CHICAGO, IL – NOVEMBER 18: Matt Coronato #27 of the Calgary Flames controls the puck during the first period against the Chicago Blackhawks on November 18, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, a Golden Knights rookie has made an instant impact, Anthony Cirelli and Connor McMichael take on more responsibility, Matt Coronato is back in fine form, and so much more!

#1 Undrafted out of the Ontario Hockey League, right winger Braeden Bowman made steady improvement throughout his junior career and was signed by the Vegas Golden Knights. As a rookie pro, he put up 36 points (14 G, 22 A) in 68 AHL games last season and he started this season in Henderson of the AHL, earning a promotion to Vegas after putting up 12 points (7 G, 5 A) in 12 games. In his first nine games with the Golden Knights, Bowman has seven points (4 G, 3 A) and 19 shots on goal. He has found a spot on right wing on Vegas’ top line, alongside Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev, as well as getting second unit power play time.

#2 With Brayden Point injured recently, Anthony Cirelli has taken on a bigger offensive role for the Tampa Bay Lightning, but he has been a consistent offensive contributor for a while. In his past 13 games, Cirelli has 13 points (6 G, 7 A) and 18 shots on goal. That’s not the most inspiring shot volume, and he’s not going to keep scoring on 30 percent of his shots on goal, but when Cirelli is skating between Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov, he’s going to be an offensive threat.

#3 Washington Capitals centre Pierre-Luc Dubois is likely out until March due to abdominal surgery, so Connor McMichael is now much more important to the Capitals’ attack. In his past eight games, McMichael has 10 points (3 G, 7 A) and 26 shots on goal. He is skating between rookie Ryan Leonard and Brandon Duhaime during five-on-five play while getting second unit power play time, and McMichael played a season-high 21:04 on Wednesday against Winnipeg. After scoring 26 goals and 57 points last season, McMichael will quite reasonably face higher expectations, especially with more ice time going his way.

#4 A healthy scratch earlier in the season, Calgary Flames right winger Matt Coronato has found his way back to being a consistent offensive threat. In his past seven games, Coronato has seven points (4 G, 3 A) and 24 shots on goal. That shot rate (3.43 per game) is the kind that can sustain consistent offensive production. Coronato is on the Flames’ top power play unit and skating with Morgan Frost and Jonathan Huberdeau at even strength.

#5 Known for being able to pull the trigger quickly, Philadelphia Flyers winger Owen Tippett has only scored one goal in his past 17 games, but he has become a playmaker more recently, accumulating seven assists in his past seven games. Tippett is skating with Christian Dvorak and Trevor Zegras at even strength, but he is not generating shots like he did a couple of years ago, when he finished with a career-high 289 shots on goal in 78 games (3.71 per game).

#6 After missing nearly three weeks due to illness, Buffalo Sabres left winger Jason Zucker has provided an immediate boost to the Sabres with six points (2 G, 4 A) and 10 shots on goal in the past four games. The veteran winger is skating on a line with Ryan McLeod and Jack Quinn at evens while getting first-unit power play time. McLeod has five points (1 G, 4 A) in four games since Zucker returned and Quinn has five points (3 G, 2 A) with 12 shots on goal in those four games.

#7 Minnesota Wild right winger Mats Zuccarello was injured at the start of the season, as a lower-body injury kept him out of the lineup until early November. In three weeks since returning, the 38-year-old veteran has nine points (1 G, 8 A) and 16 shots on goal in nine games. He’s playing on the top line with Kirill Kaprizov and rookie Danila Yurov and getting first-unit power play time, so Zuccarello is going to get opportunities so long as he can remain healthy.

#8 On a Buffalo Sabres defense that has some players known for their offensive acumen, Mattias Samuelsson has become a surprising contributor. He doesn’t have a regular role on the power play and yet still has six points (3 G, 3 A) and 14 shots on goal in his past seven games. He is averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time per game in that span, so he’s been getting lots of time, even if not on the power play, but he is far more offensive this season than ever before, producing 12 points (5 G, 7 A) in 22 games after scoring a career-high 14 points (4 G, 10 A) in 62 games last season.

#9 Back in the Red Wings lineup after missing time with an upper-body injury, Patrick Kane continues to put up points. The 37-year-old playmaker has eight points (1 G, 7 A) and 28 shots on goal in his past nine games and is skating with rookie Nate Danielson and Andrew Copp at evens while, naturally, getting first-unit power play time. Kane is turning into more of a power-play specialist, with seven of his 13 points this season coming via the man advantage.

#10 Vancouver Canucks defenceman Filip Hronek has seven points (2 G, 5 A) and 13 shots on goal in his past six contests and the right-shot defender is in an interesting situation. He’s usually partnered with Quinn Hughes, one of the most dynamic defencemen in the league, so that tends to keep the puck moving in the right direction, but if trade rumours prove true and Hughes moves on, Hronek would presumably be the leading candidate for more time on the first power play unit. Ultimately, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about a defenceman playing 24 minutes per game who has 16 points (3 G, 13 A) to go with 37 hits and 46 blocked shots in 25 games this season.

