Okposo expected to make regular-season Sabres debut

The Buffalo Sabres' big offseason free-agent signing appears ready to step into the lineup.

Kyle Okposo, who missed the season opener with a bruised knee, skated Saturday with Sam Reinhart and Ryan O'Reilly, and is expected to make his regular-season debut with the club Sunday in Edmonton.

Buffalo's equipment manager posted a photo from the Oilers' new visitors locker room in advance of the game, and Okposo's No. 21 can be seen hanging on the left with an alternate captain's "A" on the left shoulder.

Okposo's last game against the Oilers was a great success; he tied a single-game career high with four points, including the second hat trick of his career, while playing with the New York Islanders back in February.

The 28-year-old is entering the first season of a seven-year, $42-million contract.

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Matthews boasts NHL’s highest-selling jersey

Auston Matthews is making an immediate impact both on and off the ice.

While his jersey wasn't made available for purchase until after his four-goal debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs, it has apparently been flying off the shelves in the days since.

Many were worn during Matthews' home debut, a 4-1 win over Boston on Saturday.

The high rate of sale makes sense, seeing as the Maple Leafs' fan base is arguably the most rabid in the NHL, and Matthews is a bona fide superstar in waiting. It also helps that he hails from Arizona and is turning heads all over the United States.

Don't count on Matthews Mania dying down anytime soon.

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Coyotes’ Hanzal likely to shut down contract talks, focus on hockey

Martin Hanzal wants to focus on the games at hand.

The Arizona Coyotes center is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and after being unable to agree on a contract extension prior to opening night, seems ready to shelve talks until the end of 2016-17.

"I’ll just probably shut (negotiations) down from my side and just keep focusing on hockey because it will be a distraction for me," Hanzal said, according to Sarah McLellan of azcentral sports. "I just want to focus on hockey and make sure I can do everything to help the team win."

Hanzal recorded a goal and an assist in Saturday's season-opening win over Philadelphia, and there appears to be mutual interest in terms of keeping him in Arizona.

"We continue to chat with Marty and his representative. I don’t think anything’s imminent right now," general manager John Chayke said at the end of training camp. "Having said that, Marty’s a big part of our team and a good player and he’s made us aware that he’d like to be back here, so just trying to find something that makes sense for everybody."

Hanzal, 29, is in the final season of a five-year deal that carries an average annual valuation of $3.1 million.

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McDavid feels for Eichel as 2nd head-to-head meeting put off by injury

Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel just can't seem to get on the ice at the same time.

The top two picks from the 2015 NHL Draft were scheduled to go head to head Sunday with Eichel's Buffalo Sabres in Edmonton to play McDavid's Oilers.

Eichel, however, sprained his ankle prior to the season opener, meaning he'll be forced to sit this one out, just as McDavid was last season while sidelined for several months with a broken collarbone.

Having suffered through the long-term injury as a rookie, McDavid can certainly empathize with Eichel's plight.

"It’s not fun. It’s really hard," McDavid said, per Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. "It’s harder mentally than physically. The injury heals.

"It’s about coming back and not missing a beat. That’s the main thing. It’s a credit to the doctors and the team around you but it’s also keeping yourself in shape. You’re looking at two months and it’s hard to stay focused."

After Sunday's game, Eichel and McDavid will have both played in only one of the three scheduled games between their respective NHL clubs, a 2-1 win for the Oilers in Buffalo on March 1 in which McDavid scored both goals.

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Squad Up Daily NHL Fantasy Dose: Oilers’ newfound depth an advantage over BUF

Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more. And download Squad Up, theScore's free-to-win-money sports game.

Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Sunday, October 16:

Line Stacks

  • C Elias Lindholm (29K), RW Sebastian Aho (29K), D Justin Faulk (33K), Hurricanes (at Canucks): The Hurricanes were one of just four teams to be inactive Saturday, while the Canucks went to a shootout against the Calgary Flames in their season opener. Carolina has the rest advantage and Vancouver's lack of depth will be on display against the third line.
  • LW Anders Lee (25K), RW Ryan Strome (50K), D Nick Leddy (60K), Islanders (vs. Ducks): This stack of the Islanders focuses on two-thirds of the third line at 5v5, while Lee and Strome offer exposure to both power-play units. Strome centers the first unit, where Leddy and C John Tavares work the points. Lee is a prominent part of the second squad.

