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Before the season, if you told me I was going to be writing about an Ingram, I would have assumed I was needed to write about basketball in an emergency.  Instead, we're two months into the season, and the #3 overall goalie is a 26 year old who played 30 mediocre to bad games in his NHL career.  Connor Ingram posted a 26 save shutout in the 6-0 win over the Capitals on Monday.  Ingram now has an 11-3 record with a 2.23/.930.  I was bullish on an Arizona goalie in preseason, turns out I should have looked at the backup.  Do I expect it to last?  I would lean towards no, but crazier things have happened.  Arizona is playing excellent hockey, and it's not only because of Ingram.  Somehow, he's still available in over 50% of leagues.  Even if he turns into a pumpkin in two weeks, it was worth the speculative add, because the upside is through the roof.  Let's see what else happened over the last two nights:
It's safe to say that we've reached the point that nobody doubts Boston anymore.  Their two top centers retired, and yet the team is chugging along at 16-4-3.  Their new captain was the reason they won both games over the weekend.  Brad Marchand scored the overtime winner against the Leafs on Saturday, his eighth shot on goal in the contest.  He followed it up with a natural hat trick, scoring all three goals for the Bruins in their 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets.  That gives Marchand 11+12 in 24 games, almost exactly a point per game.  The big thing is his shot rate is at an all-time high.  In my preseason rankings, I was uncertain on Marchand's ceiling, but speculated his shot rate could improve without Bergeron.  He's at exactly 3.5 per game, and with his elite PIM as always, Marchand is still in the conversation for a top 20 player.  At 35 years old, Marchand is showing no signs of slowing down.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
At the end of the day, Patrick Kane chose playing with a former linemate over his best chance to win a Cup, and his hometown.  Kane signed a one year deal with the Red Wings, the rival of the team he's most known for, the Blackhawks.  Boy, it's going to look weird seeing him in that jersey.  Anyways, most would assume that Kane will play on the wing with DeBrincat and Larkin because of his connection with DeBrincat.  I'm a little skeptical, except on the power play.  No matter how Kane looks physically, Kane is a lock for Detroit's top power play unit.  That alone puts him on the fantasy radar.  However, there hasn't been one skater that has returned to peak form after a hip resurfacing.  It would not surprise me if Kane struggles at even strength, and at the least, I expect Detroit to ease him back in.  That means cushy minutes in a limited even strength role, plus the power play time.  How good is that going to be for fantasy?  I wouldn't be spending a ton of FAAB to get him if he's available.  If you have nothing to lose, I'm fine with making a spec add on him if you're in a 12'er or deeper, but keep expectations in check.  I would guess the most likely outcome is Kane is a solid streamer who goes back and forth between a bottom end hold and slightly usable.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Towards the 2020 NHL trade deadline, the Maple Leafs acquired Campbell and Clifford for the Kings for two draft picks and a former undrafted player who looked like a AAAA player.  He was coming off a big season for the Marlies, but was struggling at the NHL level.  That player was Trevor Moore.  Now, he's a top six player on one of the best teams in the league.  Moore scored two goals on five shots against the Coyotes on Monday.  That brings him up to 9+6 on the season with a shot rate pushing towards three per game.  Moore is certainly on the fringe, but right now, I'm leaning towards holding.  The big reason is that Kevin Fiala moved onto a line with Moore and Phillip Danault (1+1).  Moore and Danault are both good play drivers, but Fiala is right there with them with an elite skill set.  Albeit in a short sample, this line is generating opportunities at a rate as high as any in the league.  They also get the bonus of going against weaker competition because of the Kopitar line.  While this start looks like an outlier based on Moore's previous stats, the underlying numbers suggest that he should continue to produce.  Let's take a look at what else happened Monday night:
How does Sidney Crosby keep getting better at 36 years old?  Crosby had a hat trick and an assist on Tuesday, leading the Penguins to a 5-3 win over the Blue Jackets.  He opened the scoring in the game, he got the lead back in the last six minuets and then sealed the game with an empty netter.  That brings Crosby to 10 goals and 9 assists in 14 games while pushing four shots per game.  He's on a nine game point streak and is a top 20 forward again.  With the arrival of Erik Karlsson (goal and an assist, two shots), Crosby has a great chance of getting to 100 points for the first time in five seasons and 40 goals for the first time since 2016-17.  I think at this point, he has to be considered a top five player of all-time.  If you have him in fantasy, enjoy it, because there's no reason to expect regression.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
An easy win against the Kraken on Friday wasn't enough for Jay Woodcroft to keep his job.  The most disappointing team in the league felt obligated to make a chance, and the easiest change is firing the head coach.  Do I think this was the right move?  Probably not.  Woodcroft led the team to three playoff series wins over the last two seasons, losing to the eventual Cup champion both times.  This season, McDavid rushed coming back to play the Heritage Classic and clearly isn't 100%.  Ekholm looks hampered as well.  Kris Knoblauch, who was their AHL coach and McDavid's former junior coach, takes over.  I expect the team to improve because they've simply played well below expectations so far.  So what does this impact in fantasy?  Generally, teams play more focused on the defensive end when a new coach comes in.  Is that even possible for the Oilers?  Hard to say.  If that does happen, Stuart Skinner could be the biggest beneficiary.  He's been a disaster to this point, but it's clearly his job now (I have a hard time seeing Knoblauch turning to Pickard, even though he's been coaching him).  We'll have to see tonight how the lines and usage change, but I suspect that he will ride the top players just like Woodcroft did.  Let's take a look at the highlights of the weekend:
Vincent Trocheck was off to an awful start this season with only four points in his first ten games with no positive signs.  Well, Chytil went down injured, and that set Trocheck off on a resurgence.  Trocheck had a goal and two assists with two shots in the 4-1 win over the Wild.  That give Trocheck six points in his last three games, but more importantly, the playing time has skyrocketed.  He played only 16:46 on Thursday because the game was in hand, but before that, Trocheck had topped 20 minutes in four of the last five games.  Now, it hasn't been perfect.  The shot rate is down quite a bit, and it hasn't changed that much with more playing time.  I lean towards holding him again in all formats, but if you include SOG, Trocheck is on the very bottom end of holds towards the fringe.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Even for Nikita Kucherov, the start to this season is on another level.  Kucherov scored two goals and two assists with five shots and two PIM against the Maple Leafs, and then followed it up with a goal and an assist with six shots against the Canadiens.  That brings Kucherov to 10+12 in 13 games, including 11 in the last three games.  He also has 5+ shots in the last five games, and seven of the last nine.  This game pushes him past Pettersson for the league lead in points.  The top guys on Tampa look so much better, and I can't help but think that being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs helped them for this season.  So many long playoff runs for the Lightning that a real offseason had to do them wonders.  We can't expect this level, but Kucherov looks poised to give his 128 points from his Hart Trophy season a run for his money.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
It's time for the first hold/stream list of the season!  For those that are new to this, it's simply a list of players for each team.  The players listed will go under three categories: hold, fringe, and stream.  I am assuming that this is a 12 team league where you can stream having a max numbers of move every week i.e. you can't go overboard cycling players.  I am also going to assume your league has either PIM or hits, but not with faceoff wins or blocks.  I will also assume that the #1 goalie for each team is a hold and the #2 is not unless otherwise noted.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, give any comments, or leave any suggestions below.  And away, we go!
Nobody was expecting much from the Ducks this season, but they're currently on a five game winning streak to get them to a 6-4 record.  On Wednesday, their best player (for now) carried them, as Troy Terry scored a hat trick and an assist with six shots in the 4-3 OT win.  That brings Terry to 5+4 in ten games, averaging exactly three shots per game.  Terry is one of those guys who is always close to the fringe one way or the other.  Right now, I have him as a bottom end hold, but I don't expect that to hold for the rest of the season.  However, unlike the past few seasons, the talent around him is at such a higher level that he has more upside than usual.  While it probably won't last, you can see the core coming together for the Ducks, and it's only a matter of time until they become a force again.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Mason McTavish had an ADP of 250 this season.  I had him ranked at 176th overall.  While I wasn't fully convinced he would make a huge leap in his sophomore season, his upside is so high that I thought he was a worthwhile gamble towards the end of your drafts.  It's paid massive dividends in the early going, and McTavish had his best game to date on Monday.  He scored two goals and an assist with five shots and two PIM, including the shorthanded winner with 13 seconds left in the game.  McTavish now has 5+6 in 11 games with a good shot rate, plus-minus and PIM.  McTavish is still available in almost 70% of leagues, which is blasphemous.  I've been holding onto him since the draft in a ten man league, and think it's become clear that he needs to be held everywhere.  In dynasties, he's a top 50 keeper.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights: