The Washington Capitals have received plenty of criticism for their blockbuster trade on Monday. If things go like they did on Tuesday, I’m sure they’ll have no complaints. Anthony Mantha scored a goal and added an assist with six shots in the 6-1 win over the Capitals. If it wasn’t for a spectacular Elliott save, Mantha would have had a three point game right off the rip. I wrote in the trade deadline blog that I would have added Mantha right away after the trade for the upside. If you were slow to pull the trigger, odds are somebody else in your league already grabbed him, but go check. He’s still available in about 25% of leagues and he needs to be owned everywhere, especially with Washington playing the Sabres tonight. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Craig Smith – Goal and an assist. David Krejci scored a goal on two shots while Taylor Hall was held scoreless playing with those two on the second line. I thought Hall looked like he has for the Sabres for the past two months in regulation: ordinary. He did look great in overtime, but we’re not owning him because of overtime. Smith is an elite streamer, Krejci is right on the fringe, and Hall comes down to how much you want to gamble on the upside.
Igor Shesterkin – 27 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Devils. Prince Igor has been the real deal. As far as dynasty goalies go, he’s near the top of the list.
Pavel Buchnevich – Goal and an assist. Unbelievable season from Buch who has played his way into being a hold in all formats.
Adam Fox – Two assists. Remember when I ripped everyone for not having him on their projected USA Olympic team? Forget being a top 6 USA defenseman, he’s probably a top 6 defenseman in the league this season.
Conor Sheary – Goal and two assists with two shots. Sheary was rewarded with a two year extension. He’s been surprisingly productive given his role, but he’s also shooting 20%. Regression fairies are on high alert.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with three shots. I’ve run out of superlatives for the greatest goal scorer in history.
Nicklas Backstrom – Goal and an assist with three shots. Backstrom has managed to stay at a point per game all season. Like Ovechkin, he’s shown little signs of aging to this point.
John Carlson – Two assists with two shots. This season has been a big disappointing for Carlson. Granted, the bar is very high, but he’s dropped off almost across the board.
Tom Wilson – Goal and an assist with two shots. The shots going from being over two per game to well below is a tough break. I’m still holding because of the PIM (or hits if you have that instead), but it’s not a slam dunk.
Ilya Samsonov – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 6-1 win over the Flyers. While Samsonov’s overall numbers are poor, he’s winning at an elite rate. That alone gets him into #2 goalie territory.
Johnny Gaudreau – Goal and an assist on Tuesday. It feels crazy to even type this, but I think Gaudreau is on the fringe, and I don’t think I’d hold him. His shot rate is under two per game now, he takes no penalties, and he’s playing at a 59 point pace over 82 games. I won’t blame you for holding, but it’s far from automatic.
Elias Lindholm – Goal and an assist with six shots on Tuesday. Despite the troubles of the team around him, Lindholm has been fantastic once again. He’s a plus across the board.
John Tavares – Two assists with four shots. I was hoping Toronto would make a bigger move to put a better winger with Tavares and Nylander, but instead, Zach Hyman moved down and had a goal with an assist. This doesn’t change anything for these guys, but it does make Alex Galchenyuk, who moved onto the top line, an elite streamer.
Roman Josi – Goal and two assists with two shots. It hasn’t been Josi’s best season, but it was great to see him dominate the first period against a top 2 team in the league.
Viktor Arvidsson – Two goals and an assist with three shots. His shot rate is excellent; that will decide if you want to hold Arvidsson or not. Pure team needs guy.
Jason Robertson – Goal and an assist with three shots. What a fantastic season from Robertson, who surely will be a Calder finalist. Easy hold in all formats.
Jamie Benn – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Benn has been better than last season, but not drastically so. He’s an elite streamer in my book.
J.T. Compher – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Maybe Compher could be relevant on a deeper team, but his opportunities are limited in Colorado.
