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The Leafs were coming off a dominant victory over the Rangers heading into a home game against Columbus.  They managed to go down 5-0 in the second, and it was that way heading into the third period.  Then, as we've seen in the past, Toronto made a massive rally, tying the game with 45 seconds left to earn a point.  Then, like usual, they managed to lose anyways.  The 6-5 OT win for Columbus is one of the craziest games you'll ever seen.  Auston Matthews led the comeback with two goals and an assist with nine shots.  Patrik Laine scored an early goal before leaving the game injured, while Kent Johnson was the hero.  The former fifth overall pick had two goals and an assist, including the game winner.  It's undeniably been a slow start to Johnson's career.  However, for most players, it takes time, and we're starting to see the signs.  Johnson now has six points in his last four games, and if Laine is down for a while, we could see Johnson becoming a fantasy factor.  For now, I'm bumping him up to middling streamer, but he's definitely worth monitoring.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
How does Sidney Crosby keep getting better at 36 years old?  Crosby had a hat trick and an assist on Tuesday, leading the Penguins to a 5-3 win over the Blue Jackets.  He opened the scoring in the game, he got the lead back in the last six minuets and then sealed the game with an empty netter.  That brings Crosby to 10 goals and 9 assists in 14 games while pushing four shots per game.  He's on a nine game point streak and is a top 20 forward again.  With the arrival of Erik Karlsson (goal and an assist, two shots), Crosby has a great chance of getting to 100 points for the first time in five seasons and 40 goals for the first time since 2016-17.  I think at this point, he has to be considered a top five player of all-time.  If you have him in fantasy, enjoy it, because there's no reason to expect regression.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Mason McTavish had an ADP of 250 this season.  I had him ranked at 176th overall.  While I wasn't fully convinced he would make a huge leap in his sophomore season, his upside is so high that I thought he was a worthwhile gamble towards the end of your drafts.  It's paid massive dividends in the early going, and McTavish had his best game to date on Monday.  He scored two goals and an assist with five shots and two PIM, including the shorthanded winner with 13 seconds left in the game.  McTavish now has 5+6 in 11 games with a good shot rate, plus-minus and PIM.  McTavish is still available in almost 70% of leagues, which is blasphemous.  I've been holding onto him since the draft in a ten man league, and think it's become clear that he needs to be held everywhere.  In dynasties, he's a top 50 keeper.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Two teams that have had massive up and downs clinched a playoff berth on Tuesday.  The Jets did it by themselves, beating the Wild 3-1 on the back of Connor Hellebuyck.  The Panthers clinched because the Penguins had the worst loss of my time at Razzball, losing to the tanking Chicago Blackhawks.  Petr Mrazek made 38 saves in a game that made the fans of both teams furious, and a bunch of other fans happy.  Now, the Penguins need the Islanders to lose to Montreal tomorrow to make the playoffs.  It would be crazy for Washington and Pittsburgh's playoff streaks to end in the same year.  Here's a quick rundown of what happened over the last two nights:
I don't know how many people have watched Eastbound and Down, but every time there's a game with huge implications, I just want to yell " a f***ing showdown!" Monday had Kings vs. Flames, a crucial battle, and the Flames had their door blown off.  The Kings went up 4-0 in the first, and ended up smoking the Flames 8-2.  Despite the blowout, there wasn't a lot of headliners for the Kings, but the one was Adrian Kempe.  Kempe had two goals and an assist to bring him up to 34 goals and 21 assists, ready to set a career high in both.  Their schedule isn't ideal, but Kempe has played himself into a level where he's worth holding regardless.  Let's take a look at the last two nights:
Even with Columbus up 4-0 halfway through the game, it never felt remotely close to over.  In the span of the first four minutes of the third period, the Penguins turned a 4-1 deficit into a 4-4 battle.  A careless overtime penalty set the stage for Sidney Crosby to score the overtime game winner to complete the comeback.  Crosby had a goal and two assists with four shots in the win, setting up a game on Thursday with the Islanders for the first wild card spot.  While he's not at his peak anymore, Crosby still has a chance for 100 points again.  You don't need me to tell you how good Crosby is, but where he'll rank going into next season is an interesting debate.  My guess is that it's somewhere around 20th overall, a clear second rounder in drafts, but perhaps it's a few spots above that.  Even at 36, he's given us no reason to expect him to slow down.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
