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Hello everyone. Welcome to the twenty-second edition of JOT This Down! Keep the questions, comments, and concerns coming. I’ll be here all week to answer any and everything you may have. With the fantasy season dwindling, the slate is what matters most this time of year. Be sure to drop fringe players if they only play 2 games, and replace them with guys that will play 4 games.
Fantasy Hockey Weekly Newsletter: Week 21 Hello everyone. Welcome to the twenty-first edition of JOT This Down! Keep the questions, comments, and concerns coming. I’ll be here all week to answer any and everything you may have.
There was a lot of craziness around the NHL on President's Day, but nothing topped the game in Minnesota.  At one point late in the second period, the Canucks looked in complete control up 5-2.  Two minutes and seventeen seconds of game time later, Minnesota was up 6-5.  And if that wasn't enough, there were still six more goals!  The Wild beat the Canucks 10-7, and to wash it down, they played a paltry 6-3 game on Tuesday, a loss to the Jets.  Nothing like 13-13 aggregate over two nights.  On Monday, it was all of the stars for the Wild, as those four goals in a 2:17 span were all on the power play, three of which were 5 on 3.  Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov had three goals and three assists... each!  Mats Zuccarello and Matt Boldy had a goal and three assists... each!  On Tuesday, Kaprizov had a goal and an assist, while Marco Rossi had two goals on five shots.  Both goalies were shelled, and right now, it's hard to trust either of them.  For the moment, the Wild look like a four star team, Faber is a clear hold, and Brodin is on the fringe.  Rossi is a solid streamer, and gamble if you'd like on their goalies.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
After his big breakout last season, Martin Necas has had a rough go of it this season.  Much like his team, he's started to turn his game around over the last month.  Since coming back from a two week injury on January 19th, when Necas had 9 goals on the season, he has seven goals in seven games, culminating with a natural hat trick in the first period against the Avalanche on Thursday.  On top of the goals, Necas has been taking a ton of shots.  He's averaging five shots on goal per game in the past seven, with 4+ in six of the last seven games.  If you're lucky enough to be in the 20% of leagues that Necas is available in, grab him immediately.  If you've held onto him, here's to hoping he keeps up this form to make up for the poor first half.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
We're very close to the All-Star break with most teams starting their extended break on Sunday.  If you look at defensemen production, specifically in goals, you see notable names at the top.  Dahlin leads defensemen in goals, and then there's a four way tie behind him with notables like Makar and Hughes.  None of that is a surprise.  Weegar is one of those tied with Makar and Hughes, which is very surprising, but he went into the season locked into a big role, so let's assume he had some good fortune.  But Thomas Harley?  He's a player I really liked in dynasties, but to be one goal off the league lead for defensemen?  Not even close to my radar.  Harley scored two goals on Saturday, including the overtime winner for a second straight game, in the 5-4 win over the Capitals.  That gives Harley a whopping 12 goals in 46 games.  "Even with Heiskanen back, Harley was a factor.  I’m still holding Harley even though I wasn’t expecting to when Heiskanen came back.  He’s been that good for the Stars."  And that's me quoting me from three days ago copying what Grey does!  Somehow, Harley is still available in almost two-thirds of fantasy leagues.  With the pool of defensemen dropping off hard at the bottom, Harley should be owned in all formats.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
It's not too often that we get a day in the NHL where all 32 teams play.  On Saturday, we were treated to sixteen games spread out over the entire day and it did not disappoint.  The Oilers set a franchise record with their 10th win in a row, the Avalanche came from 3-0 down to beat Toronto, and the Flyers snapped the Jets point streak, amongst other things.  There were a lot of big performances along the way, but Connor Ingram's 38 save shutout was one of the highlights.  So I was right about a Coyotes goalie being a top 15 goalie, I just failed to pick the backup who showed little in the NHL before this season, whoops!  Arizona continues to stay right around the wild card spots, and Ingram is the biggest reason why.  Don't be surprised if they ride him more in the second half if he can maintain anything close to this .919 sv%, assuming Vejmelka doesn't turn it around.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
It wouldn't be this Buffalo Sabres season if they didn't blow out an elite team after getting buried by a bottom feeder.  The Sabres beat Toronto 9-3 on Thursday, becoming the first team in 40 years to score 9 goals in a game after conceding 9 in their previous game.  Does this change my opinion on anyone on the Sabres?  No, not really, they're just going to be an up and down team.  The one notable thing is that Jack Quinn scored a goal on three shots with four PIM in his second game of the season.  Quinn had a solid rookie season but suffered an Achilles injury in the offseason, setting back his sophomore season.  It's encouraging that even with a fully healthy lineup, Quinn's line was getting plenty of usage.  He's a middling streamer for now, but there's upside to an elite streamer this season, while Quinn has clear potential to be a permanent hold for years in dynasties.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
To change up from my usual daily notes, I'll be looking at one player on each NHL team today.  All of them had a change in value recently, and I'll look at how they're doing it and what it says about them going forward.  Let's get to it! Anaheim is in dire straits right now.  It's no surprise that they plummeted down the standings after a hot start.  The good news is that Mason McTavish should be back any game now (Zegras sooner than later).  McTavish is the only Duck that I consider a definite hold when healthy.  He's been dropped in a few places because he was never put on IR, but if you're in one of those leagues, I'd grab him.