Liam O’Brien – Two assists with a shot. O’Brien had only three points in his 24 game career before Wednesday night. He’s a fighter, that’s about it. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Mikko Rantanen – Goal and an assist with two shots. Rantanen making a massive strive in shot rate is enough to rank him as a top 10 player going forward, including for next season.
Philipp Grubauer – Out at least two weeks on the COVID list. Devan Dubnyk played Wednesday and received the win. He’s simply not a good goalie at this point in his career, but the team in front of him is good enough that he should get plenty of wins. Add him everywhere.
Mike Hoffman – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Hoffman’s overall numbers are fairly good, just not at the level we’re accustomed to from Florida and Ottawa. It’s hard to hold him when he’s been scratched, but at the least, Hoffman is an elite streamer.
Nick Bonino – Goal and two assists with two shots. Despite this performance, Bonino provides little offense at this point in his career. Easy pass.
Zach Parise – Goal and an assist with three shots. He played only 11 minutes in this game as his role continue to dwindle. Bottom end streamer at best.
Marcus Johansson – Two assists with a shot. Johansson’s shot rate keeps him at bottom end streamer level.
Mats Zuccarello – Two goals on three shots. The hot start has really faded, but Zucc is still an elite streamer in my book. It helps that the Sharks are coming to town this coming weekend.
Jacob Markstrom – 24 saves on 26 shots in the 3-2 OT win over Toronto, then 26 saves on 27 shots in the 4-1 win over the Canadiens. This season has gone as bad as realistically possible for Markstrom. I’m still holding him, but keep expectations in check. I was hoping for a bottom end #1, but it’s more like a bottom end #2.
Mark Giordano – Goal and an assist on Wednesday. Giordano is firmly on the fringe, although I still lean towards holding him.
Chris Tanev – Two assists. And there’s your annual Tanev update!
Thomas Chabot – Two assists with two shots. I have no doubt that Chabot can put up 50 assists at some point in his career. My question is how long it’ll take for him to not be a black hole defensively. Getting him a top end partner would help.
Trevor Moore – Two goals. Moore has been surprisingly decent in Los Angeles this year. I don’t see much fantasy value, but nice of him to carve out a clear NHL role at 26 years old.
Adrian Kempe – Two assists with three shots. Kempe has cooled off after a great start. He’s a bottom end streamer for me again.
Max Pacioretty – Goal and two assists with two shots. Only two shots? What a bum! Oh, and his goal, hilarious.
Max Pacioretty with a deep 3 on Lakers Night 😜 pic.twitter.com/MnmUYL9Evb
— x-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 15, 2021
Tomas Nosek – Goal and two assists. He moved up to the third line with Alex Tuch (1+1, 2 SOG) and Mattias Janmark (1A, SOG). He’s only a bottom end streamer in standard leagues, but I think Nosek can provide some real value in deeper leagues. Janmark looked decent in his first game for Vegas. He’s a middling streamer for now, and it’ll probably stay that way barring an injury.
Mark Stone – Goal and an assist. Stone doing what Stone does.
Alexander Volkov – Goal and an assist. I think it’s fair to say that I deserve the title of “President of the Volkov Fan Club.” It was such a good move by Anaheim acquiring him. He’s only a bottom end streamer for now, but with Anaheim out of him, I’m hoping that he plays more down the stretch.
Derek Grant – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. I still can not take Grant seriously after it took him over 100 games to score a goal, including scoring one that was eventually overturned when the streak was in the 90’s. He’s an okay player but I don’t see any fantasy value.
Anthony Stolarz – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 4-1 win over the Sharks. Stolarz came close to getting back-to-back shutouts against the Sharks. He’s on fire, but with Vegas on the docket, there’s no way I’m taking that risk. Against the Kings next week, maybe.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Thursday games per usual. I now have 4 correct picks, Veritas remains in second with two, and Chet joins the group with one pick. You can not select McDavid, Draisaitl, Kane, Marner, Matthews, Scheifele, Marchand, MacKinnon, Crosby, or Rantanen. I’ll go with Ovechkin against the Sabres.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action from tonight. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
