The St. Louis Blues have been one of the most disappointing teams in the league through the first two months, and that continued on Sunday. The Canucks destroyed them 6-1 and they were led by their two young stars. Brock Boeser scored a hat trick on four shots to go along with a +5 rating. Boeser has had some massive games this season to along with a lot of blanks, which makes him a prime GPP target most nights. With 9+8 in 19 games with over three shots per game, Boeser is an elite option in all formats. The Canucks future looks very bright, especially with the California teams all on a downward trajectory, and Boeser is at the forefront with Pettersson (more on him later). Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games:
Erik Karlsson – Two assists with eight shots. It’s been somewhat of an underwhelming season to date for Karlsson, but he’s also shooting 2%. That will certainly change, and I’d buy low if you have the opportunity.
Jake Allen – 26 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Jets. Allen followed that up by giving up three goals on six shots on Sunday before being pulled. Typical Allen in that he’s incredibly inconsistent. Use him at your own risk.
Connor Hellebuyck – 26 saves on 27 shots getting the tough luck loss. He’s posted three great starts in a row (counting Sunday’s) and should be fine going forward. Of all the goalies struggling, I like Hellebuyck the most as a buy low target.
Devan Dubnyk – 3 saves on 6 shots before getting pulled against the Oilers. Dubnyk has been terrible for almost a month now. I expect him to get back to his normal level, but it’s not a guarantee, so I wouldn’t target him in a trade barring a very low price.
Connor McDavid – Goal and three assists with three shots. His linemate Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist with five shots. They’re destroying nearly everyone right now. McJesus is the #1 fantasy option while Draisaitl is pushing top 25 status.
Jujhar Khaira – Two assists. He’s playing on the PP some and was even out there last week at the end of a game down one. That said, he’s an easy pass.
Darnell Nurse – Goal and an assist with four shots. I was hoping for Nurse to take another step this year, but right now he’s solely good for PIM, hits and blocks.
Teuvo Teravainen – Two assists with two PIM. He’s had a tough go of it lately, and he’s closer to the fringe than I thought he’d be all year, but Teravainen remains a hold.
Clark Bishop – Goal and an assist with three shots. These were the first two points of his career. Not much to see. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Petr Mrazek – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 4-1 win over the Ducks. Mrazek is a desperation option right now. Some games he looks like a world beater, others like he should be playing beer league.
Saturday’s Games
Carter Hutton – Day to day with an upper body injury. It doesn’t sound too serious, but for now, it’s Linus Ullmark‘s show. He was lit up on Saturday, but that was mostly due to bad defensive play. I’d grab Ullmark everywhere for the time being.
Claude Giroux – Goal and three assists with four shots. He was dominant despite Sean Couturier missing the game. Giroux is in the top ten in points and is well on his way to another fantastic season.
James van Riemsdyk – Goal and an assist with five shots. JVR has struggled this season when healthy but I expect him to right the ship sooner than later.
Michael Raffl – Two assists with a shot. There was a time when Raffl was a streamer, but it’s not now.
Jack Eichel – Two goals on five shots. Eichel has been amazing this season and his shooting percentage is starting to regress to the mean. He’s in the top 10 in the NHL in points and there’s a good chance he stays there.
Jake Muzzin – Two assists. Muzzin has been a no-brainer hold for years but now he’s waiver wire fodder.
Derek Forbort – Goal and an assist. And there’s your annual Forbort update!
Jonathan Quick – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 5-1 win over Vegas. The Kings are a mess but Quick is a step above desperation. I know he’s been brutal this year, but it should get somewhat better.
Auston Matthews – Goal and an assist with four shots. What Matthews has done this year is just ridiculous.
Jake Gardiner – Two assists with a shot and four PIM. Still lean towards Gardiner being just outside of a hold, but it depends on your team needs.
Andreas Johnsson – Goal and an assist with three shots. Johnsson has been on a tear lately with 5+5 over his last 7 games. He’s a bottom end streamer now, but I don’t expect much more out of him.
Brad Marchand – Three assists. All of the top guys had at least two points for the Bruins. Look for all of them to continue crushing.
Dalton Heinen – Goal and an assist with four shots. Heinen played very well last season but he’s struggled mightily this season. Leave him on the wire for now.
Ryan Donato – Goal and an assist with three shots. Same story as Heinen.
Dylan Larkin – Two assists with three shots and five PIM. Larkin has been consistently good all season and there’s no reason for that to change.
Craig Anderson – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 2-1 OT win over Pittsburgh. I’m embarrassed for the Penguins that they only scored one goal against the abortion that is the Senators defense.
Mark Stone – Two assists with a shot. Back up the Brinks truck because Stone is about to get paid,
Thomas Chabot – Goal and an assist with four shots. Chabot remains above a point per game and has shown no signs of slowing down.
