Week Four Recap/Week Five Preview

26 Oct, 2026

Guess who's back? Your friendly (and losing) neighborhood Commish.

Phew, another week of hockey in the books. Admittedly, I watched a lot less hockey than in weeks past, but I've kept a finger on the pulse of what's happening around the league.

First of all, the Oilers are playing some damn good hockey—and they're HOT. They're powered by McDavid, who is somehow outdoing what I thought was possible in this era of hockey and is off to the fifth-best start of all time. Thanks in no small part to McDavid driving the bus, Draisaitl and Bouchard have also seen early success.

This felt pretty atypical for the Oilers, who I usually start to question around the 10-game mark. So I went back and checked. I'm not crazy. They're currently sitting at 8-1-1 with 17 points. Over the past three years, they've gone:

Does this mean something for Edmonton? Or are they doomed to repeat the arc of seasons past?

We also have an interesting Calder race heating up. Many expected McKenna and Stenberg to have a real shot—and both are off to solid starts with 8 and 9 points, respectively.

But unforeseeable circumstances have propelled other names into the spotlight. First, there's Dylan Garand, who has been forced into the starter's role with Shesterkin and Korpisalo injured and loser James Reimer as the only other option. He hasn't been perfect, but he's put up some Ws to help the Rangers to an unexpectedly strong start.

Another is Trevor Connelly, drafted 19th overall by Vegas in the 2024 draft. With Olofsson injured, he's had to step up on the top power play unit and skates on the second line alongside Tomas Hertl. He's logged 4 goals and 4 assists in 13 games.

Then there's Anton Frondell with the Blackhawks. He has some serious talent, but it's hard to see underneath the weight of the rest of Chicago's roster. There's little doubt he'll be a great player, but whether it happens this year remains to be seen.

Finally, there's Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (MBN). Taken 15th overall by the Red Wings in the 2024 Draft, MBN played a dozen or so games with the team last year and wasn't much of a factor. The beginning of this season has been a different story. He has 8 points in 11 games, and beyond the points, he has successfully driven offense on the second and first lines. If you're an advanced stats person, MBN's underlying numbers are a reason for optimism (unlike Frondell's).

Now, onto the main event... right after I find that rabbit's foot I lost.

Week Four Recap

It's always good to keep The Commish on his toes, and this week's matchups did just that. I went 2 for 5, a marked decline from my 80% prediction rate in Week Three. There was plenty of drama, right up to the bitter end for some.

But the bigger storyline is the broader trend across Midwest is Best. After Week Four, we have FIVE teams sitting at 3-1. It's a tale of the haves and the have-nots, and I can't recall another time we've had such a clear delineation.

I think our league has become more competitive with each year, though, and I think there's room for some climbs and falls. I'm excited to see what happens next.

Seider House Rules (Brent) vs. King Booby's Ice Reign (Myles)

They can't keep getting away with this. Who's "they," you might ask? Is it me? Is it the universe? Is it the fantasy hockey gods? Is it my fellow managers? It might be all of them.

This is one I got right. Seider House Rules fell to King Booby's Ice Reign despite a very strong start. In the end, the Commissioner's Curse set in, and SHR drops to a truly disheartening 0-4 to open the season. It's nearly impossible to dig out of that hole.

Both teams used all of their moves in this bout, with Myles delivering the sucker punch when he picked up Devin Cooley, who put up a cool 16.26 points... against the Red Wings. That performance alone sealed the deal, though SHR didn't help himself with the points he left on the bench. But more on that later.

Ultimately, King Booby got support in unlikely places, a common theme for SHR's opponents. Sergachev had a strong week, as did Devon Toews (20.32 points), Wyatt Johnston, and Cole Caufield. His Lightning were slightly quiet.

On the other side, Lehkonen carried the load for SHR, putting up 31.26. Definitely a sleeper pick this season. Playing next to MacKinnon and Necas certainly has its advantages. Nylander also put up over 30. What's holding Brent back is that the Cucks', I mean Ducks', top line hasn't been producing at last year's pace. Sennecke and Gauthier combined for just 9.32 points on the week.

Myles gets back in the win column with a strong showing.

Rebuilding Since 2019 (Matt) vs. The Doans Tell Me Nothing (Alan)

There was a moment when this looked like it could go Alan's way. But reality set in over the weekend as Rebuilding Since 2019 pulled away. Overall, it was a down week for Matt, who put up his second-fewest points of the season. He eclipsed 200 points in Weeks Two and Three, but 187 was still enough to get him to 3-1.

Rantanen fueled the win with some dazzling play, and he got strong support from Stamkos, Aho, Ehlers, and Pastrnak, who all put up over 20 points. Greaves cost him 10.04, which would've put him closer to the 200-point mark we've come to expect.

