This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
It's Artem Anisimov's world and we're just living in it.
Among the biggest early-season surprises has been youth and middle-six players ranking among the NHL's points leaders. Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews have ranked well, as did Richard Panik for a brief moment. Now, sitting at the top of the heap is Anisimov with 17 points in 13 games.
After posting a goal and an assist in Sunday's game, Anisimov is on an 11-game point streak that includes eight goals and nine assists. He was expected to be a solid mid-range producer, particularly on a team capable of producing like Chicago is. But right now, if you can roster him, there's not a hotter player in the NHL.
Featured Matchups
Sabres (PP: 9, PK: 14) at Bruins (PP: 29, PK: 11), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Robin Lehner (4-3-1, 2.14, .929), Tuukka Rask (6-1-0, 1.98, .932)
Key Injuries:Anton Khudobin (upper body), Kevan Miller (hand), Frank Vatrano (foot), Zach Bogosian (knee), Nicolas Deslauriers (knee), Jack Eichel (ankle), Hudson Fasching (groin), Evander Kane (ribs)
Buffalo's offense has not been impressive. They rank 20th in shots per game and they're tied with the Bruins for 25th in goals per game. For Buffalo, it's not unexpected. Playing basically the whole season without Eichel and Kane has hurt. The loss of role players like Deslauriers and Fasching also hurts. They're the kind of players you might be interested in taking a roll of the dice on if they're healthy and getting slotted up the lineup. For now, with the number of injuries they have, you shouldn't look too deep down the depth chart for roster players in northern New York.
If you're desperate for a cheap play, their second line with Zemgus Girgensons, Sam Reinhart, and Tyler Ennis is a line capable of turning it on and surprising. Playing against a Boston squad with a thin blue line could help. Though, their defensive forwards are certainly capable of negating some of the weakness on the blue line.
Boston doesn't have the same problems as Buffalo in the injury department. Their top-six are capable of consistently posting points. However, David Backes hasn't been on fire and you may want to hold on rostering him until he's proven that he's back to full strength following his recent elbow surgery. Also worth avoiding is Matt Beleskey. The big ticket free agent signing from two summers back has finally had that monstrous shooting percentage catch up with him. He's struggling to produce and it could be a while until he's cured.
Canucks (PP: 30, PK: 8) at Islanders (PP: 24, PK: 24), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Ryan Miller (1-5-0, 2.53, .916), Thomas Greiss (2-3-0, 2.87, .908)
Key Injuries:Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), Travis Hamonic (arm), Ryan Pulock (lower body), Alexander Edler (upper body), Jannik Hansen (undisclosed), Jayson Megna (undisclosed), Anton Rodin (knee), Chris Tanev (lower body)
The battle of the floundering teams hits Brooklyn on Monday. Both teams have had enough struggles that it's tough to say which team it's easier to trust. However, the correct answer is probably the Islanders, despite Sunday's announcement that Hamonic will miss up to two months with an injury. Any absence creates an opportunity for another player to step up, but with Pulock out already, there might not be an Islanders defenseman to roll the dice on who you weren't already playing.
For Vancouver, you hope that Saturday's physical battle with Toronto woke them up a bit. After starting the season 4-0-1, they've lost seven straight and have been shutout in four of those losses. That makes it tough to trust anyone at all. Outside of Henrik and Daniel Sedin, there's no one on the team that feels worthy of the gamble if it can be avoided. Even Loui Eriksson, who showed much chemistry with the Sedins at the World Cup, has yet to score a goal this season.
Lightning (PP: 5, PK: 5) at Panthers (PP: 17, PK: 20), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Ben Bishop (5-3-0, 3.01, .904), Roberto Luongo (3-5-0, 2.53, .908)
Key Injuries:Nick Bjugstad (hand), Jonathan Huberdeau (lower body), Jaromir Jagr (groin), Jussi Jokinen (knee), Jonathan Drouin (head)
Though both teams have solid defensive units, this may be the game on Monday where there is the most value in depth players. Florida continues to struggle with significant injuries to their forward group and they haven't quite been able to find the winning ways from last season that many predicted would continue. Nonetheless, players like Jonathan Marchessault and Colton Sceviour have proven to be worthwhile depth pickups.
On the other side, the Triplets Line is no more (Steven Stamkos now centers Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov), but there's value all over in the team's top six. Even their third line, centered by veteran Valtteri Filppula, is capable of pushing play with the opposition forced to focus on the top lines.
Tampa ranks fifth in goals per game and fifth in shots per game. They're creating offense and it means that there's a lot of value to be had by digging into their roster.
Recommended Pickup
Jonathan Marchessault, F, FLA — The secret is out on Marchessault. That means his price is rising. But he's still worth picking up if you're able to temper your expectations. Marchessault was undervalued in free agency and has proven that early in the season by averaging a point per game through the first 12 games. You probably shouldn't expect him to put up 82 points this year. He's better than he's been given credit for, but not as good as he's been playing in the early going. However, getting minutes on Florida's top line with Aleksander Barkov and Jagr (when healthy) is almost guaranteed to help him maximize his value, especially if he keeps shooting. He's on a line with great distributors and the fact that he's taken 37 shots in 12 games (t-21st in the NHL) is a very good sign.