Louis Domingue – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 7-1 win over the Avalanche. Nice to see Domingue back on track after a couple rough outings.
Steven Stamkos – Two goals and two assists with two PIM. After a slow start, Stamkos is approaching a point per game. Keep those goals coming!
Tyler Johnson – Goal and an assist with two shots. Not the most exciting guy, but Johnson is a clear hold. You pervert!
Ondrej Palat – Two goals on four shots. Palat has been okay, but I see him as a streamer due to the poor shot rate.
Kevin Hayes – Two assists with a shot. Hayes is getting massive minutes right now and grades out as an elite streamer. Assuming he gets traded at the deadline, he could be a fairly big difference maker.
Fredrik Claesson – Goal and an assist. Easy pass.
Keith Yandle – Goal and two assists with three shots. Yandle has been fabulous all season. A point per game with above average shots and PIM will do the trick.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Goal and two assists with two shots. The move back onto the top line has done Huberdeau wonders. He played almost 25 minutes in this game and took over for stretches. It’s hard to say if it’ll last, but he gets a massive boost until he does.
Mike Hoffman – Two assists with a shot. Hoffman’s first year in Florida couldn’t be going any better; he’s on pace for 40+40 with almost four shots per game.
Braden Holtby – 28 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Blue Jackets. It’s been a roller coaster ride for Holtby but I expect better going forward than it’s been.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with five shots. The greatest goal scorer of all time just keeps doing what he does.
Travis Boyd – Goal and an assist with two shots. Boyd has started off well with 8 points in 13 games, but he has only 9 shots on goal. Pass.
Logan Couture – Goal and an assist. Both of his linemates, Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl, also had two points. This line has been great for the Sharks and should continue to be one of the most underrated lines in hockey.
Brad Richardson – Goal and an assist with three shots. Pass.
Elias Lindholm – Goal and an assist with two shots. Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau also had two points as they continue to be one of the best lines in the league. Lindholm has been the best late round pick of the season as he’s in the top 20 in the NHL in points.
Oliver Kylington – Goal and an assist with two shots. Kylington was regarded as a top prospect in his draft year before falling into the second round. There’s some hope here for dynasties, but in redrafts he’s not worth considering at the moment.
Sunday’s Games
Elias Pettersson – Goal and four assists. That’s his second five point game of his young career. While he surely won’t continue to shoot 27%, Pettersson is an elite talent who will be a top 50 pick for years to come.
Jacob Markstrom – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 6-1 win over the Blues. Desperation play at best. The takeaway here is that we should be playing the goaltender against the Blues every game until further notice.
Mark Scheifele – Three assists with a shot and two PIM. The Jets ravished the Flyers so I won’t go through everyone but Scheifele is dominating on a nightly basis.
Josh Morrissey – Goal and two assists with three shots. Dustin Byfuglien is back (G, 12 PIM, 3 SOG) so Morrissey goes back on the fringe.
Torey Krug – Goal and an assist with five shots. Charlie McAvoy‘s return hasn’t hurt Krug one bit.
Tuukka Rask – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Senators. Rask has been great lately to get his save percentage back up to .917. Look for him to continue his strong play as the Bruins round into form.
Patrick Kane – Two goals on eight shots. The Blackhawks are atrocious but Kane hasn’t slowed down one bit.
Kyle Palmieri – Two goals on five shots. Palmieri has taken his game to another level with 16+10 in 28 games. The PIM are solid, the shot rate is great, we couldn’t ask for more.
Marcus Johansson – Goal and an assist with four shots. Johansson is a bottom end streamer at this point.
Jesper Bratt – Two assists with a shot. Bratt has been on a roll lately to get up to 11 points in 14 games. The shot rate is below average and he’s not a big PIM guy, so he’s a middling streamer.
Ondrej Kase – Goal and two assists with three shots. As long as he’s on the top line, Kase is an elite streamer and possibly a hold if you need the shots.
Ryan Getzlaf – Two assists. He just keeps chugging along piling up the points.
Brandon Montour – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM playing almost 28 minutes. Still not a big fan of Montour, but that workload cannot be ignored. I still lean towards leaving him on the wire, but it’s close.
Mikko Koskinen – 24 save shutout. He’s the #1 at this point making Koskinen a clear hold.
David Rittich – 29 saves on 30 shots as the tough luck loser in the 1-0 loss to Edmonton. Smith has played better lately, but I still think Rittich is the 1A in the platoon. I’m holding tight for now.
Esa Lindell – Goal and an assist with two shots. Miro Heiskanen also had two points dishing two assists. Both of them are on the fringe with Klingberg out, but if I had to pick one, it’s Heiskanen.
Colin Miller – Two assists with three shots. Miller has really picked up his play lately to work back to hold status.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
