I celebrated the end of 2025 in the best way imaginable: watching hockey for the entire day. There were a lot of highlights, starting with my Sabres winning their tenth game in a row. Yes, Billy Bob, 10! More on that later. The most incredible performance though was another Avalanche beatdown. Not that it was surprising at all against the Blues, but that they scored four goals (and have a fifth disallowed) before the Blues even had a shot on goal! What a powerhouse. Nathan MacKinnon had his usual 2+2 with seven shots, but the notable performance for a non-superstar was Valeri Nichushkin. Big Val had a hat trick on six shots in the 6-1 win. He now has 11+15 in 31 games with a very good shot rate. He’s still available in almost two-thirds of leagues, and that simply needs to change. Nichushkin is back on PP1 so if there was any doubt, he’s must own everywhere. Sure, he could get injured again, but you have to ride him until that happens. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Wednesday’s Games:
Adam Fox – Goal and an assist with two PIM. Fox has bounced back this season in a big way, and it is absurd that he’s going to be left off the Olympic team.
Artemi Panarin – Two assists with three shots. Even this disappointing season for Panarin is still a point per game and three shots per game. That’s the floor.
Tom Wilson – Two goals and an assist with four shots and five PIM. He crushed again on Thursday with two more points. Wilson has found a level to his game that I didn’t think he had in him, and he’s earned his Olympic spot.
Rasmus Sandin – Two assists with two shots. Nice player in real life, but Sandin’s fantasy value is minimal.
Connor McMichael – Two assists with three shots. He’s been a big disappointment this season having only five goals. McMichael did play 20 minutes in this one, but even with that, it’s hard to get past middling streamer.
Aliaksei Protas – Goal and an assist. Protas has six goals in his last eight games and is doing enough to be a bottom end hold in most formats.
Justin Sourdif – Two goals. Sourdif is on the second line and PP2 right now, making him a middling streamer in the short term.
Luke Evangelista – Two assists with two shots. The shooting percentage is poor, but it is every year for whatever reason. Evangelista is a solid streamer for the assists.
Pavel Dorofeyev – Two assists with three shots. Dorofeyev’s hot start is a thing of the past. He’s an elite streamer who is arguably on the fringe, but he’s not a slam dunk hold anymore.
Brandon Hagel – Three assists with six shots and two PIM. It still drives me nuts that Hagel doesn’t get PP1 time, but he continues to dominate at even strength like very few in the league can.
Nikita Kucherov – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s seriously going to be in the discussion for best European forward with Jagr when all is said and done.
Darren Raddysh – Goal and an assist with six shots. Raddysh has taken full advantage of the opportunity he’s been given. He’s been a bottom end #1D in 12’ers.
Macklin Celebrini – Goal and an assist with four shots. It is terrifying how good Celebrini already is. He’s going to be a top ten pick for the next decade.
Igor Chernyshov – Goal and an assist. The first pick in the second round last season, Chernyshov has been fantastic since his recall, playing with Celebrini. He has eight points in seven games and is an elite streamer while he’s a hot schmotato. Long term, there’s clear hold upside in all formats, making him an elite dynasty asset. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
John Gibson – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 2-1 win over the Jets. Gibson’s wins are good, but his GAA and sv% are below average. He’s a fine #3 for the wins, but don’t expect more.
Luke Hughes – Goal and an assist. The Devils were playing an atrocious game, but they stormed back in the third to steal a win. I was very low on Hughes compared to consensus going into the season, and even with him getting more PP1 than I thought, he still has disappointed. He’s a bottom end hold, but I don’t see any jump taking place.
MacKenzie Blackwood – 12 saves on 13 shots in the 6-1 win over the Blues. They couldn’t have made it any easier for Blackwood. As an American, I am thankful that he was left off the Olympic team for Binnington.
Brock Nelson – Goal and an assist. Nelson is thriving on the second line now and is back onto the fringe. If you can stomach a lower shot rate, he’s definitely worth holding.
