Joel Quenneville saw that Sergei Bobrovsky was rounding into form on Saturday after a strong performance against his old team. He rewarded him by starting him on Sunday despite being the second game in as many days. Bob delivered once again. After making 33 saves in the 4-1 win over Columbus, Bobrovsky stopped 30 of 31 shots in the 5-1 win over the Sharks. Yes, the season has been worst case scenario to this point for Bob. However, there’s still plenty of time to turn it around and I think we see it. Sure, maybe he won’t be the top 5 goalie he’s been in the past, I can almost guarantee that. However, he could end up being a #1 again and for that reason alone, he’s a great trade target. Over the rest of this month, he plays Tampa twice and Boston, with some decent offenses and poor ones mixed in. However, look at this January schedule: OTT, BUF, PIT, ARZ, VAN, DET, MIN, CHI. Not exactly a murderer’s row. In fact, they don’t even play Tampa again after this month. If I owned Bob, which I do, I’m being patient because I think it’s going to turn around. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games
Corey Crawford – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 2-1 SO win over the Devils. Crawford has been mediocre and almost certainly will continue to be so.
MacKenzie Blackwood – 28 saves on 29 shots as the tough luck loser. I still like Blackwood long term, but he’s a desperation play right now given how poor the Devils are playing.
Carey Price – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 2-1 win over the Rangers. Not exactly a vintage Price season with a 3.04/.902 and winning only 50% of his starts. I don’t think it’s going to get a lot better given how bad their defense is, but it should improve a bit.
Tristan Jarry – 33 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Coyotes. That’s back-to-back shutouts for Jarry who needs to be owned everywhere while he’s playing so well.
Alex Chiasson – Goal and an assist with two shots. He played 9:24 in this game so even with PP1 time, it’s hard to find any value here.
Leon Draisaitl – Goal and an assist with three shots. Draisaitl hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.
Mikko Koskinen – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 2-1 win over the Kings. Koskinen has been very good this season even with a mediocre November. He’s on the fringe of holding but I lean towards keeping him. Also, weekly reminder to start every goalie against the Kings.
Ryan Getzlaf – Goal and an assist. Getzlaf has had a very good season across the board to this point. Nice start for the 34 year old.
Jakub Vrana – Goal and an assist with four shots. The huge jump forward by Vrana is doing wonders for the Capitals. He’s at a 40 goal pace right now and shooting three times per game instead of below two last season. I wouldn’t be selling high as he’s doing this without PP1 time for most of the season but he’s getting it right now.
Saturday’s Games
Jack Eichel – Two assists with a shot playing over 24 minutes. Eichel is in the midst of a 13 game point streak and if you want to talk who the most valuable player to his team is in terms of how much he means to his team, he’s probably been the second most important guy to this point behind MacKinnon. Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson also scored a goal and an assist and received the massive minutes Eichel did so keep holding them.
Rasmus Ristolainen – Two assists. With Dahlin out, Risto is getting big minutes so if you need the help on the blue line, he’s a decent option.
Johan Larsson – Two assists. He’s been playing very well but it doesn’t translate to fantasy.
Josh Leivo – Two goals on three shots. A huge chunk of Canucks had two points so I won’t hit all of them, but Leivo is worth discussing. He’s on a decent run offensively and he’s been a nice streamer in the past. It’s nice to see him finally getting a chance with the Canucks and Leivo has played his way into a decent streamer.
Antoine Roussel – Two goals on three shots and two PIM. It was his second game this season and he now has three goals. Obviously that won’t continue, but Roussel is a solid streamer because of the penalty minutes.
J.T. Miller – Goal and an assist with two shots. If you were expecting Miller to slow down, it simply hasn’t happened, and I don’t expect that to happen either.
Joonas Donskoi – Two assists with two PIM. His role is decreasing but he’s right on the fringe still because of the PP1 time.
