Evander Kane made a huge difference in weekly matchups as he was arguably the player of the week. After his goal and 29 point outburst early in the week, Kane scored twice on five shots and added two PIM on Friday while scoring a goal with three shots and two PIM on Sunday. In total, Kane had 4 goals, 33 PIM and 19 SOG for the week. While he only has 8 assists on the season, Kane has 69 PIM, 16 goals and well over 4 shots per game. He’s playing over 20 minutes every night and is a great bet for a big second half. Here’s what else I saw around the league this weekend:
Friday’s games:
Sabres 6, Canadiens 4 – Ben Scrivens‘ hot streak came to a screeching halt allowing 3 goals on 8 shots before getting pulled 1:28 into the second period. I would still own him in 12’ers for now because he should get the majority of starts going forward. Sven Andrighetto scored twice on three shots getting a chance in the top 6. He’s got 6 goals in 22 games now despite limited opportunity so he’s worth keeping an eye on in the next few Montreal games. David Desharnais had two assists with a shot and is another one of those guys who is a decent source of assists but kills you in shots on goal. Alex Galchenyuk scored twice on three shots. I still like his potential a lot and I think it would benefit him a lot if Michel Therrien was fired. Gally plays much better at center yet he’s played the majority of the time on the wing. Andrei Markov had two assists and is a great source of assists and power play points but gives nothing else. P.K. Subban had an assist and two shots plus 14 PIM, mostly from a 10 minute misconduct in the last minute of the game, nice bonus. Marcus Foligno had two goals and an assist with four shots. In deep leagues with hits, I’d grab him with his recent role increase. Ryan O’Reilly kept up his recent run of assists adding two in this game plus a shot.
Kings 5, Rangers 4 (OT) – The Kings won the Stanley Cup rematch with Anze Kopitar leading the way. The Slovenian superstar scored three goals on four shots reaching 50 points in 54 games now. Drew Doughty, Milan Lucic and Alec Martinez all had two assists in the game. The first two are obviously must-own; Martinez is right on the fringe but does enough in all of the categories to be a bottom-end hold for me. Kevin Hayes had a goal and an assist but he’s seemingly out of favor. He played less than 13 minutes Friday and 10 minutes Sunday. Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello both had a goal and an assist. Stepan is starting to get rolling so if for some reason he’s available, grab him. Keith Yandle had an assist with two shots as he continues to kill it in Ryan McDonagh‘s absence.
Pens 2, Hurricanes 1 (SO) – Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 of 30 shots in the win. Phil Kessel scored the lone Penguins goal and had seven shots. He hasn’t lived up to expectations but he’s starting to come around. At the least, the shots are still elite. Carl Hagelin had an assist with two shots playing over 20 minutes and his status remains the same as it’s been. Cam Ward played well in the loss stopping 25 of 26 shots. Andrej Nestrasil scored the Canes goal with three shots. In 16’ers or deeper, he should be owned.
Avalanche 3, Red Wings 2 (SO) – Semyon Varlamov stole the game for the Avs as they were outshot 45-21 by Detroit. You never know what you’re going to get with him (see Sunday’s game) so I’d rather not deal with him. Blake Comeau scored a goal on three shots with two PIM but should still be left to streaming. Matt Duchene scored the other goal on two shots to get up to 25 goals on the season. Pavel Datsyuk scored a goal on five shots as the shots continue to really come through. Justin Abdelkader had two assists with two shots and should still be owned for the penalty minutes.
Lightning 4, Predators 3 (OT) – Pekka Rinne continues to be a disaster giving up 4 goals on 28 shots. Filip Forsberg scored a goal on four shots; I love him as a buy low in dynasties since he’s fallen off from last year. James Neal also had a goal on four shots as he keeps crushing 4 of the main categories while Roman Josi had two assists with a shot. Victor Hedman tallied two assists with a shot. The goals aren’t there somehow but all of the other stats are nice. Tyler Johnson scored the overtime winner on his third shot as he’s starts to find his groove again. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos each had a goal and an assist doing what they do.
