The Utah center is on pace for a career season after being limited to just 33 games last season.
There's the age-old saying: "Man plans, and God laughs."
We're always full of conviction heading into every hockey season - the Avalanche will surely dominate, said everyone - and then Week 1 happens and it feels like we all got punched in the face by Mike Tyson. Multiple times.
But this is why nothing should be taken for granted in fantasy hockey, and it's an early reminder that anything can happen.
The Avalanche are ranked at the top of the Week 2 schedule matrix with four games, and (presumably) favorable matchups against the Sharks and Ducks can give them a chance to get their goaltending back on track. Alexandar Georgiev, who was underwhelming last season, has gotten worse this season, getting pulled in two straight games (8 goals on 25 shots, .680 SP).
The Sharks play four games but they have one of the most unfavorable schedules with three of their games on the road, including a back-to-back, and then a finale against the Avs on Sunday. They will also be without Macklin Celebrini, who must remain on IR until at least Saturday.
The Sharks-Avs game on Sunday is just one of three games schedule for that day. Friday also features only three games with Tuesday (nine games), Thursday (11) and Saturday (13) remaining the most busy nights.
As I mentioned in the team-by-team schedule analysis, Fridays and Sundays are the days to take advantage of in head-to-head matchups, and the Ducks are the best team to mine for options. They visit Colorado on Friday and then host the Kings on Sunday.
Based on last season's records, the Sabres have one of the easiest schedules in Week 2, but all three of their games are on the road, including a back-to-back, and they're playing worse than two of their scheduled opponents, the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks.
Schedule
Pick players from teams at the top of the schedule matrix to maximize games and matchups. Green is good. Red is bad. All advanced stats courtesy naturalstatrick.com. All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo Fantasy. Points percentages from the 2023-24 season used for this week.
Weekly Bangers
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo, on teams with at least 4 games this week)
Total hits
Jonah Gadjovich, LW, FLA - 12
Brenden Dillon, D, NJ - 10
Erik Haula, C/LW, NJ - 9
Paul Cotter, C, NJ - 9
Eetu Luostarinen, C, FLA - 8
Ross Colton, C, COL - 8
Jack St. Ivany, D, PIT - 7
Luke Kunin, C, SJ - 7
Total blocks
Brenden Dillon, D, NJ - 9
Jonas Siegenthaler, D, NJ - 8
Simon Nemec, D, NJ - 8
Jake Walman, D, SJ - 7
Jan Rutta, D, SJ - 7
Calvin de Haan, D, COL - 5
Joel Edmundson, D, LA - 5
Vladislav Gavrikov, D, LA - 5
Brandt Clarke, D, LA - 5
Ryan Graves, D, PIT - 5
Johnathan Kovacevic, D, NJ - 5
Season-long adds
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Dylan Strome, C, WSH (35% rostered)
With back-to-back 60-point seasons and Alex Ovechkin's center at both even strength and on the power play, I'm consistently baffled why Strome's under-rostered. He scored two points in the season opener with 20:21 TOI. He's a good source of assists, power-play points and face-off wins.
Matthew Knies, LW, TOR (27% rostered)
If you want goals and hits, Knies is a great pickup. He's locked in as the top left winger on a line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. More points will come when his linemates snap their slump.
Barrett Hayton, C, UTA (17% rostered)
Hayton was a top bounce-back candidate and he's delivering the goods already. With a goal in three straight games and two helpers, he's looked every bit the No. 1 center he was destined to be after being picked fifth overall in 2018.
I don't think his ceiling is an elite No. 1 scoring center, but he can be a strong two-way center who can score 60-70 points with Clayton Keller on his wing. Hayton is delivering in multiple categories and averaging nearly 18 minutes per game, a career high.
Marco Rossi, C, MIN (10% rostered)
Joel Eriksson Ek is expected to return Tuesday, but Rossi's been the center between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello and his ice time is trending up. He had a quiet season opener but notched two helpers in the second game, and showed great chemistry with Kaprizov. Rossi's in line for a breakout season.
Kent Johnson, C, CLB (2% rostered)
I'm going to go out on a limb for Johnson, who's looked excellent through two games. He doesn't strike me as a Dean Evason type of player, but he's obviously earned his trust, and even played on the PK in the second game.
Johnson has three points in two games, and played 21:30 in a 6-4 win against the Avs on Saturday. I think we're looking at a big breakout season for Johnson after his development stalled last season. Johnson should also get RW eligibility soon if you're worried about not getting face-off wins from a C.
Lane Hutson, D, MON (49% rostered)
If you're looking for a defenseman who can potentially rack up the points, look no further. Hutson notched two assists in consecutive games and he's gaining a lot of trust from the coaches. I'm not sure he'll supplant Mike Matheson just yet on the Habs' depth chart, but the gap is narrowing quickly.