Philipp Grubauer – 3 saves on 4 shots before leaving the game against Boston due to injury. He practiced today but Pavel Francouz is getting the start. Doesn’t sound serious though.
Cale Makar – Day to day with a UBI. He didn’t skate today but it doesn’t sound that serious. We should get another update today or tomorrow.
Nazem Kadri – Missed the last two games, missing again tonight. He skated today but with a non-contact jersey. He’s IR eligible so put him on there if your league has those spots. Also, how bad is Colorado running in terms of injury luck? Good lord.
Anthony Duclair – Two goals on seven shots. Well done by Duclair to get his career back on track in Ottawa. Whether Duclair is a hold or not comes down to whether or not you need the shot rate.
James van Riemsdyk – Two assists. He’s barely playing right now so JVR is a bottom end streamer at best.
Scott Laughton – Goal and an assist with three shots playing over 18 minutes. I don’t see a ton here, but with these minutes, it’s worth monitoring.
Travis Konecny – Out indefinitely with a concussion. Brutal news as Konecny has been outstanding this season. Here’s to hoping he’s not out for too long.
Evgeni Malkin – Goal and two assists with four shots, as did Jake Guentzel. These guys have been terrific with Crosby out. Just a matter of staying healthy for Malkin.
Kris Letang – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Health is also a key for Letang, but he’s been very good this season as always.
Chad Ruhwedel – Goal and an assist with two shots. Not much to see here.
John Marino – Goal and an assist with two shots. I received a few questions on Marino, but a lot of what he’s done isn’t sustainable. Long term there could be something, but I’m not buying right now. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Dylan Larkin – Goal and an assist with four shots. He hasn’t been as good as last season, but I do think Larkin is a solid trade target as long as you can stomach the plus-minus.
Robby Fabbri – Goal and an assist with three shots. Fabbri is on the first line with Mantha down and has looked the part. I have been a huge fan for a long time and it looks like the torn knee is behind him. He’s an elite streamer who could be held if you can stomach the plus-minus.
Sebastian Aho – Hat trick and two assists with six shots in one of the games of the year so far. Hopefully you were patient with Aho if you drafted him because he’s been fabulous for over a month now.
Teuvo Teravainen – Three assists with three shots. He’s been even better than last season and I do expect some more goals to come in as his shooting percentage improves.
Mitch Marner – Two assists in his return. Get him back in your lineup immediately.
Zach Hyman – Two goals on five shots. Decent streamer as always.
Auston Matthews – Two goals on four shots. That snapped a five game goalless streak for Matthews who should get right back on track now.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 7-1 win over the Sharks. He hasn’t been his usual self, but Vasilevskiy should get back on track as Tampa rights the ship.
Alex Killorn – Goal and three assists with four shots. The line of Killorn, Steven Stamkos (2+1), and Anthony Cirelli (2A) were dominant. Killorn is getting quality PP time and is a borderline hold right now. I kind of lean that way, but it’s close. Cirelli is a solid streamer while he’s in this role.
Victor Hedman – Goal and two assists with six shots. Nice five game point streak for Hedman who is back over a point per game.
Carter Verhaeghe – Goal and two assists with four shots. He had one point in the previous 16 games in his career so nothing to see here at this point. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Tyler Johnson – Two goals on three shots. Johnson only played 10 minutes so he’s an okay streamer.
Keith Yandle – Two assists and a shot. Nice run by Yandle who has eight points in the last five games. After a brutal start, Yandle has been even better than last season.
Mike Hoffman – Goal and an assist with four shots. The assists are way down which seems like a bit of bad luck. It could get even better for Hoffman than it’s been.
Aleksander Barkov – Two assists with a shot. Been great across the board as expected.
Taylor Hall – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s rounding into form as expected; he can’t shoot 5% forever.
Sami Vatanen – Two assists with three shots. Vatanen is a decent bottom of the roster option now that he’s running the first power play unit.
Mattias Ekholm – Two assists with two shots. Ekholm is another guy who is on the fringe, although I lean towards holding him despite the lack of PP time because he hits the rest of the categories.
