Well, my bold preseason prediction that Matvei Michkov would score 30+ goals has some hope. Since coming back from the Four Nations break, Michkov has completely torched the Oilers and the Penguins twice. Michkov scored two goals and an assist with four shots on Thursday, giving him eight points in his three games over the past week. Going back to the two games before the break, he also has 24 shots on goal in five games, which is incredibly encouraging going forward. I'm all in on Michkov long term as I've noted throughout the season, but his rough patch in January has left him on the waiver wire on around 50% of leagues. Even if he's just a hot schmotato for now, he's clearly must own right now because of the undeniable upside. If his shot rate gets up to three per game eventually, he's going to be a top 20 player for years. Let's take a look at what else happened on Thursday night:
It’s about that time to update my hold/stream list.
“Every 4-6 weeks during the season, I change things up and post a list of fantasy relevant players. I look at things from the perspective of a 12 player league, and put players into three categories. First, there are holds, who are players that should be on 100% of rosters. Next, there are players on the fringe, who you can make a case for holding depending on team needs, or at the least, they’re the best of the best for streaming. Lastly, there are streamers, who are worth using, but not worth holding. I will list streamers in order of preference (generally, I only want to stream forwards, not defensemen. Also, goalies will be last regardless of preference just to separate them). Assume that I am holding every #1 goalie unless otherwise noted, but I will mention the backups I want to use. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please let me know below.
If you missed Part One covering the Eastern Conference, which came out during the Four Nations break, you can check that out here. The glossary is located at the top of that post as well. Without further adieu, let's get to it!
ANAHEIM DUCKS (3,3,4,3,2) - 2B2B, 3 Light Days
One of the weaker schedules to start with, Anaheim's back to backs aren't until the last two weeks of the season, so one of them could be when your championship is over. To start Week 4, there is a three games in four nights that covers a back to back and two light days. That is the clear highlight here. Otherwise, with just 15 games, not much to see here. And that's just fine because despite their hot streak before the break, it's not a team I'm that interested in.
It's been a while since I've posted because of the NHL hiatus, but I have to say that the Four Nations Tournament has exceeded expectations and then some. It has been an incredible tournament with the big showdown coming on Thursday night between USA and Canada. The regular season starts up again on Saturday, so I'm going to have my updated hold/stream list finally come out on Monday. Before then, I'm going to publish my Playoff Manifesto. For those of you that are new in these parts, I break down every NHL's schedule for the fantasy hockey playoffs i.e. for those of you in head to head leagues. Volume is King, and we want to take advantage of every single edge we can get. Before I get started, I want to explain my process and my abbreviations, plus give a small glossary.
All of the loyal Razzballers know my infatuation with Dylan Guenther in fantasy. It's been a tough month with him on the injured list, but he came back in a big, big way. Guenther tied the game against the Flyers on Tuesday before scoring with one second left in overtime to win the game. He finished with two goals and an assist with six shots and more importantly, 22:37 of ice time. It was great to see him handle that kind of workload right away. Utah still has three games before the Four Nations break, so if you're in one of those leagues without IR spots and Guenther is available, grab him immediately. There's easily top 100 upside here for the rest of the way. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Everything looks minor compared to the Luka Doncic trade, but there were four hockey trades over the weekend that were all notable. Two have fairly big fantasy repercussions, one gives some potential upside with changes of scenery, and the other could have some tertiary impact. For the second time because of trades, I had to scrap my hold/stream list. I'm going to hold off on that until the Four Nations break now. I also plan to have my Playoff Manifesto come out over that time. For today, let's talk about those trades in the order they occurred:
During Claude Julien's tenure, his #1 goalie, usually Tuukka Rask, never played against the Sabres. My hometown team has been so bad for so long that we would get Halak, Khudobin, or whatever backup. Even with a new coach, we haven't seen Swayman once, but he had a rough outing on Tuesday night. In fact, we had a first of the season. Tage Thompson and J.J. Peterka each had a hat trick and an assist, with the duo becoming the first teammates this season to both have a hat trick in the same game. They really seem to be clicking since Jiri Kulich (assist, shot) moved onto their line at center. Thompson and Peterka each finished +6 which is remarkable. Thompson looks to be getting healthier and back to his normal self. I saw Peterka on the fringe but this heater is enough to get him back as a bottom end hold. Kulich looks like a huge dynasty value and is a solid streamer for redrafts. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Last season, Carolina made the biggest move at the deadline acquiring Guentzel from the Penguins. This season, they didn't wait until the deadline, and they somehow pulled off a trade that was bigger than the Guentzel move. On Friday night, one of the biggest hockey trades of the millennium took place between the Avs, Canes, and Blackhawks. Carolina acquired Mikko Rantanen, Taylor Hall, and a lottery ticket prospect. The Avalanche received Martin Necas, Jack Drury, and two draft picks. The Blackhawks helped facilitate the trade, retaining 50% of Rantanen's salary, receiving a third round pick and dumping Hall in the process. Safe to say a couple things. One, it's worth me pushing back my hold / stream list after a move like this. Two, there's enough fantasy impact from this trade that it requires its own post. Let's get to it!
We were early on the Igor Shesterkin bandwagon when we found out in 2019 that he was going to come over to the Rangers that season. His numbers were insane in Russia and none of it looked fluky. He's been fantastic ever since, carrying flawed Rangers teams to elite levels. This season, he finally had a rough patch, although it was largely influenced by the play in front of him. The Rangers are bouncing back, and Igor is at the forefront. Shesterkin saved 33 of 34 shots in the 6-1 win over the Flyers, after having shutouts in his previous two starts. His save percentage has crossed the .915 mark now, and he's third in the league in GSAA. Hellebuyck has done enough to say that he's the top goalie in the world right now, but I'm still taking Igor second, and wouldn't be surprised to see that flip at any point soon. Given that the Rangers are in the thick of a playoff race, expect massive volume and Shesterkin to be a top five goalie the rest of the way in a worst case scenario. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
It's not too often that you see a team up 5-1 halfway through the game and they don't even get a point. In fact, they lost by multiple goals. The Sharks were taking it to the Predators on Tuesday before the firepower we expected from Smashville going into the season showed up, making a 7-5 comeback. They were led by one of their big free agent signings, Jonathan Marchessault, who had a goal and three assists with four shots. It was a brutal start to the season for Marchessault (like everyone on the Preds), but Marchessault is in the midst of a nine game point streak right now. The shot is fantastic, so he's played his way back onto the fringe with a lean towards holding, especially on this hot streak. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
In a change of pace from the usual posts, I'm going to take a look at my ten bold predictions from the preseason and how they're shaping up. I will link the original post at the end of this one, but I will go through all of them in this one and look at their chances of coming through. Some have a lot of hope, and some make me look like a fool. To be fair, that's how bold predictions should go! Let's get to it!
"I really like Logan Thompson. There’s no way to bet on this, but I favor Thompson to be the #1 by the end of the season, and probably by midseason. I’m a big believer in his talent. It (drafting him) is a gamble I’d like to take." And that's me quoting me from my preseason rankings! Well, we've reached that point and then some. Thompson posted his second consecutive shutout on Thursday, beating the Sens 1-0 in OT on a Ovechkin game winner. Thompson's numbers are ludicrous. He's started 25 games and has 20 wins. His GAA is pushing towards 2.20 and his save percentage is above .920. And just like that, he's the #2 overall goalie on the season. I didn't get Thompson on every team like I hoped, but he is carrying my teams where I do since he was my third goalie drafted. The Capitals look like a powerhouse and I see no reason to expect him to fall off a cliff. Would I bet him as a top five goalie the rest of the way? Probably not. As a #1 in 12'ers? Absolutely. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
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