We’re in the midst of one of the best goal scoring streaks in recent times. After scoring a goal on four shots on Friday, Cutter Gauthier had a hat trick and an assist with six shots against the Penguins on Sunday. That’s his third hat trick in five games, and during his six game goal streak, he has thirteen goals! 13!!! Gauthier is now a top five player on the season, and while I don’t expect that to last, I’d definitely bet on top 20, and possibly top ten. The shot rate is over four per game now and while his shooting percentage is a tad high, I don’t want to bet against him. The superstars on the Ducks are on another level right now. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games
Kent Johnson – Goal and an assist wiwth five shots. Johnson has a seven game point streak. He’s over a point per game on the season now, putting last season’s massive disappointment behind him. He’s on the fringe, but I’d lean towards holding while he’s on fire.
Owen Power – Three assists with two shots and two PIM. Power is piling up the assists so he’s clearly doing enough to be held.
Josh Norris – Two goals on three shots. He needs more than one good game for Norris to get anywhere near my fantasy radar.
Jack Quinn – Goal and an assist with three shots. The Quinn breakout is in full force.
Jesper Wallstedt – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 4-1 win over the Sharks. My only concern with Wallstedt is his volume is through the roof. That’s great for now, but Gustavsson needs to come back to ease Wallstedt’s workload so he doesn’t break down. I had him as a top five goalie going into the season and he has fully delivered.
Kirill Kaprizov – Goal and three assists with two shots. Quinn Hughes had a goal and two assists with two shots. Kaprizov has been the best player in the league, non-Oilers division. Hughes is the same for defensemen. None of it is fluky.
Mikael Granlund – Two assists with a shot. The captain has been on a massive point tear, and this wasn’t his best game of the weekend (spoiler alert!). I have Granlund on the fringe, but with a lean towards holding for the sheer volume of points.
Leo Carlsson – Goal and an assist. Carlsson is currently second in the league in assists behind McDavid. Pretty, pretty good.
Beckett Sennecke – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Sennecke is absolutely crushing across the board. I was bullish on him this season, but apparently I wasn’t bullish enough.
Morgan Frost – Two assists with a shot. Middling to solid streamer range.
Zayne Parekh – Two assists with a shot. When you watch the Flames, Parekh is constantly standing out. You can see the massive upside, but it’s not there yet, in part because of how bad the team is. Long term, I’m all in, but for now, I’d probably pass in 12’ers.
Saturday’s Games:
Matthew Tkachuk – Three assists with three shots and two PIM. Brady Tkachuk had two goals on seven shots. The shot rate is down quite a bit for Matthew, but he already has 21 assists in 17 games. Ridiculous.
Pierre-Luc Dubois – Goal and an assist with three shots. Dubois remains on the fringe, but I lean towards holding for the all-around contributions.
Aliaksei Protas – Goal and an assist with two shots. Protas is playing better lately, but he’s still only a bottom end streamer.
Steven Stamkos – Goal and an assist with five shots. Stammer picked up right where he left off last season. He already has ten goals and the assists are way up as well.
Roman Josi – Two assists with two shots. Huge bounce back from Josi, and he’s due a bit of positive shooting regression.
Juuse Saros – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blues. It’s early, but this is the best that Saros has looked in 3-4 years. Nashville looks surprisingly competent? I have Saros on the fringe of bottom end #1 / elite #2 in 12’ers again.
Mika Zibanejad – Two assists with a shot. I was hoping for a bounce back in shot rate with Panarin gobe, but it’s gotten even worse. That puts Zibanejad on the fringe.
Alexis Lafreniere – Two assists with two shots. Laf is looking like the player that the Rangers hoped for when they took him first overall. Easy hold everywhere.
Berkly Catton – Two assists with four PIM. It looks like the Kraken may finally have someone with top end offensive talent. Catton is on the fringe already, but a slight lean towards elite streamer for the poor shot rate. That said, Catton looks like a future star.
Alex Newhook – Two goals. Newhook is averaging one shot per game, leaving him as a bottom end streamer.
