There have been a few big games by individuals this season but Patrice Bergeron‘s on Saturday is the new leader for the best of the year. Bergeron scored four goals and added an assist with seven shots in the 7-1 win over the Hurricanes. Bergeron was the second player this year to score four goals after Alex Ovechkin. Per usual, Bergeron is crushing all of the categories. He’s playing around a 40+35 pace while already having a +19 rating, solid PIM and pushing four shots per game. Bergeron is a slam dunk top 50 player for the rest of the season who should push towards the top 25. Again, the top line in Boston is as good as it gets and Bergeron is at the forefront of their success. That line just gave up their first goal against at even strength all season! Remarkable stuff. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Tristan Jarry – 31 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Islanders. Jarry has been playing extremely well lately. That is, until Sunday’s game. Outside of the worst matchups, he’s worth streaming.
Sidney Crosby – Goal and three assists with two shots. The reshuffling of lines in Pittsburgh has seen Crosby rediscover his form again. The real impact is on the next two guys…
Daniel Sprong – Two goals and an assist with six shots. I thought about leading off with Sprong but I had to give credit to a four goal game. Anyways, Sprong is a strong prospect and in his first four games this season, he has 17 SOG. Now, the Pens don’t play again until Saturday, so I wouldn’t be looking to pick him up yet. That said, they close the week with a back-to-back so I’d grab Sprong Friday to have him for the weekend.
Dominik Simon – Two assists with a shot. Simon was having a decent season in the AHL with 17 points in 21 games. He’s a decent streamer as long as he’s with Crosby but I easily prefer Sprong.
Andreas Athanasiou – Goal and an assist with six shots playing over 21 minutes. He’s put together a solid stretch putting him back towards elite streamer status.
Jimmy Howard – 38 saves on 40 shots in the 4-2 win over the Panthers. However, Howard has a lower body injury that kept him out of Sunday’s game. The good news is that it sounds like he won’t miss any more time given that the Red Wings are about to start their bye week.
Mike Green – Two assists with a shot. He’s fairly boring but Green is an easy hold.
Logan Couture – Three assists with a shot. Couture has had a great season to this point with 15+14 in 35 games. He could benefit greatly from the Sharks adding a winger at the trade deadline.
Brent Burns – Goal and an assist with six shots. Burns now has 23 points in his last 21 games. Brent Burns back to doing Brent Burns things!
Tomas Hertl – Two goals on five shots. Hertl is right on the fringe of hold vs. streaming. With the Sharks starting their bye week today, I’m letting Hertl go in standard 12’ers before grabbing him back for the Arizona game Saturday.
Mike Hoffman – Goal and three assists with four shots. The fact that Ottawa is considering moving Hoffman is insane. He’s had a slow start this year but there’s still a ton of talent here. I’m holding Hoffman for that upside.
Matt Duchene – Two goals and an assist with four shots. He’s starting to play a bit better but Duchene is still a middling streamer for me until there’s some consistency.
Mark Stone – Goal and two assists with five shots. Stone has maintained his elite play as he sits over a point per game on the season.
Erik Karlsson – Two assists with two shots. It’s only a matter of time until Karlsson gets on a heater.
Bobby Ryan – Two assists. Meh.
Derick Brassard – Goal and an assist with five shots. Brassard is in that same group of fringe like Hertl. With nine points in his past nine and so many teams starting their bye week Monday, I’m more inclined to hold Brassard for the time being.
Jason Pominville – Two assists with two shots. Bottom end streamer while he’s on the third line.
Evan Rodrigues – Two assists with three shots. Same deal as Pominville.
Blake Wheeler – Goal and an assist with two shots and two penalty minutes. Wheeler just keep churning out production and it’s a thing of beauty.
Jacob Trouba – Goal and an assist with four shots. He’s right on the fringe despite Dustin Byfuglien‘s return (Big Buff scored his first of the year in this one). The PIM and SOG are nice but the points are a bit light for Trouba, so it’s strictly a team dependent choice.
Reilly Smith – Goal and two assists, +4 just like his other linemates William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault (1+1 each). There’s no slowing down this line right now.
Nate Schmidt – Two assists with six shots. He’s a nice plus-minus boost but Schmidt has a poor shot rate and poor PIM. Again, it’s a team dependent choice.
Vinnie Hinostroza – Goal and two assists with two shots. Including Sunday’s game, Hinostroza has a five game point streak while playing with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad (two points each). Stream Hinostroza while he’s on the top line.
Saturday’s Games
Ivan Barbashev – Goal and an assist with three shots playing with Vladimir Tarasenko (2A, 2 SOG, 2 PIM) and Paul Stastny (1+1, 3 SOG). Add Barbashev to the list of solid streamers because they’re playing on the top line.
Claude Giroux – Goal and two assists with four shots. Giroux has been spectacular this year as he sits second in the league in assists behind his teammate Voracek. Props are due again for the Flyers moving him to wing.
