Hutch's Hockey: At The Quarter Mark

The 2024-25 campaign crossed the quarter mark Saturday. It's hard to believe it's gone that fast. As always, there's been some surprises, both good and bad. 

Take the Atlantic Division first. The Sabres are third in the division, even on points with the Bruins and one ahead of the Lightning. It's been a long time coming for the Sabres -- they've got enough young talent at every position, but breaking through in that division has been a challenge. On the flip side, the Bruins are spiraling. The start of their season was propped up by a hot fourth line to cover for an absentee middle six, and now the wheels are off. The Lightning are struggling too, but they can make it up with games in hand. 

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan is still all about the old guard. How about the Capitals, challenging for the top of the division? Alex Ovechkin (broken fibula) is likely out until late December at best, so they'll have to find new ways to win, but there's little to dislike with the team's defense and forward depth. Meanwhile, the Penguins are languishing at the bottom of the division, and outside of milestones for the big-name players, there's been little to celebrate. They need a change, but first, they'll need to acknowledge that the magic has run out. 

The Central has boasted some impressive teams, but not the ones you'd think. The Jets have flirted with history amid a 17-4-0 start, and the Wild are just four points behind. The Avalanche weathered an early storm and look like contenders again. The Blues pulled the ripcord on a coaching change, plucking former Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery out of the unemployment line. Then there's the Predators, who have to be wondering how they're only one point better than the Blackhawks through 21 games. 

Finally, the Pacific. The Flames are one point out of first, and it's the Golden Knights they're chasing, not the Oilers. The top six teams are separated by seven points, and the Ducks have games in hand on nearly everyone. It's the tightest division in the league so far, and it's the only one where six teams have won 10 games. The competition should be fierce the rest of the way, so it's worth staying up late some nights to watch it play out. 

It's just further proof that agonizing over data all offseason is a waste of time. Take a look and make some informed decisions, but be prepared for all of that to go out the window in a flash. That's what makes hockey the best sport in North America -- there are surprises all the time. 

Turning to the waiver wire this week, I'm looking at Kirill Marchenko in as many formats as possible. A two-goal effort against the Hurricanes was impressive enough, and he has seven points over his last seven contests. He grabbed attention early on and hasn't slowed down. With eight goals, 12 helpers, 51 shots on net and a plus-9 rating over 20 contests, not to mention top-line minutes and power-play time, that's must-have production in fantasy. The Blue Jackets have a spunky offense, and it runs three lines deep -- they're tied for eighth in the league with 3.45 goals per game. 

Marchenko's not doing it alone, as his center Sean Monahan is also making some noise. It's been all playmaking for the center lately -- call him Monahands with a goal and eight assists over his last five contests. He went a little cold in mid-November, but he's back now. He's also operating at a point-per-game pace with seven goals and 13 assists, and while that's unlikely to last, he's unquestioned as a top-line center who is shaping up for his best season since 2018-19. 

I'm just about ready to go all in on Kiefer Sherwood. He had a four-game point streak in October that caught my attention, but I was put off by a third-line role on an underperforming squad. I'm still not fully sold on the Canucks, but Sherwood is in the top six and playing alongside Elias Pettersson now. I rarely put offense as a secondary concern, but Sherwood is on a historic pace for hits. He's racked up 125 of them through 19 contests, in addition to 12 points, 39 shots on net and a plus-5 rating. The NHL has only officially tracked hits since 2005-06, so the history is incomplete, but Jeremy Lauzon set the post-lockout record with 383 last season. Sherwood's on pace for 500, and he's not getting boosted by favorable scoring in Vancouver -- he's averaging nearly six per game at home, but he's up at 7.5 per game away from Rogers Arena. Hopefully, all those collisions don't wear him down too much. 