Clayton Keller – Goal and an assist with six shots. Keller and his line are struggling mightily at even strength, but their point totals are fantastic because of how good the power play is. Nobody is complaining about 24 points in 18 games.
Michael Amadio – Goal and an assist with two shots. Decent deep league option, but only a bottom end to middling streamer in 12’ers.
Shane Pinto – Goal and an assist. Pinto has been very good so far with 7+7 in 18 games. That puts him in the solid to elite streamer range despite being under two shots on goal per game.
Jack Hughes – Goal and an assist with five shots. Hughes is right on the fringe of the top ten players right now. Just stay healthy!
Luke Evangelista – Goal and an assist with five shots. Elite streamer range for Evangelista.
Bo Horvat – Two assists with two shots. Fantastic start for Horvat, who is at a point per game and over three shots per game.
Simon Holmstrom – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Holmstrom is in the middling streamer range while he’s playing with Horvat.
Jake Guentzel – Two goals and an assist with seven shots and two PIM. Business as usual for Guentzel, which is playing at a superstar level.
Charle-Edouard D’Astous – Goal and two assists with three shots playing almost 25 minutes. D’Astous’ emergence has come relatively out of nowhere. He’s even a massive contributor in hits and blocks for banger leagues. He’s looking like the waiver pickup of the season.
John Carlson – Two assists with a shot. Even with D’Astous taking PP1, Carlson has been solid. It does hurt his ceiling quite a bit though.
Nikita Kucherov – Goal and an assist with nine shots. Kucherov’s decision to ask for a trade hasn’t affected his play.
Brayden Point – Two assists with two shots. He was injured on Sunday so we’ll have to get an update on Monday. Early speculation was that he’ll miss the Sabres game on Wednesday, but time will tell.
Maxim Shabanov – Two goals on three shots. Shabanov has six goals in his last seven games. It’s largely driven by Shabanov being the fifth wheel on the lethal Wild power play. For now, he’s in elite streamer range while he’s hot.
Macklin Celebrini – Three assists with six shots. The Sharks may be a mess, but it’s not because of Celebrini or Will Smith (1+1, 3 SOG).
Thomas Harley – Goal and two assists with two shots. Miro Heiskanen was out for this game, which is obviously a huge boon to Harley’s value. We’re holding Harley regardless though.
Mikko Rantanen – Two assists with three shots and four PIM. I think we have to accept Rantanen’s big decline in shots as a permanent change, but the points are still fantastic.
Roope Hintz – Goal and an assist with four shots. Hintz is also down to around two shots per game, but the points are at his usual level.
Wyatt Johnston – Two assists with five shots. The goals are going to start coming in for Johnston. The assists are easily at the best rate of his career, so if I was doing a buy/sell post, Johnston would near the top of the buy list.
Connor Bedard – Goal and an assist. It is embarrassing how bad the Blackhawks are in Bedard’s fourth season. He’s pretty much exactly on last season’s paces.
Alex Vlasic – Two assists. And there’s your annual Vlasic update!
Sebastian Aho – Goal and two assists. The Canes absolutely destroyed Chicago 9-2, so I won’t go through every player with 2+ points because it would take forever and I didn’t change my opinion on anyone. It is notable that Aho is having the best season of his career and has been a top ten player so far.
Alexander Nikishin – Goal and an assist in his season debut. His role is somewhat limited by the depth of Carolina, but Nikishin is probably worth owning in 12’ers. He’s certainly on the fringe one way or another.
MacKenzie Blackwood – 27 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Red Wings. 2.60/.901 doesn’t look great, but in the current NHL ecosystem, those are solid numbers. Add in 9 wins in 13 starts and Blackwood is an easy #1. It’s also clear as day that he’s their #1 as I expected, despite Wedgewood being ranked higher almost everywhere in the preseason.
Martin Necas – Two goals and two assists. Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists with four shots while Cale Makar had a goal and two assists with two shots. Safe to say that Detroit can’t handle the superstars on other teams. He hasn’t been talked about besides when Bednar egregiously took Necas off PP1, but Necas has 23 points in 18 games. Love to see it.
Evgeni Malkin – Three assists with a shot. It was a game for the good ol’ days, as Sidney Crosby scored two goals on three shots, while Kris Letang dished three assists, adding three shots. Malkin is sitting at a point per game at the moment, despite the struggles of Pitt. He’s still playing at a pretty high level offensively.
Tommy Novak – Two goals. Novak is in solid to elite streamer range while he’s on PP1.
Leon Draisaitl – Two goals and an assist with seven shots and two PIM. Connor McDavid dished three assists. McDavid has a point in every game this season. Draisaitl isn’t far off, and his shot rate is the best it’s been in five years. It’s incredible to watch them on every shift right now.
Sunday’s Games:
Jeremy Swayman – 40 saves on 41 shots in the 4-1 win over the Panthers. Swayman is easily a top five goalie so far, which isn’t a huge surprise. The Bruins look fantastic and Swayman is a big part of it.
David Pastrnak – Two assists with three shots. Business as usual for Pasta.
Pavel Zacha – Two assists with a shot. Elite streamer range for Zacha, but not quite on the fringe because of the poor shots.
Adin Hill – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 4-1 win over the Sabres. Hill was great in the first period to keep the game at 0-0 before Vegas woke up. Hill has been solid after being one of the worst goalies in the league last season. Hill has worked his way into a platoon and could be held if you need goaltending help.
Tomas Hertl – Two goals on four shots. I’d lean elite streamer for Hertl, but he is on fire if you want to grab him while he’s hot.
Ivan Barbashev – Two assists with two PIM. Middling streamer.
Mitch Marner – Goal and an assist with three shots. Marner has some positive shooting regression coming his way. When I watch Vegas, it feels like Marner is overpassing a lot, but his shot rate is actually solid by his standards. He’s over a point per game so no complaints here.
Erik Cernak – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Nothing for fantasy.
Pontus Holmberg – Two goals on four shots with four PIM. Holmberg has always been elite defensively, but he’s chipping in a bit of offense this season. I still only see a bottom end to middling streamer because I don’t fully buy it, but it’s something.
Mark Scheifele – Goal and an assist with two shots. I wrote last week that Scheifele was due for some shooting luck, and he’s scored in both games since then.
Cole Perfetti – Goal and an assist with six shots. Perfetti has fallen off a bit, but the role is still there, and his shot rate is fantastic. I would hold without much hesitation.
Viggo Bjorck – Two assists with a shot. The Jets think incredibly highly of Bjorck, the 8th overall pick from this draft. Right now, there’s nothing for fantasy, but that should change in a year or two. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Connor Hellebuyck – 23 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Maple Leafs. I can’t believe that the Devils aren’t letting him start in Winnipeg this week. Insanity.
Timo Meier – Two goals on five shots with two PIM. Meier had only one goal before Sunday despite 65 shots on goal. Goals are coming.
Nico Hischier – Goal and an assist. It’s not been the best start for Nico, but he’s done enough to be held.
Jesper Bratt – Two assists with four shots. Bratt’s shooting percentage is also quite low, but he’s still sitting at a point per game. Hell of a player.
Sean Couturier – Two assists with three shots. Couts’ offense has completely dried off. Zero interest in any format.
Yegor Sharangovich – Two assists. Sharangovich stands out a fair amount, but he doesn’t produce. It is quite strange. Years from now, people won’t believe that Sharangovich scored 30 goals. Nothing for fantasy.
Mikael Granlund – Goal and three assists with three shots. Same as under the Friday section.
Jackson LaCombe – Three assists with a shot. LaCombe’s shot rate is in the depths, but he also has 21 assists in 18 games. Hard to complain about that.
Three Point Challenge: We will do the Three Point Challenge per usual. Now that we’re into November, we will use the current top ten in points. That means no McDavid, Draisaitl, Kaprizov, Bouchard, MacKinnon, Matthews, Aho, Q. Hughes, Carlsson, or M. Tkachuk. Give me Boldy against the Canadiens.
That’s all for now guys. MarmosDad will be back on Wednesday while I will have my next post on Friday morning. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
