Fantasy Hockey Who's Hot, Who's Not: Oilers' Trio Dominates, Stars and Panthers Stumble Early

After an action-packed first six days of the 2026-27 NHL season, plenty of moments have already stood out.

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin scored the first goalie goal in franchise history, and shootouts and comebacks have been everywhere.

The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks opened the season with a wild two-game set that produced 27 combined goals.

The fast starts, and the slow ones, have also shaken up Fantasy hockey. Here is a look at who has been hot and who has not.

Fantasy owners who drafted Oilers high were rewarded quickly during the two-game series against the Canucks, which ended in a pair of high-scoring shootouts. Defenseman Evan Bouchard had a five-point opening night and now has four goals and four assists for eight points through three games, making him the top-scoring player in fantasy hockey.

Right behind him are teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Both were top-five fantasy picks, so their big opening weeks are no surprise, and they likely won plenty of owners their opening matchups on their own.

After spending much of the off-season negotiating a new contract, Jason Robertson was expected to return and light up the scoresheet. That has not happened. Dallas dropped its first two games, and Robertson was minus-three in the season opener against the St. Louis Blues before another quiet showing in a loss to the Nashville Predators.

He has no points, and the Stars have scored just one goal in two games. Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston, Roope Hintz and Thomas Harley have also been disappointing. Dallas has upcoming games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres, two teams with lower-tier or injured defensive groups, so a bounce back is expected soon.

Much of the Winnipeg Jets' off-season revolved around trade noise surrounding goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, but Kyle Connor remains one of the NHL's most lethal and underrated forwards.

He opened the season with a pair of points against the Boston Bruins, then took his game up a level Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings, scoring two highlight-reel goals to give the Jets an early 3-0 lead. Winnipeg nearly gave it away but held on for a 3-2 win. Coming off a down season and with the trade talk swirling, Connor does not appear fazed.

He looks like a strong bet to finish near the top of Fantasy scoring this year.

After a busy off-season that included adding Jacob Markstrom and Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk to play alongside his brother Matthew, many were buying the Florida Panthers as Stanley Cup contenders again following a turbulent season that saw them miss the playoffs.

It has not been smooth sailing. Florida has one win in its first three games, and several new additions have underwhelmed. Brady Tkachuk has no points and is minus-3, while Sam Reinhart and Seth Jones have also started slowly.

Captain Aleksander Barkov was expected to bounce back after missing all of last season, but instead he suffered another significant injury in the second game of the year and returned to long-term injured reserve. Brad Marchand returned to the lineup and scored Sunday night, but the Panthers lost again.

They will need to right the ship soon before belief in the turnaround starts to fade.

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