NHL2026-11-12Nikita Kucherov Scores a Natural Hat Trick as John Carlson Reaches 800 Points and Connor McDavid Hits 20 Straight: Wednesday NHL Fantasy Notes
By Verdexed Fantasy Desk
Nikita Kucherov answered a Buffalo comeback with a natural hat trick in the third period Wednesday, and John Carlson posted the first five-point game of his career as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Sabres 8-3 at KeyBank Center. It was Kucherov's eighth career hat trick, and it came less than two weeks after he requested a trade on Oct. 30, a standoff that has hung over his fantasy value all month.
Elsewhere on a six-game Wednesday, Connor McDavid pushed his season-opening point streak to 20 games in Edmonton's overtime win over Philadelphia, Mika Zibanejad snapped a goal drought with two in Calgary, Cutter Gauthier scored for a seventh straight game in a loss to Nashville, and Sergei Murashov made 34 saves before winning a shootout in San Jose. Here is what each result means for fantasy rosters and for bettors pricing the next round of games.
Wednesday's results
Six games went final Wednesday, and two of them needed more than 60 minutes to decide. The table below lists the result and the performers who mattered most for fantasy lineups.
| Game | Final | Key fantasy performers |
|---|---|---|
| Lightning at Sabres | TB 8, BUF 3 | Kucherov 3 G; Carlson 1 G, 4 A; Hagel 2 G, 1 A |
| Flyers at Oilers | EDM 3, PHI 2 (OT) | Bouchard OT winner; McDavid 1 A; Jarry 30 saves |
| Rangers at Flames | NYR 3, CGY 1 | Zibanejad 2 G (1 PPG); Korpisalo 29 saves |
| Predators at Ducks | NSH 4, ANA 2 | Wright 1 G, 2 A; Gauthier 1 G; Annunen 27 saves |
| Penguins at Sharks | PIT 3, SJ 2 (SO) | Kindel PPG and SO winner; Murashov 34 saves |
| Mammoth at Golden Knights | VGK 5, UTA 3 | Barbashev 2 G; Olofsson 1 G, 2 A; Marner 3 A |
Kucherov and Carlson bury Buffalo
Tampa Bay led 4-0 before Buffalo stormed back to 4-3 early in the third period on goals that included Josh Doan, Jason Zucker and Tage Thompson. Kucherov then took over, opening his run on a breakaway and finishing it on the power play. Brandon Hagel added two goals and an assist, and Carlson's fifth point was the 800th of his career, making him just the fifth U.S.-born defenseman to reach that mark. The Lightning improved to 12-4-2 with their fourth win in five games.
The fantasy read is straightforward: Kucherov's trade request has not changed his usage or his production, and with Brayden Point on injured reserve (Tampa Bay placed him there Tuesday with no timeline and recalled Sam O'Reilly from Syracuse), Kucherov and Hagel carry even more of the top-six and power-play load. Managers who hesitated to start Kucherov because of the trade noise should stop hesitating. A trade, if one ever comes, would almost certainly land him in a top-six, PP1 role somewhere else. Carlson's night is a reminder that he remains a strong multi-category defenseman in points leagues.
On the Buffalo side, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed five goals on 14 shots before giving way to Colten Ellis, who stopped five of eight. Neither line is usable in fantasy right now, and Buffalo's goaltending makes the Sabres a team to attack with opposing skaters and team-total overs until the crease stabilizes.
McDavid reaches 20, Bouchard wins it
Evan Bouchard scored 47 seconds into overtime, one-timing a feed from Leon Draisaitl for his 11th goal, and Edmonton beat Philadelphia 3-2 at Rogers Place. Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, while Tyson Foerster and Travis Sanheim scored for the Flyers, with Sanheim tying it late in regulation. McDavid's second-period assist pushed his season-opening point streak to 20 games.
Tristan Jarry started and made 30 saves to improve to 5-1-3 even as Philadelphia outshot Edmonton 32-24. The Oilers are 14-3-3 and have won three straight. Jarry getting this start matters for anyone rostering an Edmonton goalie: the crease is still a shared one, so check the morning confirmations before locking in either netminder. Bouchard, with 11 goals from the blue line, is producing like a top-three fantasy defenseman.
Zibanejad wakes up, Korpisalo stays sharp
Zibanejad scored twice in the second period, one of them on the power play, as the Rangers won 3-1 in Calgary for their fourth victory in five games. It was his first multigoal game of the season and ended a seven-game goal drought. Tye Kartye added an empty-netter, and Adam Klapka scored for Calgary, where Devin Cooley made 21 saves.
Joonas Korpisalo made 29 saves for his second straight win since coming off injured reserve. With Igor Shesterkin out for the season, New York has been leaning on Dylan Garand, and reports this week suggest the club wants to split the workload. Korpisalo is a reasonable streaming option in deeper leagues while he keeps winning, and the Rangers (11-8-1) look more stable than they did in October.
Gauthier's streak, Nashville's surge and a Pittsburgh steal
Gauthier opened the scoring at 8:08 of the first period in Anaheim, his 14th goal across his past seven games, but Nashville answered 21 seconds later through Jayden Struble and won 4-2 for its sixth straight victory. Shane Wright had a goal and two assists, Nils Hoglander a goal and an assist, and Steven Stamkos sealed it late. Justus Annunen made 27 saves. Wright's multi-point night makes him a worthwhile add in deeper formats while the Predators are rolling.
In San Jose, Ben Kindel scored on the power play in regulation and then scored the only goal of the shootout as Pittsburgh won 3-2 after blowing a two-goal third-period lead. Macklin Celebrini scored and set up Mason Marchment's tying goal. Celebrini's goal was his 200th career point, making him the fifth-youngest player in NHL history to reach that total, and Marchment's was the 100th goal of his career. Murashov's 34 saves are the bigger fantasy note, while the Sharks (8-11-2) have lost six of seven.
Vegas beat Utah 5-3 for its fourth straight win. Ivan Barbashev scored twice in about four minutes of the second period, Victor Olofsson had a goal and two assists, Mitch Marner had three assists, and Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist. Mark Stone picked up an assist that moved him within two points of the franchise's career scoring record. Carter Hart needed only 14 saves; Sebastian Cossa stopped 23 of 28 for Utah.
The Verdexed angle
The pattern from Wednesday is about volume and role rather than luck. Kucherov's usage is untouched by his trade request, Point's absence concentrates Tampa Bay's offense, and Bouchard's role on the Edmonton power play keeps paying off. Those are trends to lean into for skater props and daily lineups, while Buffalo's goaltending is a trend to fade.
Goaltending is the other thread. Korpisalo, Murashov and Annunen all delivered, but each sits in a crease where starts are not guaranteed, so confirm starters before you set lineups or bet totals. For how the model views upcoming matchups, see the latest board at /nhl/predictions.
What's next
Tampa Bay heads to Columbus next. Edmonton, Nashville and Vegas carry winning streaks into the weekend, and Gauthier will try to stretch his goal streak to eight. Keep an eye on Tampa Bay's injury updates on Point and on any movement in the Kucherov standoff, since either could reshape the Lightning's power play quickly.