On Wednesday, one of my streamers for the day was Beau Bennett with his recent promotion to the first line. Well, Beau knows! Bennett buried two goals on six shots in the Penguins win over the Oilers. He’s available in almost all leagues and I’d look to stream him again tonight against the Kings. He has a ton of upside that he’s shown in flashes in the past and if this role sticks, this streamer could turn into somebody you keep on your roster for the rest of the season. Here’s what else I saw the last two nights:
Olli Maatta – Two assists. Yay for another streamer call being right, even though Kris Letang returned from an injury. He’s fringe right now in 12’ers because his power play time going forward is uncertain.
Patric Hornqvist – Goal and an assist with three shots. I’ve told some people in the comments that it’s okay to cut Hornqvist if there’s some quality options on the waiver wire and I’m sticking with that. I don’t have a problem holding him, the power play time will be there, but the minutes are way down.
Matt Duchene – Goal on his only shot. Remember when people wanted to cut him after a couple weeks? Good times (assuming you didn’t do that).
Martin Jones – 16 saves on 20 shots in the 4-3 loss to Edmonton. Ugh, another rough start for Jones. Not panicking though.
Justin Braun – Goal and an assist with two shots. He doesn’t contribute much offensively but with the injury to Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Braun is playing big minutes. In deep leagues, he’s worth considering, especially if you count hits and blocks.
Patrick Marleau – Goal and an assist with three shots. The return of Logan Couture (one shot) should help Marleau going forward. He’s shown no signs of slowing down to this point with 11+11 in 28 games.
Brent Burns – Assist with a shot and two PIM. Kind of disappointing against the Oilers, I figured he’d be good for 7 shots. If it wasn’t for plus-minus, Burns would be a top 20 player easily. He still is 38th on the ESPN Player Rater using the RCL categories.
Taylor Hall – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. All of the Oilers big guns (Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle) had a goal and an assist in the 4-3 win. All of the high draft picks paid off in this one! Now if only they could get Connor McDavid and Nail Yakupov back…
Loui Eriksson – Shorthanded goal on two shots. Drafting Bruins was clearly a win this year outside of Tuukka Rask, who is showing signs of life lately but I still wouldn’t like owning. Eriksson looks like Dallas Eriksson finally.
Patrice Bergeron – Goal on five shots. It’s nice to see Bergeron get a real chance to contribute offensively instead of being used solely as a defensive specialist. I’m not sure he keeps up this point per game pace but 70 is well within reach.
Dan Boyle – Penalty shot goal and four shots. The Rangers got to choose anyone to take a penalty shot because of a player covering it in the crease and chose Boyle. Clearly it was right, just funny for it to be a defenseman. He’s playing every night due to injuries and getting top PP time so he’s worth monitoring in 12’ers.
Alex Edler – Goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM. He looked completely shot the last couple years only to have a career rejuvenation so far this season. The shots aren’t as good as they used to be but 17 points so far with an above average shot rate and elite PIM has made him one of the best values this year in regards to draft position.
Daniel Sedin – Goal and an assist with two shots. Twin Henrik had two assists. What else is there to say anymore? Cyborgs!
Darren Helm – Two goals on five shots. Hot schomato alert! Not holding him in 12’ers yet but definitely streaming him.
Ben Bishop – 30 saves on 31 shots in the win over Ottawa. Revenge game for Bishop who’s keeping up his incredible play. Sub 2 GAA on the season.
Ryan Callahan – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Still doesn’t do enough for me to be owned in 12’ers.
Nikita Kucherov – Two goals on five shots. The Triplets are all healthy again and reunited. Hot streak coming? I think so.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal on five shots with four PIM. Standard for the great eight.
Aaron Ekblad – Goal on two shots. I’ve been floating offers for Ekblad in most of my leagues; I think a big second half is coming.
Jaromir Jagr – Goal on five shots. He’d been on a cold streak so good to see him bury one.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two assists and two shots. Been a disappointment so far but still on pace for 40 assists. Needs to start capitalizing on his chances.
Claude Giroux – Goal and two assists with two shots. He’s almost to a point per game with a ton of PIM and STP. Looking like the guy who was a top 10 fantasy player at one point.
Brayden Schenn – Two assists with four shots and two PIM. The opportunity is there right now for Schenn playing with Giroux. He’s a top end streamer in general but I wouldn’t argue with someone holding him hoping that he keeps up his recent play.
David Backes – Goal on two shots. He’s starting to heat offensively as the Blues have gone to more a more balanced attack. With Alex Steen (assist and four shots) on his line, Backes should end up pushing 25-30 goals.
Patrick Kane – Goal on five shots. Streak is up to 24 games. Who keeps the streak going longer, the Warriors or Kane?
Filip Forsberg – Goal on five shots. The big line changes made by Peter Laviolette seems to have sparked his team’s offense, led by Forsberg and James Neal (two goals on six shots). Despite the offense being nowhere near last year’s level for the majority of the season, the Predators are still in third place in the Central, a.k.a. the division of death, and one point out of second.
Curtis McElhinney – 29 saves on 34 shots. He’s battling Cam Ward for worst goalie in the league. I want nothing to do with him and will look to stream against him.
Cam Atkinson – Two goals on five shots. Having a very solid year; if he can start contributing on the power play, he has a good chance to go over 50 points and push 60.
Ryan Johansen – Two assists on five shots playing over 20 minutes. The time on ice is the big takeaway here for me. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come so Johansen can give some value to those who took him in drafts, probably in the second round.
Alexander Wennberg – Three assists with two shots. I’m a big fan of his game and the 21 year old is starting to find his form on the second line. I’m not holding him yet in 12’ers but he’s worth monitoring.
Dustin Byfuglien – Goal and two assists with three shots. Big Buff doing Big Buff things. His statline on the season is amazing; 8+20 with 7 STP, +7, 96 shots and 46 PIM.
Bryan Little – Two assists with two shots. Still my nomination for most underrated player in hockey.
Mathieu Perreault – Goal on his only shot plus three assists. Just stay healthy! He’s compared to Henrik Sedin at this point with more penalty minutes.
Mark Scheifele – Goal and an assist on five shots. Looks amazing right now. He’s somebody I’ll be looking to own in as many leagues as possible next year. The upside is through the roof and he’s showing why the last month.
Drew Stafford – Goal and two assists with four shots. Hotter than a pistol since moving up to the second line. If he’s available for some reason, grab him and ride the hot streak until he inevitably has a streak where he puts up 2 points in 13 games.
Rasmus Ristolainen – Hat trick on four shots. I love it when I’m right! He’s been absolutely incredible and is only going to get better. Another guy who I will look to own everywhere next year. It sucks for fantasy purposes that he has zero PIM but from a real life perspective, that’s amazing considering the minutes and physical game that he plays.
Ryan O’Reilly – Two assists and two shots. He’s pushing career high paces right now.
Johnny Gaudreau – Goal and an assist with a shot. He’s been carrying the Flames offensively right at a point per game pace and isn’t even getting many power play points.
Sean Monahan – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Finally a big game Boring Sean Monahan owners can enjoy. It seems like he hasn’t done much this year but now he’s up to 22 points in 28 games, almost exactly in line with what he did last year. Hopefully he can keep this recent streak going and can surpass last season’s totals.
That’s all for now guys. I want to get this up immediately so I will post my streamers for the day in the comments section below. As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them. Have a great week everyone!
