I talked about Leo Komarov at length in two places yesterday here. In the stream section of my article, I said the following: “He’s much more highly owned than my normal stream calls but I don’t understand why he’s available in over 60% of leagues. The Leafs should control the game against the Avs (everyone does against the Avs) so Uncle Leo should get some chances.” Then he went out and had his best game of the season, scoring two goals on five shots while adding an assist and two PIM. I love it when I’m right! If you didn’t do so, grab Komarov immediately because he has another prime matchup tonight against the Coyotes. Here’s what else I saw on a busy Monday night:
Ryan Getzlaf – Assist with three shots and four PIM. He’s slowly been coming along but still only has one goal on the season. I can’t help but think this Ducks team has a run in them with Getzlaf at the forefront.
Jaroslav Halak – 27 saves on 29 shots in the 5-2 win over the Ducks. He’s starting to get more playing time but he won’t get to elite status because Thomas Greiss will still get his fair share.
Brock Nelson – Goal on four shots. The minutes are big right now playing on the first line so keep rolling him or grab him if he’s somehow available. Just wait until after tonight because the Isles don’t play and then nobody does from the 23rd through the 25th.
John Tavares – Two assists with four shots and two PIM. He’s been struggling quite a bit the last month so hopefully this is a sign of things to come. I wouldn’t look to sell him or buy him for that matter, I’d just hold if you had him.
Kevin Shattenkirk – Goal on five shots. Really rounding into form right now, just needs to get the plus-minus up.
Paul Stastny – Two assists playing over 22 minutes. He’s been bumped back onto the top line for now so grab him if he’s available.
Shayne Gostisbehere – Two assists with a shot. Ghost keeps rolling and now has 6+6 in just 17 games. Hopefully the minutes start to increase because it’s clearly warranted.
Wayne Simmonds – Two goals on three shots. The goals are lacking compared to past years, as are the special teams points but Simmonds has 82 PIM already to make up for it. He’s almost winning PIM in weeks for people by himself.
Jakub Voracek – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Buy low if you can. The assists are starting to come through and he only has 3 goals on 100 shots; that will certainly fix itself.
Boone Jenner – Goal on two shots plus seven PIM. He’s slowed down quite a bit but he’s still a great source of goals and penalty minutes.
Matt Murray– 22 saves on 24 shots in the 5-2 over Columbus. Mike Sullivan was impressed with Murray in his first start so he went back to him on Monday and Murray played well enough again. He looks to have the inside track to starts while Marc-Andre Fleury is concussed so if you need starts from goalie, Murray can be an okay option.
Phil Kessel – Two goals on four shots. Finally into the double digits in goals as he’s been struggling like the vast majority of the Pens roster. Like Tavares, I’m just holding if I have Kessel.
Evgeni Malkin – Two goals on two shots with two PIM. He’s probably the only bright spot for the Pens this year outside of Fleury in net. He’s almost up to a point per game and piling up the penalty minutes.
David Perron – Two assists with a shot. He’s been incredibly disappointing and I still haven’t seen enough for him to warrant a roster spot in a 12’er.
Philipp Grubauer – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 win over Carolina. Apparently it doesn’t matter who is net for the Capitals right now, they will stop almost all of the shots.
John Carlson – Assist with two shots. On a night where the top 6 of the Capitals did nothing, Carlson was the only fantasy relevant skater for the Caps to get on the score sheet. He’s still killing it.
Dustin Tokarski – 11 saves on 14 shots before getting pulled. Man, the Canadiens are a hot mess between the pipes right now. I couldn’t bring myself to own Tokarski or Mike Condon (3 saves on 4 shots) in any league right now and I’m looking to stream against the Canadiens every game until Carey Price returns.
Alex Galchenyuk – Goal on seven shots. I said in my preseason rankings here that I thought Gally’s big breakthrough was a couple years away. Based on what I’ve seen from him this year, I think it’s next season. I’ll be looking to draft him next year in as many leagues as possible.
Calle Jarnkrok – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Not as good of a stream call as Uncle Leo but a great stream nonetheless. I’ll be looking to keep streaming Jarnkrok as long as he stays in the top 6.
Roman Josi – Goal and an assist with a shot. Hotter than a pistol right now.