Nick Bonino – Goal and an assist. He slowed down lately as expected and is a decent streamer again, but that’s it.
Rocco Grimaldi – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s already set a new career high in points but Grimaldi is still a bottom end streamer.
Dante Fabbro – Goal and an assist with two PIM. I like Fabbro a lot long term, but for now, he’s not really usable in any format.
Alexander Radulov – Goal and an assist with three shots. Nice to see him bounce back after being scratched for a game. If someone panicked and dropped him, grab Radulov immediately.
Ben Bishop – 34 saves on 35 shots in the 3-1 win over the Islanders. He’s rolling once again as his season save percentage is sitting at .932. Pretty, pretty good.
Anze Kopitar – Goal and an assist with three shots. The shot rate is below two per game now after a rough patch, but at least he’s avoided a negative plus-minus given how bad the team is. Quality performance by Kopitar despite the team being awful around him.
Drew Doughty – Goal and an assist with four shots. Doughty hasn’t avoided the plus-minus woes, but he’s been solid otherwise.
Milan Lucic – Goal and an assist with two shots. He played over 17 minutes in this game which is comical. Nothing to see here.
Derek Ryan – Two assists with two shots. Bottom end streamer at best.
Dillon Dube – Goal and an assist with two shots. There’s some long term upside here, but he’s a mediocre streamer until the minutes increase.
Sunday’s Games
Darnell Nurse – Two assists with four shots. Nurse has been somewhat disappointing offensively this season, but most of his value comes from the PIM and shots. The shots are down though, so he’s a bottom end hold at best.
Joakim Nygard – Goal and an assist. Nothing to really see here.
Mark Scheifele – Two goals. Scheifele is starting to roll again as he’s almost to a point per game. He should be strong across the board now that his shot rate is approaching 2.5 shots again.
Mathieu Perreault – Two assists with three shots. Perreault hasn’t done much this season and I don’t expect that to change barring a role reversal.
Aaron Ekblad – Two assists with a shot and four PIM. Solid year across the board from Ekblad who looks like he’s taking the next step this season under Q.
Frank Vatrano – Goal and an assist. Frank the Tank is down to only being a decent streamer as his shot rate has dropped recently.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two assists with two shots. Barkov and Yandle also had two points again. The top guys on Florida has played at a consistently high level all season.
Carl Soderberg – Goal and an assist with two shots. Soda has provided solid value to the Coyotes this season. For fantasy, he’s a mediocre streamer.
Nick Schmaltz – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Schmaltz has been struggling lately with only two points in his previous nine games. He’s an elite streamer from a point perspective, but the poor shot rate and little PIM hurt his overall value.
Jonathan Toews – Goal and two assists with five shots and four PIM. Toews has had a disappointing offensive season, but the PIM has been strong and the shots are solid. Still, it looks like he’s more of the 50-60 point player he was in the three seasons before last year’s 81 point outburst, which leaves him as a bottom end hold.
Alexandar Georgiev – 38 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Golden Knights. George has been outstanding all season and is a reasonable streamer every time he gets the nod.
Ryan Strome – Two assists with two shots. He’s a pure AAGNOF so his value comes down strictly to team needs.
Jacob Trouba – Goal and an assist with two shots. Trouba has ten points in the last ten games and has a shot rate that’s pushing three per game. The all-around contributions are strong.
Artemi Panarin – Goal and an assist. Panarin has found another gear in New York that I wasn’t sure was even possible. I don’t think he’s oging to set a career high in points, but it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
That’s all for now guys as this post was even longer than anticipated pushing 2500 words. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the action from tonight and tomorrow. If you want to make a Three Point Challenge pick for Tuesday’s games, do so below. I will take RoR against the Sabres so the fans here flip out even more about trading him there. Just a reminder that it can’t be someone in the top 10 in the NHL in scoring. Thanks for reading, take care!