Sean Couturier – Two goals on six shots. I keep forgetting to mention Couturier as a waiver wire pickup of the year candidate (and probably the leader) because he was added in the first week of the season. This game set a new career high in points for Couturier. This was game 41.
Tyler Seguin – Goal and two assists with two shots, +4. The top line destroyed the Oilers in this one. Seguin is on a very nice streak with 7+4 in his past 8. He should be back at or above a point per game sooner than later.
Alexander Radulov – Goal and two assists with five shots. He’s also on fire with 9 points in the past 5.
John Klingberg – Goal and two assists with four shots, +4. Klingberg has actually opened up a decent lead for the most points in the league by a defenseman.
Mattias Janmark – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s on a nice little run moving him up towards top end streaming instead of middling.
Ben Bishop – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 5-1 win over the Oilers. Dude has been an absolute monster at home all season long.
Cam Ward – Two goals allowed with zero saves before being pulled. The ultra-rare 0 save performance! And this is the fear when you play Ward. Well, not making zero saves, but you catch the drift.
Brad Marchand – Four assists with two shots. David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists with two shots and two PIM. Bergeron played the most of the trio and that was 14:18. God knows what they would have done if they played their usual 20 minutes.
Erik Karlsson – Three assists with a shot, +5. And here we go. Karlsson’s overall numbers should end up at their usual marks.
Mark Stone – Goal and two assists. Yep, pretty good at hockey.
Ryan Dzingel – Two goals on three shots. He has four goals in his last three games putting Dzingel into decent streaming territory.
Henrik Lundqvist – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 2-1 SO win over the Coyotes. His save percentage is sitting at .924 like we were accustomed to prior to last season. The King stay The King!
Antti Raanta – 24 saves on 25 shots taking the loss. Nice performance for Raanta against his old team. He’s like a slightly worse Lehner. The save percentage is still decent enough but the wins and GAA are poor.
Eric Staal – Two goals on three shots with four PIM. Despite the Wild getting destroyed 7-2, Staal and Jason Zucker (2A, 1 SOG, 2 PIM) managed to have decent games and avoid being a minus. Staal is on pace for around 35+35 while Zucker is around 30+30. Pretty, pretty good.
Nathan MacKinnon – Goal and two assists with six shots. The Avalanche are firmly in the playoff race and are three points short of last season’s total. MacKinnon also deserves serious Hart consideration.
Mikko Rantanen – Goal and two assists with two shots and two PIM. I liked the 21 year old plenty but I never expected him to be at a point per game at the midway point. His development has to be almost as encouraging as MacKinnon’s for the Avalanche.
Carl Soderberg – Two goals on six shots. Soderberg is actually a decent streamer again with seven points in the last seven games. He looks more like the Bruins player than the guy wasting away the last two seasons.
Colin Wilson – Two assists with a shot. Despite a ton of guys on Colorado having great years for their standards, Wilson is struggling in his first season in Denver. He’s unusable right now.
Gabriel Bourque – Goal and an assist with two shots. And there’s your annual Gabriel Bourque update!
Alexander Kerfoot – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Everything is strong for Kerfoot but plus-minus (bad) and shot rate (atrocious). I’m fine with streaming him but it screams unsustainable.
Tyson Jost – Goal and an assist. I like him plenty long term but Jost has little value at the moment.
Michael Ferland – Goal and an assist with three shots. I’d be holding Ferland because of the goals. He’s also due for some penalty minutes.
Mike Smith – 27 saves on 29 shots in the 3-2 win over the Ducks. Massive win for the Flames scoring with 16 seconds left to stop the Ducks from getting a point. Smith is playing well right now and the Flames are starting to round into form. This stretch of four away games this week before their bye is going to have a large impact on their playoff chances. They aren’t the best matchups but I’d feel fine playing Smith in all games besides potentially Tampa Bay.
Austin Watson – Two goals with three shots. Nice depth player in real life but Watson has little to no fantasy value.
P.K. Subban – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. It’s nice to see Subban back at Norris-level of play. He’s a true six category stud.
Sunday’s Games
Travis Zajac – Two goals. He has five points in the past four games but I have no interest in streaming Zajac.
Taylor Hall – Goal and an assist with eight shots and two PIM. Hall is leading the charge for the Devils and looks like the top 20 fantasy player I predicted last season.
Miles Wood – Goal and an assist with five shots. Nice streamer for great PIM and decent points.
Sebastian Aho – Goal and an assist with four shots. This is going to be difficult separating the two; this is the Islanders defenseman Sebastian Aho. I’ll be tagging him as “Sebastian Aho (D)” from now on. He’s on the second PP unit and has some long term upside. For now, just keep an eye on him.
Mathew Barzal – Two assists with four shots. He’s slowed down a bit but I don’t have any questions about Barzal going forward.
Michal Neuvirth – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 4-1 win over the Sabres. Revenge game for Neuvirth. His numbers are solid but he hasn’t been given much of an opportunity. He’s an okay streamer depending on the matchup.
