Only three games on Friday, but nobody got the memo about a quiet night. While the hockey world was busy with Nikita Kucherov, the Devils, Panthers and Flames all scored at least five. Here's what matters for your pool.
Devils 5, Golden Knights 2: the Hughes brothers and Arseny Gritsyuk
Jack Hughes scored twice, the second into an empty net, and brother Luke opened the scoring in the first. Per NHL PR, New Jersey is now 9-1-0 when both brothers score in the same game. Arseny Gritsyuk also scored twice, his 7th and 8th of the season. Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves on 21 shots for the win. For Vegas, Mark Stone scored on the power play and Mitch Marner had two assists, but Adin Hill gave up four goals on 31 shots.
Pool take: Gritsyuk has 8 goals, 12 points and a +8 in 14 games. If he's still sitting on your waiver wire, go get him. Jack Hughes (16 points) is a must start. Marner keeps producing (15 points). Hill, at .891, is still a risky goalie.
Panthers 5, Jets 2: Anton Lundell's first career hat trick
Anton Lundell picked up the first hat trick of his career, capping it into an empty net. NHL PR notes it's the fifth hat trick by a Panther since the start of October. Seth Jones added a power play goal and two assists, and Sam Reinhart scored his 7th with an assist too. Akira Schmid stopped 22 of 24. Kyle Connor scored his 11th for Winnipeg and Nico Daws made 33 saves in the loss.
Pool take: Jones has 18 points in 14 games, 16 of them assists in October according to NHL PR. He's playing like a top D in every format right now. Lundell jumped from 3 to 6 points in one night, a nice deep league option if he keeps this role. Connor (11 goals) just keeps scoring. Schmid got the win, but his .889 keeps us careful.
Flames 6, Kraken 2: four points for Matt Coronato
Matt Coronato had a goal and three assists, and Joel Farabee a goal and two helpers. Matvei Gridin, Morgan Frost, Aydar Suniev and Ryan Strome also scored for Calgary. Mikael Backlund picked up an assist and passed Johnny Gaudreau for fifth on the Flames' all time scoring list, per NHL PR. Dustin Wolf made 20 saves on 22 shots. Philipp Grubauer was pulled after four goals on 14 shots and Joey Daccord took over. Mackie Samoskevich had a goal and an assist for Seattle.
Pool take: Coronato has 14 points in 13 games, and so does Farabee. The Flames' top unit is worth a look, with a game in Colorado on Saturday. Wolf needed this one, but with a 4.39 GAA and an .847 save percentage, give it a bit more time before trusting him. Samoskevich (10 points) is a deep league option.
The takeaways
Hot hands: Arseny Gritsyuk, Seth Jones, Anton Lundell, Matt Coronato and Joel Farabee. Ten games are on Saturday's slate, including Tampa in Nashville and Pittsburgh in Montreal. For the latest on Kucherov and Julien BriseBois' statement, follow our rumors section.
