Laine Returns And Lights The Lamp

After some brutal injury luck, Patrik Laine was able to return for the Canadiens on Tuesday, scoring a goal in his Montreal debut.  On Thursday, Laine did the same, scoring a goal on three shots in the win over the Predators.  Laine has stepped into a 17 minute role right away, including top power play time.  I’m not going to say it’s going to be completely smooth, but Laine has undeniable upside.  He’s available in about 50% of leagues, which seems too high.  In 10’ers, he’s definitely on the fringe.  In 12’ers, I lean towards holding for that goal scoring upside, but it is also fringy.  It depends on the bottom of your roster and your team needs.  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:

Mitch Marner – Three assists.  That’s six points in the last eight games for Marner, who again isn’t getting the credit he deserves for being an offensive superstar.

Auston Matthews – Two goals on seven shots.  We know what to expect from Matthews when he’s on the ice.  The shot rate is pushing towards 4.5 per game, right with the league’s best.

Brad Marchand – Two goals on three shots.  He’s not what he used to be, but Marchand is a clear hold everywhere.

Jordan Oesterle – Two assists with two shots.  Oesterle isn’t going to stay in the lineup long enough to have a fantasy impact.

David Pastrnak – Two assists with three shots.  The drop in goals is almost entirely based on poor shooting luck.  I expect a goal scoring binge sooner than later.

Justin Brazeau – Two assists with two shots.  He’s getting second line and PP2 time, which puts Brazeau on the radar.  There’s more deep league value than anything here, but he is a bottom end streamer for 12’ers.

Morgan Geekie – Two goals on four shots.  Same deal as Brazeau, although I do prefer Geekie.

Mason Lohrei – Two assists.  I was hoping for a step forward for Lohrei, and the assists have jumped, but nothing else has.  There could be something long term, but now, he’s deep league only.

Connor Murphy – Two assists with two shots and two PIM.  Murphy is solid for PIM and blocks, but that’s about it.  A trade would only hurt his value as his minutes would surely decrease.

Ilya Samsonov – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 4-1 win over the Ducks.  This says more about the Ducks than Samsonov.  I’d stream him in easy matchups.

Tomas Hertl – Two assists with a shot.  Hertl remains on the fringe with a slight lean towards elite streamer.  It’s fine across the board, but not great in any area.

Shea Theodore – Two goals on five shots.  It was nice to see the big shot total. The points are going to stay elite, but whether he’s a #1 or #2 in 12’ers will come down to the secondary stats.

Victor Olofsson – Two assists with three shots.  As long as he’s playing with Jack Eichel (2A, 5 SOG), Olofsson is a middling to elite streamer.

Warren Foegele – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Middling streamer through and through.

Tanner Jeannot – Goal and an assist.  Jeannot is a fine streamer for PIM and hits, but he doesn’t provide anything else.  That 24 goal season is a complete outlier.

Andrei Vasilevskiy – 20 saves on 21 shots in the 8-1 win over the Sharks.  This is the best the Lightning have been defensively in a long time.  We should get an elite GAA from Vasilevskiy and a middling #1.

Brayden Point – Four assists with two shots. Somehow Point had only five assists before this game, so of course he almost matches it in one night.

Brandon Hagel – Two goals on three shots.  Hagel has been a top 25 player to this point.  Even I didn’t expect that.

Matthew Tkachuk – Goal and four assists with four shots.  Safe to say that Tkachuk is fully back after a slow start.

Sam Reinhart – Goal and two assists with four shots.  Everyone assumed Reinhart would regress from last season, but here he is tied for the league lead in goals.

Carter Verhaeghe – Goal and an assist with two shots.  I’ve received a lot of questions about Verhaeghe, but to reiterate, I’m extremely bullish on him going forward.  He’s must own everywhere and a great trade target.

Evan Rodrigues – Goal and an assist with three shots.  He’s down on the third line right now, making ERod a bottom end streamer instead of a middling to solid one.

Matvei Michkov – Three assists with a shot.  The shot rate is a bit disappointing given the shot volume he had in Russia, but it’s hard to have any complaints about what Michkov is doing as a rookie.

Owen Tippett – Two goals on three shots.  Perhaps playing with Michkov can get Tippett going?  He’s a solid streamer for now, but we saw the upside last season.

Linus Ullmark – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 2-1 win over the Red Wings.  It’s been a really rough go of it, but it’s hard to do anything with Ullmark besides hope for a turnaround.  He certainly can’t be dropped.

Josh Norris – Two goals, both assisted by Drake Batherson.  Solid streamer, but Norris’ shooting percentage is due to regress, even by his standards.

Samuel Montembeault – 29 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Predators.  Nice way to celebrate making the Canadian team for the Four Nations Tournament.  Montembeault is probably worth a bottom end hold in most formats.

Jake Evans – Goal and an assist with two shots.  And there’s your annual Evans update!

Valeri Nichushkin – Two goals.  The shot rate is disappointing since Big Val returned, but I’m still holding him everywhere.

Cale Makar – Two assists with three shots.  The goals have slowed down a bit, but Makar is still playing at a 100 point pace.  I’m not betting against him.

Andrei Svechnikov – Goal and three assists with four shots.  Svech cooled off for a few weeks before this game, but he’s so good across the board that even when his points are down, he’s still contributing.

Sebastian Aho – Two assists with three shots.  It’s shocking to see Aho with a minus rating, but everything else is what we’re accustomed to.

Martin Necas – Goal and an assist with two shots.  It’s remarkable that Necas is still leading the league in points two months into the season.  Dude just won’t slow down.

Gabe Vilardi – Goal and an assist with two shots.  The minutes are massive, but Vilardi hasn’t delivered like he was last season.  I’m bullish enough to keep him an elite streamer.

Josh Morrissey – Two assists with three shots.  All your assists are belong to Morrissey!

Mark Scheifele – Two assists with two shots.  We’re pushing towards a decade where Scheifele was close to a point per game or better every season.  For all his defensive warts, offensively he’s a true stud.

Adam Larsson – Three assists with a shot.  And there’s your monthly Larsson update!

Vince Dunn – Goal and two assists with two shots.  I can’t imagine anyone was dumb enough to drop Dunn while he was injured, but he’s clearly must own everywhere.

Cole Sillinger – Goal and an assist with two shots.  It looks like Johnson has finally turned the corner.  He’s a solid streamer with bigger upside in dynasties.

Connor McDavid – Four assists with a shot.  Doesn’t seem fair that people could pick in The Three Point Challenge, but props to those of you that did.  Way to take advantage of it, because it’s probably the last time you’ll be able to.

Jeff Skinner – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Skinner is a bottom end streamer as it hasn’t worked out in Edmonton like they had hoped.

Zach Hyman – Two goals on five shots.  Nice to see Hyman have a big game in his return from injury.  I’m bullish on him going forward.  The role is too big for him to disappoint.

Robert Thomas – Goal and two assists with four shots.  He’s getting all of the minutes he can handle under Montgomery.  He even had four shots on goal!  If Thomas pushes to even 2.5 shots per game, he’s a top 50 player.

Phillip Broberg – Two assists with two shots playing over 26 minutes.  He’s turned himself into a great deep league option.  Broberg is pushing towards the fringe in 12’ers.  The points look good enough, but the shot rate is dreadful.

MacKenzie Weegar – Goal and an assist with three shots.  It’s not surprise that the goals have regressed from last season’s 20, but Weegar is still crushing everything else.  He fits into every fantasy team.

That’s all for now guys.  My schedule could end up a bit different next week than normal, but odds are that I’ll still be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend.  Evan should have his weekly post as well.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!