As expected, Mexico kicked off its start to the CONCACAF Nations League with a dominant victory over a regional minnow. Although Bermuda gave the North American giants a few scares through a high-pressing approach on Friday night, Mexico eventually took charge of the away match with an eye-catching 5-1 result in its favor.

Positives

Keeping in mind that manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino brought a number of backups and young options into his Nations League roster, a 5-1 win is the exact kind of boost in confidence that many of the new faces needed. Speaking of which, the two goals for 20-year-old Jose Juan Macias will surely ease some worries for Mexico fans who are eager to see more strikers in the national team's depth chart.

Negatives

Let's not forget that Bermuda made things difficult in the first 15-20 minutes. Through a high-pressing approach, the opposition flustered Mexico's back line and goalkeeper as they fumbled the ball around, nearly allowing an early goal.

- CONCACAF Nations League: All you need to know

Manager rating (out of 10)

8 -- No significant complaints about Martino. Despite the fact that it looked as though he was about to lose control of the game early on, the manager was able to take back the momentum of the match as he continued to guide his players forward. It's also good to see that there is a defined formation and structure Martino is sticking with through his aggressive 4-3-3 formation.

Player ratings (1-10, with 10 the best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Rodolfo Cota, 7 -- Had some scary moments when he had the ball at his feet, but otherwise had a good game. No real trouble from Bermuda's attack Friday.

DF Jorge Sanchez, 8 -- When Bermuda began to grow tired, Sanchez began to step up even more on the right flank with his daring runs. The full-back also earned a penalty for his team in the second half after a dangerous cross.

DF Carlos Salcedo, 6 -- There's still room for improvement in the central defensive partnership between Salcedo and Nestor Araujo. The Tigres player provided a few important clearances, but also looked uneasy when needing to distribute the ball quickly out of the 18-yard box.

DF Nestor Araujo, 6 -- Similar to Salcedo, Araujo needs to perfect some of his decision-making in defense. It's still unclear whether he is better suited as a right-center-back or a left-center-back.

DF Cristian Calderon, 7 -- A fairly average game for the left-back, who should be given credit for his assist in the first half. At just 22, he'll have plenty of time to make a name for himself.

MF Hector Herrera, 8 -- His golazo late into the match will go down as one of the goals of the year for Mexico. Herrera was a crucial playmaking defensive midfielder who also provided an assist for Hirving Lozano's first goal.

MF Carlos Rodriguez, 7 -- Quiet yet diligent, Rodriguez highlighted his tactical flexibility through his ability to shift between an attack-minded role in the midfield and a more defensive one when Herrera stepped forward.

MF Sebastian Cordova, 7 -- The 22-year-old looks like a perfect fit for Martino's three-man midfield. Although fans would have likely wanted to see him be more proactive, Cordova's speed and (occasionally) dangerous shots were on display during his 63 minutes on the field.

FW Uriel Antuna, 7 -- On paper, Antuna should still be a backup's backup on either wing for Mexico. Nevertheless, he scores far too frequently to be ignored. His goal against Bermuda is his sixth in 10 games for Mexico, all of which have come in the current calendar year.

FW Jose Juan Macias, 8 -- At the right place at the right time for his two goals Friday. The Leon striker positioned himself perfectly for the pass from Calderon in the first half, then followed up on the rebound of a blocked shot from Antuna in the second half.

FW Hirving Lozano, 9 -- If he had scored off of the penalty late into the match instead of hitting the post, Lozano would have had a perfect night. He'll still be able to hold his head up high with his goal and two assists for Mexico in the victory. Instrumental in everything positive going forward for Mexico.

Substitutes

MF Erick Aguirre, 7 -- Substituted in for Cordova during the 63rd minute. Aguirre looked comfortable as one of the attack-minded midfielders and nearly scored through a powerful shot from distance shortly after entering the pitch.

FW Diego Lanez, N/A -- Substituted in for Lozano during the 72nd minute.

MF Jose Ivan Rodriguez, N/A -- Substituted in for Carlos Rodriguez during the 77th minute.

WASHINGTON -- In Friday night's 7-0 victory against Cuba to open the United States' CONCACAF Nations League campaign, Josh Sargent earned his 10th cap. He became just the 10th male American teenager to do so, joining a list of U.S. soccer luminaries including Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Christian Pulisic, as well as a few players who had, shall we say, slightly less decorated careers (Juan Agudelo and, yes, Freddy Adu).

