We found another goalie out of nowhere! Jordan Binnington was great in his second start on Thursday, allowing one goal on 29 shots in the 4-1 win over over Canadiens. He’s been strong in the AHL the last two seasons, and with how bad their other goalies have been, Binnington deserves a chance. Obviously it could collapse at any time, and the Blues’ schedule in January is very road heavy. On the other side, there a lot of good matchups over the next two weeks for Binnington. I wouldn’t go out of my way in shallow leagues to own him, but Binnington could be a solid streamer with upside for more, especially before the All-Star Break with the Sens, Kings, and Ducks in a row. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Ryan Johansen – Three assists with seven shots over two games. The shot rate is frustrating, but Johansen is doing enough to be held.
Mattias Ekholm – Goal and three assists with six shots over two games. Been saying for a couple weeks that Ekholm should remain a hold, and he’s solidified that in the meantime.
Filip Forsberg – Two goals on eleven shots in two games. Nice to see Forsberg get back on the score sheet after returning from injury.
Patrick Kane – Two assists with four shots. He keeps chugging along putting up all of the points.
Gabriel Landeskog – Two assists with twelve shots. All your shots are belong to the Kog! He’s been fantastic this season. Third wheel or not, he’s developed into an elite fantasy asset.
Mikko Rantanen – Goal and an assist with five shots. It hasn’t stopped, Rantanen has been a monster all season long.
Mark Giordano – Three assists with a shot and two PIM. I’ve long been a fan of Gio, but boy did I get it wrong on him this season. He’s firmly in the Norris discussion.
T.J. Brodie – Two assists with two PIM. His plus-minus is amazing but he provides nothing else. Pass.
Johnny Gaudreau – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Gaudreau is working his way into the Hart discussion.
Anders Nilsson – 32 saves on 33 shots, then 33 saves on 34 shots, in two wins over the Ducks and Kings. These matchups were solid and that’s it. The Sens are a mess defensively, and while they aren’t the worst team he’s played behind (the tanking Sabres), he’s still an easy pass besides when they play someone like Detroit.
Alex Ovechkin – Two goals on five shots. Anytime someone gets close to him for the league lead in goals, he distances himself. Such a beast.
T.J. Oshie – Two assists with three shots. It’s not exciting, but Oshie is easily a hold.
John Tavares – Two goals and an assist with six shots and two PIM, while Mitch Marner added a goal and an assist. These guys have been crushing the competition all season long.
Mathew Barzal – Goal and two assists with two shots. Barzal has been on a massive tear throughout January. Nice to see him find another level to get close to last season’s pace. The jump in shot rate is encouraging for his long term upside.
Johnny Boychuk – Two assists with a shot. Boychuk’s days of fantasy relevance are over.
Anders Lee – Goal and an assist. ‘Ders has been nice and steady from the beginning. The goals aren’t as great, but he’s still solid.
James van Riemsdyk – Goal and an assist with two shots. Tough season for JVR, like the Flyers as a whole. I’m bumping him down to solid to elite streamer, but no longer a hold.
Carter Hart – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 2-1 win over Dallas. Hart has been very good since his recall, although it hasn’t resulted in many wins. He should be owned in all formats.
Boone Jenner – Two goals on three shots. I loved Jenner three years ago but he’s been trending in the wrong direction ever since. Bottom end streamer.
Artemi Panarin – Two goals on three shots. The Breadman is on pace for career highs across the board in offensive categories. I just hope you don’t have him in hits/blocks leagues because he’s as bad as it gets in those categories.
Zach Werenski – Two assists with two shots. Nice bounceback from Werenski after a tough season last year. The shot rate falling off has hurt, but he’s in the bottom end #2./ top end #3 range now.
Brayden Point – Two goals and an assist with three shots. This is getting ridiculous. 28+32 in 44 games? Just absurd.
Steven Stamkos – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Not his best season but Stamkos is still doing extremely well. He’s on pace for around 40+50.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 3-1 win over the Hurricanes. #1 goalie, don’t think it’s up for any debate.
Ryan O’Reilly – Two assists with five shots. Not the most exciting guy in the world, but he gets the job done in all formats.
Oskar Sundqvist – Goal and an assist with two shots. Nothing to see here.
Jason Zucker – Two goals and two PIM. After a big season last year, Zucker has had a tough year. He’s an okay streamer at this point, but the days of holding him are gone for now.
Jared Spurgeon – Two assists with two shots. I’ve been pumping up Spurgeon for a while, and he’s a clear hold in all formats since Dumba went down. He’s over a point per game in that time span, and while it won’t last, he’ll do plenty to be held.
Bogdan Kiselevich – Two assists. He has 12 shots in 29 games. That’s all you need to know.
Connor McDavid – Two goals and an assist with three shots. I’m convinced that he’s not human.
Darnell Nurse – Goal and an assist with eight shots. I’m holding Nurse in all formats. The plus-minus is bad, but the shots are great, the PIM are strong, and he was on PP1 all game, including on a 5 on 3.
Richard Panik – Two goals and an assist with four shots. My girlfriend saw Panic At The Disco tonight. That’s more exciting than Panik in fantasy hockey.
Vinnie Hinostroza – Two assists with a shot. Easy pass.
Jakob Chychrun – Two assists with two shots. I liked Chychrun a lot in his draft season, and he’s starting to show some upside. I don’t think he’s there yet, but there’s some upside here long term.
Sven Baertschi – Two goals on six shots. He’s been good in stretches, but I’m not a big fan with Pettersson out.
Tomas Hertl – Goal and an assist with four shots. Another guy who is not very exciting in fantasy circles but has been an easy hold for the vast majority of the season.
Chris Tierney – Two goals and an assist with four shots over two games. This has been his best season by far as Ottawa has put him in a bigger role. That said, he’s still only a bottom end streamer.
Friday Streamers
Tage Thompson (0.0%) – The plan is for Thompson to play with Eichel and Skinner tonight, assuming Eichel draws back into the lineup. He’s played very well over the last few weeks, and with Carolina on the second of a back-to-back, I’m all for using him Thompson tonight.
Andreas Athanasiou (6.3%) – It’s obviously not great to go against the Jets, but they’re on a back-to-back, and Athanasiou has been very good this season. That’s enough on a small slate.
Michael Frolik (0.0%) – This is more picking against the Panthers than anything, but Frolik has settled back into the second line.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back Monday recapping all of the weekend’s action. As always, feel free to ask any questions, give any comments, or leave any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
