After a hat trick over the weekend, Michael Frolik came back with another monster game on Wednesday night scoring a goal and adding two assists in the 4-1 win over the Jets. Despite this recent hot streak, I’m still leaving Frolik on the waiver wire. His numbers on the season are still pedestrian and the consistency is lacking. That said, I can guarantee you Frolik will be one of my Friday streamers (spoiler alert!) because you might as well ride the hot streak in your playoff run. Here’s what else I saw around the league on Wednesday night:
Ben Scrivens – 41 saves on 43 shots in the 3-2 overtime win over the Sabres. It was the first time in months that a Canadiens goalie stole the game. Scrivens is a clear “desperate for starts” guy; this game got his goals against average barely under 3 and save percentage barely over .900.
Andrei Markov – Goal on three shots with twelve PIM playing over 30 minutes. Clear must own as long as P.K. Subban is out.
Alex Galchenyuk – Assist and two shots. You can literally see the heat coming off Gally when he’s on the ice right now. Absurd how good he’s playing.
Zach Bogosian – Goal on eight shots with fourteen PIM. The minutes are big and the shots are outstanding right now so I’d own Bogo in 12’ers.
Ryan O’Reilly – Assist and three shots playing over 22 minutes in his first game back from injury. Get him back in your lineups now.
Rasmus Ristolainen – Assist and three shots. He’s slowed down quite a bit down the stretch but it doesn’t change how much I like him next season. He should easily get to 10+30 with great shots and special teams points as a 21 year old; it’s only going to get better.
Michal Neuvirth – 24 saves on 26 shots in the 3-2 win in Chicago. Amazing that the Flyers would be in the playoffs right now. It’s hard to predict who is going to get the starts for the Flyers but both goalies are worthy of starting down the stretch.
Sean Couturier – Two assists and four shots. Watching him play always leaves me wanting more offensively. There’s value here in deep leagues but not enough for 12’ers.
Wayne Simmonds – Assist and three shots. Dude is a tank and has been one of the biggest difference makers the last two months.
Jonathan Toews – Goal on three shtos with two PIM. The Blackhawks changed their lines for the first time in months putting Patrick Kane (assist and two shots) on the same line. If this sticks, it’s a nice boost to Toews’ value for the rest of the season.
Marian Hossa – Goal on four shots. Didn’t hurt him being separated from Toews.
Jake Allen – 21 saves on 26 shots in the 6-4 loss against the Oilers. Yuck. That’s three duds in a row for Allen at the worst time possible. You have to keep rolling him though and hope it turns around.
David Backes – Two goals on three shots with two PIM. He’ll be more of a mid round pick this year instead of being in the top 100 like he has been. The offensive role just isn’t for him right now and to be fair, his game has taken a step back.
Jaden Schwartz – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Schwartz is hotter than a pistol right now; better late than never.
Mark Letestu – Two goals and an assist with three shots. There’s some value here in deep leagues, especially leagues that count faceoffs, but he doesn’t do near enough for 12’ers.
Patrick Maroon – Two assists with two PIM. Maroon has seen an all-time high in minutes since he got to Edmonton and is playing with great talent. He’s an elite streamer for me in 12’ers and should be owned in 14’ers or deeper.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Two goals on four shots. RNH seems to be the forgotten man in Edmonton and there’s talk he can be moved in the offseason. If that happens, whoever gets him is going to be so lucky.
Nail Yakupov – Two assists. Another guy who leaves you wanting more when you watch him. I hope Yak is the guy Edmonton moves because I think the change of scenery can help him the most.
Connor McDavid – Two assists and four shots. Kid is a sicko, plain and simple.
Jordan Oesterle – Two assists playing almost 23 minutes. There’s not a ton of upside here but with how bad the Oilers defense is, I hope he gets the rest of the season to show off his talents. I find it hard to believe Oesterle is worse than most of the guys the Oilers trot out there.
Semyon Varlamov – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 3-1 win over the Canucks. His save percentage is back to above average and has won more than half of his starts. If the Avalanche can improve defensively, Varlamov has top 10 upside.
Mikkel Boedker – Two goals on three shots. To be blunt, Boedker will be really good playing with elite talent as long as he starts taking shots.
Henrik Sedin Goal on his only shot, naturally assisted by Daniel Sedin. Cyborgs! The Canucks would be atrocious without these two. I don’t even know who their third best player is right now but it’s ugly.
Drew Stafford – Goal on two shots. Last week, I said the following here: “Grab him everywhere you can before he really takes off. He’s sure to produce getting that many minutes.” Stafford has had a point in every game since and is a clear must-own right now.
Blake Wheeler – Assist and three shots with two PIM. Wheeler is as consistent as they come and with elite talent developing around them, he should keep producing at an top end level as he exits his prime.
Mark Giordano – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. He’s a good bet to get to 20+30 with solid numbers everywhere else. Only concern is that he’ll be 33 going into next year. He’ll probably be in the third tier next season.
Mikael Backlund – Two assists with two shots. He’s heating up with Frolik but like Frolik, just leave him out there to stream, don’t hold.
Joe Colborne – Goal and an assist. There’s value in 16’ers but not much for anything shallower.
Joni Ortio – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 4-1 win over the Jets. He’s been starting almost every game down the stretch so if you’re desperate for starts, Ortio fits the bill.
Antti Raanta – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 2-1 win over the Ducks. Keep streaming him when he plays.
Kevin Klein – Two goals on six shots. I like Klein in deep leagues that include all of the categories but there’s generally not enough offense here otherwise.
Jamie McGinn – Goal on three shots. He slowed down a bit after a hot start in Anaheim but McGinn is still a nice streamer while he’s in the top 6.
Thursday Streamers – There’s a nice slate tonight with eight games on the docket with the start times nicely spread out. Here are my top three options:
Valeri Nichushkin (6.1%) – The Stars offense is starting to pick it up and Nuke is playing with Jason Spezza and Tyler Seguin right now.
Anthony Mantha (0.4%) – He’s one of the best offensive prospects in the game and got the chance to play in the top 6 right away. Mantha had 4 shots on goal in his debut and gets a great matchup in his game against the Blue Jackets.
Joonas Donskoi (0.3%) – Going back to the well. Donskoi is coming off a multi point game and gets a nice matchup against the Coyotes.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back tomorrow recapping all of Thursday’s games. As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below. Take care everyone!