Sargent's career remains in the early stages. That's the whole point, really. But the Werder Bremen teenager looks more and more like he's trending toward the former group as opposed to the latter. At the very least, he's close to cementing his spot as a first-choice starter on Gregg Berhalter's U.S. squad.

- CONCACAF Nations League: All you need to know

While Sargent had only one goal in the U.S. domination of the visitors, his presence was felt all over the attacking half of the field (and even occasionally in the defensive third). In the opening seconds, his smart run drew two Cuban defenders, leaving Weston McKennie alone to receive Jordan Morris' cross for the game's first goal.

"It's my job to go to the first post, and if he comes with me, then [McKennie] is going to be open every time," he said of the tally.

Sargent started the sequence that led to the third goal, checking to midfield, calling for the ball, turning beautifully, and delivering a pass to McKennie that the Schalke midfielder then gave to Morris in stride.

"His link-up play tonight was very good," said U.S. goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who was mostly a spectator on the night.

Sargent just missed connecting on the fourth goal -- McKennie would latch onto a ball just out of the forward's slide at the near post -- while his 24th-minute header off Reggie Cannon's free kick went inches wide. He smartly pulled off his run and was wide open for a Morris pass on the fifth goal. (The Seattle Sounders winger shot instead, forcing an own goal.) And Sargent's pressing also resulted in dangerous giveaways from goalkeeper Nelson Johnston and center-back Dario Ramos on the few occasions when Cuba possessed the ball.

The 19-year-old finally got his late in the first half. While Morris did the work of controlling a ball over the top, Sargent's run and one-time curling finish with his off foot were beautiful. Seconds later, there was nearly a second, on a similar play from the opposite side, but Johnston saved the right-footed blast.

"I thought Josh did well as a point of the attack, as someone you can play into," Berhalter said after the game. "I think his movement inside the penalty box was OK. On his goal it was good. He had a chance right after that which was good as well. We want to continue to work with him on making dynamic runs in the penalty box, beating their defenders and making space for other players. But the kid is 20 years old. To me, he's a real bright spot."

Which isn't to say that his rise has been simple and straightforward. Berhalter left the teenager off the Gold Cup roster, a shocking decision meant to send a message. "We have to remember that he's 19 years old and he has a bright future ahead of him," the coach said at the time. "When I talked to him and gave him the news, I mentioned that he is the striker for the national team in the future. We're sure of that."

Berhalter wants his charge to push harder, to work for everything, to gain a little edge. These are qualities many young players need, but Berhalter hasn't been shy about vocalizing his instructions to his young forward. Sargent's teammates see his ability, and his need to improve as well.

"There's a reason why he's playing in the Bundesliga," Guzan said. "There's certainly quality there. There's a talent there. And now it's about him finding confidence when he's in this group, when he's on the field for the national team that allows him to go and be successful. He's got loads of talent. His mentality, his work rate, is very good. It's just about finding that little bit where he feels the most comfortable playing for our team."

With a goal and some strong Bundesliga performances up top and on the wing to start the season, Sargent played his way into his national-team coach's starting lineup. It's not a spot he's likely to give up soon. Sure, Jozy Altidore, another member of the "Teenage 10-Cap Club," could earn time if he can stay healthy, but that grows increasingly unlikely. Gyasi Zardes, another forward option, is a known quantity. It's Sargent's job to take, and hold. He's nearly there, getting ever closer.

Just as important, there's a growing connection among him, Morris, Pulisic, McKennie and the other attackers as well.

"Every camp we come into we try to build off of our chemistry," Sargent said. "Obviously, there are very talented players around me, and combining that with chemistry every time we come into camp will only help us."

He can also do it himself. In the 90th minute, Sargent stole the ball near midfield and sprinted toward goal. He easily outpaced two trailing defenders, leaving himself in alone with Johnston. A goal would have tied the American record for the largest margin of victory, a perfect cap on a near-perfect evening.

It wasn't to be. Sargent skied his shot over the crossbar, then buried his face in his hands. "I missed," he said simply afterward.

"On another night, he could have had a few more goals," Guzan said. "It's certainly something that he can look back on and build from."

