You can do all of the right things building your fantasy team, but sometimes injuries torpedo the work that you’ve done. In the second week of the season, we’ve lost a superstar for the season. Igor Shesterkin suffered a horrible injury on Friday night against the Capitals, with the Rangers announcing that he’s out for the season. It’s just brutal for Igor and the Rangers, who were off to a great start. So what should his fantasy owners do in order to try and salvage their goaltending? We know the options aren’t going to be good off the waiver wire, and it’s only worse if you’re in a situation like me, where in a dynasty, I’ve had Igor and Hellebuyck for a long time. My first priority was to grab Dylan Garand, and I’d advise the same for everyone. Garand is a solid prospect in his own right, and he’s played admirably so far. Garand had a shutout in his first game, allowed one goal on 12 shots in relief of Igor, and then saved 19 of 21 shots in the 6-2 win against the Canucks on Sunday. The Rangers are playing great defensively, so he would the first guy I target off the wire. If you have IR spots, you could stash Joonas Korpisalo, who will be out for another month, but the Rangers paid big money for some reason to sign him this summer. There’s always the possibility of a trade, but for now, I suspect that they’ll see what Garand can do before making any big move. If you missed the boat on Garand, then you could roll the dice on Fowler, Levi, or maybe someone who was dropped already. Don’t forget that goalies are voodoo, so anything can change quickly. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games
Damon Severson – Goal and an assist with three shots. There’s a little bit of deep league value for Severson, but his days of being relevant in 12’ers or shallower are over.
Cole Sillinger – Two assists with two shots. Sillinger is off to a nice start, but for now, I’m mostly monitoring. I’d put him in the middling streamer range.
Logan Thompson – 21 saves on 22 shots in that 3-1 win over the Rangers. Sunday was his first rough game, but early returns from Thompson are as expected.
Ben Meyers – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM. Meyers has never provided much offense, yet this weekend he put up more points than he has had in half seasons. Nothing for now.
Brandon Montour – Two assists. I’m a bit concerned about the poor shot rate so far, as Montour’s value comes from his ability to hit all of the categories decently. The good news is that five assists in six games is enough to cover us for now.
Freddy Gaudreau – Two goals. The Kraken fourth line is hotter than a pistol right now. Good for them, but I can’t expect that to continue, Gaudreau included.
Ryan Winterton – Two assists. Same as his linemates.
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. The former first round pick is playing with DeBrincat right now, although MBN isn’t getting any power play time. Nothing for 12’ers yet, although I do like how much he’s shooting the puck. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Lukas Dostal – 16 saves on 17 shots in the 5-1 win over the Jets. It’s been a solid start for Dostal, at least in the wins department. I’m terrified of the downside with how poor the Ducks defense can be at times.
Mikael Granlund – Goal and an assist with two shots. Granlund has a point in all five games and is making a very good case to be a bottom end hold right now.
Jeff Malott – Two assists with a shot. No chance.
Judd Caulfield – Goal and an assist with three shots. A lot of fourth lines randomly going off on Friday. Don’t see anything here either. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Beckett Sennecke – Two assists with two PIM. Very good start for Sennecke, who has a great chance to break into starom along side Carlsson and Gauthier.
Fraser Minten – Goal and two assists with three shots and twelve PIM. Minten is off to a strong start on the second line, but isn’t getting any power play time. For now, he’s a solid streamer.
J.J Peterka – Two assists. He was bumped down to the second line, which isn’t ideal, but I’m still holding Peterka for now. I want to see how things shake out for the rest of the month at least.
Jeremy Swayman – 14 saves on 15 shots in the 5-1 win over the Flyers. The bottom line is that you should start any goalie against the Flyers right now. They are a complete disaster.
Jake Allen – 20 saves on 21 shots in the 4-1 win over the Canucks. Same goes against the Canucks as the Flyers. It’s hard to judge Allen as his two good starts came against those teams, and his bad one came against the Mammoth.
Nico Hischier – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist with five shots, while Jack Hughes had two assists with two shots. Top players are going to destroy the Canucks all season. They have absolutely nobody to match up with top players.
Tristan Jarry – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 3-1 win over the Sharks. Use Jarry at your own risk. The Oilers are playing well right now, but it’s hard to have any faith in Jarry.
Jesper Wallstedt – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 4-1 win over the Panthers. Fantastic start for Wallstedt, who has total control of the Wild crease. He’s started every game to this point,
Kirill Kaprizov – Hat trick and an assist with four shots. I don’t think he’ll shoot 46% forever, but it’s great to see a hot start for Kaprizov.
Matt Boldy – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. These were Boldy’s first two points after a slow start, but the shots are coming in at full force, so I’m expecting a heater sooner than later.
Dylan Holloway – Three assists with three shots. The top line in St. Louis was one of the best lines in the league down the stretch last season, but Holloway was pointless in four games before Saturday. Be patient, as they should build on this going forward.
Jimmy Snuggerud – Two goals on three shots. Snuggerud is on the fringe, although I lean towards holding at the moment.
Nathan MacKinnon – Two goals on eight shots with two PIM. Can he maintain his 82+82 pace!?
William Nylander – Two goals and three assists wiht four shots. Auston Matthews had two goals and two assists with five shots. Oh my. The Toronto power play looks fantastic when McKenna is out there with them. Regardless, both are off to a great start.
Nick Paul – Two assists. Paul is a middling streamer as long as he’s playing with Nylander.
Arturs Silovs – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 2-1 SO win over Jake Oettinger (19/20) and the Stars. Dallas is playing some very low event hockey right now. Silovs has two great starts and two horrible ones, which is close enough to what I expect. He’s a gamble that I’m not taking.