Blues 5, Panthers 3 – Brian Elliott started for the 13th straight game stopping 29 of 32 shots in the win. David Backes scored a goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. The points have taken a dropoff but at least the PIM are still there. Colton Parayko had two assists with a shot and is must-own with Alex Pietrangelo is out injured. Jaden Schwartz scored a goal and an assist with three shots in his return and should be a top 50 player for the rest of the season. Vladimir Tarasenko also had a goal and an assist as he keeps crushing the competition. Roberto Luongo had a dud allowing 3 goals on 13 shots in the first period before getting pulled. The big guns for Florida provided the offense as Aaron Ekblad scored a goal on four shots, Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist with two shots while Jaromir Jagr dished two assists.
Coyotes 4, Flames 1 – Mark Giordano‘s heater has seen no end tallying an assist with three shots and two PIM. T.J. Brodie also had an assist with a shot and is a clear must-own despite the lack of shots with Dennis Wideman suspended. Louis Domingue stopped 26 of 27 shots in the win maintaining his consistency in his inconsistency. Mikkel Boedker had an assist with four shots and two PIM. He should probably be owned but man, that plus-minus is ridiculously bad. Shane Doan had two goals and an assist with six shots as he set the all-time points record for the Coyotes franchise. Anthony Duclair scored a goal on five shots with two PIM. If Duclair can start shooting more, there’s massive upside here. Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored a goal and two assists with two shots and is a good plus-minus away from being a top 5 defenseman. Michael Stone added two assists with a shot and two PIM. He’s right on the fringe of 12’ers for me because he has nice PIM and assists.
Saturday Games:
Devils 2, Flyers 1 (OT) – Cory Schneider stopped 31 of 32 shots in the win pushing himself to #1 overall in the player rater on the season. He’s pushing himself right into the Vezina race. Joseph Blandisi scored a goal on three shots and added two PIM. I’d probably hold in 12’ers for now although it’s tough because of the lack of shots. Adam Henrique scored the winner in OT on the power play and should be owned everywhere. Shayne Gostisbehere scored the Flyers goal and added five shots setting the record for most consecutive games with a point by a rookie defenseman.
Bruins 4, Wild 2 – Jonas Gustavsson stopped 31 of 33 shots in the win. He’s won the majority of his starts making him a solid streamer when he gets the nod. Patrice Bergeron missed both games this weekend but should be back shortly. It didn’t stop Brad Marchand from scoring again. Blows my mind that he’s doing this well. David Krejci scored a goal and an assist with three shots as he pushes back towards a point per game. David Pastrnak had an assist with a shot and should still be owned in 12’ers; I don’t get why he’s widely available. Thomas Vanek scored a goal on four shots with two PIM. With the coaching change in Minnesota, it’ll be interesting to see who starts to get more playing time. Regardless, I’d own Vanek in 12’ers.
Predators 5, Panthers 0 – Carter Hutton had a 22 save shutout and quite frankly, I don’t get why he’s not starting over Pekka Rinne at this point. Hutton has been great this year yet has only played in 9 games. Come on Laviolette, it’s time to make the switch. Calle Jarnkrok scored two goals playing over 19 minutes making him a decent streamer. Ryan Johansen had an assist with three shots, Roman Josi tallied two assists again, James Neal had 1+1 with 6 SOG while Mike Ribiero dished two assists with a shot. If you can stomach the lack of shots, Ribiero’s assists and PIM are elite.
Hurricanes 6, Islanders 3 – Jaroslav Halak allowed 6 goals on 28 shots through 2 periods before getting pulled; yuck. Johnny Boychuk had an assist with two shots and should be owned everywhere again. John Tavares is still hotter than a pistol with a goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Justin Faulk missed the last two Hurricanes games but it doesn’t appear to be serious. Phillip Di Giuseppe tallied two assists with two shots playing over 17 minutes. He’s played his way onto the streaming radar. Victor Rask scored two goals on three shots and is fringe in 12’ers since he’s not good at anything in particular.
