February was already the best month of the season to date for Filip Forsberg. He was behind last season’s pace by a decent margin through January but now, Forsberg is going to easily set a career high in goals and come close in points. The 21 year old Swedish stud scored his second career hat trick, first in the regular season, on Tuesday night against the hopeless Leafs. This puts him up to 23 goals and with the 7 shots on goal, he’s back over 3 shots per game. With 9 goals in February already, Forsberg has salvaged his season and can reach his preseason draft value. He’s obviously an elite option in dynasties and with his current form, Forsberg should be a difference maker for the rest of the season. Here’s what else I saw around the league on Tuesday night:
Brady Skjei – One shot in 22:17. He was up for the game with Marc Staal injured. It was nice to see how much faith Alain Vigneault had in right away. Skjei probably won’t be up for long but in deep dynasties, I’m a fan.
J.T. Miller – One shot and 15 PIM. Miller got in a fight and was ejected because his hand was taped below his wrist. I kid you not. You learn something new every day. Bonus PIM for everyone who has Miller.
Adam Larsson – Goal and an assist with two shots. His offense has never developed as it was expected to when he was taken 4th in the draft. There’s little value here outside of the deepest of leagues.
Joseph Blandisi – Two assists with two shots and four PIM. Blandisi was slowing down until last night. He’s still on the streaming radar.
Sergey Kalinin – Goal and an assist with a shot and five PIM. And there’s your annual Kalinin update!
Cam Ward – 36 saves on 37 shots in the 3-1 win over the Flyers. He was coming off a massive dud against the Lightning and while his goals against average is very good, his save percentage is still quite below league average. I’d probably own him in 12’ers but I’d pick my spots with starting him.
Eric Staal – Goal on two shots. Brother Jordan did the same. It will be interesting to see if the Hurricanes decide to hold Eric or move him at the trade deadline. He’s been on quite the cold streak lately. On the other end, Jordan is on fire and should be owned in 12’ers until he cools off.
Roman Josi – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Dude is a tank and should be hitting his prime in the next year or so. Will be right on the edge of the top 5 defensemen going into next season.
Ryan Ellis – Assist playing 26 minutes. Shea Weber was out injured and Ellis ended up playing the most minutes of anyone in the game. Ellis should be owned everywhere already but if he’s available, definitely grab him while Weber is out. He had a goal that was unfortunately overturned on a challenge. The upside is huge.
Carter Hutton – 25 saves on 27 shots in the 3-2 win over the Leafs. Start him every time he plays.
Nazem Kadri – Two assists with three shots. He’s the one Leaf that I would own right now in 12’ers. Shots are elite and the minutes are as good as ever.
Peter Holland – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. There could be some value here in deep leagues if he sticks on the first line with Kadri. Holland has shown flashes before.
Boone Jenner – Goal on three shots. Pick him up where he’s still available, he’s hot and with the minutes he’s getting should definitely be owned.
Brandon Dubinsky – Assist and four shots. Same as Jenner. Dubinsky is owned more than Jenner but he’s still available in over 25% of leagues.
Petr Mrazek – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 2-1 shootout win over the Blue Jackets. Nice to see him start to turn things around; that’s two solid starts after back to back games allowing 5 goals. The kid is a beast, don’t worry about him.
Louis Domingue – 34 saves on 36 shots in the 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay. He’s their clear workhorse for the Desert Dogs but with the volume of shots he faces, his numbers are going to be awful.
Michael Stone – Assist with two shots. He’s played really well lately and the only concern about him for 12’ers is the potentially bad plus-minus down the stretch.
Steven Stamkos – Goal on his only shot. That’s four in a row with a goal for Stammer. It’s a clear down year for him, mostly because the shots are falling off. It’s a little worrisome but at the same time, he’s just about to enter his prime and could move to a better destination in the offseason. His linemates have been, to be polite, poor this season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 29 saves on 30 shots in the win. Love him in dynasties as it’s only a matter of time until he goes somewhere else e.g. Martin Jones or they move Ben Bishop and let him take the reigns. He should be streamed whenever he starts.
Jaroslav Halak – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 4-1 win over the Wild. Both goalies for the Islanders have been outstanding and should be owned in 12’ers. The wins should be better down the stretch as well.
Frans Nielsen – Two goals on three shots. He’s bottom end but is probably still a hold in 12’ers for the goals and STP boost.
