Guentzel Gets Into Full Gear

It was a slow start for Jake Guentzel in Tampa Bay, but that is clearly a thing of the past.  Guentzel scored a goal and an assist with five shots in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jackets, extending his goal scoring streak to seven games.  This game brings Guentzel up to 18 goals and 15 assists in 28 games, with the shot rate creeping back up towards three per game.  I was extremely bullish on Guentzel in Tampa Bay, ranking him 12th overall.  He hasn’t quite been to that level, but that’s what I’m expecting for the rest of the season.  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:

Jake Oettinger – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 3-1 win over the Capitals.  Oettinger is back to being a slam dunk top five goalie.  With the turmoil in Manhattan, I’d probably have Oettinger ranked second behind Hellebuyck for the rest of the season.

Roope Hintz – Two goals.  It’s been very disappointing so far for Hintz and Jason Robertson (two assists) but I’m still stubbornly bullish on them getting back to the level we’re accustomed to sooner than later.

Carter Verhaeghe – Goal and an assist with four shots.  It seems impossible for Verhaeghe to be -18 on the Panthers, but he’s still doing well enough across the board that he needs to be held.

Sam Reinhart – Goal and an assist with two shots.  He’s clearly a top ten fantasy forward now.

Niko Mikkola – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM.  And there’s your biannual Mikkola update!

Anton Lundell – Two assists with a shot.  Barkov missed this one, but it doesn’t appear to be more than a day to day situation.  Lundell is a fine streamer, but Barkov’s return keeps him in that range.

Connor McDavid – Three assists.  And just like that, McDavid is back into 6th place for the league lead in points.

Zach Hyman – Two goals on six shots.  That’s seven goals in the last six games for Hyman, who has gotten back on track.

Leon Draisaitl – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Draisaitl has been so hot that he’s actually moved into the league lead in goals.  He also have multiple points in six straight.

Thatcher Demko – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 3-1 win over the Avalanche.  Nice to see Demko have a big game after two rough starts to open his season.  I feel going rolling him.

Kiefer Sherwood – Hat trick on seven shots.  Okay then.  Sherwood is clearly a hold in hits leagues, and a bottom end streamer otherwise.

Samuel Montembeault – 20 saves on 21 shots in the 6-1 win over the Sabres.  Somehow, the Sabres find a way to fall to a bigger rock bottom than ever before.  Montembeault is fine as your third goalie depending on format.

Patrik Laine – Hat trick on five shots.  I would hold him everywhere right now.  He’s the focal point of their power play and Laine’s shot rate is where it needs to be.

Nick Suzuki – Two assists, as did Cole Caufield.  Both are sitting right around a point per game playing at a star level.

Juraj Slafkovsky – Goal and an assist with two shots.  I thought we could see a Slafkovsky breakthrough, but it just hasn’t happened.  He’s a bottom end streamer.

Lane Hutson – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  The assists are amazing and that’s not going to change.  Whether the rest of the package is worth it depends on your format and team needs.

Kirill Marchenko – Two assists with six shots.  Marchenko has broken out in a big way.  He’s clearly a top 100 player going forward with upside for the top 50.

Nick Paul – Goal and two assists.  Middling streamer.

Vladislav Gavrikov – Two assists with two shots.  There’s some deep league value here, mostly for blocks, but it’s hard to expect Gavrikov to reach 35 points.

Rickard Rakell – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM.  Solid streamer, but the shot rate isn’t where it used to be for Rakell to get past that level.

Michael Bunting – Two assists with four shots.  Bottom end streamer.

Pyotr Kochetkov – 32 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Islanders.  He hasn’t been at his best this season, but Kochetkov is a clear hold everywhere.  He has one of the highest upsides in fantasy because of how good the team is in front of him.

Shayne Gostisbehere – Two assists with a shot.  The Carolina power play has been so damn good this year, and Gostisbehere is a big part of it.  Even in a third pairing role, Gostisbehere has been at a top ten defenseman level.

Sebastian Aho – Goal and an assist with three shots.  It wouldn’t surprise me if Aho goes on a goal scoring binge sooner than later.  His shooting percentage is much lower than ever before.

Juuse Saros – 25 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Rangers.  Despite the team struggling, Saros has still played fairly well with a .910 save percentage.  Now if only the team can turn his play into some more wins…

Filip Forsberg – Two assists, as did Steven Stamkos.  Forsberg has been ice cold, but I’m still expecting him to turn it around.  Stamkos is showing some signs of life with points in four straight, but he’s still a far way off from being an easy hold.

Jack Hughes – Two assists with two shots.  It’s no surprise, but Hughes is currently the #6 overall forward.  That’s the level he’s elevated his game to.

Jacob Markstrom – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 4-1 win over the Blues.  The Devils have quietly become an elite defensive team and Markstrom has benefited.  His GAA is elite and with the wins, he’s a top five goalie on the season.

Teuvo Teravainen – Three assists with two shots.  I was hoping for a lot more from Teravainen this season.  Maybe he gets going with back to back three point games, but I’m still keeping him in the middling streamer range.

Ilya Mikheyev – Goal and an assist with two shots.  To be honest, I kind of forgot about Mikheyev even being on the Blackhawks.  That should tell you what his fantasy relevance is.

Elias Lindholm – Goal and an assist with seven shots.  It’s been a disaster of a season for Lindholm in Boston.  I have a really hard time seeing a turnaround so he’s in the bottom end to middling streamer range now.

Linus Ullmark – 30 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Kraken.  All of a sudden, Ullmark has allowed five goals over his last six games combined.  His numbers are now in line with last season in Boston, making Ullmark look like a bottom end #1 in fantasy.

Mark Scheifele – Goal and two assists with two shots.  The Sharks had no answer for the Winnipeg top line, as Gabe Vilardi had three assists, while Kyle Connor had two goals on nine shots.  Vilardi has played his way onto the fringe with upside to push into a bottom end hold.

Tyler Toffoli – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Solid streamer.

Jake Walman – Two assists with four shots.  Walman has turned himself into a borderline elite fantasy asset.  Good for him after being inexplicably dumped by Detroit.

Macklin Celebrini – Goal and an assist with six shots.  Celebrini has been outstanding so far, playing at a 40+40 pace over 82 games.  The shot rate is also over three per game.  I didn’t expect this out of the gate, but Celebrini is a clear hold everywhere.

Three Point Challenge:  We will do Thursday’s games per usual.  You can’t select anyone in the top ten in points, so you can’t select MacKinnon, Kaprizov, Draisaitl, Rantanen, Kucherov, McDavid, Necas, Eichel, Marner, Reinhart, or Bratt.  I’ll go with Hischier against the Blue Jackets.

That’s all for now guys.  My plan is to have a post up on Friday morning covering the next two nights.  I am flying back home on Friday so there’s a chance it’s a shorter post or something that isn’t the usual daily notes.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!

Update: I won’t have a post on Friday, apologies for that.  I will be back to the normal schedule going forward.  My flight home is at noon PST, so I’ll be sure to answer any questions before then prior to my flight taking off, and will answer anything else once I’m back home.  Thanks!