#11 Injuries have decimated the Tampa Bay Lightning blueline, notably taking out Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh, and that has opened the door for Darren Raddysh to get more regular playing time. The way he has been producing offensively, Raddysh is proving his value. In his past seven games, Raddysh has piled up 10 points (2 G, 8 A) and 16 shots on goal while playing more than 23 minutes per game. Certainly, once the Lightning get healthier on the blueline, that will diminish Raddysh’s value, but right now, he is massively productive.

#12 When Florida Panthers centre Sam Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP for last season’s playoffs, scoring 15 goals and 22 points in 23 games, it should have been a cautionary tale heading into the 2025-2026 season because Playoff Sam Bennett has proven to be more reliable than Regular Season Sam Bennett. With Aleksander Barkov out, the Panthers need Bennett to contribute offensively, and he managed just five points (3 G, 2 A) and 34 shots on goal through his first 18 games. In the past six games, though, Bennett has seven points (3 G, 4 A) and 19 shots on goal. He seems to have something good going with linemates Carter Verhaeghe and A.J. Greer.

#13 Philadelphia Flyers left winger Tyson Foerster has climbed into a first-line role, skating on a line with Noah Cates and Travis Konecny, and Foerster has delivered five goals and 11 shots on goal in his past five games. Foerster has two 20-goal seasons to his credit, scoring a career-high 25 last season, but he is a threat to score even more this season as the quality and quantity of his ice time increase.

#14 Former Flyers winger, now with the Calgary Flames, Joel Farabee also has five goals and an assist,  with 15 shots on goal in his past five games, emerging from a slump that saw him produce just five points (2 G, 3 A) in his previous 18 games. He is on a line with Nazem Kadri and Yegor Sharangovich at evens but he doesn’t have a regular power play role, so maybe take a wait-and-see approach to see if Farabee’s offensive surge has more staying power.

#15 An underrated fantasy performer on defence is Carolina Hurricanes blueliner Sean Walker. While he has a modest eight points (4 G, 4 A) in 24 games, Walker has contributed seven of those points with 32 shots on goal while averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time per game in his past 13 games. He gets second-unit power play time, though seven of his eight points have come at even strength, and he has 34 blocks and 42 hits in 24 games, so fantasy managers can appreciate Walker’s contributions beyond his point totals.

#16 Sometimes playing on a loaded roster has its challenges and Colorado Avalanche forward Ross Colton is a prime example of a player who can produce more if given the opportunity. He has shown in the past that he can elevate his production with a bigger role and when Valeri Nichushkin was injured recently, Colton stepped up his game. In seven games since Nichushkin’s injury, Colton has four points (3 G, 1 A) and 23 shots on goal, all while playing nearly 16 minutes per game. Before that, he was averaging just 13:32 of ice time per game.

#17 Columbus Blue Jackets centre Adam Fantilli started the season slowly, but has turned it on lately, with 11 points (7 G, 4 A) and 36 shots on goal in his past 12 games, while playing more than 20 minutes per game, a jump of nearly four minutes per game over the first 13 games of the season when he only managed six points (2 G, 4 A). Was there a good reason for decreasing the ice time of the 21-year-old rising star at the start of the season? It certainly appears to make more sense to have Fantilli at the top of the depth chart, where he’s getting first unit power play time and skating with Dmitri Voronkov and Kent Johnson at even strength.

#18 The month of November has been tough for New Jersey Devils blueliner Dougie Hamilton, who has just one assist in nine games, though he does have 20 shots on goal in that span, so that’s a little encouraging. Hamilton did suffer an injury early in the month, so perhaps that’s been affecting him, or maybe it’s just a run of bad luck, but with Jack Hughes out of the lineup, it’s worth keeping an eye on Devils players to see how their production will fare without their most dynamic performer.

#19 Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Erik Karlsson has just three assists and 13 shots on goal in his past eight games, which is certainly not helping fantasy managers, but he is delivering quality all-around results for the Penguins, with a 51.1 percent Corsi and the Penguins outscoring opponents 17-10 with Karlsson on the ice during five-on-five play. Surely the Penguins wouldn’t mind more production from Karlsson, but it’s not a priority for a team that has been surprisingly competitive.

#20 As the Edmonton Oilers try to get their season on track, certainly goaltending has been a major issue, but they are also hoping for Zach Hyman to return to form. He was still recovering from wrist surgery at the start of the season and has played in six games, chipping in a couple of assists with a dozen shots on goal. Hyman is getting prime ice time, skating on a line with Connor McDavid and rookie Matthew Savoie at evens while also holding down a regular spot on PP1. The Oilers aren’t easing him into action, either, as Hyman is playing 20:28 per game, which would be a career high.

 

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