Poor Sergei Bobrovsky. After a horrible start, he catches fire for a month only to get a groin injury that sidelines him for a month. Then, he gets activated off injured reserve only to get in practice before he plays a game putting him out for a few more weeks. Bob finally gets healthy and who does he get in his first game back? The best team in the league so far, the Washington Capitals. Bob gave up 5 goals on 27 shots in the 6-3 loss. The question is do you panic? The answer is no. I’m blindly rolling Bob in every matchup going forward outside of two possible matchups; Washington and Chicago. Those depend how he’s playing in the games before hand but the point is that Bob will be fine. Here’s what else happened around the league on Tuesday night:
Johnny Gaudreau – Two assists with four shots. He’s back over a point per game now which is amazing considering the lack of production around him for most of the season. Gaudreau’s rank going into next season is an interesting discussion. Somewhere in the 25-30 range? The only thing that’s poor is the PIM.
Mark Giordano – Assist with two shots. Really starting to round into form.
Sean Monahan – Goal on five shots. He’s been disappointing for me; I had him in the top 50 going into the season. That said, he’s still only 21 years old and the future is incredibly bright.
Reid Boucher – Goal and an assist with four shots. The 22 year old is a recent callup and has looked good in his brief stint. He’s nowhere near a hold in 12’ers right now but it’s worth monitoring to see what his role is going forward.
Michael Cammalleri – Assist with a shot back from injury. If he’s available, grab him now.
Lee Stempniak – Goal and an assist with two shots. Like the entire Devils team, the offense has disappeared but with Cammalleri returning, hopefully Stempniak can return to his previous form.
Ryan Miller – 46 saves for the second consecutive game, stealing a point for the Canucks in the 3-2 OT loss to the Rangers. He played incredible and could be earning himself more starts going forward after it looked like Jacob Markstrom was going to be on the better side of the platoon. That said, the Canucks are awful right now and I wouldn’t be thrilled owning either.
Sven Baertschi – Goal on three shots. Sleeper for 2016-17 alert! The minutes for the second line are starting to go up and deservedly so; Baertschi and the next guy are key to the Canucks future and they might as well let them experience some growing pains.
Bo Horvat – Assist. Man I love me some Bo. I’m holding him in 12’ers now.
J.T. Miller – Overtime game winner on his eight shot of the game. He’s looked amazing over the last month and has been one of the best forwards on the Rangers this year. I’m not holding in 12’ers yet but he’s near the top of my stream list.
Ryan McDonagh – Assist with three shots. That’s six assists in the last six games for the Mac Truck who is finally back on above a 40 point pace.
Rick Nash – Two assists with seven shots and two PIM. He’s really starting to round into form and the makeshift lineup for the Rangers with Derick Brassard out due to illness generated a ton of chances.
Derek Stepan – Goal and an assist with four shots. Great buy low candidate for the second half.
James Reimer – 31 saves on 33 shots in the 3-2 win over the Flyers. If you can predict what you’re going to get from a Leafs goalie on a given night, congrats.
Nazem Kadri – Assist with three shots and two PIM. He now has 15 points in the last 17 games; if for some reason he’s available in your league, grab him.
Dion Phaneuf – Assist with two shots and five PIM. One of the few defenseman you can use at the bottom of your roster for penalty minutes that will still give you solid offensive stats.
Shayne Gostisbehere – Goal on four shots. He took it coast to coast and made Reimer look bad going five-hole. If there were any concern about his role with Mark Streit returning from injury, those have been settled. Ghost is a tank.
Nicklas Backstrom – Two goals on three shots with two PIM. It’s an easy game from Backstrom right now who is back over a point per game on the season. The goals are really good as well considering the shots on goal.
Andre Burakovsky – Goal on his only shot. Top end streamer right now while he’s on the second line.
Marcus Johansson – Goal and an assist with a shot and two PIM. The minutes are down but he’s still a must-own for the time being.
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Four assists. God damn. He’s fourth in the NHL in points now. Fourth! With a +25 rating, a decent shot rate and solid PIM. It’s incredible right now; I’m glad that I ranked him higher than almost everywhere because in a keeper league, you’re never getting another chance at him.
Matt Niskanen – Two assists with four shots playing 28:31. He’s on the first power play unit right now so he’s great for the time being but it sounds like John Carlson is close to returning so it’s a short term solution.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with six shots. Standard for the Great Eight at this point.
Justin Williams – Two assists with a shot. Live has been great for Williams in the nation’s capital on Kuznetsov’s wing.
Boone Jenner – Goal on six shots. The breakout year for Jenner continues and shouldn’t slow down one bit with the shot rate he has.
Seth Jones – Two assists with four shots. This is what we want to see. I see him being a trendy sleeper going into next season and deservedly so. He looks great in his increased role in Columbus and should only get better in time; he’s still only 21 years old.
Tuukka Rask – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 4-1 win over the Canadiens. The numbers are starting to round into form but he’s still easily outside of the top 10 goalies going forward.
