The hits keep coming for Tampa Bay. Brayden Point is now out indefinitely after an ugly crash into the boards on Saturday. The Tampa lineup is starting to get pretty thin. Stammer has been forced to go back to center, with Alex Barre-Boulet getting time on the top line. Barre-Boulet scored in Sunday's game against the Wild. He's a decent streamer now. The more interesting player is Anthony Cirelli, who scored two goals on five shots with two PIM on Sunday playing over 24 minutes. It's pretty clear that Cirelli is going to be the top minute getter for Tampa for the time being. I think he becomes a must hold in all formats. Let's take a look at what else happened around the league this weekend:
The Maple Leafs went into the season wanting to limit the workload of their goaltending duo, but things have gone off the rails in the first month. The good news is that if you own Jack Campbell in fantasy, you're reaping all of the benefits. Campbell had a shutout against Nashville on Wednesday, saving 24 shots. Is a 1.68/.943 good? I had Campbell ranked as a top 10 goalie going into the season, but now, he's looking like a top 5 guy. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Jeff Skinner scored 40 goals in 2018-19 playing on the first line with the Sabres. Then, for no reason at all, Ralph Krueger decided that Skinner shouldn't play on the first line anymore. Last season, Krueger thought that Skinner, on a team devoid of talent, should play on the fourth line, or even be scratched. Needless to say, Krueger was one of the worst coaches in the league and quickly lost his job. Since Don Granato took over, Skinner has been back in the role he should be, and he's been thriving in the early part of this season. Skinner scored two goals and added an assist on Saturday against the Maple Leafs. He has 5+4 in 14 games so far with a whopping 47 shots on goal. The shot volume will go a long way towards Skinner finding his goal scoring touch again. I don't think he's a slam dunk hold in 12'ers just yet, but he's an elite streamer with clear upside in his role. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
My love for Alex Ovechkin is no secret for the readers who frequent these parts. The best goal scorer of all time continues to torment the opposition as he's in the midst of one of the best starts of his career. Ovechkin had a goal and two assists with six shots against the Sabres on Monday. Through twelve games, Ovechkin has a ridiculous 11+10 with 60 shots on goals. That's five shots per game, which he's had that or more in seven straight games. The Great Eight is playing his best hockey at even strength in years at age 36. Don't take Alex Ovechkin for granted! Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
In Ilya Sorokin's first two starts, he allowed ten goals. In the next seven, he's allowed eight total. Sorokin kept up his hot streak with a 24 save shutout against the Jets on Saturday. Semyon Varlamov is back for the Islanders, but for now, Sorokin is getting all of the volume. I had him pegged as a great platoon guy this year who ideally was your #3, but would be fine as a #2. Now, it would be terrific if Sorokin is your #2 because he could easily end up being a top 10 goalie even without much volume. The GAA and save percentage look to be elite while the wins on a per-game basis should be as well. Long term, Sorokin looks like a top five goalie. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
The move that we've all been waiting for finally happened on Thursday. Jack Eichel was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and draft picks. The impact of this trade in the short term is minimal. Eichel will have his surgery next week and will be out at least three months. Tuch is out for at least a couple more months with his shoulder surgery, and Krebs was sent down to Rochester for now. Long term, this could be big for all parties involved. First off, if Eichel comes back and gets to play with Stone, he'll have the best linemate he's ever had. We've seen this upside before, and now it's only a matter of getting healthy. This will be a big hit for Chandler Stephenson down the line. Tuch will finally get consistent top six minutes once he returns. With his shot rate, I could see him becoming a hold at the end of this season or next season. Krebs will also end up a top six player, although the time line is a bit more iffy. For fantasy purposes, it's a bit rough that he's a poor finisher, but every other part of his game is above average or higher, so I still suspect he'll be a hold in due time. All in all, I hoped for a slightly better return for Eichel, but given the injury and how long this dragged out, I can't complain about getting a couple top six players and what should end up a middling first round pick. Let's hit on a few other things around the league to bring people up to date:
To say Jacob Markstrom finished October on fire would be an understatement. Markstrom had a 20 save shutout against the Flyers on Saturday, his third in the past four games. The Flames are off to a great start with Markstrom at the forefront. He's saved nine goals above expected over in the last four. He's a clear workhorse which is why I had him a bottom end #1 goalie going into the season, but the upside is higher than that because of the volume. Who knows, maybe he puts together a top five season because of how Sutter wants to play. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
It's no secret that I think Nikolaj Ehlers is the best forward on the Jets and it's not much of a debate. Ehlers stole the show on Tuesday night, tying the game with the goalie pulled, only to score 19 seconds later and win the game for Winnipeg. Ehlers had an assist earlier in the game bringing him up to 2+2 in six games. The big thing is that he has 25 shots in six games. Ehlers is an absolute stud and the points are going to keep flowing in. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
To complete yesterday's hold/stream post, I will comment on my thoughts on some of the close decisions. If you didn't check out yesterday's post, you can read that here. Let's get to it!
I had planned out a long post on holds and streams for the readers tonight, but you're going to get it over two days. Long story short, our Fantasy Master Lothario Grey Albright, Donkey Teeth, and Billy were in Vegas tonight and I met up with them. Here I am finally writing super late to get you the hold/stream list, but I am not going to give you my comments until tomorrow. Blame those Razzball legends! Today, you will get my list of players I would hold and stream in 12 man leagues. Let's get to it!
Razzball favorite Oliver Bjorkstrand had his second 3+ point game of the young season on Thursday, dishing three assists and adding two shots in the 3-2 OT win over the Islanders. That's seven points in four games and the equally encouraging sign is that Bjorkstrand played over 20 minutes in this game. He's owned in almost every league like he should be, but the upside may be even higher than I gave Bjorkstrand credit for. I have no doubt that the goals are going to come, but the playmaking has improved leaps and bounds over the last season plus. I don't think he can quite get to being a top 50 player in a best case scenario, but top 75 is attainable. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Joel Eriksson Ek took a big step forward last season, one of the main reasons the Wild made the playoffs with relative ease. It was more on the defensive end than offensively, but he showed plenty of offense with 19 goals in 56 games. On Tuesday, Eriksson Ek controlled the game for the Wild, scoring a hat trick on seven shots in the 6-5 OT win over the Jets. Eriksson Ek averaged just over two shots per game last season, but he now has twelve shots in three games. The minutes are going to be there so there's a chance he could push into bottom end hold territory. For now, he's an elite streamer. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
