Early McLellan Magic For Detroit

I attribute a lot of it to randomness, but the new coach bump seems to happen over and over again.  Right now, it’s happening in Detroit, where Todd McLellan has the Red Wings on a seven game winning streak shortly after taking over the team.  Given the ugliness of the Eastern Conference Wild Card race, that’s vaulted Detroit right back into contention.  A few guys have been thriving for Detroit, but I want to focus on Marco Kasper.  The former eighth overall pick is getting his first real opportunity in a big role, playing first line minutes with Larkin and Raymond.  In both games over the weekend, Kasper had a goal and an assist, with five shots between the two games.  He’s getting second power play unit time as well, which is enough to bump Kasper into the middling to solid streamer range for the time being.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:

Friday’s Games

Cole Caufield – Goal and an assist with six shots.  Really good chance we see the first 40 goal season of Caufield’s career.  Thirty goals will also be a first, but that’s a formality for Caufield if he stays healthy.

Dustin Tokarski – 14 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Canucks.  Tokarski is worth streaming every time he starts because of how good Carolina is, but he won’t play often.

Jordan Staal – Goal and an assist with two PIM.  It’s hilarious that Staal has more goals in his last three games than the previous 40 to start the season.  Still no fantasy interest for me.

Teuvo Teravainen – Two goals.  It hasn’t been a terrible season for Teravainen, but I was expecting better with a bigger role.  The shot rate is so bad that he’s in middling to solid streamer range despite playing at a 55-60 point pace.

Patrick Kane – Three assists with a shot.  Kane’s revenge game keeps his hot streak going.  I already have to take the L on selling him for the second half.  He’s an elite streamer who is a borderline hold right now while he’s this hot.

Alex DeBrincat – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Another revenge game, DeBrincat is a bottom end hold.

Lucas Raymond – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Somehow, Raymond’s best shot rate was in his rookie season, but he’s turned into quite the playmaker.  The shooting percentage is too high, but even still, we could see a point per game season.

Darcy Kuemper – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Jets.  Kuemper now has a 2.16/.919.  Elite numbers.  He’s a clear hold everywhere and pushing towards a bottom end #1 in 12’ers.

Adrian Kempe – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Kempe is a star that doesn’t get the credit he deserves.  He’s playing at a 41+40 pace while pushing towards three shots per game and absolutely crushing at even strength.

Karel Vejmelka – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Sharks.  Vejmelka has clearly taken over the Utah #1 job and has been very good.  He’s a clear hold in all formats despite the wins being a bit below average.

Saturday’s Games

David Pastrnak – Two goals and an assist with four shots.  Safe to say that all of the poor shooting luck that Pasta had has disappeared.

Morgan Geekie – Goal and an assist with two shots.  He’s getting big minutes, but Geekie is stuck in the bottom end to middling streamer range.

Mason Lohrei – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  In overtime, Lohrei was out there on a 4 on 3 power play situation.  He’s closing in on the fringe, but the shot rate is below one per game which eliminates any personal interest I have.

Sam Reinhart – Two goals on eleven shots.  Sure glad my Sabres gave Reinhart away for a late first round pick and a goalie lottery ticket.  Definitely couldn’t use a guy like Reinhart.

Leevi Merilainen – 29 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Penguins.  The Sens are just trying to piece things together until Ullmark comes back.  Merilainen has been forced into the NHL much earlier than they wanted.  If you want to gamble with a hot hand, feel free.  Ottawa has been surprisingly good defensively.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!

Claude Giroux – Three assists with a shot.  Giroux is firmly in the solid streamer range at this point in his career.

Shane Pinto – Two goals on three shots.  Pinto is currently in a big role and has the occasional big game, but the consistency isn’t there at all.  Middling streamer at best.

J.J. Peterka – Two assists with four shots.  Peterka has rounded into form again, with nine points in his last ten games.  He’s back in elite streamer range.

Kaapo Kakko – Two goals with two PIM.  Kakko has been decent in Seattle to the point where I’d bump him up to a middling streamer instead of bottom end.

Chandler Stephenson – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  Stephenson is piling up assists, so he’s a fine streamer for that towards the end of the week.  However, he’s under a shot per game so it can’t really get any better.