Blue Jackets 4, Senators 2 – Cody Ceci scored a goal on his only shot as he stays firmly on my radar for next season. Erik Karlsson dished an assist with eight shots and two PIM playing 33 minutes. He’s not human. Mika Zibanejad had two assists with five shots and two PIM and should be owned in 12’ers again. Joonas Korpisalo made 33 saves on 35 shots in the win and is extremely hot at the moment. Cam Atkinson had a goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM; if the power play points start to come, he’ll be elite. Boone Jenner scored two goals on five shots with four PIM as he keeps up his breakout year. He’s still only 22 years old so he’s a great dynasty target. Seth Jones keeps piling up the assists in Columbus adding two more and four shots.
Maple Leafs 5, Canucks 2 – The Canucks should be downright embarrassed that they were dominated by the Leafs. The shots were 38-19 Toronto and they had half of an AHL roster. Most of the players for Toronto are irrelevant in fantasy but Uncle Leo Komarov scored a goal on two shots and added two PIM playing over 19 minutes. Jake Gardiner had two assists and two shots; he’s worth monitoring in deep leagues as his role could increase with Dion Phaneuf gone. Sven Baertschi scored again from Bo Horvat; these kids should really thrive next year. Daniel Sedin scored a goal on two shots as his top 30 season shows no signs of stopping.
Stars 4, Capitals 3 – The Stars exploded with 4 goals in the second and held on for dear life allowing 3 goals in the 3rd. Andre Burakovsky scored a goal on five shots and is a clear must-own right now, even in 10’ers. Evgeny Kuznetsov dished two assists while Alex Ovechkin extending his goal streak by scoring once on five shots. Jamie Benn scored again and was assisted by Patrick Eaves. Eaves played over 18 minutes and is a clear hold while his role is this big. John Klingberg keeps rolling with an assist and three shots while Tyler Seguin scored twice on four shots before leaving the game due to being cut by a skate. It sounds like he avoided serious injury though.
Ducks 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT) – John Gibson left the game injured in the second period although it appears that he also dodged serious injury. Ryan Getzlaf scored a goal and an assist with two shots and has played like the superstar that we expected for the last month. David Perron scored a goal on four shots and should be owned in 12’ers now. Brent Seabrook scored both Blackhawks goals on five shots as he continues to have a career year; he’s a positive in all categories now.
Jets 2, Oilers 1 (SO) – In a move that I didn’t expect, the Jets sent Connor Hellebuyck down to the AHL with Ondrej Pavelec returning. Pavelec stopped 21 of 22 shots in the win and should be owned everywhere now; you can drop Hellebuyck in redrafts. The first line scored the goal for the Jets as Blake Wheeler scored from Bryan Little and Nikolaj Ehlers. My love for these three is well-documented but I’m driving the Ehlers bandwagon. This kid has fantasy superstar written all over him. Laurent Brossoit was called up by the Oilers and he played great stopping 32 of 33 shots. He’s only 22 years old so he could have a future in Edmonton but he’s not going to be playing much, if at all, down the stretch.
Sharks 4, Coyotes 1 – Martin Hanzal scored the Coyotes goal and probably should be owned in 12’ers because of the PIM boost. Martin Jones stopped 22 of 23 shots in the win getting his GAA to a solid 2.34 along with 26 wins in 45 starts. Brent Burns tallied two assists with seven shots doing what Brent Burns does. Joonas Donskoi scored a goal on four shots as he solidifies himself as a potential streamer. Tomas Hertl snapped his cold streak with a goal, two shots and two PIM. I’m still holding him in 12’ers for the upside. Melker Karlsson had two assists with a shot. If his role increases again, he’ll be a nice pickup but for now, leave Karlsson on the waiver wire.