Tim Stutzle – Goal and an assist with four shots. Stutzle has looked the part of Ottawa’s top player so far with 4+4 in five games.
Jacob Fowler – 30 save shutout in the 1-0 SO win over Daniil Tarasov (30/30) and the Red Wings. I don’t have any interest in a Red Wings goalie right now, but it’s worth noting that Fowler started two games in a row for Montreal. It could be nothing, but if you need goaltending help, he could be a nice spec add.
Mike Reilly – Two assists with two shots. I can’t see Reilly carving out any value in Carolina.
Jordan Martinook – Goal and an assist with two PIM. And there’s your monthly Martinook update!
Jackson Blake – Goal and an assist with two shots. Blake is very much on the fringe right now.
Karel Vejmelka – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 4-1 win over the Sabres. Utah looks fantastic in the early going, and Vejmelka has done his part. He looks like a bottom end #1 at the moment.
Anders Lee – Goal and an assist with three shots. Decent start in Utah for Lee, but I see him more in the middling to solid streamer range.
John Marino – Goal and an assist with two shots. Marino is actually getting PP2 time over Weegar and Schmidt right now, but the shots, hits and blocks are awful. I can’t see using Marino at the moment.
Kailer Yamamoto – Goal and an assist with two shots. Nice season debut for Yamamoto, but I’m going to need to see a bigger role and consistency to put him back on the streaming radar.
Barrett Hayton – Two assists with a shot. All of Utah’s adds have really knocked Hayton down the totem pole. He’s off to a fine start, but I see him as a bottom end streamer now.
Brandon Hagel – Hat trick and an assist with six shots, three hits and four blocks. Monster performace from Hagel, who continued to be underrated in fantasy circles in the preseason. The assist came on the top power play, which is the most encouraging thing to me. I feel even better about ranking him in the top 20 again.
Jake Guentzel – Two goals on four shots. Business as usual for Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov (2A) so far.
Max Crozier – Two assists with two shots. Nice start for Crozier, but I can’t really see anything here.
Tony DeAngelo – Goal and an assist with two shots. Tony Dawgs is a super deep league only guy now, barring some injuries.
Carter Hart – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Kings. Strong start to the season for Hart, although he’s played some horrific offenses.
Trevor Connelly – Goal and an assist with six shots. The former first round pick is on the top power play unit right now. That alone makes him a middling to solid streamer. He’s had plenty of questionable off-ice incidents, which makes him fit in perfectly with this Vegas team.
Mitch Marner – Goal and an assist with three shots. The shot rate is strong out of the gate, which is good to see.
Mark Stone – Two assists with a shot. Please stay healthy!
Mikael Granlund – Two assists with four shots. See Granlund, Mikael under Friday’s games.
Ryan Poehling – Goal and an assist with two shots. He was also injured in this game, so we’ll have to see the prognosis. Not a lot of fantasy value here though.
Matt Coronato – Two assists with a shot. The Flames are a truly disgusting watch at the moment. I don’t want anything to do with any of their players.
Sunday’s Games
Gaudreau, Winterton, and Meyers all had two points again. I’m still not interested, although Gaudreau may get on the bottom end streamer list.
Mika Zibanejad – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. I was hoping for the shot rate to shoot back up, but it doesn’t appear to be the case. That said, seven points in seven games works just fine for Mika.
J.T. Miller – Two assists with a shot. Four game point streak for Miller. I think he’s pretty fringy right now.
Alexis Lafreniere – Goal and an assist with two shots. Laf is looking great at the moment, with five goals and three assists with four games. He’s definitely worth holding while he’s on fire.
Will Cuylle – Two goals on three shots. In hits leagues, you could hold Cuylle if you really wanted the big hit total. Otherwise, he’s a solid streamer.
Tye Kartye – Two goals on three shots. He did finish last season strong for the Rangers, but I’m not buying it at all.
Gabe Perreault – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s not going to contribute much outside of points, but Perreault has six points in his last six games. I see him as an elite streamer given the top line role, but without PP1.
Pyotr Kochetkov – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 4-1 win over the Flyers. The most shots that Kochetkov has faced in a game is 20. It’s nice to play against Philly twice and the Canucks. That said, I would be owning Kochetkov everywhere. The wins and GAA should be very good, even if the save percentage isn’t top notch.
William Carrier – Two assists with four PIM. Carrier is currently playing on the top line in Jarvis’ spot. In super deep leagues, you can stream Carrier, but I don’t see him worthy of 12’ers.
Sebastian Aho – Goal and an assist with two shots. Monster start for Aho, who has eleven points in his last six games. Love to see it.
Andrei Svechnikov – Goal and an assist with two PIM. Fantastic start for Svech, who is picking up right where he left off last season.
Three Point Challenge: We will bring back the Three Point Challenge for Tuesday’s Games! For anyone who doesn’t know, you pick a player to score three points in their game that night, but it can’t be somebody in the top ten in scoring. For a while, we will go with last season’s top ten in points, so you can’t select McDavid, Kucherov, MacKinnon, Celebrini, Scheifele, Suzuki, Necas, Pastrnak, Draisaitl, or Robertson. Fungazi 2.0, Surfer Dude, ashtray, and Ranah all have a correct pick already. With all 32 teams playing on Tuesday, there are plenty of options available. I’ll go with a big Bo Horvat revenge game against the Canucks.
That’s all for now guys. MarmosDad will be back on Wednesday recapping the huge Tuesday slate, while I’ll be back on Friday covering Wednesday and Thursday. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