He got one. It could have been more. It won't be his last.

WASHINGTON -- The winners of the 2019 Little League World Series flew home from Washington to Louisiana in style -- aboard Air Force One.

President Donald Trump met with the Eastbank All-Stars on Friday at the White House. At the meeting, Trump asked the team members' parents if the team could hop on Air Force One for the ride back to Louisiana since Trump was already headed to the state for a campaign rally.

The team then met again with Trump at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, on the tarmac near Air Force One, and they all ascended onto the presidential plane together.

The champs are flying back to Louisiana on Air Force One with @realDonaldTrump after celebrating their Little League World Series Championship victory at The @WhiteHouse!

What an amazing day! I'm so proud of this team! ⚾️? pic.twitter.com/k27et9lBCR

— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) October 11, 2019

The Eastbank All-Stars are based in suburban New Orleans. In August, Louisiana shut out Curacao 8-0 to win the state's first Little League World Series title.

The team fought its way back through the losers bracket after dropping its first game to Hawai'i. Louisiana won six games in eight days, becoming the first team to win the LLWS after losing its first game since the tournament expanded in 2001.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the first time in its nearly 100 years of participation in college football, BYU will start a black quarterback. Jaren Hall, a redshirt freshman, will start Saturday at USF in place of Zach Wilson, who is out with a thumb injury.

"I am very proud of my ancestors, very proud of my ethnicity and all the things that come with that," Hall said this week. "So it is an honor and a privilege to be here and to be playing this sport at this wonderful university."

BYU is a private university owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The school began playing football in 1922 and did not have an African American player until 1970. Until 1978, the church did not allow black people to enter temples for specific ordinances, and black men were not eligible for the priesthood.

Hall, whose father, Kalin, also played at BYU, is a member of the church, as are 99% of the students at BYU.

BYU is coached by Kalani Sitake, who is of Tongan descent.

"He's extremely confident, and I think he's ready for this moment," Sitake said of Hall. "I'm really excited for him -- I know he's excited. The players are responding to him well."

Hall is also an outfielder on the baseball team.

NEW YORK -- The price of qualifying offers for Major League Baseball free agents dropped for the first time, falling by $100,000 to $17.8 million.

Determined by the average of the top 125 major league contracts this year, the figure announced Friday reflects a flat market last offseason.

In addition, large signing bonuses in the contracts of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Mike Trout had an impact on the drop, because the signing bonuses are prorated over the length of the contract rather than the year they were received. The trio had relatively low 2019 salaries, and if their 2020 salaries had been included instead, the qualifying offer figure would have risen to $18.3 million.

Harper's salary increases from $10 million this year to $26 million in 2020, Machado's from $10 million to $30 million and Trout's from $16 million to $36 million.

Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, Didi Gregorius and Jake Odorizzi are among the players eligible for free agency. They could be joined by Stephen Strasburg, Aroldis Chapman and J.D. Martinez, who all have the right to opt out of their deals.

A qualifying offer can be made through the fifth day after the World Series, and a player has a week after that to accept. If a team makes a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major league contract with another club before the June amateur draft, his former club would receive a draft pick as compensation at the end of the first round.

A free agent can be made a qualifying offer only if he has been with the same team continuously since Opening Day and has never received a qualifying offer before.

Qualifying offers began after the 2012 season, and only three of 80 offers have been accepted: New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker and Philadelphia pitcher Jeremy Hellickson after the 2016 season and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu last offseason.

The qualifying offer price started at $13.3 million in 2012, rose to $14.1 million in 2013, $15.3 million in 2014, $15.8 million in 2015, $17.2 million in 2016 and $17.4 million in 2017.

ALTON, Va. – Ten drivers collected championships during the first day of racing for the SCCA National Championship Runoffs on Friday at Virginia Int’l Raceway.

Nick Leverone, of Mednon, Mass., opened the 56th SCCA National Championship Runoffs by winning the Touring 4 class race over Tyler Quance and Stephen Blethen.

Leverone started second and chased defending class champion John Heinricy before the two went side-by-side on lap 10 for the lead. Leverone took the lead in turn 14 and led the remainder of the 15-lap distance.

Van Steenburg, from New Smyrna, Fla., captured his second E Production championship after holding off John Hainsworth and Jesse Prather.

Prather jumped to a lead at the start, but his advantage was cut down when Greg Amy spun his fire-engulfed No. 33 Honda Civic to a stop in turn one to bring out the caution.

During the restart Van Steenburg briefly took the lead, but missed a shift at the exit of turn one, giving the lead back to Prather. Prather didn’t stay in the lead for long after sliding off the track in turn 10, handing the lead and eventually the win back to Steenburg.

In Protoype 1, pole sitter Todd Slusher took the lead on the start and drove away from runner-up and teammate Chip Romer to take the class victory by roughly 13 seconds.

The Spec Racer Ford Gen3 race saw a three-wide finish at the checkered flag, with Roberson Clay Russell edging Denny Stripling and Brian Schofield to take the SCCA National Championship Runoffs victory. The podium finishers were separated by .127 seconds.

In arguably the most competitive class at the 56th SCCA National Championship Runoffs with the second-largest field size of any class made up of 54 qualifiers from all around the country, the Spec Racer Ford Gen3 (SRF3) national championship was decided by 17 thousandths of a second with a three-wide battle to the checkered at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) on Friday.

When the dust settled Roberson Clay Russell, of Spartanburg, North Carolina, held on to take the checkered over Denny Stripling, of McKinney, Texas, in second. Brian Schofield, of Lakeland, Florida, finished in a close third. The podium finishers were only separated by .127-second.

Clint McMahan drove away from the field in the Formula 500 class after starting from the pole, easily claiming the second Runoffs championship of his career by more than 30 seconds.

Danny Steyn spun during the Super Touring Lite class race, but still managed to lead every lap to win his second-straight championship in the division. Steyn had already built a gap on the field at the time of his spin, allowing him to quickly recover and return to the track.

The American Sedan class belonged to Gregory Eaton, who claimed a flag-to-flag victory in the 15-lap race to earn his first Runoffs championship.

Jeff Dernehl outlasted the GT-3 field to earn his first victory in SCCA National Championship Runoffs competition. The race was chaotic, with Dernehl actually spinning at one point to drop him to third.

However, bad luck by race leaders Tony Ave and Joe Kristensen that saw both men suffer engine failures in their race cars elevated Dernehl to the lead and eventually the victory.

Rhett Barkau claimed top honors in Formula Enterprises 2, surviving a battle with Liam Snyder on the last lap that saw Barkau take the lead from Snyder in the final corners.

To close out the day, James Libecco topped the Formula Enterprise finale via a photo finish over Mark Snyder. The duo crossed the finish line in a dead heat, with the scoring monitor showing the margin of victory to be .000 in favor of Libecco.

The SCCA National Championship Runoffs continue on Saturday at Virginia Int’l Raceway.

CONCORD, N.C. – Jack Beckman got off to a fast start during the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals on Friday evening at zMAX Dragway by racing to the provisional No. 1 spot in the Funny Car class on the opening day of qualifying.

Beckman, who is in search of his second Funny Car victory of the year after kicking off the Countdown to the Championship with a win at Pennsylvania’s Maple Grove Raceway, stole the top spot during the second round of qualifying Friday evening thanks to a 3.873-second pass at 334.07 mph.

The 2012 Funny Car champion, who struggled in the first round of qualifying and was forced to qualify early during the second round Friday night, said he didn’t expect his run to keep him at the top of the board.

RELATED: Prusiensky Taken To Hospital After Crash At zMAX

“When you don’t get to run later on the Friday night session you don’t see as many cars, you don’t have as cool a race track and everybody behind you sees how good you ran,” Beckman said. “I just didn’t get to enjoy any part of that run. It didn’t feel that fast to me because I was thinking so much about the things I had to do right.

“There is no way I thought that was going to hold simply because you had six more pairs of cars behind us that just saw what the race track was capable of.”

Funny Car championship leader Robert Hight is currently second, .005 seconds off the time set by Beckman. Hight and Beckman ran identical 334.07 mph speeds, but Beckman’s elapsed time was barely better than that of Hight. Ron Capps currently sits third on the qualifying chart.

Defending event winner and reigning NHRA Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence is in command of the Top Fuel class thanks to a strong 3.711-second run at a speed of 325.53 mph in his Capco Contractors dragster during the second round of qualifying Friday night.

Torrence earned a few bonus points for his class-leading effort, but the Texan said he isn’t thinking about that just yet.

“It’s way too early to worry about those points right now,” Torrence said. “If you even remotely start looking at them you can allow that whole thing to get in your head and you don’t want that there for the next round. You don’t want that there for this race or the next three.

“As a team, as a driver we do the best we can to keep that at bay and concentrate on the task at hand. We needed to go out here and we needed to qualify well and we had two good runs today. Tomorrow we’ll work on our Sunday tune-up and try to the best as possible on Sunday.”

Richie Crampton, who won the first Top Fuel race of the Countdown at Maple Grove, currently sits second thanks to his 3.742-second pass during the second round of qualifying. Two-time Top Fuel champion Antron Brown currently sits third in the class.

Erica Enders claimed the provisional No. 1 spot In Pro Stock qualifying with a 6.506-second pass at 211.86 mph during the second round of qualifying. Enders also topped the first round of qualifying, but improved upon her time from the first session to retain the top spot in the second round after watching her teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. go to the top of the board right before her second run.

“Seeing my teammate Jeg Coughlin go to the pole position right in front of me, my crew chiefs both radioed back that if I staged shallow and hit my shifts that we were going to be back in the No. 1 spot,” Enders said. “We have a really great race car and it’s my job to drive it the best that I can.”

Coughlin is currently second fastest in his pink JEGS Camaro, .022 seconds slower than Enders. Line, the championship leader in Pro Stock entering the NHRA Carolina Nationals, is currently third.

Jerry Savoie used a 6.801-second run at 196.85 mph during the first qualifying session to take the provisional No. 1 spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle aboard his White Alligator Racing Suzuki.

“Coming in I’m a little greedy this weekend because I didn’t feel like I had a fair shake in the last race. As you know I lost in the first round to Hector (Arana) Jr.,” Savoie said. “We had a glitch in the bike in third gear and unfortunately I couldn’t catch him after that.

“Just about got everything out of it in the conditions we were running,” Savoie added.

Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson rider Eddie Krawiec was second fastest, .017 seconds off Savoie’s pace. Krawiec’s teammate and championship leader Andrew Hines recovered from a bad run in the opening round by jumping to third fastest overall in the second round of qualifying.

It's too early to pass any definitive judgment against goaltenders for the coming NHL season, but we can start to make guesses about where things are trending.

This is important work because the easiest time to get a player onto your fantasy team is the speculative phase. There is a threshold that comes with every breakthrough player performance when the collective fantasy world decides to agree that we believe in a positive trend. That is the point where it gets competitive to get a player.

Last year's Jordan Binnington emergence can be an example. He could have been acquired for a song anytime prior to Jan. 1 last season, having played just parts of two sporadic December games with humdrum results. Then, he notched a shutout on Jan. 7 when called upon. Still, it was nothing worth reacting to. He followed that with one-goal against wins on Jan. 10 and Jan. 12, at which point, the groupthink was turning attention to him. He was gone in deeper leagues before his next start, but probably still for a relatively low cost of acquisition.

As the wins kept piling up, Binnington's rise was a slow burn. Who is this kid taking the last place Blues by the bootstraps? It would have been another week or two at that point, late January or early February, when Binnington was no longer available in any league format. His universal acquisition would have been an absolute lock by every league's next transaction date after Feb. 7, which is when he shutout the Tampa Bay Lightning.

So what's the point? There's a couple here.

First, goaltenders can emerge from anywhere. The Blues were dead last in the standings before Binnington stepped up. Dead last. Second, the window for acquiring a game-changing fantasy asset can vary, but even with an extreme example like Binnington, there are stages: You had one week from his Jan. 7 shutout to be ahead of the curve, two weeks before getting him was a competitive exercise and, in shallower leagues, a full month before the window was closed.

The goaltender carousel is a less-than-fun ride that many fantasy managers will have to take all season long, after all, not all of us can have Andrei Vasilevskiy on our team.