Patrice Bergeron – Goal on five shots with two PIM. How good is this guy? He’s locking down the opposition and is still on pace for 75 points.
David Pastrnak – Goal and an assist. Only played 7:05 which is really strange but this should be a one game thing. I love him going forward, both ROS and in dynasties, and he’s available in the vast majority of leagues. I’m grabbing him in 12’ers for the upside.
P.K. Subban – Assist with two shots and two PIM. I mentioned him as a buy low a few weeks back and it is paying off so far. I’d still do it if I can; he played over 31 minutes in the game Tuesday so he’s a lock to produce in those minutes.
Anders Nilsson – 25 saves on 30 shots in the 6-4 loss to Tampa. If you still have him in 12’ers, drop him. It’s Cam Talbot‘s show in Edmonton now.
Leon Draisaitl – Goal on three shots. After a slump, he’s starting to pick it up again. I talked about him in yesterday’s article but to reiterate, the injury to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins can only benefit Draisaitl.
Taylor Hall – Assist with two shots. Hot streak coming.
Zack Kassian – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. He was a highly touted prospect who flopped in Vancouver after being traded from Buffalo. In super deep leagues, he could be worth the gamble but he shouldn’t be owned in anything with 16 or less teams.
Alex Killorn – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM. He’s a top end streamer at this point on the second line. He’s okay in all of the categories but not great in any of them.
Nikita Kucherov – Goal and an assist with a shot. He should top last year’s totals which is saying a lot considering the dropoff the Lightning offense has had as a whole.
Ondrej Palat – Goal and an assist with two shots. Palat is locked into the first line right now giving him a prime opportunity. His linemates are in form so grab him where he’s available.
Vladislav Namestnikov – Goal and an assist. Names! If you read my article yesterday, you know how I feel about him at this point.
Steven Stamkos – Two assists with four shots and two PIM. Starting to look like the Stamkos we know and love playing right wing.
Patrick Kane – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. He tied a career high with his 30th goal and now leads the league in goals and assists. Considering the lack of scoring around the league, this is one of the best seasons in quite some time.
Artemi Panarin – Two assists. He’s now in the top 10 in the league in points. Not bad for somebody who was going undrafted in early drafts and a late round flier in late drafts.
Teuvo Teravainen – Assist with five shots. He’s right on the fringe of 12’ers. I’ve been holding because of the upside and he’s a logical fit on the first line sooner than later but if you need help now, I have no problem with you dropping Teuvo.
Corey Crawford – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 4-1 win over the Predators. His best season just keeps getting better.
Mattias Ekholm – Assist with two shots. He’s played great in his increased role since Seth Jones was traded. If your last defenseman is weak in a 12’er, I’d take the shot on Ekholm.
Ryan Ellis – Goal on three shots. Ellis is also benefiting with his TOI boost. He was probably owned in most leagues already but he definitely should be owned now.
Mattias Janmark – Assist with a shot. Still a great streamer, still not a hold for me in 12’ers.
Drew Doughty – Goal on five shots playing almost 30 minutes. This has been his best fantasy season in 5 years which is great to see. He’s a plus in all categories across the board.
Vincent Lecavalier – Goal on two shots with two PIM. Well this is getting interesting. I have no idea what to make of this brief resurgence. I’m still not adding him in anything outside of 16+ teamers and I’m not sure I would in a 16’er. That said, I’m intrigued.
Anze Kopitar – Two assists with two shots. The offense people have waited years for from Kopitar has finally arrived. Here’s to hoping that this first line sticks together for the rest of the season.
Wednesday Streamers – There are only three games on the slate making it a prime day for streaming. Thankfully there are some great options to use:
Sam Reinhart (3%) – I’ve talked about Reinhart a ton this season and I’m going back to the well here. He’s on the first line which has a motivated Ryan O’Reilly centering the line in his return to Colorado, the first power play unit and the Avs are a dismal possession team. The Sabres first line should control this game putting Reinhart in position to get a point, if not more.
Jamie McGinn (0.3%) – He’s no longer on the first line but the second line with a scorching hot Jack Eichel is a good place to be. More importantly, he’s still on the first power play unit which is playing great right now (they had both goals in Monday’s win; McGinn had one of them). It’s also McGinn’s return to Colorado. Revenge game!
Robby Fabbri (0.4%) – He has four points in the last four games playing on the first line. He has a good chance to produce in what should be an open game against Detroit. Troy Brouwer is owned in 28% of leagues and is another solid option, especially if you can use the PIM boost.
That’s all for now guys. With only three games tonight, there will be no daily notes tomorrow so I will be back on Friday. However, there will be plenty of content coming out on Thursday! Matt’s next article in his “Assume the Position” series will be out along with the next article in the “Marv vs. Pesos” series so be sure to check both of those out! As always, feel free to ask any questions and post any comments below. Take care everyone!