John Tavares – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. While he’s not going to come close to last year’s 86 points, Tavares is showing the signs of a big finish to the season. It wouldn’t shock me if he gets to 70 points.
Anders Lee – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. He’s down on the third line right now so Lee is a streamer at best.
John Klingberg – Three assists with two shots. The shots have been down lately which is disappointing but this game put Klingberg over 50 points and tied for the 2nd most assists from defensemen in the league. He’s a top 10 defensemen now and for the foreseeable future.
Jamie Benn – Two goals on six shots. Benn is hotter than a pistol again and is the #3 forward for the season now with a massive gap between him and the pack. Nobody hits all of the categories better than Benn does.
Jason Spezza – Goal on four shots. He was on the right wing with Benn and Tyler Seguin (assist and three shots) meaning Spezza gets a big boost in the short term. It also means that those who were holding Patrick Eaves can safely drop him now.
Andrew Ladd – Goal on three shots. Nice to see him score in what could very well have been his last home game as a Jet. His value could see a nice boost depending where he goes.
Mark Scheifele – Goal on four shots playing over 23 minutes. With Bryan Little over, Scheifele took over first line duties and was great. He’s available in over 20% of leagues; I think he should be owned everywhere. I’m a big believe in his game and he will be one of my favorite targets next season.
Craig Anderson – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 4-1 win over the Oilers. He’s hotter than a pistol right now but there’s no chance he can keep this up. I’d sell if you can.
Mark Stone – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Stone was amazing to start the year, slumped big time and now is heating up again. Here’s to hoping we avoid an end of season dud and we get the massive heater like how he ended last year.
Zack Smith – Goal and an assist with four shots. Smith has now scored in three straight games to get up to 15 goals. With his big PIM and time on the second power play unit, he’s worked his way onto the streaming radar in 12’ers and would own him in 16’ers and deeper.
Jordan Eberle – Goal on four shots. Life is good having Connor McDavid (assist and three shots with two PIM) as your center.
Joni Ortio – 35 saves on 37 shots in the 2-1 loss to the Kings. With the playoffs out of reach, I expect Ortio to get more starts down the stretch. The Flames are quite bad so it won’t be great but if you’re desperate for starts, Ortio could be a sneaky workhorse.
Sean Monahan – Goal on two shots, assisted by Johnny Gaudreau and Jiri Hudler. The dropoff on shots is still concerning but I still like his game a ton. That said, his predraft ranking going into next season will be much lower than this year. You can’t eat the shots that high in the draft when he gives you next to no penalty minutes.
Anze Kopitar – Goal on four shots. He’s a beast, plain and simple.
Jake Muzzin – Assist with four shots and two PIM playing over 27 minutes. He’s on the first pair with Drew Doughty (assist with 2 shots, 32 minutes) right now which is a big boost for a guy who was already a top 20 defenseman.
Jonathan Quick – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 2-1 win over the Flames. The Ducks and Sharks are hot right now to push the Kings for the division so Quick should maintain a big workload down the stretch. The Kings have also played fewer games than most teams so Quick has a chance to be the #1 goalie for the rest of the season.
Wednesday Streamers – Per usual, Wednesday is a short slate with only 4 games on the docket. It’s a big streaming day so here are my top 3 options:
Tomas Hertl (15.1%) – I’d own him everywhere right now; I can’t believe he’s only owned in 15% of leagues playing on the first line with the Joes. A matchup with the Avs should keep Hertl’s hot streak going (5 points in 5 games).
Rickard Rakell (10.6%) – Going back to the well here. He’s on a four game point streak, the Sabres depth is hurting with Ryan O’Reilly out and Rakell is solidly in the top six with Corey Perry on his wing. Great spot for Rakell to keep the streak going.
Matt Cullen (0.0%) – Here’s a guy available everywhere for the readers in super deep leagues. Cullen is on the second line right now with a hot Phil Kessel and speedy Carl Hagelin on his wings. The minutes are big, he has 3 points in 3 and 4 in 5 plus the Bruins are very inconsistent defensively. I like his chances to get a point.
That’s all for now guys. With the short slate tonight, there won’t be daily notes tomorrow. However, Matt’s newest article will be out on Thursday so be sure to check that out! I’ll be back on Friday recapping tonight and tomorrow’s action. As always, feel free to ask any questions and leave any comments below. Take care everyone!
