Andre Burakovsky has gone back and forth between bottom end hold and elite streamer for most of the season. Right now, we’re in one of his upswings again. Burakovsky had a goal and three assists in the 6-1 Colorado win over the Sabres on Tuesday. That’s a whopping 10 points in the last 4 games and 14 in the past 8 for Burakovsky. He also has Ottawa, the Kings twice, and Buffalo again over the next three weeks. He’s an easy hold while he’s on fire and the schedule remains incredibly soft. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Joe Pavelski – Two goals and an assist with five shots over two games. Pavelski has done some damage on the power play lately but he’s still a bottom end streamer at best.
Brendan Lemieux – Goal and an assist with two PIM. He’s getting power play time right now which makes Lemieux a decent streamer if you need penalty minutes.
Mark Pysyk – Hat trick on Monday, three shots on goal on Tuesday. This is one of the most surprising hat tricks ever as Pysyk had 17 goals in 399 other games in his career. He’s getting time on the wing, but even still I see little value.
Mike Matheson – Three assists with five shots and four PIM in two games. Matheson never took a step forward offensively and is near-useless for fantasy.
Sergei Bobrovsky – 31 saves on 34 shots in the win over Toronto, 44 saves on 45 shots in the 1-0 loss to Columbus. Just when I’m ready to quit Bob, he tries to suck me back in. He still has huge upside so I’m holding hoping for the best.
Frederik Andersen – 7 saves on 8 shots before leaving the game with a neck injury. He’s already been ruled out for Wednesday. Michael Hutchinson is a pure desperation play.
Mitch Marner – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. This season has been business as usual for Marner as the points keep piling up.
Brian Elliott – 16 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Red Wings. This is another example of how bad Detroit is. Elliott is an okay streamer in decent matchups.
Philipp Grubauer – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 6-1 win over the Sabres. He’s had a rough go of it lately, but Grubauer also has a lot of upside. As noted in the open, the Avs schedule is great coming up so I expect Grubauer to get back on track.
Valeri Nichushkin – Goal and two assists with three shots. He’s been a great cheap signing for the Avs. Nichushkin has played his way onto the second line and is a bottom end streamer while the second line is rolling.
Nazem Kadri – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. Kadri is still doing plenty of damage across the board. Great season overall from him in his first in Colorado.
Nikita Zadorov – Goal and an assist with two shots. Nice revenge game but nothing to see here but a deep league streamer for hits.
Carter Hutton – 8 saves on 13 shots in 30:26 before getting pulled. Back to basics for Hutton.
Tuukka Rask – 25 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Canucks. Rask continues to push towards being the #1 overall goalie for the season.
Charlie Coyle – Goal and an assist with two shots. Coyle is a bottom end streamer as his role is a bit limited compared to where it was at his peak in Minnesota.
Charlie McAvoy – Two assists with two shots. Goals, he still has none. Pass.
Kyle Palmieri – Two goals on three shots. Palmieri has remained consistent despite the inconsistency of his linemates around him. He’s still an easy hold.
Blake Coleman – Two assists with eight shots. Coleman is an elite streamer as his shot rate is over three per game and the PIM are solid.
Jesper Bratt – Goal and an assist with two shots. Six points in the last four games has Bratt back on the streaming radar, but it’s only on the bottom end.
Anthony Beauvillier – Two goals on three shots. Beauvillier has decent points, including nine in the last seven, but the PIM aren’t there and the shot rate is poor. He’s a middling streamer.
Jordan Eberle – Two assists with three shots. Eberle has bounced back a bit but it’s still bottom end.
Brayden McNabb – Two assists. Nice stay at home defenseman, but no fantasy value.
Nikita Kucherov – Two assists with a shot. The quest to get 100 points again is in full force.
Ondrej Palat – Two assists with a shot. Palat is right on the fringe as he hits all of the categories fairly well. If you want balance, Palat is a reasonable choice.
Brayden Point – Goal and an assist with two shots. The Lightning have loaded up with Point, Kucherov and Stamkos together right now. How can that be stopped? These guys are going to continue to roll.
Jeff Carter – Two goals on three shots. The shot rate is elite and the PIM are nice, but the plus-minus sucks and he literally has 9 assists on the season. He’s a viable streamer based on team needs,
Alex Ovechkin – Hat trick on five shots. Guy doesn’t have a shot in two periods and then boom, hat trick. He’s leading the league in goals now after 13 in the past 6 games. Who’s better than Ovechkin? Props to Venice Canuck for calling Ovechkin for 3 points!
John Carlson – Goal and two assists with two shots. It’s incredible that Carlson is still in the top 10 in the league in scoring in February.
Elvis Merzlikins – 32 save shutout in the 1-0 OT win over the Panthers. Elvis has saved the Blue Jackets season with this run since Korpisalo went down. Hopefully you grabbed him in fantasy because he’s been the best goalie in the league over the last month. Ride him while he’s hot.
Mike Reilly – Two assists with two shots. He’s getting decent minutes for Ottawa, but he’s still not a real consideration yet.
Brayden Schenn – Two goals and an assist with two PIM. Schenn is giving himself a chance to top his previous career high of 70 points. The plus-minus is a bit disappointing, but he’s good everywhere else.
Ryan O’Reilly – Three assists. The huge drop off in shot rate is incredibly perplexing, but RoR is still pushing a point per game so it’s hard to complain.
Zach Sanford – Two goals on three shots. I wish he received power play time but Sanford is still a middling streamer while he’s hot. He has nine points over his last six games.
Colton Parayko – Goal and an assist with three shots. The offense never developed for Parayko. Easy pass for fantasy.
Juuse Saros – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Jets. It’s been up and down all season for Saros, but I still love him for dynasties.
Matt Dumba – Goal and an assist with two shots. Obviously we’ve seen the big upside from Dumba in the past, but this season has been a disaster. If you want to grab him and gamble that he puts some points together since the PIM and shots are strong, that’s fine. Leaving him on the wire is just fine too.
Kevin Fiala – Two goals on five shots. Fiala has had a decent season, but I’m hoping it gets better down the stretch if he gets more minutes. He’s a middling streamer but there is upside.
Joe Thornton – Two assists. Easy pass.
Aaron Dell – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 3-1 win over the Flames. Dell looks to be the #1 now and his numbers are average in all of the categories. If you need to gamble on a goalie on the wire, Dell is a decent lotto ticket.
Lawson Crouse – Goal and an assist with two shots. Nothing here except for a deep league streamer who brings value in hits.
Antti Raanta – 30 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Oilers. Raanta’s save percentage is great, but the wins are below average as is his GAA. He’s worth owning for now, but Kuemper is going to be back soon. That could put a huge damper on his value.
For the Three Point Challenge, I will take Sean Couturier. Make your picks below, and remember that you cannot take someone who is in the top 10 in the league in points.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, give any comments, or leave any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