Here are some guys I'm stashing who are available in 90 percent of ESPN leagues:

Mikko Koskinen, G, Edmonton Oilers: Mike Smith has two wins, with a 3.50 goals-against average and .892 save percentage. Koskinen also has two wins, with a 2.41 goals-against average and .914 save percentage. It's an early sample, but it's a stark disparity. History tells us Smith isn't an ideal ratios guy, while Koskinen didn't hold up to expanding workloads last season. Splitting might be best, but it should be a split that leans Koskinen in the end.

James Reimer, G, Carolina Hurricanes: This is going to be an even split with Petr Mrazek. This is just how the Hurricanes run their team: Play exceptional defense and it doesn't matter who is wearing the mask in the crease. The results were convincing last season, with both Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney turning in ratio-golden campaigns. It should be more of the same this season, which undercuts the overall value of both Mrazek and Reimer. But, Reimer is like a handcuff running back in fantasy football that you can also start in your flex most weeks - he has value now and would have exponentially increased value in the event of an injury in front of him.

Jack Campbell, G, Los Angeles Kings: OK, so Jonathan Quick doesn't look so hot after all. My give Quick a chance argument last week has aged liked milk. But the part where I argue that the Kings should be a better defensive team under coach Todd McLellan is a Quick-proof argument. Enter Campbell, who has looked every day of the six years that he is younger than Quick. While Quick was allowing 14 goals to the Oilers and Canucks, Campbell only allowed three as the Kings beat the Flames in OT.

Ilya Samsonov, G, Washington Capitals: If Braden Holtby hadn't hoisted the Stanley Cup at the end of the 2017-18 season, we would have all written him off for fantasy a longtime ago. His regular season returns have been detrimental to fantasy teams since the 2016-17 season. Sure, 30 wins can be nice, but at what cost? Of the 22 goaltenders to make 100 starts during the past two seasons, Holtby has the sixth-worst save percentage and fifth-worst goals-against average. Only Craig Anderson and Cam Talbot have been worse than Holtby in both categories. This could be a systemic team issue, but Philipp Grubauer had a counter-argument to that in 2017-18 with decent ratios. The bottom line here is that Samsonov is a top-rated goaltending prospect and Holtby hasn't shown us much in a while. This is a situation primed for a good old-fashioned usurping.

Fantasy Forecaster: Oct. 14 to Oct. 20

The schedule ramps up a bit this week, with 10 teams getting a four-game week and only one team downgraded to a two-game schedule.

The Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals benefit from the extra game. The San Jose Sharks only play twice.

For those new to the forecaster chart, here are some explanations: "O" (offense), which is on the left for each game, and "D" (defense), on the right, matchup ratings are based upon a scale from 1 (poor matchup) to 10 (excellent matchup) and are calculated using a formula that evaluates the team's season-to-date statistics, their performance in home/road games depending on where the game is to be played, as well as their opponents' numbers in those categories. The "Ratings" column lists the cumulative rating from 1 to 10 of that week's offensive ("O") and defensive ("D") matchups.

In the notes below, the focus every week will be mainly on players that are available for potential use. Ownership below 50 percent of ESPN leagues is a good generalized cutoff. I'll try to also include players below 10 percent ownership whenever possible to cater to deeper formats.

Team notes

Calgary Flames: The Flames sked pops both offensively and defensively on the Forecaster, so if you've been waiting for an excuse to roster David Rittich (available in 48 percent of ESPN leagues), this is the time. Based on his early season workload and the Flames projections, Rittich is a top-10 fantasy goaltender waiting to happen. Mikael Backlund could come in off your bench in shallower leagues for this week. I'll also cop to a mild interest in Andrew Mangianpane, who has been elevated to the second line with Backlund and Matthew Tkachuk.

Dallas Stars: The Stars four-game week should have opportunity for scoring and Roope Hintz is capitalizing on 40 percent of his shots on goal so far. That is to say, he's not going to keep scoring at this rate. That said, he's locked down as a top-six play with 17-plus minutes per game and occasional power-play looks. He should be on even the shallow-league radar at this stage. Sophomore defenseman Miro Heiskanen should also be locked into lineups in any week in which the Stars have a favorable schedule.

Player notes

Justin Schultz, D, Pittsburgh Penguins: With the Pens down Evgeni Malkin for an extended period of time, Schultz is drawing in to the top power-play unit. Sure enough, he has two assists this season, both on the man advantage. He fired six shots on goal on Thursday.