Sunday Games:
Sabres 4, Avalanche 1 – Semyon Varlamov laid claim to the worst start of the year. He allowed two goals on two shots, including an incredibly soft goal to Evander Kane, before being pulled. Zero saves! Zero! Erik Johnson scored the Avalanche goal and added three shots. He’s right on the edge of 12’ers because of the shots and PIM. Jarome Iginla was the main threat for Colorado tallying an assist with seven shots. After the Sabres built a quick 3-0 lead, Robin Lehner played great to hold the lead stopping 34 of 35 shots. I still think he’s a must-own despite the recent dud earlier in the week. Jack Eichel scored another highlight reel goal showing how good he already is. Ryan O’Reilly had two assists for the second straight game against his old squad while Sam Reinhart had a goal and an assist with two shots; he quietly has 16 goals as he closes in on the goal scoring lead for rookies. Rhino is an elite stream right now and an elite player in dynasties.
Devils 1, Kings 0 – Keith Kinkaid outdueled Jhonas Enroth as Kinkaid recorded his first career shutout against the juggernaut that is the Kings. He’s a quality stream when he gets his occasional start. Enroth stopped 17 of 18 shots and should be owned in the very short term until Jonathan Quick comes back.
Red Wings 6, Bruins 5 – Tuukka Rask had another horrible outing allowing 5 goals on 24 shots in 31 minutes before being pulled. This happens far too often for my liking. David Krejci had his second straight two point game with two assists and a shot while Brad Marchand extended his goal streak with a goal, assist, two shots and two PIM. Ryan Spooner had an assist with three shots and is a plus in all categories except plus-minus. He just turned 24 so there’s plenty of value in dynasties along with the rest of this season. Justin Abdelkader had two assists again with four shots and two PIM playing almost 23 minutes with Detroit really leaning on their first line. Pavel Datsyuk crushed again with two goals, an assist and six shots. Danny DeKeyser tallied two assists as he stays right on the edge of holding in 12’ers. Darren Helm scored twice on three shots but still isn’t doing enough to be streamed. Brad Richards had two assists, four shots and two PIM showing why he’s been a streamer for me in recent weeks. Henrik Zetterberg also had two goals and an assist with five shots; look for a big finish to the year if he sticks on Datsyuk’s wing.
Blues 2, Lightning 1 – Brian Elliott stole two points for the Blues making 37 saves in the victory. Patrik Berglund scored a goal on four shots and is an elite streamer at the moment. Robby Fabbri scored a goal with five PIM. He has a chance at 20 goals which is outstanding for somebody who just turned 20 pyears old. He’s someone who isn’t mentioned much in terms of value in dynasties but there’s elite potential here. Nikita Kucherov‘s outstanding season continued with a goal on seven shots. Victor Hedman and Tyler Johnson each had an assist as both look to maintain their recent surges.
Rangers 3, Flyers 1 – Henrik Lundqvist was 8.7 seconds away from a second straight shutout as he finds his form again. Brayden Schenn scored the goal on his fifth shot and should be owned in 12’ers now as he’s a plus across the board now. Shayne Gostisbehere had an assist on the goal to extend his historic run. Derick Brassard scored a goal and an assist with four shots; he’s been incredible this season. Dan Girardi somehow was out of his own end long enough to have two assists. Derek Stepan scored two goals on six shots showing why I pegged him for a second half resurgence. Keith Yandle stayed hot with an assist and two shots while Mats Zuccarello‘s great year continued with two assists, a shot and six PIM.
Monday Streamers: There are seven games on the slate tonight making it a busier Monday than usual. That said, there’s still plenty of room for streaming so here are my top 3 options:
Charlie Coyle (3.9%) – He’s on the first line right now so the minutes are outstanding (over 19 in 7 straight) and the Canucks are a mess right now.
Andrew Shaw (5.8%) – Shaw is still on the first line and on the power play and gets to play the JV Leafs lineup.
Patrick Eaves (4.3%) – I would be holding Eaves right now so I’m streaming him everywhere I can tonight. This is contingent on Tyler Seguin playing after his cut on Saturday.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Tuesday recapping Monday night’s action. As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below. Take care everyone!
