There’s only one team in the NHL that hasn’t been shut out this season. Any guesses? Well, it’s somebody you wouldn’t suspect. That team would be the Ottawa Senators. Right now, they’re getting carried by Connor Brown. Brown scored a goal in Monday’s game against the Jets, which means he has a scored a goal in eight consecutive games. Eight! Brown has always been a solid middle six player, scoring 20 goals once and scoring right at a 20 goal pace last season. This year, he’s closer to a 25 goal pace. You can make the case for holding him right now on the back of this hot streak, but at the least, he’s at elite streamer status. For a breakdown of all the moves at the Trade Deadline, you can check that out here. Let’s take a look at what else happened Monday night:
Mikko Rantanen – Two goals on seven shots with six PIM. Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and added an assist while Cale Makar dished two assists. The top guys for Colorado took care of business per usual.
Jonathan Bernier – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 3-1 win over the Hurricanes. Remarkably, the Red Wings have won 4 of the 7 games they’ve played against the Hurricanes. That could be the difference in home ice advantage or not for Carolina. Bernier’s save percentage and win rate have been okay, but he’s still a desperation play because it’ll be hard for his GAA to get under 3.
Valtteri Filppula – Two assists with two PIM. He has seven points in his last eight games and Filppula played over 19 minutes in this one. There could be some deep league value as apparently he’ll be getting some good run down the stretch.
Michael Rasmussen – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. I don’t see a ton here from the former top ten pick, but at least he should get significant playing time down the stretch to see what he has. Passing for now though.
Paul Byron – Two assists with two shots. Byron has been waived constantly this season and is still under a shot per game when he is in the lineup. No thanks.
Tomas Tatar – Two goals. Tatar is on the fringe right now. My hope is that the shot rate goes up with Gallagher out for the regular season, but I don’t have my hopes up. Let team needs make your decision on Tatar, but in a vacuum, I’d lean elite streamer.
Brady Tkachuk – Two goals on five shots. Tkachuk is already an elite play driver at 21 years old, he’s over four shots per game, and the PIM are elite. Once the team around him gets better to fix his plus-minus, there’s a top 20 player here.
Josh Norris – Two assists. Norris started off hot, cooled off massively, and now he’s back to seven points in the past nine. He’s a bottom end streamer with his poor shot rate.it
Thomas Chabot – Two assists with two shots. Disappointing season from Chabot who I thought could push past 40 points in a 56 game season. It all comes down to whether or not you can stomach the plus-minus.
Patrick Kane – Two assists with ten shots. The shot rate started to drop so what does he do? Put sixteen shots on net the past two games. Kane has been nothing short of outstanding once again.
Patrik Laine – Two goals on three shots. Laine had a goal of the year candidate in this one going coast to coast. Things couldn’t be going worse for him overall in Columbus, but I hope that the new coach next season lets him play to his strengths. It’s hard to find a worse match than Torts and Laine.
Mark Stone – Goal and an assist. Gorgeous shorthanded goal for Stone who left Petersen in the dust. He’s still well over a point per game, and while the shot rate keeps him from being in the top 20, he’s easily in the top 50 because of the elite plus-minus and solid PIM.
Shea Theodore – Two assists with six shots. Theodore has looked great offensively lately. He has eight points in his last ten, but he’s been brutally unlucky with only one goal on 38 shots in that span. He’s a #1 fantasy defenseman with relative ease and only looks to be getting better.
Anthony Stolarz – 46 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Sharks. Out of his four games, Stolarz has had two monster performances. Can we expect that going forward? On Anaheim, absolutely not. Use him at your own risk.
Alexander Volkov – Two goals on three shots. I always liked Volkov when he received a chance in Tampa, and he’s looked solid in Anaheim. I’d say he’s a bottom end streamer for now, but there is long term upside here.
Max Comtois – Goal and an assist with two shots. One of the lone bright spots this season for the Ducks is Comtois looks like he’ll be a great middle sixer going forward, probably on the second line. He’s a solid streamer for now.
Three Point Challenge: I will let everyone pick someone from either Tuesday or Wednesday’s games. I now have 4 correct picks, Veritas moves into second with two, and Chet joins the group with one pick. You can not select McDavid, Draisaitl, Kane, Marner, Matthews, Scheifele, MacKinnon, Crosby, Marchand, or Rantanen. Because why not pile it on Buffalo some more, I’m going to take Taylor Hall in his Bruins debut on Tuesday.
That’s all for now guys. With a bit of a different schedule than usual, that being a light Tuesday, I’ll be back on Thursday recapping the 11 games from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
