The Buffalo Sabres currently have 59 goals scored as a team. To put that number into perspective, Connor McDavid leads the league with 60 points. Yes, McDavid has more points than the entire Sabres team has goals.

Needless to say, it came as no surprise that Ralph Krueger was the third head coach to be fired this season after Buffalo lost its 12th straight game in the middle of Week 9 – a streak that has since extended to 13 games. 

For fantasy purposes, obviously the outlook isn’t good. Jack Eichel still has no timetable for his return, and the Sabres have managed to score only nine goals in the six games since he went down.

We’re at the point where every single player on Buffalo should be on the chopping block in all fantasy leagues. 

Yes, even Taylor Hall. At this point the only thing that can save his season is a trade. 

Sabres’ GM Kevyn Adams admitted he is “open to anything and everything” so it is a possibility. Hall is still stuck on two goals on the season, and he’s been held pointless in five straight games, all without Eichel. 

His shooting percentage is only 2.8 per cent, a number that almost always corrects itself and leads to better production (see Mika Zibanejad), but the zeros keep piling up in Buffalo, and we need numbers now. Do what you have to do.

In other news, Evgeni Malkin is now week-to-week with a lower-body injury. 

To make matters worse, Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan had to confirm that he thinks there’s a “strong possibility” Malkin could return before the end of the regular season. 

The fact there’s a chance Malkin is not back before the end of the regular season is just a hair above worst-case scenario.

Malkin was on an absolute tear after a slow start, and his production isn’t replaceable. Fantasy managers will just have to take the loss, and try to make up what they can on the waiver wire.

Week 10 Notes:

Los Angeles, Toronto, and Vancouver are the teams to avoid this week as the only three teams playing just two games apiece. 

This is the second straight week the Maple Leafs will play just two games, meaning any middle-to-low tier players are probably already on the waiver wire. 

However, Toronto’s two games come late this week on Thursday and Saturday, and they have a solid schedule the following week. Take a look at who’s available before Thursday’s game.

Unlike last week, there are no immediate standouts when it comes to streamers. Twenty teams will play a four-game week, with no teams playing more than that.

Streaming choices will come down to strength of opponents. 

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal’s schedule looks good. They begin the week with three games against the Oilers on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, avoiding most of the busy NHL nights. Then they finish the week off on Sunday against the Senators, another off night in the NHL.

Tomas Tatar is available in over a third of leagues. He has four points over his past three games. He’s still playing on the top line, but the second power play. He led the Habs with 61 points in 68 games last season.

Jonathan Drouin still isn’t scoring, but he’s a cheap source of assists with 19 through 31 games this season. He’s available in close to 80 per cent of leagues.        

Nashville Predators

The Predators have been disappointing all season and rank in the bottom four in goals for per game. However, Nashville gets Detroit twice to start the week, and Chicago back-to-back on the weekend to close it out.

Detroit and Chicago are giving up 3.25 goals per game, sixth-worst in the league. Chicago has been particularly bad recently, giving up 4.6 goals per game over its last seven.

Calle Jarnkrok has seven points over his past five games, and nine goals on the year, second on the team to only Filip Forsberg’s 11. Jarnkrok is available in 90 per cent of leagues, but that number is shrinking.

Don’t sleep on winger Eeli Tolvanen either. He’s playing on the top line and top power-play unit, and is coming off a three-point game on Sunday. He now has eight points over his last nine, and he’s available in all but the deepest leagues.

New York Rangers

The Rangers get the Sabres on Monday before a pair against the Flyers on Thursday and Saturday. They’ll close it out against the Capitals on Sunday.

The Sabres have lost 13 straight giving up 4.15 goals per game over that stretch. Meanwhile, the Flyers are surprisingly one of the worst teams defensively this season giving up 3.55 goals per game, with only the Senators giving up more.

Managers are catching on to Pavel Buchnevich, but he is still available in some leagues.

His roster percentage has gone up 20 per cent over the last seven days to 70 per cent, and for good reason. He’s up to 28 points through 29 games, good enough for 30th in the NHL, ahead of names like John Tavares, Blake Wheeler, and Alex Ovechkin. Go check the waiver wire and click that add button immediately if you’re one of the lucky ones.

Risers

W, Alex Killorn, Tampa Bay Lightning (41 per cent rostered, up 15 per cent)

Alex Killorn was a solid streaming option last week while Tampa Bay had a five-game schedule, and that paid off. Killorn gave managers two goals and five points in those five games while starting the week on a line with Steven Stamkos and Yanni Gourde. His situation has actually improved since then. Killorn and Stamkos have been united with Brayden Point on the top line, and the trio is clicking. Killorn now has 11 points over his last 10 games, while playing close to 19 minutes per game. He is a must add while on the top line and top power-play unit.

D, Mackenzie Weegar, Florida Panthers (66 per cent rostered, up 24 per cent)

Mackenzie Weegar has already set a career high with 19 points this season, and it’s come in just 31 games. Weegar has only really been relevant in fantasy leagues for his hits and blocks throughout his four-year career, but he’s added an offensive side to his game this season, especially of late with nine points over his past eight games. This isn’t coming completely out of nowhere either. Weegar put up 59 points in 61 games in his last season in the QMJHL. While he won’t be a point-per-game player in the NHL, Weegar is proving he belongs on fantasy squads for more reasons than just his stud defensive numbers.

D, Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators (62 per cent rostered, up 4 per cent)

Roman Josi is out indefinitely with no timetable for his return. Mattias Ekholm has stepped up in his place and delivered some very strong numbers. Ekholm had a respectable nine points in 18 games before Josi went down and was playing just over 21:30 per game. Since the injury, he’s up to five points in seven games, and a whopping 25:30 of ice per game. He’s on the top power- play unit, shooting three times a game, and blocking almost a shot and a half a game. He’s filling the stat sheet, and should be filling fantasy rosters with no return in sight for Josi.

Fallers

W, Victor Olofsson, Buffalo Sabres (76 per cent rostered, down 8 per cent)

No one will suffer more from the loss of Eichel than linemate Victor Olofsson. The 25-year-old winger was actually the lone bright spot in Buffalo through the first 23 games playing alongside Eichel. He had 17 points through those 23 games, with 12 points coming on the power play. He’s since been held to just two points and a minus-4 rating in six games with Eichel on the shelf, and he’s lost about a minute of ice time per game over that stretch. He’s now playing on a line alongside Eric Staal and Tage Thompson who have combined for four goals this season. He has an extremely bright future in the NHL, but we can comfortably move on from Olofsson in redraft leagues.