The Doans Tell Me Nothing, on the other hand, really only had one standout performance in Adam Fox, who scored 24.51 points. Beyond Fox, no other player cracked 20. Alan got solid goaltending from Kochetkov and Fowler (combining for 32.08) but squandered some of it with a Hail Mary pickup of Wedgewood on Sunday, who cost him -8.29. (The Commish thanks Alan, as he was about to make the same move.)

RS2019 continues his winning streak.

Kim Kardashian (Rich(ie)) vs. Geri-hat-tricks (Brian)

I should really get half a point for this one, since my prediction for Kim Kardashian was largely true. Again, I need any sort of win I can get...

This ended up being our matchup of the week, and I'd go so far as to say it's been our best matchup to date. Decided by 1.25 points, this one changed course in the final minutes of the final game of the week. Talk about drama! Talk about intrigue!

There's a lot to unpack here.

Geri-hat-tricks had multiple standout performances from Kaprizov, Raymond, and Stankoven, each scoring between 27 and 36 points. It also helps when you get 27 points from your goaltending.

Kim Kardashian had a similar formula, with less of an emphasis on goaltending. Kempe, Batherson, and McDavid each scored between 25 and 38 points, with average support from the rest of the team.

What looked like it would even both teams out at 2-2 turned into a big swing instead, with Geri-hat-tricks moving to 3-1 and Kim Kardashian falling to 1-3.

Gus Chychruns (Ben) vs. Not Gavin a Good Time (Andy)

I thought Ben would continue his surge from Week Three, but instead, Not Gavin a Good Time let the good times keep rolling with a third straight week hovering around 200 points. (Maybe that Week One dud really was an outlier.)

Andy's team cruised to victory not on the back of one massive performance, but on a string of solid showings from most of his roster. O'Reilly, Robertson, Quinn Hughes, McAvoy, Stenberg, and Trouba all outperformed expectations. It's good some of these players stepped up, since some stalwarts underperformed—like Stützle, Scheifele, and Crosby (who is finally proving that he's human). Will this be the first year Crosby isn't a PPG player?

Gus Chychruns, on the other hand, got good production from Marchenko (who's fitting in nicely in Toronto), Celebrini, Holloway (whom SHR gave away for nothing), and Schaefer. But not much else, including a -0.14 on the week from Tage Thompson.

It seems Not Gavin a Good Time has put to rest The Commish's Week Two concern that his total was propped up by huge weeks from Stützle and Oettinger. It's clear his team can produce sustainably.

As for Gus Chychruns, I'm still not counting them out.

Big Macs (Kevin) vs. Singin' the Blues (Justin)

Wow, did I get this one wrong. I spoke very highly of Justin's team last week, fearing the moment Matthews and Draisaitl started hitting at the same time. Despite that, I predicted Big Macs would keep rolling with the winning formula they've used all season.

Instead, that deadly one-two punch came to fruition in a big way, with Auston putting up 35.53 and Leon scoring 45.91(!). Beyond that, Montour, Boldy, and Panarin all scored between 21 and 28 points. Wowza. In the end, Singin' the Blues put up a massive 243.59 points in Week Four—the highest point total we've seen so far in the 2026/27 Midwest is Best season.

The Big Macs, on the other hand, put up the fewest points of their season. This is certainly not a cause for alarm. Whereas Kevin's scorers have usually produced at the same time, this week he saw dips from Eichel, DeBrincat, and MacKinnon (although he still put up 25.24).

I suspect these two teams will continue to run things.

Of course, following our recaps, we move on to:

For the second straight week, there's no bigger bozo in the league than Seider House Rules. The Bozo Bump didn't take, and SHR is now 0-4.

Let's review the evidence. On Monday, Brent dropped Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, the same MBN he spent a whole paragraph praising at the top of this post, to pick up Carter Verhaeghe, who scored 4.37 points. Then he lost to Myles by 13.66 while leaving 41.51 points on his bench, including 11.31 from Linus Ullmark, last week's top star.

Honorable mention goes to Alan, who has a win, but we're all questioning how.

(Let's see if a Double Bozo is enough to get me a Bozo Bump in Week Five.)

Power Rankings

Four weeks in, five teams sit at 3-1, and the gap between the haves and the have-nots is getting hard to ignore.

Three Stars of the Week

Turns out my Oilers talk up top wasn't just hype. Leon Draisaitl put up the best week by a skater this season, and McDavid wasn't far behind. Maybe Edmonton really is breaking its early-season pattern.

Honorable mention goes to Auston Matthews (35.53 points), the other half of Justin's one-two punch.

1) Leon Draisaitl, EDM (45.91 points, Singin' the Blues)

2) Connor McDavid, EDM (37.77 points, Kim Kardashian)

3) Logan Stankoven, CAR (36.00 points, Geri-hat-tricks)

Welcome back to the Waiver Wire Wizard, where we recognize managers who showed a bit of magic in their pickups.

