Dylan Garand won his first start as the Rangers’ new No. 1, but the more immediate deployment change came in front of him: Gabe Perreault replaced Pavel Dorofeyev on PP1 and produced a power-play assist before scoring at even strength.
Connor Bedard also returned to full-contact practice and could be back as early as Tuesday, while Seattle’s secondary scoring continues to run ahead of the roles supporting it.
Philadelphia’s offensive start is becoming a team-level concern rather than a collection of individual slow starts.
Perreault gets the PP1 look
Gabe Perreault started the third period on the Rangers’ first power-play unit in place of Pavel Dorofeyev and immediately assisted on Alexis Lafreniere’s goal. He added an even-strength goal less than five minutes later.
New York only had 3:47 of power-play time in the game, so the sample remains small, but the personnel change is relevant. Dorofeyev entered the season with a role-dependent FHI profile, and losing PP1 access would remove part of the environment supporting that projection.
Perreault, meanwhile, now has a clearer path to fantasy value if the third-period configuration carries into the next game.
Garand gets the first win as No. 1
Dylan Garand stopped 19 of 21 shots in the Rangers’ first game since Igor Shesterkin was ruled out for the season.
Vancouver generated only 21 shots, so the game did not demand much from him, but the workload question is temporarily settled: Garand started, played all 60 minutes and New York has publicly identified him as the internal replacement.
With the Rangers at 5-2-0, that role alone gives him immediate value in formats where goalie starts and wins matter.
Bedard is ahead of the original timetable
Connor Bedard practiced in a regular jersey and took full contact for the first time since shoulder surgery. Chicago has not confirmed a return date, but Tuesday against Pittsburgh has not been ruled out.
FHI’s preseason forecast was already built around rate rather than season totals, with an expected 1.10–1.20 P/G after his return. An earlier return would primarily affect total-season value; the underlying scoring forecast does not need to change yet.
The next relevant information is whether Chicago restores him directly to full top-line and PP1 usage or manages his minutes initially.
Gaudreau’s scoring still lacks a premium role
Frederick Gaudreau scored again for Seattle and now has three goals in two games.
He continues to center the fourth line between Ben Meyers and Ryan Winterton, without a meaningful first-unit power-play role. The scoring has therefore not been accompanied by the kind of deployment change that would materially alter his fantasy profile.
Seattle’s offense as a whole is producing well above last season’s level, which gives lower-line players more opportunity to collect secondary points, but Gaudreau remains more short-term production than structural value for now.
Philadelphia is becoming a poor fantasy environment
Philadelphia’s 4-1 loss to Carolina dropped the Flyers to 0-4-2, and the fantasy environment is becoming difficult to ignore.
They are averaging 1.17 goals per game, worst in the NHL, while the power play sits at 11.1%. The current forward setup also spreads the more interesting fantasy pieces across different lines: Owen Tippett is with Sean Couturier and Porter Martone, while Matvei Michkov is skating with Trevor Zegras and Michael Bunting. Michkov, Martone, Zegras and Tyson Foerster remain together on PP1.
FHI’s Team View currently has Philadelphia near the bottom of the league alongside Calgary and Vancouver, which is consistent with what the opening games have shown. Individual players still have useful deployment, particularly on PP1, but the surrounding environment is suppressing the value of those roles.
For players such as Michkov, Martone and Tippett, the concern is therefore broader than an individual slow start. Philadelphia currently looks like a poor fantasy environment, and that should remain part of their valuation until the offense shows something materially different.