Patrick Maroon, W, Tampa Bay Lightning: Anthony Cirelli scored potted two power-play assists with the big guns on Thursday against Toronto. But it's Maroon getting the big minutes on the top power-play unit. Cirelli only played 20 seconds of power-play time in the game, while Maroon played 3:38 of PP with Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point.

Dominik Kubalik, W, Chicago Blackhawks: The Alexander Nylander experiment on the top line seems to have lasted about four periods to start the season Kubalik was elevated to the wing with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane partway through Thursday's contest. He had a breakout professional season in Switzerland last year at the age of 23 and is as worth keeping an eye on as any player getting time with Toews and Kane.

Quick hits

• Mike Hoffman pushed up the Florida Panthers depth chart to the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. If Hoffman stays there, he becomes elite in the ESPN standard game, as ice time and plus/minus were the only categories holding him back.

• If Patrick Marleau is going to play with Logan Couture and Timo Meier with regularity, of course he should garner some interest in fantasy. Two goals was certainly an impressive season debut, but remember he wasn't exactly fantasy gravy in Toronto - and he was getting regular ice time with Auston Matthews there. Temper expectations.

• Micheal Ferland is out, J.T. Miller is in to the most intriguing lineup spot for the Canucks. That would be the spot alongside Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson.

• Hot take? If Patrik Laine, who admittedly has only been there for two games now, plays out the regular season on a line with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, he leads the league in goals and shots. Feel like your whole fantasy team is a mess and want a major shakeup? Dangle your first-round pick for Laine and another piece that has potential.

HUMBLE, Texas – After playing his first five holes Thursday at the Houston Open in 5 over with two double bogeys, Chandler Phillips turned to his caddie, Landon Ewing, and said, “Screw it.”

Not the round but rather his hesitant play.

“I told him not to give me any conservative lines, I’m going at every pin,” Phillips said. “It doesn’t matter if I shoot 5 over or 10 over, all that matters is if I go shoot 3 or 4 [over].”

Phillips’ aggressive strategy paid off. He made five birdies and played 4-under golf the rest of the way, finishing with a respectable 1-over 73 that left him with a chance to make his first PGA Tour cut.

A day later, Phillips had another less-than-ideal start, though in a different way. He hit one shot Friday morning, a tee ball at the Golf Club of Houston’s par-4 10th, before a thunderstorm moved in and suspended play. When Phillips returned to the course about two hours later, he was greeted with conditions that were much windier and colder.

“I hit one shot, there was no wind and I was in my shirt, no jacket. We go back out there and it was blowing 20-25 [mph] and it felt like the temperature had dropped 20 degrees,” Phillips said. “It didn’t even seem like the same day.”

Phillips, however, delivered nearly the same performance as the day before. He carded five birdies, though this time he shot 1-under 71. At even par through 36 holes, he has a solid chance to make the weekend in what is just his second Tour start since turning pro in August.

In his pro debut, Phillips didn’t handle adversity well and missed the cut by a shot at the Sanderson Farms Championship. That week, Phillips had his second-round tee time pushed back because of weather. When he went to bed that Friday evening, he was on the cut line still with holes to play. When he putted out Saturday morning after two bogeys in his final six holes, he was just below it.

“I tried to force it and not play my game,” Phillips said.

Phillips certainly still has much to learn as a pro, but he’s steadily gaining experience. The Huntsville, Texas, native moved to nearby The Woodlands, where he shares a house with Cameron Champ, his former roommate from Texas A&M. Champ left school a year-and-a-half before Phillips and has already won twice on the PGA Tour, including earlier this fall at the Safeway Open.

The two are like brothers, Phillips says, and they practice together frequently, though their games couldn’t be more different. Phillips relies more on his short game and putting and less on his tee ball.

Phillips doesn’t pick Champ’s brain as often as one would think, either. Instead, they talk about other things, including hunting and their trucks.

“He’s definitely got the nicer truck now,” Phillips quipped.

One day soon, Phillips hopes to join Champ out on Tour full-time. The former All-American got through first stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School last month and will play second stage later this month at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.

“I’ve never played there before, but I heard that the wind could blow there and it could play really hard, and that plays right into my game,” Phillips said. “Getting punched in the mouth, I don’t know why, but it’s kinda fun to me.”

On Friday, Phillips showed it.