We had a game of the year performance on Monday night by Connor Hellebuyck.  Hellebuyck saved 50 of 51 shots in the 4-1 win over the Rangers, ending their winning streak.  One of my best rankings this season over ADP was banking on Hellebuyck to bounce back after last season's disaster.  I even said in my bold prediction that he'd win the Vezina, which Ullmark will probably ruin, but his season has certainly been Vezina worthy.  But enough of patting myself on the back.  Hellebuyck is sitting with a 2.39/.926, putting him in a battle with Oettinger for the #2 overall goalie to this point (the gap to #4 is massive).  He's as good of a bet as any to finish the best goalie for the rest of the season considering the top end volume.  Bottom line, Hellebuyck is entering his prime now and since he gets to play in a Bowness system, he should stay in tier one for the indefinite future.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Happy Saturday, Razzball puck enthusiasts! MarmosDad is back for a quick set of notes and numbers ahead of a healthy slate of games for Saturday night. Our top pick for the day is about as chalk as it gets with the renaissance of Erik Karlsson (DK: $7,700) in the Shark Tank. Karlsson has 73 points in 56 games and is on pace to pass the 100 point mark with 109 projected points. He would be the first D-man to hit that mark since Brian Leetch in 1991-1992, and just the 6th defenceman to do so in NHL history. Throw your guesses in the comments if you can figure out/remember the other names!
While the NFL steals the spotlight during Championship Week, the Rangers started the weekend blowing out two top teams in Seattle and Carolina.  They scored six goals in both games to bring their winning streak up to five.  While it was a group effort on Friday, Artemi Panarin stole the show on Saturday.  The Breadman scored four goals and an assist with five shots and two PIM against Carolina, after dishing an assist against the Kraken.  Gallant shuffled the lines after Tarasenko's arrival, with Vincent Trocheck and Jimmy Vesey playing with Panarin again, setting up two of his goals.  It was Panarin's third three-point game in his last eight, as he starts to heat up.  While he hasn't approached his point production of his first three seasons in New York, Panarin is still on pace for 90+ points.  That shows what kind of floor he has and why he's worthy of an early draft pick every year.  Despite lower shots and PIM/hits, even his below average year (by his standards) is a top 50 player.  Who knows, Panarin could finish the season on a massive heater and finally get to 100 points.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Matthew Tkachuk entered the All-Star break on a massive hot streak.  He continued it at the All-Star Game, winning MVP honors.  Needless to say, it was continued on Monday night against their rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Tkachuk had two goals and three assists with six shots in the 7-1 win over Tampa, going +5 in the process.  Tkachuk has managed to blow last season's 42+62 out of the water to this point.  He's the #3 forward overall on the season and has the most balanced stat line of everyone in the entire league.  Marchand was a top five forward for years because of his all-around contribution.  Now, that spot is Tkachuk's.  He's every bit of a top five player now and going forward.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
The Senators have been a disappointment this season despite their big forward acquisitions in the summer.  Turns out that you can't get away with completely ignoring the blue line and being forced to give bad players big minutes.  Anyways, we don't care about that for fantasy, we care about their scoring, and their top players have largely delivered.  Claude Giroux had a great weekend, totaling three goals and two assists with ten shots over two games.  Giroux is having his best goal scoring season since his monstrous 34 goal, 102 point season in 2017-18.  Unsurprisingly, that season and this season are Giroux's two highest shooting percentages, but it seems a bit more sustainable in this environment in Ottawa.  Even with an inconsistent PP1 role, Giroux has still played his way into being a bottom end hold in all formats.  The one problem is that after Ottawa's game on Tuesday, they don't play again until February 11th.  My biggest point here with bottom end holds over these bye weeks is that you need to know your league format and whether the waiver wire is strong enough that you can drop someone like Giroux to get more games.  In head to head leagues, volume is king, so you can make a case after Tuesday that you can let him go for players with a bunch of games after the All-Star break. In roto, I would hold onto Giroux without hesitation.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend: