I know evisceration seems like I’m going too far but the Panthers had control of their game against Toronto from the first shift of the game. Florida scored 18 seconds in and led the rest of the way winning the game 7-2. Their leading scorer was Thomas Vanek who notched four assists, a career high, with four shots on goal finishing +3. Vanek was struggling since arriving in Florida with only one point in five games while being -7. Now, his overall stat line seems pretty good after this explosion. The Panthers schedule is very fantasy-friendly down the stretch making Vanek as good of a streamer as there is. Is he worth holding? Well, that’s to be determined. While the matchups are tough, the Panthers have three games in four nights starting on Thursday morning. I’m probably going to grab Vanek, ride him through the weekend and then proceed from there. Here’s what else happened around the league on Tuesday night:
Josh Ho-Sang – Goal and an assist with three shots. Streamer success! It’s also extremely encouraging that Ho-Sang was out there in overtime with John Tavares, who scored the winner. Keep streaming the young man.
Thomas Greiss – 30 saves on 32 shots in the 3-2 win over the Hurricanes. He bounced back from yesterday’s disaster with a strong performance. There is talk that they will recall Jaroslav Halak (they must have heard my rant on yesterday’s podcast) but I still think Greiss will be the guy down the stretch regardless.
Elias Lindholm – Goal on five shots. Simply restating my affection for Lindholm’s game in dynasties.
Nicklas Backstrom – Three assists with two shots and two PIM. Just an incredible season for Backstrom that I quite frankly didn’t expect.
John Carlson – Two assists with five shots. Carlson was in a rough streak before the last two games. It’s no coincidence that Kevin Shattenkirk was suspended for those games. You can’t cut Carlson but temper your expectations.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with three shots. Finally the goal drought is over! I’m still expecting a big finish from The Great Eight.
Braden Holtby – 30 saves on 32 shots in the 4-2 win over the Wild. Now the division race is back on, look for Holtby to get more starts down the stretch than I expected.
Patrick Kane – Goal and two assists with four shots and two PIM. Kane has been on an absurd tear since February started and now he’s in the league lead for points again. He’s clearly in the top tier again next season but it’s still hard to say where he will slot between pick 1 & 6.
Corey Crawford – 40 saves on 42 shots in the 4-2 win over the Canadiens. That’s two games in a row that Crawford has stood on his head making 40+ saves. Like Holtby, Crawford is going to get a ton of starts and probably all of them until Scott Darling returns.
Brendan Gallagher – Assist with six shots. He’s not setting the world on fire but if you need shots, grab Gallagher. He has 25 in the past 5 games.
Brayden Point – Goal on three shots playing almost 22 minutes. Streamer success! Keep using him right now. Reid argued on the podcast that you should hold him and I can’t really disagree with him.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Senators. He’s playing out of his mind solidifying himself as a #1 goalie for next season and in dynasties.
Mike Condon – 35 saves on 37 shots taking the loss. Craig Anderson is out with a lower body injury. We don’t know the severity but for now, grab Condon if you need starts.
Frederik Andersen – 5 saves on 8 shots in the first period before being pulled. It wasn’t his fault but as I’ve talked about for months, it’s a complete roller coaster owning Andersen.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal and an assist with two shots. Three consecutive multi-point games for Sasha leaves me wondering how good his numbers would be if he didn’t miss 15 games. Despite the lack of penalty minutes, he’ll be in my top 50 again next season.
Jussi Jokinen – Goal and an assist with two shots. There are simply better streaming options available at this point.
Jonathan Marchessault – Two goals on three shots with two PIM. He’s heating up again but I think Marchessault is more of a top-end streamer than a hold.
Vincent Trocheck – Two assists with two shots. The goals have dried up but Trocheck has six assists in the past four. It’ll be close but I’d guess he sneaks into my top 100 again.
Keith Yandle – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s already owned everywhere but Yandle gets a big boost while Aaron Ekblad is out.
James Reimer – 28 saves on 30 shots getting the win against his former team. This ends a short rough patch; I’d keep using Reimer in all leagues.
Cam Talbot – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 7-1 win over the Stars. Talbot has started virtually every game for the Oilers this season and I see no reason to expect a change.
Leon Draisaitl – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Odds are I’ll be lower on Draisaitl than most next season. With no PIM and a below-average shot rate, you’re banking on a ton of points to meet value. Some bad luck in his shooting percentage could really hurt him. I’m not talking absurdly low but he’ll be outside of my top 50.
Zack Kassian – Two assists. Once upon a time I thought Kassian had elite fantasy potential. That turned out to be completely wrong.
Milan Lucic – Two assists with two shots. He’s picked things up lately but the problem is that the penalty minutes have dried up. Lucic is a streamer but nothing more.
Patrick Maroon – Goal and an assist with two shots. Always in play as a streamer while he’s on the top line but Maroon hasn’t been consistent enough to hold.
Jack Eichel – Goal on three shots. Good thing he only played 14 minutes. Dan Bylsma is the worst.
Martin Jones – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 4-1 win over the Sabres. His numbers are almost the exact same as last season which is obviously great. Save percentage keeps him from the top tier but Jones is a safe #1.
Logan Couture – Goal and an assist with three shots. Noted Bills fan Logan Couture had to get multiple points against the other Buffalo team, no choice. His goal was incredibly fluky but they all count the same. Couture has been solid yet unspectacular.
Joe Pavelski – Two goals on three shots. Mr. Consistency making sure that 30+40 happens once again.
Joe Thornton – Two assists with a shot. Meh.
Max Domi – Two goals on six shots. I’m still a huge fan of Domi for dynasties. If this recent shot outburst is an indicator of the future, he has top 50 potential.
Louis Domingue – 44 saves on 46 shots in the 3-2 SO win over the Kings. I still want nothing to do with him.
Anze Kopitar – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Nothing you can really do but roll Kopitar and hope for the best.
Tyler Toffoli – Two goals on six shots. This season has been a nightmare for Toffoli; I was the lowest on him on FantasyPros but it’s been much worse than I expected. I expect him to bounce back next season but it’s still not anywhere near a top 50 guy like other outlets had him ranked.
Ben Bishop – 30 saves on 32 shots taking the loss. He made some huge saves in this game but it wasn’t enough after Domi tied it up late. Use him when he starts but Bishop isn’t worth holding while he’s relegated to backup duty.
Wednesday Streamers:
Jake Guentzel (16.9%) – As talked about in the podcast linked above and every set of daily notes over the last 10 days, Guentzel is must-own right now. A game against Philly is perfect to keep the heater going.
Patrik Berglund (10.2%) – A game that suddenly has increased playoff repercussions, I like the Blues to go into Anaheim and win tonight. Berglund is still centering the second line and is receiving power play time so use him tonight.
Mikko Rantanen (7.1%) – He’s ice cold right now and I know this will sound crazy but I kind of like the spot for the Avalanche tonight. My faith in the Red Wings is near nil.
That’s all for now guys. The next thing posted will be a podcast which should go up early Thursday morning. As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below. Thanks for reading, take care!