Jared McCann – Two assists with two shots.  McCann is solid enough across the board that I’d probably keep him as a bottom end hold, but it’s fringy.

Josh Mahura – Two assists with a shot.  And there’s your annual Mahura update!

Connor Hellebuyck – 22 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Avalanche.  That’s already Hellebuyck’s sixth shutout of the season.  He’s so far ahead of everyone else as the #1 overall goalie that it’s comical.  With his volume, Hellebuyck is worth as much as the 6th and 7th overall goalies are combined (Oettinger and Kuemper).

Nikolaj Ehlers – Two goals on three shots.  It’s been a fantastic season for Ehlers, who is sitting just above a point per game in the new year.

Kevin Lankinen – 20 save shutout in the 3-0 win over Toronto.  The Canucks weren’t able to fly to Toronto until the day of the game, so of course the Leafs laid an egg.  It’s very up and down, but the overall numbers for Lankinen are good enough to be on the fringe.

Tyler Myers – Two assists with two PIM.  At this point, we know what Myers is.

Jet Greaves – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 win over the Blues.  Greaves already was sent back to the AHL, so no need to debate his value.

Samuel Ersson – 22 save shutout in the 6-0 win over the Ducks.  Man, I missed a golden opportunity to bet on Philly on Saturday.  The crowd was incredible taunting Gauthier at every opportunity.  The wins have been decent for Ersson, but his save percentage is .888, so I’m out.

Travis Konecny – Four assists with a shot.  As good as Konecny has been the previous two seasons, he’s reached another level this year.  Full blown superstar.

Jamie Drysdale – Goal and an assist with two shots.  It had to feel good for Drysdale to score against his old team.  The offense hasn’t developed for Drysdale as anticipated, but he’s still only 22 years old.  I’m not panicking in dynasties.

Jesper Bratt – Two assists with three shots.  And with that, Bratt is in the top ten in points for the entire league.  Absolute monster.

Jack Hughes – Goal and an assist with five shots playing almost 25 minutes.  Keefe wasn’t about to let the Lightning top guys play more minutes than his own.  Hughes continues to crush.

Jake Oettinger – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 2-1 SO win over Samuel Montembeault (34/35) and the Canadiens.  Montembeault is on the fringe because of his volume, while Oettinger is playing his way back into the top five goalie conversation.

Leon Draisaitl – Two assists with a shot.  There’s been no slowing down Draisaitl, who could end up beating his previous career high of 128 points.

Vasily Podkolzin – Goal and an assist with three shots.  He’s been with Draisaitl for a while but the points have only been okay.  Podkolzin has some deep league value now, mostly for hits, but that’s about it.

Nick Foligno – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Apparently Sorensen is going to give Foligno huge minutes for reasons unknown.  There’s plenty of hits but otherwise, it’s bottom end stuff.

Logan Thompson – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 4-1 win over the Predators.  Thompson has been everything Washington could have hoped for and then some.  He’s been a top ten goalie on a per-game basis.

Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with two shots.  The minutes were down a bit, which makes sense in a third game in four nights after missing an extended period.  He’s showing no signs of slowing down.

Marcus Hogberg – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 2-1 win over Utah.  Sorokin is starting virtually every game so no reason to consider Hogberg.

Brock Nelson – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Mathew Barzal also had a goal and an assist, while Anders Lee had two assists, seven shots and two PIM.  The new top line took care of business for the Isles in the third.

Igor Shesterkin – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 2-1 win over the Golden Knights.  After missing some brief time, Igor has been great in his first two games.  Start him with confidence again.

Marc-Andre Fleury – 36 saves on 37 shots in the 3-1 win over the Sharks.  MAF turned back the clock with this performance.  He’s worth streaming in all matchups, although his time is limited with Gustavsson playing at an incredible level.

Mats Zuccarello – Goal and two assists.  The guy just won’t slow down, it’s remarkable.

Matt Boldy – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Boldy’s shot rate has taken another tick up to a truly elite level.  He’s turned into a top 50 player as expected.

Dustin Wolf – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 win over the Kings.  Wolf has been fantastic all season for the Flames.  I didn’t expect this level of performance as a rookie, and he could always hit a rookie wall, but Wolf looks like the real deal already.

