Patrice Bergeron has had an excellent career to this point, one that gives him a chance at making the Hall of Fame one day if he ages well. To this point, we’ve seen no signs of him slowing down. That continued on Tuesday as Bergeron scored two goals in his 1000th career NHL game. He became the fifth Bruin to reach that mark, and he’ll be 3rd all-time early next season behind Bourque and Bucyk. On a per-game basis, this has been the best season of his career. He has 18+28 in 37 games with an elite shot rate. This is his eighth straight season with a Corsi over 56%. Bergeron is arguably the best defensive center in the game who is good enough to dominate the other team’s top players on a nightly basis. His prowess is what gives the Bruins a chance to upset someone, presumably Toronto, in the first round of the playoffs. I wouldn’t be selling high if I owned him; the first line is so damn good that very few teams have a chance against them. Let Bergeron continue to provide great value to your team. Here’s what else happened on a busy Tuesday night:
Brad Marchand – Two assists on the Bergeron goals, as did David Pastrnak. Not much to add about these superstars.
Tuukka Rask – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 3-1 win over the Islanders. Rask has been terrific this season. Hopefully the Bruins start to give him more volume, but Rask should be a #1 going forward either way.
Ryan Suter – Two assists with two shots playing over 30 minutes. Suter has continued to play well at 34 years old. There’s a fairly good chance he sets a career high in points which would be pretty remarkable.
Charlie Coyle – Goal and an assist with four shots. I keep reading Coyle’s name in trade rumors; it feels like he’s been talked about since before he was even in the NHL. He’s picked up his game lately to get to solid streamer status.
Jared Spurgeon – Two goals on three shots. Hopefully you snagged him when Dumba went down if he was available in your league.
Luke Kunin – Two assists with two shots. The former first round pick hasn’t done much to this point. However, he did play 18 minutes in this game and just turned 21, so there’s some upside here. I’m not using him yet but he’s worth monitoring for the rest of the season.
Sam Reinhart – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Don’t worry about Reinhart even though he’s not playing with Jack Eichel (2A, 9 SOG) right now. Reinhart is plenty good enough to do damage on his own. Easy hold in all formats. I’d even try to buy him from someone if they’re worried about him being split from Eichel.
Jack Campbell – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 5-1 win over the Devils. Using anyone against the Devils seems like a good idea right now. Campbell has played really well this season; I’d stream him in most matchups.
Anze Kopitar – Three assists with two shots. Kopitar has been picking it up lately so hopefully he can salvage his season with a big second half.
Tyler Toffoli – Two goals on four shots. He has eight points in his last seven games but I still consider Toffoli a bottom end streamer.
Curtis McElhinney – 23 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Penguins. McElhinney had a few rough starts before this game. He’s a nice GPP goalie since he posts some big games, but consistency is lacking. He’s on the fence in standard leagues since the volume isn’t good.
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Kuznetsov is having brutal luck in terms of his shooting percentage. He’s playing well but it could get even better. He’s a nice trade target.
Jakub Vrana – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s a solid streamer but isn’t more yet. It will happen eventually. I don’t know if it’s end of this year, next year, or two years, but Vrana has the makings of a guy who is owned in all formats.
Carey Price – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 4-1 win over the Ducks. Price has elevated his play lately to the point where I have him as a strong #2. Also, use any goalie that plays against the Ducks. They are the worst team in the league at the moment.
Brendan Gallagher – Two goals and an assist. Gallagher’s shot rate is among the best in the league. That’s enough for him to be held.
Jonathan Drouin – Three assists with two shots. He’s right on the fringe for me but would lean that he’s a hold while he’s playing well.
Steven Stamkos – Two assists with two shots. Stammer has been fantastic all season. No reason to expect that to change for the rest of the year.
Ryan Ellis – Goal and an assist with four shots, +4. Ellis hasn’t been nearly as good as he was last season in his 44 games, but he’s still an easy hold in all formats.
Roman Josi – Goal and two assists with two shots and two PIM. Everything looks great for Josi right now. He has a chance to top his previous career high of 61 points at his current rate.
Calle Jarnkrok – Goal and an assist. Jarnkrok is a very nice player in real life for what he brings no matter where he’s slotted in the lineup. However, he doesn’t give us much at all in fantasy.
Joe Pavelski – Goal and an assist with seven shots. It feels like forever ago that Pavelski had a really tough opening month. Part of it is Pavelski shooting over 21% on the season but he’s also played very well otherwise. I’d probably roll with Little Joe and not sell high, but I wouldn’t mind somebody going that route.
Kevin Labanc – Two assists. With such a low shot rate, Labanc is only a bottom end streamer.
Jonathan Toews – Two assists on four shots. Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist with four shots. These guys are carrying Chicago back into playoff contention.
Brandon Saad – Two assists with a shot. Saad has really picked it up with seven points in his last seven, but he’s still only a middling streamer.
Dominik Kahun – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s on the second PP unit giving him some streamer value but he’s only a bottom end choice.
Leon Draisaitl – Two goals on six shots with two PIM, both assisted by Connor McDavid. These two having two points each in a 6-2 loss pretty much sums up Edmonton to a tee.
Boone Jenner – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Nice first game back from Jenner. He’s a nice streamer in hits league or deep leagues in general, but he’s a bit away from usable in standard leagues.
Alexander Wennberg – Goal and an assist. A couple years ago, it looked like Wennberg was going to be an annual 50 assist guy, if not more. This was his second goal in 52 games and has only 20 assists. Easy pass now.
Dean Kukan – Two assists. These were his first points on the season and has five shots on goal in eleven games. That says it all. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Pierre-Luc Dubois – Two goals on four shots with two PIM. I have a feeling that I’m going to be super-aggressive in my ranking of Dubois next season. He’s positioned to be a fantasy monster.
Erik Johnson – Goal and an assist with two shots. Easy pass in standard leagues now.
That’s all for now guys. With only two games on the slate tonight, I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action from tonight and Thursday. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
