Jake Guentzel started awfully slow this season after an outstanding playoff run for the Penguins last season. He’s started to pick things up and had his best game to date on Monday, scoring two goals and an assist with six shots in the 5-4 OT win over the Flyers. That gives Guentzel six goals in his last six games, more than he had in his first 20 games combined. He’s actually benefited quite a bit from Evgeni Malkin‘s injury as Guentzel took his spot on the first power play unit. That said, I’m hoping Malkin slides between Guentzel and Kessel on the second line when he returns which should really help Guentzel at even strength. Obviously he’s a must own but here’s to hoping Guentzel keeps building on this and pushes towards being the top 50-75 player that was expected from him after leading the Stanley Cup Playoffs in goals. Let’s take a look at what else happened on Monday night:
Evgenii Dadonov – Out 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury. Hopefully you have an IR spot to stash Dadonov since he’s been very good in the opening two months. Doesn’t look like there will be a clear replacement for him on the top line.
Mike Matheson – Two assists with a shot. I like him a decent amount in real life but there’s no fantasy value here at this point in his career.
Vincent Trocheck – Goal on seven shots and two PIM. Trocheck is playing the best hockey of his career despite wingers shuffling on his sides. He’s at a point per game with three shots per game.
Sidney Crosby – Goal and two assists with five shots playing over 25 minutes. With Malkin out, look for Crosby to play an absurd amount of minutes. Take advantage of a slightly discounted price for Crosby in DFS.
Justin Schultz – Two assists with three shots. That’s five assists in the past three games as Schultz finally starts to put together a decent stretch.
Claude Giroux – Two assists with two shots. He’s really turned things around after three straight years of being on the decline. The move to wing has paid off in dividends.
Michael Raffl – Goal and an assist with three shots. Those two points are more than Raffl had in 23 games going into Monday night. Once upon a time, he was a solid streamer. That was 4 seasons ago.
Josh Anderson – Assist with two shots. Side note, I have a friend named Josh Anderson! To why you’re reading this post, Anderson has a point in three straight. He’s must own in hits leagues and right on the fringe in standard 12’ers.
Pierre-Luc Dubois – Goal on three shots. I still love Dubois’ long term upside but he’s an okay streamer right now. The scorekeeper was going nuts recording hits in Montreal on Monday. Dubois was credited with 9 hits after having 10 total in the previous 9 games. Then Boone Jenner recorded 11 hits, slightly more believable but still crazy. I’d like to see his definition of a hit.
Brendan Gallagher – Goal on six shots with two PIM. Gallagher has long been a favorite in these parts. I’d lean towards holding him, but at the least he’s an elite streamer.
Carey Price – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 3-1 win over Columbus. Boy, he’s rolling since he returned from injury. Look out, NHL and fantasy leagues.
Alex Stalock – 21 saves on 28 shots in the 7-2 loss against the Jets. Yeah, Stalock is pretty not good. Come on Boudreau, just keep rolling Dubnyk and stop the shenanigans.
Charlie Coyle – Assist. Right on the fringe although I see Coyle becoming a hold in the coming weeks.
Blake Wheeler – Goal and two assists, as did his linemates Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Yeah, these guys are still rolling. Connor is still widely available and I’d be sure to own him.
Joel Armia – Goal and an assist with two PIM. Armia is starting to come into his own with 7 points in the last 8 games. He’s a bottom end streamer in 12’ers but it could potentially get better if his role increases.
Patrik Laine – No stats in almost 15 minutes. I’m getting a bit concerned with Laine. He can get on a massive heater at any time but the minutes are done (this 15 is high relative to his last handful of games) and the shot rate is plummeting. I wouldn’t be looking to sell low on him or anything but it is a bit concerning.
Chris Wagner – Two goals on three shots. He’s centering a top six line right now because, well, there is nobody else. He’s a dirt cheap DFS option and solid streamer in deep leagues but Wagner isn’t 12’er relevant yet.
Jakob Silfverberg – Goal and an assist. Look for Silfverberg to get massive minutes in the short term and to potentially get hot given that Anaheim is extremely dependent on him for production right now.
Alex DeBrincat – Hat trick and an assist with five shots. He’s a guy I like plenty long term but have a tough time gauging right now. The shot rate is poor and the penalty minutes are non-existent (literally) so I lean towards solid streamer. DeBrincat isn’t consistent enough right now to hold but perhaps that changes if he moves to a better line or gets more minutes.
Patrick Kane – Three assists with three shots and two PIM. Kane has been his usual excellent self to this point.
Nick Schmaltz – Goal and two assists with three shots for some massive streamer success! Keep using him as long as he’s with Kane.
Patrick Sharp – Goal and an assist with three shots. Sharp doesn’t play the minutes to be fantasy relevant any more.
Ryan Hartman – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Hartman was pointless in the previous nine games so leave him on the waiver wire for now.
Tuesday Streamers:
Michael Cammalleri (4.5%) – I don’t know why, but Cammy is now on the top line with McJesus and the corpse of Lucic. They’re going against Arizona so maybe he can take advantage. I like the spot more than the specific player.
Kevin Fiala (6.5%) – Fiala has been strong since Turris was acquired, the Preds get Chicago when they’re on a back to back, and Fiala has a good history against the Blackhawks.
Nick Schmaltz (10.7%) – Going back to the well here hoping he can build off last night’s game.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping all of tonight’s action. There will not be a podcast today as Reid and I are recording for Thursday since Wednesday has a small slate. We will do The Three Point Challenge for Thursday’s games if you’re planning ahead. As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below. Thanks for reading, take care!
