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We talked about Mikael Granlund on last Friday’s podcast for a few minutes.  Granlund was on an 11 game point streak, the longest of any player during this season, going into Saturday’s game.  You can say that he extended it in style.  Against the Canucks, Granlund scored his first career hat trick on six shots while also having an assist and finishing +4.  That brings his totals to a ridiculous 15+33 in 51 games while being +30.  He’s now a top 10 forward on the season based on RCL categories finally delivering on the hype surrounding him entering the league.  As for where he’ll be ranked going into next season, check out the podcast.  Here’s what else happened around the league this weekend:

Friday’s Games:

Brandon Dubinsky – Goal and an assist.  Still an okay option for deep leagues because of the penalty minutes but the points have dropped off too much for use in standard leagues.

Boone Jenner – Assist with five shots and two PIM.  Man, Jenner fell of a cliff after his breakout last season.  That said, he’s still only 23 putting him in position to bounce back nicely next season.

Jack Johnson – Two assists.  Couldn’t care less about JMFJ from a fantasy perspective.

Alexander Wennberg – Goal on five shots.  Keep shooting young man!

Matt Cullen – Assist and a shot in his return from injury.  He did take some shifts on the top line making him an okay streamer.

Phil Kessel – Two goals and an assist with five shots.  Kessel has shown no signs of slowing down the entire season.

Kris Letang – Two assists with two shots.  Just stay healthy!

Anders Lee – Two assists with two shots.  Lee is one of my favorite streamers at this point and he’s playing well enough that I’m fine with holding him.

John Tavares – Goal and an assist with five shots.  He’s entered beast mode for the last few weeks putting the Islanders and fantasy teams on his back.

Anthony Mantha – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Also had an assist Saturday extending his point streak to three games.  Sky is the limit for him as a player at 22 years old.

Tomas Tatar – Two assists with two shots.  I’m alright with streaming him again but there’s still not enough to hold.

Henrik Zetterberg – Goal and an assist with two shots.  He should beat last year’s point total with ease but the expected drop in shots was bigger than I imagined.  While he’s this hot, you have to hold him but he’s not a lock to be on your roster the rest of the season.

Cam Ward – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 2-1 win over the Oilers.  The value is purely in the volume and nothing else.

T.J. Brodie – Four assists with a shot.  Under a shot again, -20 on the season, I’ll pass.

Johnny Gaudreau – Two assists with two shots.  After an assist in Sunday’s game, he’s on a five game point streak but it hasn’t changed the fact that he’s been a huge disappointment.

Adam Henrique – Goal and an assist.  He’s heating up quite a bit lately.  As talked about on the podcast, Henrique is right on the fringe for me.

Miles Wood – Two assists.  The Ovechkin fanboy has been getting shifts in the top six lately putting him in play for deeper leagues with his additional penalty minutes.

Aleksander Barkov – Assist with three shots and two PIM in his return.  The top line dominated right off the bat so you need to get them back in your season long lineups immediately and consider them for a stack on FanPicks or even Draft despite the smaller rosters.

Jonathan Huberdeau – Goal on six shots in his season debut.  See Barkov, Aleksander for analysis.

Keith Yandle – Two assists with six shots.  It hasn’t been great but he’s still a top 25 defenseman in the player rater.

James Reimer – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 2-1 win over the Ducks.  Over the past six weeks, Reimer has the best save percentage in the league.  He can be streamed in all starts.

Saturday’s Games:

Andre Burakovsky – Goal on three shots with two penalty minutes.  With only three games this week for the Caps and then their bye week, I’d just stream Burakovsky.

Braden Holtby – 20 saves on 22 shots in the 3-2 win over the Canadiens.  Looking like another top 5 season is a lock for Holtby.  My expectation is that he’ll be my #1 overall goalie again next season.

Max Pacioretty – Goal and an assist.  Another season, another 30 goals for Patches (barring injury).

Alexander Radulov – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM.  The shots have fallen under two per game now but the penalty minutes are a massive boost.  We’re looking at something around 20+40 with 75 PIM and upside for more, at least in the assists department.

Peter Budaj – 17 save shutout in the 1-0 OT win over the Flyers.  Yeah, he had a dud Sunday but I doubt anyone cares after three shutouts in four starts.

Jeff Carter – Goal on eight shots.  At this rate, he has a legitimate shot at 40 goals.

Michal Neuvirth – 27 saves on 28 shots taking the overtime loss.  I have a tough time rolling out either Flyers goalie at this point.

