Both players talked about how the game was bigger than them but all eyes were on Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel on Tuesday night. McDavid stole the show scoring 22 seconds into the game and then scoring the overtime winner to lead the McDavids over the Eichels Oilers over the Sabres 2-1. McDavid added five shots and pushed his total to 31 points in 28 games. It’s remarkable how good the wunderkind is already and I think it’s fair to say he’ll be a first round pick in fantasy drafts starting next year already. Here’s what I saw around the league on Tuesday night:
Tuukka Rask – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 2-1 win over the Flames. His save percentage is now up to .918 which is quite remarkable with how horrible is was the majority of the season. The goals against still isn’t great but he’s been better down the stretch.
Patrice Bergeron – Goal on three shots. Nothing can stop Bergeron right now; he’s been nothing short of remarkable this season.
Eddie Lack – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 3-1 win over the Devils. Now that Carolina is out of it, I expect Lack to get more starts down the stretch.
Jaccob Slavin – Two assists with a shot. Slavin has a bright future and while Justin Faulk is out, he makes a solid deep league options or DFS option.
Elias Lindholm – Assist with two shots. The minutes will be up down the stretch so even though the Canes will be out of it, Lindholm will remain a solid stream option.
Nail Yakupov – Three shots. He moved up to McDavid’s line with Benoit Pouliot out injured. There’s the chance Yakupov finally takes off now.
Cam Talbot – 31 saves on 32 shots in the win. He’s hotter than a pistol right now but I expect that to fall off shortly. The Oilers defense is pretty putrid.
Robin Lehner – 39 saves on 31 shots in the loss. His save percentage and goals against average are outstanding; the Sabres probably found their goalie going forward. Hopefully the wins start to come in. Despite the Sabres being a poor team, they have a bunch of winnable games down the stretch.
Jake Allen – 40 saves on 43 shots in the 4-3 win over the Senators. That’s two strong starts in a row for Allen and I expect him to be the goalie he was pre-injury for the rest of the year.
Jaden Schwartz – Goal and two assists with two shots. Just like Allen, I expect Schwartz to start rolling again very soon.
Kevin Shattenkirk – Two assists and two shots. His plus-minus is a disaster but everything else is elite.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Goal on eight shots and two PIM. He’s slowed down a bit but he’s still very close to last year’s pace in points. The plus-minus completely dropped off but the shots are even more elite now than they were. It’s crazy to think he can still get better but at 24 years old, it’s certainly possible.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Two goals on seven shots with two PIM playing over 20 minutes. He scored both goals with under 3 minutes left in the third, including tying the game with less than 1 second left. Pageau is on fire right now and you could argue that he should be held right now. He’s definitely a top end streamer at the very least.
Mark Stone – Assist and seven shots. Insert fire emojis here.
Evgeni Malkin – Goal on three shots with two PIM. He should keep rolling down the stretch.
Patric Hornqvist – Goal on two shots. Hornqvist is finally salvaging his season the last couple weeks and should be a difference maker down the stretch.
Matt Niskanen – Goal on three shots. With John Carlson out indefinitely, Niskanen has moved up to the first power play unit. Expect him to be very good down the stretch, probably a top 25 defenseman.
Antoine Roussel – Goal and an assist with four shots and four PIM. Quite the line for the big PIM guy. The potential for games like this is why you either a) hold Roussel for the PIM or b) stream him over any other PIM guy.
Antti Niemi – 14 saves on 18 shots before being pulled about halfway through the game. Yikes. I didn’t think it would come to this but I could see dropping Niemi in 12 man leagues right now. Besides wins, everything else is horrendous.
Shea Weber – Goal and two assists with three shots in his return from injury. Weber played almost 27 minutes so there’s no worries about him being eased into action. Get him back into your lineups.
James Neal – Goal and an assist with six shots. He was in the midst of a cold streak but it was only a matter of time for him and Ryan Johansen (assist and two shots) to turn it around.
Craig Smith – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. He’s on top of the streaming radar right now and I wouldn’t argue with someone holding Smith while his line goes off. Yay for a good streamer call!
Mikkel Boedker – Assist with a shot in his Avalanche debut. He played with the big boys as expected at even strength and had his point on the power play. I don’t expect the numbers to be much better than in Arizona but they should get a slight bump.
Jason Pominville – Goal and two assists with two shots. The new coach sure seems to have lit a fire under Pominville. I’m holding him now and riding this hot streak.
Nino Niederreiter – Two goals and an assist with three shots and two PIM. I thought Nino was going to take another step this year but it looks like he is what he is now. That guy is a streamer in 12’ers.
Zach Parise – Two assists with two shots. The shots have been down lately which is a bit frustrating but Parise should still be fine down the stretch as the Wild push for a wild card spot.
Charlie Coyle – Two goals on six shots. Another good streamer call! This is why I keep going back to the well on Coyle; he’s up to 21 goals now. I love his game and will be looking to own him everywhere next year. I’m holding him where I have him right now.
Erik Haula – Goal on two shots with two PIM. Haula has played his way onto the streaming radar now. In the last 12 games, he’s had 5 that were either multi-point but where he contributed PIM with points.
Roberto Luongo – 30 saves on 32 shots in the 3-2 win over the Jets. Expect Luongo to be a workhorse down the stretch as the Panthers fight for the division crown.
Reilly Smith – Two goals on three shots. He quietly has 21 goals on the season now with 17 assists. Smith must be held right now in 12’ers with these numbers.
Vincent Trocheck – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. He’s come from completely off the radar to be on track for 50 points with solid PIM. At 22 years old, Trocheck should be a force going forward.
Teddy Purcell – Assist and four shots in his Panthers debut. He was on the third line to start but I could see his role expanding sooner than later.
Dustin Byfuglien – Goal on four shots. Big Buff doing Big Buff things.
Mark Scheifele – Assist with three shots playing over 21 minutes. Nikolaj Ehlers had an assist and two shots in over 20 minutes on his wing. These two are both terrific and should produce a bunch down the stretch with their workload increase.
Thomas Greiss – 31 saves on 33 shots in the win over the Canucks. Greiss leads the league in save percentage now and he sees enough starts that he should be held in 12’ers. I’m holding him in a 10’er personally.
Thomas Hickey – Goal and an assist with two shots. And there’s your annual Thomas Hickey update!
Travis Hamonic – Goal on two shots with seven PIM. His role has decreased this year in offensive terms this year. I could see Hamonic being a sneaky bottom end defenseman next year if he’s traded to the West as he requested.
Daniel Sedin – Goal on four shots. Henrik Sedin had an assist with three shots. The Canucks may be horrible but the Cyborgs can not be stopped!
Wednesday Streamers – There are only three games on the slate tonight so streaming options are limited. Here are my top three options:
Rickard Rakell (19.8%) – Going back to the well here. If any of the top Caps are available in your league, stream them. Odds are they aren’t though so I’m looking at the Ducks against horrible Montreal goaltending. Rakell is rolling right now so ride the hot wave.
Jamie McGinn (0.3%) – McGinn has been listed here before when he was in Buffalo. Now he should get his first action for the Ducks and early indications are that he’s going to play with Rakell and Corey Perry tonight. I like his chances to get a point if that’s the case.
Philipp Grubauer (5.4%) – He should be streamed any time he starts but Grubauer is a must start tonight against the Maple Leafs. Pick him up because any start you can get against the Leafs is worth it, let alone for a goalie on the best team in the league.
That’s all for now guys. With only three games on the slate, there won’t be any daily notes tomorrow. I will be back on Friday recapping the action from tonight and tomorrow. As always, leave any questions or comments below in the comment section. Take care everyone!