Matt Coronato – Goal and an assist with five shots.  The former first round pick has been solid for the Flames all season.  There’s plenty of long term value.  For now, he’s a solid streamer if he keeps a top six role and PP2 time.

Sunday’s Games

Jaden Schwartz – Two assists with four shots.  Schwartz remains in the middling to solid streamer range.  He has been much better this season than last for what it’s worth.

Vladimir Tarasenko – Two assists.  While the team has been hot, Tarasenko is averaging a shot per game.  Surprisingly, he’s fallen into bottom end streamer range.

Erik Gustafsson – Goal and an assist.  I had high hopes for Gustafsson, but it hasn’t panned out.  He does have six points in his last seven games now, so he’s worth monitoring again.

Dylan Larkin – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM.  Larkin continues his fine run of form lately.

Moritz Seider – Two assists with four shots.  Seider’s secondary stats continue to be great in banger leagues, but again, he’s on pace to be below 50 points.  I just can’t get excited about him offensively.

Nikita Kucherov – Two goals and an assist with three shots.  The Lightning had a dreadful first period being outshot 15-2, but somehow Johansson kept them in it long enough for their studs to take over.  Jake Guentzel had two assists with four shots, while Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel each had a goal and an assist.  When they’re rolling, it’s hard for anyone to match Tampa’s top six.

Rickard Rakell – Goal and an assist with six shots.  Rakell has revived his fantasy value after a dreadful 23-24 to get back onto the fringe for 12’ers.

Evgenii Dadonov – Goal and an assist.  He’s playing with Robertson and Hintz at the moment, although Dadonov played more than five minutes less than each of them.  It’s enough to get back to a middling streamer, but that’s it.

Cutter Gauthier – Two goals on three shots.  After a nightmare game in Philly, Gauthier bounced back in a big way against the Carolina.  He’s got a lot of long term value, but his rookie season has been dreadful overall.  I’m not interested in redrafts at the moment, although I acknowledge he could have a strong finish and get back on the streaming radar.

Jackson LaCombe – Two assists with a shot.  LaCombe has been very good lately with nine points in his last ten games.  With Fowler gone, he shouldn’t be getting scratched anymore.  He’s on the fringe of 12’ers.

Martin Necas – Two assists with a shot.  It’s no surprise at all that Necas cooled off from his torrid start, but he’s still well over the point per game mark.

Adin Hill – 15 saves on 16 shots in the 4-1 win over the Wild.  Great defensive performance by Vegas taking advantage of a team on a back to back.  Hill should be a #2 in 12’ers, mostly for his wins.

Pavel Dorofeyev – Two goals and an assist with five shots.  He hasn’t done much lately, although the shot rate pushing towards three per game is quite encouraging.  Dorofeyev is a solid streamer.

Mark Stone – Two assists with a shot.  The guy just won’t slow down.

Tomas Hertl – Goal and an assist with five shots.  Hertl has dropped off quite a bit to the point where he’s only a middling streamer.  I’m not too interested in Vegas guys outside of the obvious right now.

Shea Theodore – Two assists with four shots.  It’s a stat line we were used to from Quinn Hughes before his big breakthrough.  It’s good enough across the board to be a top end #2 in 12’ers.

Streamer of the Week under 50% owned – Viktor Arvidsson has been playing with Draisaitl and Podkolzin lately, delivering four points in his last four games with over three shots per game.  The Oilers have four games this week, which is a big boost.  More importantly, they play tonight where there are three games, and on Wednesday when there are only two games.  Take advantage of the very good Oilers schedule this week.

Streamer of the Week under 10% owned – Kasper, as covered above.  Detroit has rough matchups after the Sharks on Tuesday, but they do have four games this week which puts Kasper firmly in play.

Three Point Challenge:  We will do Tuesday’s games per usual.  You can’t select MacKinnon, Draisaitl, Rantanen, Marner, Kucherov, McDavid, Eichel, Connor, J. Hughes, or Kaprizov.

Edit: I never put my pick in the original post.  I’ll take Keller against Montreal.

That’s all for now guys.  I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the action from the next two nights.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!