Sean Couturier – Two goals on three shots. Just incredible that he’s top 5 in the league in goals.
Jakub Voracek – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Jake leads the league in assists and by a decent margin. He’s even due for some positive regression in the goal scoring department.
Anton Forsberg – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 4-1 win over the Oilers. He’s been brutal on the whole; I have no interest in using Forsberg.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with two shots. I thoroughly enjoy Alex Ovechkin, dominant goal scorer, being back again. The greatest goal scorer of all time is firing on all cylinders again.
T.J. Oshie – Two assists with three shots. He’s back on the top line with Ovi and Nicklas Backstrom (1+1, 5 SOG) so look for Oshie to get rolling again.
John Carlson – Two assists with a shot. Carlson has been incredibly consistent and is due for a couple extra goals given the shot rate. Nice bounceback getting him back to #1 fantasy D levels.
Connor Hellebuyck – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 4-1 win over the Sharks. The Jets are for real and have plenty of ammo to add to their team so there’s no reason to expect regression from Hellboy.
Mathieu Perreault – Two goals on four shots with two PIM. He’s on the second line but more importantly, Perreault is back on the first power play unit. He’s a strong streamer while that lasts.
Tyler Myers – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Myers is right on the fringe but I lean towards him being a hold right now. It’s decent enough or good across the board.
Andrew Copp – Two assists. Nice depth player in real life but not much in fantasy for Copp.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Goal and an assist with six shots. Huberdeau is playing at a 30+50 pace which is just bonkers. It’s a shame that the Panthers dumped Marchessault and Smith to Vegas because if they were still in Florida, this team would be a real threat.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal and an assist with three shots. He also had a goal on ten shots on Friday. Barkov is right on pace with Huberdeau.
James Reimer – 46 saves on 48 shots in the 3-2 SO loss to the Blue Jackets. Nice bounce back from Reimer after a couple rough outings. The schedule is absolutely brutal for the rest of the month for Florida which makes me a bit scared of rolling Reimer.
Seth Jones – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Jones has really taken his game to another level this season. He’s a solid #2D now.
Pierre-Luc Dubois – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM playing almost 25 minutes. We’re starting to see why Dubois was the third pick last season. The consistency isn’t there yet but it’s coming. Keep streaming Dubois knowing that he can turn into a hold.
Sergei Bobrovsky – 42 saves on 44 shots earning the win. After a bit of a rough patch, Bob has three straight excellent starts. I’m sure he will be great in the second half as we’ve come to expect.
Louis Domingue – 34 saves on 36 shots in the 5-2 win over the Red Wings. He’s not a great goalie but now that he’s on Tampa, I would stream Domingue every time that he starts for the high win probability.
Yanni Gourde – Two goals and an assist with five PIM. Gourde is an elite streamer but I don’t think I’d hold him. If you need the plus-minus boost, I can see it, but the shot rate is a bit discouraging.
Dan Girardi – Goal and an assist. Must be nice to just stumble into a decent number of points playing for Tampa.
Vladislav Namestnikov – Two assists with a shot. He’s obviously not at the level of his linemates but Namestnikov has been solid all season long.
Ondrej Palat – Two assists with seven shots. Same idea as Gourde in that Palat is driving his value from plus-minus and being decent enough in the points categories. He’s just a streamer but I do see the upside of being a potential hold.
Daniel Sedin – Goal and an assist with four shots. He’s been better but Sedin is still a middling streamer at best.
Karl Alzner – Goal and an assist with two shots. Boy, this Alzner contract is going to be really bad sooner than later.
Jeff Petry – Two assists with four shots. While the opportunity is there, I can’t use Petry with the plus-minus being a disaster.
Brendan Gallagher – Goal and an assist with five shots. I’ve long been a fan of Gallagher but he’s not good enough to be held during Montreal’s bye week.
Carey Price – 34 saves on 36 shots in the 5-2 win over the Canucks. Price has played well but the team in front of him is such a mess that it’s killing his numbers. Price is capable of monster runs just because of how good he is but I’m not banking on it.
Brad Marchand – Goal and an assist with four shots. The troll is unstoppable right now.
Evgeni Malkin – Two goals and an assist. This was a game for the Penguins superstars with Crosby also getting three points while Phil Kessel and Kris Letang had a goal and an assist each. This temporarily puts the Pens in a playoff spot (with all of the games in hand for CAR, they have the edge). The Pens are another team starting their bye week today so it’ll be a tough week for those owning a Penguins star.
Marc-Andre Fleury – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 2-1 win over the Rangers. Vegas at home is near automatic at this point. Fleury has been outstanding all season outside of one dud against the Red Wings.
Streaming:
Streaming is a huge necessity this week with an extremely small total of games due to the bye weeks. Lackeydrinksonme has his weekly post that will help you out tremendously. Check that out here!
That’s all for now guys. With only the one game on the slate tonight, I’ll be back on Wednesday with my next set of daily notes. As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below. Thanks for reading, take care!
