight – 26 saves on 28 shots and the 4-2 win. I watched a bit of this game after flipping over from OTT at DET, and it was cool to see Knight in his after-game sit-down with Darren Pang. This kid looked just as excited as everyone else in the building when he was asked about the return of Patrick Kane.

Anton Frondell – 1 G, 1 A, +2, 1 SOG, 1 HIT, 18:37 TOI. If you’re in a keeper league and you don’t roster this kid yet, put together a trade package. Everyone else in the NHL is asking for him when the Blackhawks call about deals, too.

Frank Nazar – 1 G, 1 A, +1, 3 SOG, 1 BLK. A Nazar laser!

Carter Hart – 19 saves on 19 shots (after two periods). Hart was sitting on a 5-goal lead after two periods, so I’d be surprised if things fell apart on his cruise to the iVictory coast.

Victor Olofsson – 2 G, +2, 2 SOG. That’s two straight Tuesdays of goals for Goal-ofsson!

Jack Eichel – 1 G, 2 A, +2, 2 SOG. Three of us tried to pick Eichel for Viz’s three-point challenge, so I guess we all knew what we were doing. 

Tomas Hertl – 1 G, 2 A, +2, 2 PIM, 2 HITS, 1 BLK. I guess we should’ve pivoted to this guy!

Mark Stone – 1 G, 1 A, +2, 3 SOG, 1 HIT, 2 BLK. Again, this was through two periods, but these forwards gave us enough stats to boost our fantasy teams through 40 minutes anyway. Anything else in the third is just gravy.

Joey Daccord – 16 saves on 21 shots in two periods, then replaced by Philip Grubauer.

Jacob Markstrom – 14 saves on 15 shots through 2 periods. Ride this horse…er, Panther, for as long as he’s hot. Just be ready to jump off the train before it veers off the tracks and smashes headlong into a mountain.

Seth Jones – 1 G, 1 SOG, 2 HITS, 1 BLK, 13:57 TOI (in two periods). If you can guess how many seasons he’s played (including this one) and/or his age, you win an over-the-internet high five!

Darcy Kuemper – 14 saves on 15 shots through 2 periods. This is your guy if you’re a royal believer. The Kings lost a big piece when Anze Kopitar retired, and Drew Doughty isn’t getting any younger, but L.A. has some serious pieces in place to make a playoff run this year.

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.

Happy Wednesday, and I’ll see you next week!

Follow me @marmosdad on Twitter/X and Bluesky @marmosdad.bsky.social