Anthony Cirelli has scored in five straight games, tallying six goals with two assists in that span. As I mentioned above, the Lightning are middle of the pack, but they've gotten excellent production from their second-line center. He's up to 21 points over 19 contests this season, and that comes with a plus-9 rating and 19 blocked shots. Cirelli is a crucial part of the Lightning's two-way game, but his defense has often overshadowed his offense. I'm not expecting him to keep a point-per-game pace, but this is looking like a career year in the making, and perhaps by a wide margin if he stays healthy. 

Hampus Lindholm (lower body) is out on a week-to-week basis, and that's opened the door for Mason Lohrei. Over the five games Lindholm has already missed, Lohrei has four assists (two on the power play), and he's averaging 19:58 per game, including 2:19 on the power play. The 23-year-old has had a tumultuous start to 2024-25, which included a few games as a healthy scratch. His defensive game still needs some refinement, but there's clear upside here for the first Louisiana-born NHLer. 

Samuel Girard is often overlooked for the Avalanche. After a career-worst 18-point effort in 59 regular-season games last year, he wasn't on the radar much heading into 2024-25. Don't continue to ignore him -- he has two goals and five assists over his last nine games, and he's up to 12 points through 21 contests overall. Girard's power-play time has remained limited this season, but he's made up for it with 41 blocked shots and 21 hits. Jump in now, as his stock is set to rise with the Avalanche playing better in recent weeks following the returns of several key forwards. 

I've been all about William Eklund since the Sharks plucked him seventh overall in 2021. The first round of that draft is already looking quite strong, but that's a debate for another time. The point is that Eklund is thriving even in the depths of the Sharks' rebuild. He has two goals and six assists over his last seven games, and he's up to 17 points through 22 outings this season. He's been bothered by a couple of nagging injuries already this season, yet he's averaging 20:21 per game and flirting with a 60-point pace on a team with a bottom-five offense. If plus-minus is a concern, don't worry -- he's only minus-3 this year, a vast improvement on his minus-45 mark from 2023-24. 

Another 2021 draftee in California is making noise, and it's Olen Zellweger. Cam Fowler is out with an upper-body injury, and Zellweger has seamlessly filled the void. Zellweger had already scooped up power-play time earlier in the season. The 21-year-old has five points over his last four outings and a total of nine points, 42 shots on net, 17 blocked shots and a plus-1 rating across 18 appearances. That offense matches his production from 26 games in 2023-24, so this looks like a legit breakout on the way. 

Connor Ingram (upper body) is on injured reserve, giving Karel Vejmelka an open door back to fantasy rosters. While he's won just two of his seven appearances in November, Vejmelka has allowed a modest 13 goals on 210 shots (.925 save percentage). Sure, results matter, but he's got an opportunity for playing time -- it doesn't look like Utah trusts Jaxson Stauber, as Vejmelka played both Saturday and Sunday. Five of his seven appearances this month have come against teams firmly in playoff spots so far, and he's more than just holding his own despite the lack of wins. 

If you thought Petr Mrazek's .907 save percentage over 56 games with the Blackhawks last year was unlikely, he's been even more impressive in 2024-25. He's sustained a .912 save percentage through his first 15 games this season, going 6-8-1 with a 2.68 GAA as well. The 32-year-old just needs to maintain good health to stay in the No. 1 role. Don't expect a lot of wins, but he can certainly steal a game -- only one of his six wins so far has come in a truly soft matchup, though he also hasn't always dominated against easier foes. 

If the NHL has taught me anything, it's to expect the unexpected. Very few teams are ever far out of the running, and early deficits can be covered. There are no sure things aside from the very best of the best being elite. Sometimes it pops up in the worst way -- we've all been there with two high-end goalies going against each other in fantasy, only for it to be a track meet game. 

The week ahead is one of the craziest in the season. There are 24 teams playing four times due to the way the schedule shakes out around Thanksgiving. That will make for some tough day-to-day decisions, but it also means there's plenty of action to enjoy. I'll be back next week to make more sense out of it, both the crazy and the predictable.