Bargain Plays

  • C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (27K), Oilers (vs. Sabres): Nugent-Hopkins was held point-less in two games against the Calgary Flames, averaging 16:56 of ice time. He did record four shots on goal over the two games. He centers the Oilers' second line at 5v5 and the second power-play unit with Maroon and LW Benoit Pouliot. Attack the depleted Sabres.
  • LW Nick Ritchie (28K), Ducks (at Islanders): Recently-signed C Rickard Rakell may take an additional two weeks before joining the Ducks' forward ranks, so Ritchie can be expected to hang onto his spot on the left side of C Ryan Getzlaf and RW Corey Perry, at least in the short term. Ritchie has notched five shots on goal through two games, while taking six PIMs.
  • RW Sebastian Aho (29K), Hurricanes (at Canucks): As mentioned in the above stacks, Aho draws the tired Canucks. The Finnish rookie tallied an assist and two shots on goal in his first-career NHL game Thursday. He is already seeing second-unit power-play time, and his speed will be a big advantage against a team coming off a shootout.

Top Fades

  • G Cam Talbot (110K), Oilers (vs. Sabres): The Oilers are 2-0 to start the season, in spite of Talbot. He has allowed seven goals on 76 shots to open the season, good for a save percentage of just .908. While he draws a more favorable opponent than even the Flames, he is the priciest goaltender on the slate by a considerable margin. Save some money.
  • C Henrik Sedin (44K), Canucks (vs. Hurricanes): A well-known weakness of his fantasy game, Sedin failed to register a single SOG in the Canucks' season opener, despite playing more than 21 minutes. He did record an assist, but his floor is absolute zero. The lack of shots also signifies his low ceiling, especially on the second half of a back-to-back.
  • RW Cal Clutterbuck (45K), Islanders (vs. Ducks): Clutterbuck sticks out only because of the small slate and because he already has a goal on the season. He has tallied just three SOG through two games, and he plays little more than 15 minutes per game, while being firmly cemented on the team's fourth line.

Contrarian Options

  • D Rasmus Ristolainen (29K), Sabres (at Oilers): The injuries to Eichel and Kane have put more of the offensive burden on Ristolainen, who may now be the team's second-best player, behind only C Ryan O'Reilly. He had an assist and five SOG in the Sabres' season opener, topping 23 minutes of ice time. The Sabres won't score much without their stars, but Ristolainen will be involved.
  • LW Andrew Ladd (35K), Islanders (vs. Ducks): Ladd has been held off the score sheet through two games, tallying five SOG along the way. As he sticks beside Tavares, it is only a matter of time until he factors into the offense. Ducks G John Gibson posted a save percentage of just .907 while on the road last season.
  • C Sam Reinhart (38K), Sabres (at Oilers): Similarly to Ristolainen, Reinhart is being leaned on more heavily by the Sabres. Buffalo still has a very high quality first line, as Reinhart skates with O'Reilly and LW Kyle Okposo. He picked up his first assist of the year in Thursday's season opener, and he could continue exploiting Edmonton's paltry defense.

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Maple Leafs rookies make history with 6 straight goals to open season

A trio of Toronto Maple Leafs rookies combined to make NHL history over the course of the team's first two games of the season.

Following Auston Matthews' four-goal performance in Ottawa on opening night (which accounted for all of Toronto's goals that game), it was Connor Brown and Mitch Marner who scored the first two goals Saturday against Boston.

Related - Watch: Marner scores 1st NHL goal

As a result, the Maple Leafs are the first team in the NHL's expansion era (since 1967-68) to have rookies score each of their first six goals in a season, according to Elias Sports.

James van Riemsdyk scored Toronto's third goal in the 4-1 win over the Bruins to end the streak, and while Matthews deserves the lion's share of the credit, it's clear the 2016-17 Maple Leafs are no one-man show.

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Tarasenko thinks nothing of Blues’ perfect start

Vladimir Tarasenko appears unmoved by his team's perfect start to the new NHL season.

The St. Louis Blues winger offered the kind of response one would hope for in October following a win over the New York Rangers on Saturday.

The undefeated start has come in large part due to Tarasenko's stellar performance, featuring three goals and two assists on 13 shots through three games.

But as Tarasenko and the Blues know all too well, a team's success is measured not by how the season starts but by how it ends, and there's still a long road ahead.

If he keeps playing like this, however, that nothing could very well turn into a big something come the playoffs.

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