Bjorkstrand Beaming With Confidence

Razzball favorite Oliver Bjorkstrand had his second 3+ point game of the young season on Thursday, dishing three assists and adding two shots in the 3-2 OT win over the Islanders.  That’s seven points in four games and the equally encouraging sign is that Bjorkstrand played over 20 minutes in this game.  He’s owned in almost every league like he should be, but the upside may be even higher than I gave Bjorkstrand credit for.  I have no doubt that the goals are going to come, but the playmaking has improved leaps and bounds over the last season plus.  I don’t think he can quite get to being a top 50 player in a best case scenario, but top 75 is attainable.  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:

Charlie McAvoy – Two assists.  The Bruins are controlling the play with McAvoy on the ice which gives him a great chance to blowing his previous high in career points out of the window.

Keith Yandle – Two assists with a shot.  I’m not buying into Yandle’s hot start of five assists in the first three games, but he probably should be owned for now as a bottom end defenseman.  Assists ain’t got no face!

Derick Brassard – Two assists.  As long as Hayes is on LTIR, Brassard looks like he’ll be a quality streamer.  He’s centering Cam Atkinson (2G, 4 SOG) and Joel Farabee (1+1, 5 SOG) on the second line giving Brassard the best linemates he’d had in years.

Sean Couturier – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Great start for Couturier and the Flyers.

Jordan Binnington – 42 saves on 43 shots in the 3-1 win over the Golden Knights.  Binnington stole the show against Vegas after having a rough game against Arizona.  If that’s not the full Binnington experience, I don’t know what is.

Sergei Bobrovsky – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 4-1 win over the Avalanche.  It could fall apart at the seams at any time, but Bob looks better than he has at any other point in Florida.  Quenneville appears to be giving him the top spot in the platoon making Bobrovsky must own.

Mason Marchment – Two assists with two shots and two PIM.  I don’t see much opportunity for Marchment to carry fantasy value.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!

Anton Lundell – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Coach Q clearly trusts him defensively already, but a lot of his points are of the empty net variety.  I see him as a middling streamer for now.

Sebastian Aho – Two goals and an assist with five shots.  That’s at least a point in every game for Aho so far.  Props to Fungazi for picking Aho in the Three Point Challenge!

Vincent Trocheck – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  Really liking Carolina’s second line with Trocheck centering Svechnikov and Necas.  That helps all of their fantasy values.

Teuvo Teravainen – Two assists with three shots.  Five points in three games for Teravainen and the shots are coming in strong.  Dream start.

Frederik Andersen – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 4-1 win over the Canadiens.  It’s only three games, but it is a bit telling that Andersen has started every game so far.  He has the chance to be a #1 again if he ends up starting 55+ games.

Alex Ovechkin – Two assists with three shots.  Nobody can slow down Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov (1+1, 3 SOG) right now.

Daniel Sprong – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Sprong does well in limited minutes, but he’s not going to get the necessary minutes to sustain fantasy value over a long stretch.

Vitek Vanecek – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 4-1 win over the Devils.  I did not expect Vanecek to start three of the first four games but here we are. He’s a hold everywhere.

James Reimer – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 2-1 win over the Senators.  It’s amazing that Hill and Reimer are a massive upgrade for the Sharks, but they’re so much better than Jones and Dubnyk were.  The schedule will get tougher, but both look to be usable.

Jacob Markstrom – 33 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Red Wings.  The Flames are about to start an East Coast trip which isn’t ideal, but Markstrom is going to get plenty of run and we know the upside.

Erik Gudbranson – Two assists with four shots.  And there’s your annual Gudbranson update!

Johnny Gaudreau – Two assists with a shot.  Quality start to the season for Johnny Hockey.

Sammy Blais – Two assists with four shots and four PIM.  He’s taking shifts on the second line with all of the Rangers injuries, but I don’t see anything here outside of deep leagues,

Alexis Lafreniere – Goal and an assist with four shots.  It’s been an okay start for Lafreniere, but he does take a hit for the time being with Panarin, Zibanejad, and Kreider all playing together.  I’m still holding, but it’s tenuous.

Igor Shesterkin – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 3-1 win over the Predators.  Prince Igor has started the season in fine form.

Kyle Connor – Two goals and an assist with six shots.  Mark Scheifele is in COVID protocols, but that hasn’t slowed Connor down.  Pierre-Luc Dubois skated in the top spot and had a goal and an assist.  He should be held everywhere.

Nate Schmidt – Two assists.  Schmidt is running the first power play unit right now so if you need assists, he’s a decent option.  I don’t love his contributions to the other categories though.

Connor Hellebuyck – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 5-1 win over the Ducks.  After three rough starts, Hellboy bounced back in a prime matchup.  He finishes the month with Nashville and the three California teams so don’t be surprised if Hellebuyck finishes the season on a tear.

Conor Garland – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM.  Garland has been excellent for the Canucks with a point in all five games so far.  The shot rate is down which is a bit concerning, but he looks like he belongs.

Thatcher Demko – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 4-1 win over the Blackhawks.  Demko has been solid, but he’s facing a ton of shots.  The GAA looks like it could be a real problem again, even if the save percentage is respectable.

Mikko Koskinen – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 5-1 win over the Coyotes.  With Mike Smith on IR, Koskinen should get all the games he can handle.  Add him if you need short term goaltending help.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Three assists with two shots.  Tippett finally did what I asked for and split up McJesus and Draisaitl.  That helped out the rest of the top six.  RNH has 3 STP (2PPP, 1 SHP) but I’m much more bullish on him going forward if he sticks with Draisaitl.

Connor McDavid – Two goals and an assist with two shots.  Eleven points in four games.  He makes the rest of the league look like they’re playing peewee.

Zach Hyman – Two goals on three shots.  That’s what I’m talking about!  Hyman played with McDavid and while he didn’t score at even strength, he did get a shorty and power play goal.  He’s in a blowup spot now as I anticipated he would be ranking Hyman so aggressively.

Tyson Barrie – Two assists with three shots.  Slow start for Barrie, but he did last season and then tore it up.  It’s only a matter of time until he goes on a hot streak.

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!