Mid-term holds
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Logan Cooley, C, UTA (47% rostered)
Utah's explosive offense means almost everyone in their top six is worth rostering. Cooley's their No. 2 center and playing PP2, and now has five assists in three games. The drawback is the lack of ice time, averaging just 15 minutes per game.
Jonathan Huberdeau, C/LW, CGY (44% rostered)
We might want to pump the breaks a little bit, but Huberdeau's play through two games has been especially encouraging. He scored four points against the Flyers and it might've been his best game ever as a Flame. Despite all the trade talk surrounding their vets, Huberdeau's contract means he's likely staying, but the injection of youth has given the entire team a little jump.
Sam Bennett, C, FLA (43% rostered)
With Aleksander Barkov out 2-3 weeks, look for Bennett to take a bigger role. He played 19 minutes in Barkov's absence, scoring his third goal of the season. Bennett played with Carter Verhaeghe, and if Matthew Tkachuk stays with Bennett upon his return, that might be the Panthers' new No. 1 line until Barkov returns. Bennett offers points, shots, face-off wins and hits.
Mikael Granlund, C/RW, SJ (20% rostered)
Granlund moved back to L1 after Celebrini was placed on IR, and with shades of last season, Granlund logged a ton of minutes, finishing with 24:27 TOI, five shots and 11 face-off wins. The Sharks play four games in Week 2.
Casey Mittelstadt, C, COL (18% rostered)
Jonathan Drouin's absence forced Jared Bednar to lean on his most trusted players even more, and that now includes Mittelstadt, who played 22:35 on Saturday against the Jackets. He's scored a goal in two straight games, including five shots and 11 face-off wins.
Kevin Lankinen, G, VAN (17% rostered)
Lankinen was very good in his season debut, allowing just two goals on 31 shots despite losing in a shootout. He's at least earned a second straight start, but it's a tough matchup with the Canucks visiting Tampa on Tuesday (game is still scheduled to be played despite Hurricane Milton passing through) and then Sunrise on Thursday.
The Panthers matchup might be more desirable with Aleksander Barkov (out) and Matthew Tkachuk (missed Saturday's game). Either way, I think there's a chance the Canucks go with Lankinen as their No. 1 over Arturs Silovs, who wasn't bad, but also didn't look great in a 6-5 overtime loss in the season opener.
Devon Levi, G, BUF (11% rostered)
Through two games, Levi looks like the stronger goalie. He earned the Sabres' first win to snap a three-game losing streak and allowed just five goals with a .919 SP. With James Reimer getting claimed on waivers by the Ducks, it looks like the Sabres will go with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Levi for the entire season. In a reversal of last season, Levi might have more value this season.
Short-term streamers
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Anton Lundell, C/RW, FLA (9% rostered)
I'm not convinced Lundell has the offensive upside of a top-six center, but he's playing in that spot right now with Barkov sidelined. He's scored just one assist in three games so far, but he played 20:48, third among Panthers forwards Saturday against the Sabres. It's a four-game week for the Panthers, so we'll see a lot of Lundell on L1 and PP2.
Jake Walman, D, SJ (11% rostered)
The Sharks play four games and Walman's their top PP QB. I'm not sure how many goals the Sharks will score without Celebrini - not many, I think - but Walman has good deployment and plays a lot of minutes.
Dustin Wolf, G, CGY (24% rostered)
Wolf was brilliant in his season debut despite an underwhelming pre-season and it looks like it'll be a timeshare with Dan Vladar. I think Wolf has more potential and based on their rotation right now, his next game will be Tuesday's home date against the Blackhawks.
I'm still cautious about Wolf - their win was against the Flyers, who were playing the second half of a back-to-back and emotions were high with a pre-game ceremony honoring the Gaudreau brothers - but if your league's goalie pool is quite shallow, Wolf could be worth the risk. At the very worst, I think he can rack up the saves.
Joel Blomqvist, G, PIT (3% rostered)
The Pens not being good was not surprising. What was surprising, however, was going with Blomqvist for two straight games following a 6-0 loss in the season opener. I thought Blomqvist was decent (.906 SP) and good enough to warrant additional looks, especially if the leash for Tristan Jarry is so (inexplicably) short.
Until Alex Nedeljkovic comes back, it looks like Blomqvist might have a chance to take over the net. There are two games that might be worth streaming: Monday in Montreal and Wednesday against the Sabres.
Honorable mention:
Andrei Kuzmenko, LW/RW, CGY (48% rostered) - L1, PP1
Teuvo Teravainen, LW/RW, CHI (37% rostered) - L1, PP1
Pavel Zacha, C/LW, BOS (27% rostered) - L1, PP1
Martin Pospisil, C/RW, CGY (21% rostered) - L2
Trevor Zegras, C, ANA (19% rostered) - L2, PP1
K'Andre Miller, D, NYR (18% rostered) - L1, PP2
Adam Boqvist, D, FLA (10% rostered) - L3, PP1
Philip Broberg, D, STL (6% rostered) - L2, PP2