Adam Lowry – Two goals on three shots. Nothing to see here outside of the fact that he was the only Jet who took advantage of Colorado.

Matt Duchene – Three assists and five shots. He’s the marquee name to watch at the trade deadline.

Jarome Iginla – Goal and an assist with two shots. I’m interested to see where he goes at the deadline even though it probably won’t have much fantasy impact.

Matt Nieto – Two goals on three shots. He’s played surprisingly well since being claimed but it only matters for super deep leagues.

Connor Brown – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Bottom end streamer.

Mitch Marner – Two assists with a shot.  He’s going to be in my top 50 next season.

Auston Matthews – Three assists with three shots.  The goals have dried up a bit but everything is just fine.

William Nylander – Hat trick on four shots.  He’s fallen off quite a bit after his fast start but Nylander has remained a hold all season.  He’s going to be a tough guy to rank for next season because it’s solid everywhere but no category stands out.

James van Riemsdyk – Two goals on four shots.  He’s still posting an incredible season completely under the radar.

Patrice Bergeron – Goal and two assists with seven shots.  Bergeron is almost at four shots per game now and the points are in full flow.  I think he’s going to be pushing the top 25 the rest of the way.

Zdeno Chara – Three assists with five shots.  I’ve left him on the waiver wire and don’t have much interest in getting him.  He’s a PIM boost but that’s about it at this point in his career.

Torey Krug – Goal and an assist with seven shots.  He’s a three category stud right now.

David Pastrnak – Two goals and an assist with four shots.  Back to back three point games with 10 points total in the last 5.  So damn good right now and he’s a lock for being top 50 next season.

Ryan Spooner – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Spooner is showing signs of life with five points in the last five but the minutes aren’t there at the moment.

Robin Lehner – 37 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Senators.  Revenge game!  It’s only plus in one category right now but it’s the best one going forward (save percentage).  Roll him now as your #2 but there’s a chance he becomes a #1 sooner than later.

Jack Eichel – Two assists with three shots.  He looked terrific throughout this game and if you’re playing DFS tonight, Eichel must be considered among the best forwards against the Devils.

Ryan O’Reilly – Goal on four shots.  Kyle Okposo and Sam Reinhart also scored as the big guns showed up on Saturday.  Roll the O’s and as discussed on the podcast, use Reinhart for this week during a heavy schedule and decide from there.

Ron Hainsey – Two goals on four shots.  Despite this game, he’s below average in nearly every category.

Elias Lindholm – Two assists with a shot.  He’s piling up the assists with six in the last five.  Could we look at a Wennberg-like breakout next season?  The shots are marginally better too.  As talked about repeatedly, he’ll be a favorite in drafts next season for the assists.

Jordan Staal – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  I’m fine with streaming him but there’s just not enough to hold.

Josh Bailey – Goal and an assist with two shots.  He has four goals in the last five with solid shots.  I am fine streaming him in all matchups but it’s not quite a hold for me.

Anders Lee – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Lee vs. Bailey is an interesting debate and is probably team dependent but in a vacuum, give me Lee.

Ryan Strome – Two assists with a shot.  Strome keeps having a decent streak and then disappears for a couple weeks.  So disappointing after his big season two years ago.

Ryan Kesler – Two assists with two PIM.  He’s remarkably remained as a top 10 forward on the season.

Jonathan Bernier – 35 saves on 37 shots in the 3-2 SO loss to Tampa.  John Gibson has been on fire so I don’t expect Bernier to get many starts but his starts are worth using.

Jonathan Drouin – Goal on six shots and two PIM.  He’s slowed down a bit but Drouin is still a clear hold.

Nikita Kucherov – Two assists with six shots and two PIM.  If he didn’t get hurt, Kucherov could have been a top five overall forward.  He’s still over a point per game in 46 starts which is outstanding.

Cory Schneider – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jackets.  Very frustrating year for Schneider owners.  We can’t really expect much of a rebound given the difficulty of their division.

Taylor Hall – Two goals on eight shots.  Four game point streak for Hall who is well over three shots per game again.  The penalty minutes dried up which sucks but everything else is strong.

Adam Henrique – Two assists with a shot.  Read Henrique, Adam.  Not this one, the one earlier!

Travis Zajac – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Another guy discussed on the podcast, he’s a no-doubt streamer at this point after a terrific start.

Artem Anisimov – Two assists with two shots and two PIM.  He hasn’t scored a goal in 13 games but it’s too good everywhere else to cut him.  It should turn around soon in the goal scoring department.