This week's wizard is Myles, who grabbed Calgary goalie Devin Cooley on Saturday and watched him put up 16.26 points against the Red Wings. Myles beat SHR by 13.66, so that one start decided the matchup. He cut Cooley the next day. Mission accomplished.

Honorable mentions go to Kevin, who brought back Vincent Trocheck nine days after cutting him and got 18.05 points, and Brent, who grabbed Spencer Knight off Kevin's scrap heap for 11.62. Alan also found 9.79 points in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Now for the dark arts. Matt picked up Jet Greaves on Tuesday, got -10.04 points out of him, and cut him on Wednesday. Alan's goalie gambles went no better: Brandon Bussi cost him -9.14 before getting dropped, and Scott Wedgewood's Sunday start cost him -8.29. Myles' Sebastian Cossa experiment lasted one day and -4.59 points. And Ben cut Cam Talbot, last week's honorable mention, for J.T. Miller, Kevin's castoff from last week. Miller scored 6.29 in Ben's lineup and another 7.94 from his bench.

The Pavel Zacha World Tour has a new headliner. Elias Pettersson was cut by Ben on Tuesday, picked up by Matt on Thursday (0.02 points), cut again on Friday, and landed with Brent on Sunday (4.53). Zacha, meanwhile, is back in free agency after Kevin swapped him for Shane Pinto, who scored 10.30.

Putting on Sufjan Stevens' Carrie & Lowell as we return to Benchwarmer Blues, where we shine a light on the managers who left points sad and alone on their benches, just like Brent every Sunday night.

Seider House Rules led the league with 41.51 points on the bench and lost to Myles by 13.66. Jimmy Snuggerud (14.14) made the bench list for the third straight week, Linus Ullmark (11.31) went from last week's top star to this week's bench decoration, and Dylan Larkin (9.99) chipped in too. Snuggerud and Ullmark alone outscored the margin of defeat. Bozo behavior.

Ben came in second with 37.38, led by Matvei Michkov (11.42), Philip Broberg (10.84), J.T. Miller (7.94), and Gavin McKenna (7.18). Ben lost by 39.39, so even a perfect lineup wouldn't have saved him.

Myles rounded out the top three with 33.71, highlighted by Jackson Blake's 18.91. Myles won anyway.

But the real heartbreak belongs to Richie. He lost to Brian by 1.25 points and left 25.85 on his bench. Gabriel Vilardi (10.84), Dylan Guenther (6.37), Alex Laferrière (5.47), and Pavel Dorofeyev (3.14) each outscored the margin of defeat on his own. One lineup tweak, and the matchup of the year goes the other way.

The biggest individual bench performance belonged to Dylan Strome, whose 20.57 points sat on Kevin's bench in a loss. And Andy did it again: Vejmelka's -2.34 stayed on the bench. The Vejmelka Whisperer strikes again.

Andy made the most of his roster this week, using 90.9% of his total points.

Here's the full breakdown.

Week Five Preview and Commissioner Picks

Seider House Rules (Brent) vs. The Doans Tell Me Nothing (Alan)

Alan has scored the fewest points in the league, and I'm still picking against myself. That's where we are. Maybe this is the week the Commissioner's Curse finally breaks. I wouldn't bet on it.

Big Macs (Kevin) vs. King Booby's Ice Reign (Myles)

Don't sleep on Myles. His point total has gone up every single week this season, topping out at 212.04 in Week Four, and the return of Bedard gives him another weapon. But the Big Macs are coming off their worst week of the season, and I don't expect Kevin to string two of those together. Eichel and DeBrincat will bounce back, and when they do, this team is a problem.

Geri-hat-tricks (Brian) vs. Gus Chychruns (Ben)

Brian just won the matchup of the year, and Kaprizov and Stankoven are playing like they want to keep this going all season. Ben showed what his team can do in Week Three, but he came back to earth last week, and a -0.14 from Tage won't cut it against this lineup. I'm taking Brian to stay among the haves, despite my looming fear that Hellebuyck returns to the fantasy world with a force.

Singin' the Blues (Justin) vs. Kim Kardashian (Rich(ie))

Rich is the best 1-3 team in the league, and it isn't close. He's fourth in points and has run into a buzzsaw nearly every week. Unfortunately for him, the buzzsaw this week is the team that just put up 243.59. McDavid will do his part, but Matthews and Draisaitl finally hitting at the same time is a scary sight. Sorry, Richie.

Rebuilding Since 2019 (Matt) vs. Not Gavin a Good Time (Andy)

This might be the true Matchup of the Week. Both teams are 3-1, and both have won three straight. Andy has been the model of consistency, hovering around 200 points for three weeks with the fewest points against in the league. But Matt has scored nearly 70 more points this season, and his depth is hard to match. I'm taking Matt, but barely. If he ever rosters a goalie for more than a day, look out.

Thanks for reading, crew. Good luck this week and we'll see you back here next Monday.