Shea Weber – Goal and two assists with five shots. What’s hotter than a pistol? Weber is that right now.
Colin Wilson – Goal and two assists with a shot and two PIM. I had Wilson ranked 199 preseason and he’s far off that to this point. That said, he’s one decent goal streak from being close to last year’s 20+20 season so there’s still hope there. I’m not owning him though at this point, I’m looking to stream him in the right matchups.
Vernon Fiddler – Two goals on his only shots of the game. Fiddler isn’t fantasy relevant outside of the deepest of leagues but I just wanted to acknowledge his solid play in the Stars bottom 6. Guys like him go a long way in helping teams progress in the playoffs because of their possession ability and being able to chip in the occasional goal.
Tyler Seguin – Goal and an assist with six shots. As hot as Patrick Kane has been, Seguin is only four points behind him with a game in hand. The points race is going to be crazy this year between Kane and the big two for the Stars.
Charlie Coyle – Goal and an assist with four shots. Outside of leagues that count hits, Coyle isn’t ownable in 12’ers barring an injury to a center in the Wild’s top 6. If that happens and Coyle gets the bump, grab him immediately because there’s a ton of talent there waiting to be showcased.
Justin Fontaine – Two assists with two shots. Replace center with winger in the previous sentences about Coyle and you have my thoughts on Fontaine. The problem is Fontaine probably wouldn’t be the first person bumped up.
Nino Niederreiter – Goal and an assist with five shots. Same as Fontaine except he probably would be the first guy who gets bumped so Nino gets first priority on the fantasy radar.
Jared Spurgeon – Goal on two shots with two PIM after inking a new extension with the Wild. He’s played great on the first pair for most of the season so it was a well-deserved contract.
Tyler Bozak – Hat trick on five shots. If you had Bozak having more points than his best friend Phil Kessel at Christmas, raise your hand. Put your hand down, liar! I still wouldn’t own Bozak in 12’ers, mostly for the lack of shots.
Jake Gardiner – Four assists and two PIM. He’s been incredibly disappointing this year from a fantasy perspective as the four assists matched his previous 28 games. Mike Babcock has used Gardiner in a defensive role gutting his value.
James van Riemsdyk – Goal and two assists with three shots. He’s been a great mid round value for people so far having dodged the big negative plus-minus most expected.
Erik Johnson – Goal and an assist with two shots. It’s a shame the offense never fully developed. Very good player but there could have been so much more there.
Jack Skille – Two goals on three shots. And there’s your annual Jack Skille update!
Connor Hellebuyck – 11 saves on 14 shots before getting pulled. First really rough game for Hellboy; I still expect him to be the main man going forward for the Jets.
Bryan Little – Goal on seven shots. It still feels like it’s a secret that Little is a true first line center.
Cam Talbot – 44 saves on 45 shots in the 3-1 win over the Jets. Prince Cam! Just when it looked like Anders Nilsson was going to run away with the job, Talbot has two incredible starts in three games. I’m not rushing to add Talbot but this situation is worth monitoring.
Leon Draisaitl – Two assists with a shot. I called Draisaitl a must-add after his second game here and that was clearly the correct decision. This run is incredible.
Taylor Hall – Three assists with two shots and two PIM. Can’t stop, won’t stop. Just stay healthy.
Teddy Purcell – Two goals and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Must own right now on the top line and fairly big minutes.
Tuesday Streamers: There are 10 games on Tuesday night and with three days off for the whole league after tonight, make sure to have a full roster today if you don’t have a season long cap on moves. Here are my top three choices:
Ryan Spooner (29.3% owned) – He’s on fire right now and should be owned pretty much everywhere. No idea why he’s still this low owned. The Blues aren’t the best matchup but they will be on the second of a back to back and had to travel tonight.
Tobias Rieder (9.9%) – Rieder has four points in the last four games and gets the Leafs on the second of a back to back needing to travel plus they’re playing a wide open game right now.
Charlie Coyle (1.5) – Going against the Canadiens, it can’t be a bad idea to stream anyone. Coyle is coming off a solid game and should get plenty of opportunity.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back Wednesday with a recap of the big Tuesday slate. Watch some hockey tonight, it’s the last time you’ll be able to until after Christmas! As always, feel free to ask any questions and post any comments below. Take care everyone!
