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Nobody was expecting much from the Ducks this season, but they're currently on a five game winning streak to get them to a 6-4 record.  On Wednesday, their best player (for now) carried them, as Troy Terry scored a hat trick and an assist with six shots in the 4-3 OT win.  That brings Terry to 5+4 in ten games, averaging exactly three shots per game.  Terry is one of those guys who is always close to the fringe one way or the other.  Right now, I have him as a bottom end hold, but I don't expect that to hold for the rest of the season.  However, unlike the past few seasons, the talent around him is at such a higher level that he has more upside than usual.  While it probably won't last, you can see the core coming together for the Ducks, and it's only a matter of time until they become a force again.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
I was extremely bullish on Tyler Toffoli's fit with the Devils, even though he wasn't a lock to be on PP1.  "Before last season, Toffoli had never topped 31 goals or 29 assists, so expecting a repeat for a guy entering his 11th season in the league seems farfetched.  That said, it’s hard to pick a better spot to be in than New Jersey right now for even strength play.  People were worried about Toffoli’s power play role to open, but it looks like the Devils are starting with the two balanced unit approach.  Personally, I hate it, but it’s a big boost to the value of the guy who normally would be on PP2, which Toffoli looked to be.  I’m all the way in."  And that's me quoting me in my bold predictions saying Toffoli averages at least a point per game.  He was off to a solid start, but he had his first big game on Tuesday.  Toffoli scored a hat trick on six shots in a revenge game against the Canadiens.  That brings Toffoli to 4+2 in five games with 4.5 shots per game.  There's a real chance that he ends up as a top 50 player.  Let's take a look at what else happened in the Monday game and the Frozen Frenzy.
To say the injuries are piling up on Washington is an understatement.  They have six players on IR plus Orlov missed Monday's game.  The salaries of these players combines to over $40 million.  Washington pulled off the upset over the Oilers on Monday on the back of their power play.  Four of the five Capital goals came on the power play, with Evgeny Kuznetsov leading the charge with two goals, two assists, four shots and two PIM playing over 20 minutes.  It hasn't been the best start to the season for Kuz, but this will certainly help.  It's also encouraging that he has 3+ shots in five of his last seven games.  If I owned Kuz in fantasy, I would be patient.  With the lack of depth Washington is dealing with, the minutes should get back up towards the 20:17 he averaged last season.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
There's been plenty of bounce back players this season across the NHL.  One of them who hasn't received the attention of others is Ryan Johansen.  Johansen's career was strongly trending in the wrong direction the previous two seasons, including only 22 points in 48 games last season.  He has been decent most of the season, but really took once he moved to the top line.  His best game of the season was on Tuesday night, scoring his first career hat trick on seven shots in the 6-2 win over the Wild.  Johansen now has 20+34 on the season with 51 PIM.  Yes, Johansen's career has turned out to be a big disappointment with the way it was trending early on in Columbus, but it's nice to see him score 20 goals for the first time since 2014.  Remarkably, he's still 29 years old, so this level of play can be repeated next season.  For the rest of this one, Johansen is an elite streamer in standard leagues and a hold if your league doesn't include SOG as a category.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Who would have thought that a seven point game wouldn't get the opening?  It would take something extravagant and that's what happened, with Jason Robertson scoring back-to-back hat tricks. R0bertson carried the Stars to victory on Friday scoring three on seven shots, including the overtime winner.  He capped it off with an empty netter to seal the game against Minnesota on Sunday, totaling six shots and two PIM with his hat trick.  That brings Robertson to a whopping 29+25 in 47 games and three shots per game.  Robertson seemingly came out of nowhere last season to earn a second place finish in the Calder race.  Now, the sky appears to be the limit.  Robertson is still only 22 years old and has his center of the present and future already with him.  It looks like the Stars have their new Benn and Seguin.  They can only hope Hintz and Robertson reach that level, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.  I don't think Robertson quite cracks the top 20 for the rest of the season and next year, but he's a slam dunk top 50 player.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
We wrap up the forward rankings today with the Top 100.  If you've missed the early parts, you can start with the Top 60 here and go backwards from there.  In a few days, I'll have my Top 200 list out and before you know it, the season will be starting.  Let's get to it! 61) Bryan Rust - The point per game season will probably be an outlier, but Rust has a high floor no matter who his center is.  Like Guentzel, I wouldn't be surprised if the shot volume goes up a tad while Crosby and Malkin are out because the Penguins will need the puck on their sticks more.
Injuries are a part of the game, but always terrible to see.  Unfortunately, a Razzball favorite went down on Monday night.  Brendan Gallagher broke his thumb and is out multiple weeks.  If you have an IR spot, definitely stash him, but if you don't, you can sadly let him go.  So who gets the boost in Montreal?  Jesperi Kotkaniemi moved to the wing and took Gallagher's spot which boosts him up to a solid streamer from a middling one.  Eric Staal scored the overtime winner in his Canadiens debut and is now centering Toffoli and Drouin.  He looked completely shot in Buffalo, but maybe the trade plus the easier division rejuvenate him.  Let's see how he looks over the next couple games before we use him.  I also really like what I've seen from Josh Anderson lately who is playing more minutes.  The assists are brutal, but the goals and shots should be quite good.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
"Joonas Donskoi is pushing towards being an elite streamer.  Donskoi has eleven points in the past nine games while he received some shifts on the top PP unit on Monday as well."  And that's me quoting me from two days ago!  Well, Donskoi is certainly at that level now.  Donskoi had a hat trick in the first period on Wednesday, adding an assist and six shots in the 9(!)-3 win over the Coyotes.  Donskoi's third goal was on the PP with the top unit which does wonders for his value.  While he's this hot, Donskoi is worth holding.  I don't necessarily expect it to last, but he could easily stay an elite streamer for the rest of the season.  The way the Avalanche are playing right now, I want as much to do with their offense as possible.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Injuries have robbed us of an amazing Cale Makar season.  The good news is that he's back now and dominating games on a consistent basis.  Makar had three assists with four shots in Colorado's 5-2 win over the Ducks on Monday.  That brings Makar up to a point per game on the season with a +12 rating in 22 games that isn't a fluke at all.  We've seen a slight uptick in his shot rate this season, but a big jump there is what it will take for Makar to move into being a top five defenseman instead of being a middling to bottom end #1.  With how well he plays in his age 22 season, I have no doubt that it's coming.  For dynasties, I think he has to be the top defenseman.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Playing time has been the only thing that has stopped Alex Tuch from breaking out in the past.  It looked like he was going into the top six two seasons ago, but then the Golden Knights acquired Stone keeping Tuch on the third line.  Well, this season that has finally changed even though Stone is still on the team, mostly because the Karlsson line plays less minutes.  On Saturday, Stone left the game with a minor injury which led Tuch to being double shifted.  Even before that, Tuch was on a tear and it'll only get better with his increased workload.  Tuch scored two goals on six shots on Saturday after scoring a goal on Friday.  That brings Tuch up to 12 goals in 21 games, an excellent mark.  Sure, his shooting percentage is unsustainable, but the increase in minutes could counteract that a bit.  Tuch is still available in over 40% of leagues, so if you're lucky enough to be in one of them, grab him now.  Let's take a look at what else happpened over the weekend: