Even though the Flames offense has been prospering lately, they've done it without their number 1 center producing. Before Wednesday night, Sean Monahan had 3 points in his last 13 games. Well, he broke out of his slump and in a big way with a goal, three assists and three shots in the 4-1 win over the Hurricanes. He now has 15 goals and 18 assists through 49 games, a bit behind last year's pace. You can attribute directly to special teams points; Monahan had 21 last year while he only has 8 to date this year. If he gets going on the power play, he can push last year's 62 point total. While he hasn't taken the next step from last season, he's still only 21 years old. The sky is the limit for this kid and it would be wise to throw make some offers for him in a dynasty league if his owner isn't happy. Here's what else I saw around the league the last two nights:
50 points in 40 games. That was my prediction for Sidney Crosby in the second half of the season. Yesterday, I said that "Sidney Crosby has been outstanding for a month and could easily lead the league in points from this point forward" here. That possibility is off to a great start. Crosby had a hat trick on Tuesday night with an assist and eight shots in the 6-5 win over the Senators. Amazingly, he's become somewhat of a forgotten man this year but it's his time to shine again. Here's what else I saw around the league the night after the All-Star break:
The NHL season starts up again tonight so there's no better than now to give a preview of the second half. I'm going to focus this article simply from a fantasy perspective; my article yesterday focused on things to look for (link here). I will look at players and teams that I like moving forward (in both redraft and dynasties) and would try to avoid for the rest of the year. Let's get to it!
With the All-Star weekend behind us, we are at the unofficial halfway point of the hockey season. For the next two days, I am going to preview the second half of the season. Tomorrow I am going to be looking at things that I like and don’t like for players and teams going forward. Today’s article will be looking at 10 things to watch for both redraft leagues and dynasties. Let's get right to it!
Being a short fantasy week, I definitely picked the right time to be on fire with my streamer picks. In the three days this week, there's been a ton of goals from my streamers, including a hat trick. One of my streamers had two goals tonight but that wasn't the best call. Andrei Vasilevskiy locked it down on Wednesday night stopping all 30 Maple Leafs shots leading the Lightning to a 1-0 victory. This season has been tough for Vasilevskiy compared to last season but this is the kind of game he's capable of having; there's a reason why he was a first round pick in a time where goalies rarely go in the first round. In dynasties, I'm a big fan. It's only a matter of time before Tampa decides to move him or Ben Bishop. For the rest of the season in redrafts, he's a top end streamer but won't get enough starts to be a hold. Here's what else I saw on the small slate:
I've wrote a ton about Nikolaj Ehlers this season. At the beginning of the year, I thought he was must-own until Paul Maurice inexplicably dropped him into the bottom 6. A couple weeks ago, he was bumped into the top 6 and I said grab him again. Yesterday, I wrote about him at length here since I had him as my top streamer. I said that, "The minutes are up and getting a matchup with the Coyotes, who will be on the second of a back to back having just played an overtime game last night, is close to ideal. I think Ehlers should be owned in 12’ers right now but at the least, stream him tonight." And that's me quoting me doing what Grey does! Ehlers was amazing on Tuesday scoring a hat trick on four shots with two penalty minutes. He now has points in 4 straight and 8 points in his last 6 games. As I said before, he should have been owned in 12'ers already but he is still widely available so grab him right now! Here's what else I saw on a busy Tuesday night:
Atkinson from Dubinsky and Jenner. Atkinson from Dubinsky and Jenner! Atkinson from Dubinsky and Jenner!!! That was the theme Monday night in Columbus as Cam Atkinson scored a hat trick on seven shots with Brandon Dubinsky getting the primary assist and Boone Jenner the secondary assist on all three goals. In recent games, the goals haven't been there but the shots have. He now has 21 shots in the last 5 games and more importantly, he's up to 16 goals and 14 assists on the season. Dubinsky keeps thriving in his increased role under Torts and almost has 30 points himself along with 39 PIM. Jenner has been the best of the bunch with almost identical stats to Atkinson, only with Dubinsky-level PIM (42). All 3 were already owned in the majority of leagues but if some reason any of these guys are out there, grab them. Here's what else I saw around the league on Monday night:
For most of the season, I've talked about why I wouldn't want to own Semyon Varlamov. Long story short, I don't trust the Avalanche to play defense well enough to prevent Varlamov from having a high goals against average. Well, the counter to that is Varlamov is a very good goaltender who can carry his team to wins. It happened twice this weekend. On Friday, he stopped 33 of 34 shots to beat the Blues 2-1 in a shootout, then he came back Saturday to make 42 saves against the Stars in a 3-1 victory. Even after these games, his goals against average is below league average but his save percentage is strong and he's top 10 in the league in wins. There's still plenty of value in a goalie like Varlamov, you just need to balance it by having an elite goalie to carry you in goals against average. Here's what else I saw around the league this weekend:
Say the title five times fast, you won't! Alliteration aside, Ben Bishop brought an end to the Blackhawks 12 game winning streak on Thursday, stopping 17 of 18 shots to extend the Lightning's winning streak to 7. Despite all of their struggles, the Lightning are only one point out of first place in the Atlantic and they have Bishop to thank. He's top 10 in the league in goals against, save percentage and wins, including 2nd in the leagues in goals against average. He hasn't been mentioned as a Vezina candidate but he has earned the right to be in the conversation. Here's what else I saw the last two nights around the league:
Poor Sergei Bobrovsky. After a horrible start, he catches fire for a month only to get a groin injury that sidelines him for a month. Then, he gets activated off injured reserve only to get in practice before he plays a game putting him out for a few more weeks. Bob finally gets healthy and who does he get in his first game back? The best team in the league so far, the Washington Capitals. Bob gave up 5 goals on 27 shots in the 6-3 loss. The question is do you panic? The answer is no. I'm blindly rolling Bob in every matchup going forward outside of two possible matchups; Washington and Chicago. Those depend how he's playing in the games before hand but the point is that Bob will be fine. Here's what else happened around the league on Tuesday night:
Unfortunately for the hockey world, the biggest news to come out of Monday's games was that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be out for "a long time" after blocking a shot with his hand against the Panthers. He managed to get an assist before the injury putting him at 30 points on the year, not great but solid. It's terrible for the Oilers as they were about to get healthy with Connor McDavid close to returning. In redrafts, you can stash RNH on IR but if you don't have the IR spots, you can safely cut him. Obviously hold onto him in dynasties. As far as the value of the other Oilers, I don't think anyone takes a hit since McDavid will slide right into that slot. If anything, I would argue there's a winner here and it's Leon Draisaitl. The German should have kept a role in the top 6 even with McDavid back but now it's a certainty that he remains at center on the top line. Here's some info on the players who did something fantasy relevant last night:
If you're a frequent reader of my articles, then you know the player I streamed the most this year has been Vladislav Namestnikov. Well, I'm not streaming him anymore because he's terrible. Kidding! That's because he's a clear hold now. He's centering the first line in Tampa (Steven Stamkos is playing RW) and he's coming off a hat trick on five shots in the 5-4 win over the Penguins Friday night. He only had one shot in Sunday's game but still, the role we look to stream him in looks secured now. Names (I'm sticking with that nickname, thanks commenters!) now has 23 points in 44 games and that's with being shuffled throughout the lineup and with little PP time (he has 4 PPP). There's no guarantee that he lasts in this role all season but now, he's must own in 12'ers. Here's what else I saw around the league this weekend:
