Atkinson Annihilates The Devils

For players that aren’t superstars, Cam Atkinson is among the best for having games that he completely dominates.  He did that on Tuesday night, scoring a hat trick on seven shots and adding an assist in the 6-1 Flyers win over the Devils.  Atkinson is pushing three shots per game with 12+7 in 27 games.  He has eight points in the last seven games and is receiving more ice time since Yeo took over as the coach.  That’s enough to make him a hold in all formats.  Let’s take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night:

Rasmus Dahlin – Two goals on three shots.  Dahlin was outstanding from the onset of the game.  He’s on pace for around 15+35 and I can easily see him beating that in his current form.  Could he finally be turning the player everyone expected when he was the top pick?  As a Sabres fan, I certainly hope so.

Victor Olofsson – Two assists.  I have Olofsson as an elite streamer because the shots have been down, but it’s close.

Tage Thompson – Two assists with five shots.  Where I have Thompson, I’ve been stubborn as the chances have been there lately but it hasn’t turned into goals.  It should turn eventually.

Pierre-Luc Dubois – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Last season’s debacle is clearly a thing of the past.  While I don’t expect Dubois to maintain a 40 goal pace, a new career high in points seems likely.

Valeri Nichushkin – Two goals on three shots.  Big Val has managed to play his way into being a hold which I did not see coming.

Nazem Kadri – Two assists with a shot playing 20 minutes in his return to the lineup.  If you didn’t realize he was coming off IR, make the move now and get him back in your lineup.

Nathan MacKinnon – Two assists with five shots.  He’s been dominate lately but Mac hasn’t had the massive game.  Sooner or later, he’s going to have a massive 4-5 point game.

Robin Lehner – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 4-1 win over the Bruins.  Lehner has been good, but it hasn’t turned into quality stats because Vegas hasn’t been as good defensively as usual.  I would try to buy low if possible.

Chandler Stephenson – Three assists with a shot.  Mark Stone had two assists while Max Pacioretty had two goals on three shots.  Stephenson has piled up the assists as he’s stuck on the first line.  Stone is rounding into form while Patches has been the best player in the league on a per-game basis this season.  Needless to say, this line is tearing up the competiton.

Carter Hart – 26 saves on 27 shots in the win.  It’s been rough lately as the team transitions, but Hart’s save percentage is still solid.  I’m bullish going forward.

Rasmus Ristolainen – Two assists with three shots and two PIM.  It’ll take him getting power play time for Risto to be useful.  That’s assuming your league doesn’t have hits; if it is does, you know he’s an animal.

Travis Sanheim – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Like Risto, he’ll need PP time for him to be valuable in most formats.

Oskar Lindblom – Goal and an assist.  He had two points in the previous 25 games.  Pass.

Jonathan Drouin – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Drouin has been decent, but right now, I don’t want anything to do with a single Canadien.

Evan Rodrigues – Goal and two assists playing over 22 minutes.  It is remarkable that Rodrigues is doing this well in Pittsburgh.  I saw him play terrible hockey in Buffalo for years.  As long as he’s with Sidney Crosby (two assists, six shots), he’s an easy hold, and he can stay a hold even on the second line.

Drake Batherson – Goal and three assists with five shots.  As games far as bizarre go, 8-2 Ottawa over Florida will probably be the weirdest outcome of the season.  Sorry, Spencer Knight owners.  Batherson is well above a point per game on the season as Ottawa’s first line continues to crush.

Josh Norris – Two goals and an assist with five shots and two PIM.  I saw Norris as a player who would end up a second line center, and maybe that’s the case, but he looks fully capable as a first liner right now at 22 years old.

Connor Brown – Three assists with a shot.  Decent streamer whose shot rate caps his ceiling.

Thomas Chabot – Two assists with three shots.  He’s still piling up the assists and I’m still buying that the goals are going to start to come in if he keeps shooting this much.

Sam Reinhart – Goal and an assist.  It took a while, but Reinhart is delivering on the lofty ranking I gave him.  He has 5+5 in the last seven games.

Alex Nedeljkovic – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 2-1 win over the Islanders.  It still bothers me that Detroit was able to get him for a third round pick.  He’s won over half of his starts and while the GAA is high, the save percentage is solid.  He looks like a middling #2 and long term, there’s a #1 here as Detroit continues to improve.

Vladimir Tarasenko – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Pavel Buchnevich had two assists with two shots as the Russian trio with Barbashev is doing a lot of damage for the Blues.  Great to see Tarasenko healthy while Buch has found another level.

Charlie Lindgren – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 4-1 win over the Stars.  As I said Sunday night, Lindgren is better than the usual AHL goalie.  He’s worth using until Binnington is back, which should be this weekend.

Jack Campbell – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 5-1 win over the Oilers.  Nice to see Campbell bounce back after a rough stretch.  They caught Edmonton at the right time.

Morgan Rielly – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Rielly has been an easy hold all season, but he’s been in the best form of his past two seasons lately, which is great to see.

Ondrej Kase – Two assists with two shots.  As long as he’s with Auston Matthews (two goals on four shots) and on the top PP unit, Kase is an elite streamer, if not a bottom end hold.

Eric Robinson – Two goals on three shots.  Robinson’s speed is a consistent factor, but it’s hard to see him as anything more than a bottom end streamer, if even that.

Alexandre Texier – Two assists.  I like Texier quite a bit, but he’s stuck on the fourth line right now.  Even with that, he’s a middling streamer, but I really hope he gets an expanded role again soon.

Quinn Hughes – Three assists with three shots playing over 27 minutes.  All your assists are belong to Hughes!

Tyler Myers – Two assists with six shots, three hits, and three blocks playing over 29 minutes.  Yes, Poolman left the game entering COVID protocol, but Myers’ workload is insane since Bruce took over.  He’s a must own in blocks leagues and otherwise is on the fringe.

Bo Horvat – Two goals on three shots.  Dr. Bo is cutting up the competition once again!  I feel pretty good about holding Horvat in all formats.

Chris Driedger – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 3-1 win over the Sharks.  The Kraken goalies have both been horrible, but we’ve seen them be great before with the Panthers and Avalanche respectively.  I want to believe that both will turn it around, but it’s obviously quite risky.

Calle Jarnkrok – Goal and an assist.  Jarnkrok’s offense has apparently been left in Nashville.  No thanks.

Three Point Challenge:  We’ll be doing Thursday’s Games.  You cannot select McDavid, Draisaitl, Ovechkin, Kadri, Matthews, Stamkos, Panarin, Aho, Huberedau, Connor, Kapirzov, and Tavares.  I’ll go with Stone against the Devils.