On Friday, I started off talking about the first line in Columbus really putting together some great performances. This continued on Saturday, especially for Cam Atkinson. Atkinson had a goal and an assist with four shots against Chicago, giving him a goal in four of the past five games. The shot rate is above average and could end up elite again, plus the minutes have been excellent. I can not believe that Atkinson is still only 36% owned on Sunday. He should be held in all formats for the time being, and there’s a legitimate chance he can stay a hold for the rest of the season. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games:
Jaroslav Halak – 21 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Rangers. It was an easy night for Halak, who is a must start every time that Cassidy gives him the nod.
Igor Shesterkin – 29 saves on 30 shots as the tough luck loser. Prince Igor has been great lately, allowing two goals or less in his past five starts. Despite only three wins in eight starts, he has a 2.16/.922. Hopefully Quinn starts rolling him because I don’t understand why he isn’t playing more.
Jordan Binnington – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 4-1 win over the Coyotes. Binnington has been a #1 goalie so far as expected. The volume has been excellent and I see no reason for that to change.
Justin Faulk – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Faulk has been playing his best hockey in years so far this season. He just moved to the top power play unit which makes him a hold everywhere.
Brayden Schenn – Goal and an assist with two shots. Couldn’t ask for more from Schenn in the early going. He’s pushing three shots per game which gives him top 50 upside.
Saturday’s Games
Marcus Hogberg – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 2-1 win over the Jets. Even with this game, Hogberg has a 4.23/.859 stat line. No. Just no. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Marc-Andre Fleury – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 3-1 win over the Sharks. MAF is proving that goalies are voodoo. He was dreadful last season and was pretty bad two seasons ago, but now, he’s playing as well as any goalie out there.
Alec Martinez – Two assists with two shots. He’s on the fringe in standard leagues but probably worth holding. In any league with blocked shots, Martinez is a no brainer.
Chandler Stephenson – Goal and an assist. It’s tough with Stephenson because the top power play time is never going to be there. He’s an elite streamer for that reason because his even strength play compliments Stone and Patches incredibly well.
Patrice Bergeron – Goal and an assist with two shots. Brad Marchand also had a goal and an assist while David Pastrnak assisted on both goals. Safe to say that the perfection line is still as good as it gets around the league.
Jordan Eberle – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Eberle is right on the fringe because of how many games he does nothing. He seems like a top of the crop streamer, but I can’t blame somebody for holding.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Two goals on seven shots. The move to the Islanders has limited Pageau’s offensive role. He’s a solid streamer, but it’ll take a change from his current situation to be anything better.
Leo Komarov – Two assists and a shot. That’s former All-Star Leo Komarov to us! And there’s your annual Komarov update!
Carey Price – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 2-1 win against the Leafs. I haven’t owned Price in fantasy in close to a decade because his name value ranks him far higher than he should be. He’s an okay #2, but that’s it.
Tyler Toffoli – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. He moved up to the top line with Tomas Tatar missing the game. Toffoli is a hold either way, but this does help his value a bit.
Brendan Gallagher – Goal and an assist with five shots. Business as usual for Gallagher. The assists will never be great, but the shot rate should be incredible and the goals should be very good.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 6-1 win over the Panthers. One bad game and Vasilevskiy immediately gets back on track. He’s on another level.
Tyler Johnson – Two goals. Anthony Cirelli is week-to-week meaning Johnson is getting an increased offensive role. He still only played 13 minutes, but he’s back on the streaming radar at least.
Ondrej Palat – Goal and an assist with four shots. Palat has been very good this season. The shot rate puts him on the fringe, but the points should be strong enough that he should be held everywhere.
Gemel Smith – Two assists with two PIM. He rarely plays, and he only played 9 minutes in this game. Easy pass.
Mathieu Joseph – Goal and an assist. I thought Joseph would be the biggest beneficiary of Cirelli’s absence, but like Johnson, he only played 13 minutes. I like him as a cheap DFS punt, but there are better streaming options due to his lack of playing time.
Jake Gardiner – Two assists. The move to Carolina completely killed Gardiner’s fantasy value. His level of play falling off didn’t help his cause either. It would take a few injuries for him to relevant again.
Mike Hoffman – Goal and an assist with two PIM. The minutes go up and down, but after a slow start, Hoffman has eight points in his last eight games. There are a few more bad games than he had in Florida and Ottawa, but at the end of the season, Hoffman should be in line with his norms.
Ivan Barbashev – Goal and an assist with three shots. Barbashev was bumped onto the first line, but there’s not a ton of offensive ability. His role makes him a deep league streamer, but that’s about it.
Luke Glendening – Goal and two assists with three shots. It’s going to be hard to find a more unlikely player to get three points this season. In the first 13 games, Glendening didn’t have one point!
Robby Fabbri – Goal and an assist. An original Razzball favorite before he blew out his knee, Fabbri has gotten back on track in Detroit. He played over 18 minutes in this game and has four goals in eight games. He’s a solid streamer.
Dante Fabbro – Two assists with two PIM. While Mattias Ekholm is out, Fabbro is right on the fringe.
Thatcher Demko – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 3-1 win over the Flames. This kind of defensive performance by the Canucks has been very rare this season. It’s been rough for Demko, but I do expect it to get better. I’m still holding.
Sunday’s Games:
Bryan Rust – Two goals and an assist with six shots. Rust was all over the ice on Sunday as the Pittsburgh top line played arguably their best game of the season. Rust is really rounding into form at the moment.
Jake Guentzel – Goal and two assists with four shots. He could have had an even better line if Vanecek didn’t stone him twice from in close. It was only a matter of time until Guentzel and Sidney Crosby (1+1, 4 SOG) got going so be patient.
Kris Letang – Two assists with two shots, four PIM, three hits, two blocks. Letang has been a big disappointment, but I find it hard to believe that he’s in a different boat than Crosby. It may not reach the top tier like in the past, but I still think Letang will be a 2D by season’s end.
Cody Ceci – Two assists with three shots. Don’t even think about it.
Marc-Andre Fleury – 30 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Avalanche. The Flower is already blooming in February. I doubt you’d be able to sell high so if you own Fleury, just enjoy it while it lasts.
Philipp Grubauer – 23 saves on 24 shots as the tough luck loser. Grubauer has been great this season. Remember when he was ranked outside of the 15 on the majority of “big websites?” Good times.
Three Point Challenge: It’s a bit of a weird schedule this week. There are a lot of games tonight with Tuesday being a lighter slate than usual, so we will do the Three Point Challenge for Monday night. It can’t be anyone in the Top 10 in points. From now, we will use last season’s top 10, so that means no Draisaitl, McDavid, Panarin, Pastrnak, MacKinnon, Marchand, Kucherov, P. Kane, Matthews, Huberdeau, or Eichel. It’s still Eli Man Penguin Boy at the top with me with one correct selection. I’ll go with Brayden Point against the Panthers.
That’s all for now guys. With the bigger slate tonight, I’ll have a bit of a different schedule this week. I’ll be back tomorrow right away, then will have a post on Thursday recapping Tuesday and Wednesday, and then another post on Friday for Thursday’s big slate. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