Marian Hossa – Two assists with two shots.  I don’t necessarily trust him but he still needs to be held.

Jamie Benn – Goal on five shots with two PIM.  That’s six straight games with at least one point for Benn who is finally putting up a monster stretch.

John Klingberg – Assist with three shots.  Four game point streak for Klingberg who is showing signs.  The upside is here for a huge closing but I’m hesitant to predict it.  This Stars team just doesn’t seem right.

Marc-Andre Fleury – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 4-1 win over the Blues.  He’s finally over a .900 sv% but the GAA remains over 3.  Woof.

Sidney Crosby – Two goals and an assist with three shots.  He’s the first player to reach 30 goals and the assists are quickly rising.  Crosby is playing over a 50+50 pace over 82 games right now.

Chris Kunitz – Two assists with four shots.  Meh, Kunitz’ days of fantasy value are in the past outside of hits leagues.

Petr Mrazek – 42 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Predators.  Talk about stealing a game.  This year has been a complete mess but Mrazek is about to turn 25, I’m not writing his obituary yet.  I’m not sure it’s better than “desperate for starts” at the moment but he did post a .921 sv% last year.  There’s still some dynasty value here.

Matt Dumba – Two assists.  He has to be a clear hold given his okay points contributions but importantly a +23 and 41 PIM.

Mikko Koivu – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM.  Koivu is in the same boat as a lot of Wild players.  With 38 points in 50 games and a +30 rating, he needs to be owned.

Jason Zucker – Two assists with four shots.  Man, this second line is terrific.  Zucker is another guy that will be incredibly difficult to rank next season.

Jared Spurgeon – Two assists with a shot.  He’s basically Dumba minus the PIM but with a surprisingly better plus-minus.

Brandon Sutter – Two goals on three shots.  Not enough of a contribution outside of goals to do anything but stream.

Mike Smith – 38 saves on 40 shots in the 3-2 SO win over the Sharks.  He’s the ultimate roller coaster ride at this point but there’s a lot of down-slopes on that ride.

Logan Couture – Goal and an assist with three shots.  He’s played 52 games so far this season, the same amount as last year, and he has one more shot and the same number of points.  I’m a bit disappointed but I probably shouldn’t be.  There’s a chance for a big finish as well.

Patrick Marleau – Two assists with six shots.  Six game point streak which you hopefully took advantage of.  I streamed him for the four goal game against Colorado and haven’t looked back.  He needs to be held right now.

Sunday’s Games

Philipp Grubauer – 38 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Kings.  Start him every time you get the chance.

Brett Connolly – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Three game point streak puts him on the radar for deep leagues given his +16 and 30 PIM in 39 games.

Marcus Johansson – Goal and an assist.  He was in a seven game point drought before this one.  With poor shots and no PIM, I wouldn’t hold him in 12’ers.

Cam Talbot – 22 save shutout in the 1-0 SO win over the Canadiens.  He’s been a slam dunk #1G given the volume.

Al Montoya – 32 save shutout taking the loss.  The vast majority of his starts have been good to great; that 10 goal debacle against the Blue Jackets are driving his numbers down.  I’m fine streaming him in all starts.

Mikael Backlund – Two assists with four shots.  He’s right on the fringe for me but I’d lean towards holding.

Matthew Tkachuk – Goal and an assist with three shots.  The points have slowed down a bit but man, those PIM are so nice.

Kris Versteeg – Two shots and 15 PIM.  He got in a fight and was ejected because his jersey wasn’t tied down.  World class reaction afterwards

Michael Grabner – Goal and an assist with three shots.  His speed is just amazing taking over shifts on a regular basis.  Grabner must be held with 23 goals and a +22 rating.

J.T. Miller – Two assists with four shots.  He’s looked great at center and now has six assists in his past five.  There’s a good chance Miller reaches 60 points.

Monday Streamers:

David Perron (19.9%) – Just under the 20% threshold!  He’s on the first line again and with Robby Fabbri out for the season, look for Perron to get a bigger power play role.

Connor Brown (7.9%) – Look for the Islanders – Maple Leafs game to be very high scoring.  I’ll use Brown who is back with Matthews and on the first power play unit.

Brian Gionta (3.5%) – I didn’t expect to use Gionta at all this year but with 6 points in his last 8 games, I’ll get some exposure to him tonight against his old team.

That’s all for now guys.  Look for a podcast to drop Tuesday afternoon.  With only three games on the slate tonight, my next set of daily notes will be on Wednesday.  As always, feel free to ask any questions and leave any comments below.  Thanks for reading, take care!