Josh Manson – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Nice deep league option since he’s hitting all of the categories fairly well.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 4-1 win over the Stars. The best performance of the season for Buffalo, the team dominated an elite Stars team. UPL was fantastic, and with Alex Lyon out for a while, it’s his crease. If you need goaltending help, ride the vibezzzz.
Tage Thompson – Two goals and an assist with seven shots and two PIM. Tage was TAGE in this one, dominating on almost every shift. It feels like he’s been slightly disappointing, but he’s still on pace for over 40 goals while pushing 3.5 shots per game.
Bowen Byram – Goal and an assist with two shots. Byram is playing the best hockey he has while being a Sabre. He’s on the fringe right now and probably worth holding while he’s hot.
Noah Ostlund – Two assists. Ostlund has looked fantastic and while he’s only a bottom end streamer, he looks like a nice long term piece to build around. In fantasy, I don’t see big upside, but he should end up being a hold for extended stretches. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Josh Doan – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. If Doan could finish, he would be a superstar. As is, he’s an elite streamer.
David Pastrnak – Two goals and an assist with six shots and two PIM. The plus-minus is rough because the Bruins are really bad despite their decent record, but Pasta has been great per usual.
Hampus Lindholm – Goal and an assist with five shots. Lindholm is only a super deep league guy now.
Elias Lindholm – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Lindholm has bounced back nicely. He looked really bad last season, but now, he’s a solid streamer despite a poor shot rate.
Viktor Arvidsson – Two assists. I always liked Arvidsson’s game, but injuries have taken a toll. He’s still a middling to solid streamer.
Fraser Minten – Two assists wiwth a shot and two PIM. Minten is playing with Pasta right now, putting him on the streaming radar. He’s barely shooting though, so Minten is only bottom end.
Dustin Wolf – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 5-1 win over the Flyers. Wolf has been quite good, but the team is a mess. He’s definitely worth holding, but it’s going to be middling to bottom end #2.
MacKenzie Weegar – Two assists with four shots and two PIM. Weegar looks back to his usual self again. I added him where I could.
Connor Zary – Goal and an assist. I was hoping for a breakout, but Zary is stuck in bottom end streamer range.
Matt Coronato – Two assists. Middling streamer.
Thursday’s Games
Shane Pinto – Two assists with a shot. Pinto has fallen off a cliff since his torrid start. Middling streamer range.
Dylan Guenther – Hat trick and an assist. The Isles had no chance against the top Mammoth players, with Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, and Mikhail Sergachev each totaling three points. Guenther has eight points in his last four games, and nine goals in his last ten. Safe to say that he’s back into form.
Lawson Crouse – Two assists. Crouse is fine for deep leagues for hits and okay offense, but there’s not much here for shallower leagues.
Barrett Hayton – Two assists with a shot. Hayton lost his PP1 spot to Peterka so there’s nothing here anymore.
Max Shabanov – Two assists. Decent rookie season for the Russian, but Shabanov is only a bottom end streamer.
Mark Scheifele – Two goals and an assist with eight shots. Man, what a brutal loss for the Jets as Comrie pissed the game away. You have to think some trades are coming with how disappointing they’ve been. Scheifele doesn’t deserve much blame, and has certainly delivered from a fantasy hockey perspective.
Gabe Vilardi – Goal and an assist with two shots. Bottom end hold through and through.
Auston Matthews – Hat trick and an assist with five shots. We’re starting to see some signs of life from Matthews in terms of the shot volume. I’m still skeptical he can drag the Leafs back into the playoffs, but the East is so bunched together that it can’t be ruled out.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. It’s more fringe now, but I still think OEL is a bottom end hold.
Matias Maccelli – Goal and an assist. He’s currently with Tavares and Knies with Nylander out. Maccelli has five points in his last five games, but he also have five shots on goal in that span. He’s a bottom end streamer for the time being.
