Last year, Filip Forsberg was one of the biggest breakouts of the NHL season. I had him ranked in the top 50 preseason and was a disappointment so far this year. Signs of a return to last year’s dominance have been seen in the last few games and it finally happened Tuesday night, scoring two goals on eight shots and adding an assist in the 5-2 win over Arizona. He’s up to 24 shots in the last 5 games which is a good sign that the goals are coming. It may be too late after Tuesday but with 5 goals in 24 games, perhaps his owner is fed up with him and you can try to add him in a trade. Here’s what else I saw on a busy Tuesday night:
Tyson Barrie – Goal on two shots. Starting to heat up getting to 15 points in 23 games. It seems like he hasn’t done much but at that pace, he’d have another 50 point season.
Matt Duchene – Goal on four shots. It wasn’t that long ago that he was one of the biggest disappointments of the year and people were asking me if they should cut him. Now he has 13 goals and 10 assists in 25 games.
Reto Berra – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 2-1 win over New Jersey. His numbers are very solid on the season outside of wins. The quantity of starts isn’t going to be there but if you need someone to spot start on your team, Berra is a solid option that is available in most leagues.
Nick Foligno – Goal on his only shot with 5 PIM. I had him ranked lower than almost everywhere but I didn’t expect him to have two goals at this point of the year. Even with Torts there, the minutes aren’t there so I don’t expect much of a turn around.
Max Pacioretty – Goal on four shots. Patches was on a cold streak but now he has points in five straight. Firmly in the top 20 going forward.
Mike Condon – 22 saves on 23 shots in the win. He had struggled in the last few games but with Carey Price out at least six weeks, it’s his job going forward.
Sean Couturier – Goal and two assists with four shots and two PIM. The offense never developed as much as I thought it would in the pros, partially because they choose to use him as a shutdown guy and partially because he hasn’t shown that he can contribute offensively on a regular basis. Unless your league counts faceoff wins, I can’t see Couts being relevant going forward.
Wayne Simmonds – Goal and an assist with two shots. Called it in the big Monday morning recap, he’s heating up <in NBA Jam voice>!
Shayne Gostisbehere – Goal on three shots. Absolutely must own at this point.
Mike Hoffman – Goal on three shots. Hotter than a pistol!
Evander Kane – Two goals on six shots with four PIM. This is the Kane that I envisioned in preseason; he was the best player on the ice in a game full of star players. I’d buy low if you can following his long time off due to injury.
Zemgus Girgensons – Goal and an assist with three shots. Not grabbing him yet but he moved to the power play for Tuesday’s game (and promptly scored) and was moved to the second line to play on Jack Eichel‘s wing. If that sticks going forward, Zemgus will be a great streamer at the least.
Rasmus Ristolainen – Three assists with four shots. I love it when I’m right! I plan on owning him everywhere I can next year! And this is me repeatedly repeating myself again about how much I love Risto!
Linus Ullmark – 42 saves on 46 shots in the shootout loss. Only want to mention Ullmark because the Sabres could have given up 10 goals if he didn’t play as well as he did. Chad Johnson has played well recently so I’m not sure how much action he gets but in easier matchups, he’s a great stream.
Justin Abdelkader – Two goals and an assist with three shots and seven PIM. Amazing line; he’s not at last year’s levels but that wasn’t expected. He’s on the first line still and holds plenty of fantasy value.
Gustav Nyqvist – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. The minutes are starting to increase which is nice to see.
Tomas Tatar – Goal on four shots. Hopefully you bought low when you had the chance because that’s long gone now.
Derek MacKenzie – Two goals on three shots. And your random multiple goal scorer for the day is Derek MacKenzie!
Roberto Luongo – 29 saves on 30 shots in the win. He’d be on the fringe of the top 5 if he had the wins. Still incredibly solid nonetheless.
David Backes – Goal on three shots. His time on the first line unfortunately didn’t last long but the minutes will stay big.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Goal on four shots and two PIM. He’s even in plus-minus in the year which is excellent to see. Love him in dynasty leagues and he’s fringe top 10 for the rest of the season among defensemen.
Shea Weber – Three assists and three shots. Even after this game, he’s still only at 13 points in 24 games. I’m glad I had him ranked lower than anywhere else.
Calle Jarnkrok – Goal on four shots. The Predators shuffled their lines for Tuesday’s game and Jarnkrok was bumped up to the first line with Forsberg and Mike Ribiero (1+1 with two shots). It’s worth monitoring because if he sticks, Jarnkrok is a must add. He’ll be a top streamer for their next game.
Devan Dubnyk – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 2-1 win over Chicago. He’s not at last year’s level but he’s approaching top 10 goalie status going forward.
Zach Parise – Assist with four shots. Good to see him get back on the scoresheet after his injury.
Jason Pominville – Goal on six shots. After somehow going scoreless in the first 21 games, Pominville has scored in two straight. A hot streak is coming.
Mikael Granlund – Two assists and five shots. The return of Parise should help Granlund a great big going forward. I don’t expect it to stick but it’s great to see five shots.
Patrick Kane – Lone Blackhawks goal. That’s a 20 game point streak; what else is there to say?
Sean Monahan – Two assists and five shots. Another guy who has been poor but he’s one decent streak away from being at last year’s pace.
Dougie Hamilton – Goal on three shots. Call me crazy but I’d buy low on Hamilton if I can; there’s also the chance his owner cut him and you can pick him up for free. The minutes are going up, the shots are going up and the Flames offense is showing signs of life.
Jacob Markstrom – 38 saves on 40 shots in the 2-1 OT loss to the Kings. Outstanding performance to steal his team a point in the second of a back to back. He won’t get many games going forward but he’s a solid streamer when he does take the ice.
Anze Kopitar – Overtime game winner on his second shot off a sick feed from Jeff Carter. It’s sad the offense for Kopitar has fallen off. He’s playing excellent hockey but not from a fantasy perspective.
Marian Gaborik – Assist and two PIM. Still heating up! I’m adding him where you can; he’s available in a surprising number of leagues.
Marc-Andre Fleury – 33 saves on 34 shots in the win over San Jose. He’s a top 5 goalie right now, something I never thought I would say about the Flower.
Chris Kunitz – Two assists. Still a corpse of his former self. Not fantasy relevant at this point.
Evgeni Malkin – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM. That’s eight points in the last four games. Geno is as good as it gets right now.
David Perron – Goal on his only shot plus an assist. Massive disappointment so far this year and I’m not convinced that’s going to change.
Phil Kessel – Two goals on four shots. Like Malkin, things are starting to look up.
Wednesday Streamers: There are four games on the schedule so Wednesday should be a big streaming day. Here are my top options:
Leo Komarov (5.1% owned) – Going back to the well on this one. He’s hotter than a pistol and the matchup with the Jets is an okay one.
Frank Vatrano (0.1%) – On the top line against the Oilers. Doesn’t get much easier than that.
Oscar Lindberg (35.2) – Lindberg is much higher owned than the players I normally stream but I wanted to give him some spotlight. He’s the one who got the boost to the second line and onto the second power play unit so with the additional minutes, Lindberg is probably must own going forward. If you can, stream him for tomorrow and see how he does. I’ll be sure to write about him for Thursday morning.
That’s all for now guys. Enjoy the four game slate on Wednesday; the battle of New York should be a good one on NBCSN. As always, feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Take care everyone!