Sidney Crosby – Two goals and an assist with four shots and two PIM. Five game point streak for Crosby, who is showing no signs of slowing down. I can’t wait to watch him on a line with MacKinnon and whatever RW (Reinhart?), at least when they aren’t playing U.S.A.
Erik Karlsson – Two assists with a shot. The assists are the best they’ve been since arriving in Pittsburgh. The plus-minus hasn’t been a total disaster either, making Karlsson a solid #3.
Nikita Kucherov – Goal and two assists with two shots. Down a goal with under 3:30 left? No problem, the Bolts can score three goals to beat the Kings. They’re clearly the best team in the Atlantic to me.
Jake Guentzel – Two assists with two shots. Business as usual.
Brayden Point – Two goals on five shots. He’s been incredibly disappointing this season, but Point now has ten points in his last ten games, including five in the last four. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.
Anthony Cirelli – Goal and an assist with four shots. I really don’t think Cirelli deserves to be on Team Canada, but Cooper pushed for his guy and got him. He’s a solid streamer for fantsay.
Corey Perry – Three assists with two shots and five PIM. Perry has been a decent surprise for the Kings, but it’s still only middling streamer territory.
Kevin Fiala – Goal and an assist with three shots. Still on the fringe, but now I’m leaning towards elite streamer over hold. It’s just not quite good enough across the board.
Andrei Kuzmenko – Goal and an assist. He’s not anywhere near as good as he was once the Kings acquired him last season. Bottom end streamer at best.
Sebastian Aho – Two goals and three assists with three shots and two PIM. Nothing like a five point performance and your team loses in regulation! And just like that, Aho is sitting right at the point per game mark he’s been around for eight straight seasons.
Nikolaj Ehlers – Goal and two assists with two shots. The most notable thing Ehlers did in this game was completely gift the Canadiens a goal. He’s on the fringe, but I still lean towards holding.
Andrei Svechnikov – Goal and two assists with five shots. He’s completely back on track with twelve points in his last eight games. Easy hold again.
Alexander Nikishin – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s approaching the fringe, but I think we see the real jump from Nikishin next season.
Sammy Blais – Goal and an assist with two shots. Nice to see Blais back playing again, but he’s only a fourth liner.
Alex Texier – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. He’s currently on the top line with Suzuki and Caufield, but Texier hasn’t done much. Bottom end streamer at best.
Juraj Slafkovsky – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s benefiting from playing with Ivan Demidov (two assists, two shots), with Slaf posting ten points in his last six games. He’s up to the fringe.
Lane Hutson – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Hutson has a real chance for a point per game season. I think he has a real Olympic case, but instead, we’re stuck watching Hanifin, Faber and Jones. Yuck.
Matt Duchene – Goal and an assist, as did Mikko Rantanen and Jason Robertson. Duchene has been very poor so far, but there’s still plenty of time for him to turn it around. He’s still a middling to solid streamer, but we can’t rule out a Duchene hot streak.
Ilya Mikheyev – Two goals on three shots. And there’s your biannual Mikheyev update!
Ryan Donato – Two assists with two shots. The dropoff has been steep for Donato. He’s only a bottom end streamer.
Andre Burakovsky – Two assists. It’s been a nice bounce back for Burakovsky, but he’s missing Bedard so much. For now, he’s a bottom end streamer, while pushing towards an elite one when Bedard returns.
Philipp Grubauer – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 4-1 win over the Predators. Grubauer has been shockingly good this season after four straight seasons of being bad in Seattle. I’m not fully buying in, but I would stream him in most starts now.
Matty Beniers – Two goals. His assists are up, but the goals are ugly. Part of that is shooting percentage, part of it is shot rate, part of it is he’s just not generating enough quality chances. He’s a middling streamer.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
val’s available in 2/3+ of leagues? jebus i’m so out of touch with how shallow a standard league must be for that it’s crazy.