I was originally going to take Sidney Crosby for three points but realized I took him within the last two weeks. Then, I was going to take Bryan Rust, but thought it was too bold, so went with Matchbox Twenty. Of course Thomas had two points (more on him later), but the other two both had three points. The top line for Pitt was fantastic, with Crosby and Rust each having a goal and two assists in the 5-3 win over the Oilers. Their plus-minuses are quite ugly, but Crosby and Rust have been fantastic for fantasy purposes. Rust doesn’t get the credit he deserves for playing like a star. Crosby moved into 9th on the all-time points list and is starting to make a case for being on the hockey Mount Rushmore. He’s probably just outside it, but regardless, we can never take Crosby for granted. Both should be top 50 players for the rest of the season, with Crosby having a good chance to get inside the top 25. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Pierre-Luc Dubois – Two goals on three shots with four PIM. Safe to say that things are going better for Dubois now that he’s out of Los Angeles. That said, his shot rate, which was an asset in Winnipeg, is a big detriment now. He’s on the fringe because of his other contributions.
Logan Thompson – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 2-1 OT win over Vancouver. I ranked Thompson aggressively in preseason, ahead of the presumed starter Lindgren, so I’m patting myself on the back for this one.
Petr Mrazek – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 3-1 win over the Avalanche. We get these occasional blowup games from Mrazek, but overall, he’s below both Mendoza lines (3.13/.897). I’m only interested in deep leagues where you need volume.
Connor Bedard – Goal and an assist with two shots. With this game, Bedard is on an eight game point streak. His shot rate is the biggest frustration for me as it’s drastically down. Bedard should be playing like Jack Hughes given how good Bedard’s shot is, not taking 2.5 per game. It’s still good, but it has to change for Bedard to reach his elite potential.
Sergei Bobrovsky – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 4-1 win over Utah. Since I said I was selling Bob, he’s naturally had three monster games. It figures since he’s the biggest wild card in fantasy hockey history.
Jesper Boqvist – Two goals on three shots. His situation is better with Verhaeghe dropping to the third line to balance things out, but Boqvist is still a bottom end streamer at best.
Matthew Tkachuk – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Tkachuk had a dreadful start, but now he’s above a point per game and pushing towards three shots per game. This feels like his floor, which shows how good Tkachuk is.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – 35 save shutout in the 4-0 win over Ottawa. I’ve received a lot of questions about UPL and I’ve consistently been stubborn. The volume is elite, and the Sabres have an above .500 record with Dahlin in the lineup. He should be a #2 goalie in 12’ers the rest of the way.
Ryan McLeod – Goal and two assists with five shots. McLeod has been ice cold offensively, although he was bumped back up the lineup in this one and delivered. He’s only a bottom end streamer.
Jack Quinn – Two goals on three shots with four PIM. Quinn was included in my post about players I’m buying for the second half. You can read that here if you missed it.
Eeli Tolvanen – Two goals. Tolvanen hasn’t been as successful under Bylsma as he was under Hakstol. Bottom end streamer.
James van Riemsdyk – Two assists. Even with injuries, JVR has a very limited role. Nothing here for fantasy anymore, but a very good career.
Zach Werenski – Goal and an assist with three shots. Werenski is really giving Makar and Hughes a run for their money for the Norris.
Denton Mateychuk – Goal and an assist with two shots. First career goal for the former lottery pick. There could be something here long term, but Mateychuk is under one shot per game in his limited sample. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Luca Del Bel Belluz – Goal and an assist with two shots. LDBB (I don’t want to keep spelling that out) scored in his previous NHL game last year and one upped it this time. Even his “second line” role got him only 11 minutes. Nothing to see here for now. Also welcome to the Razzball Database!
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 4-1 win over the Bruins. He’s avoided having any terrible games this season, drastically boosting his numbers. It’s not vintage Vasilevskiy, but it’s not far off.
Ryan McDonagh – Two assists with four blocks. And there’s your biannual McDonagh update!
Nikita Kucherov – Two assists with three shots. Somehow he’s far off last season’s pace… and still on pace for 130 points.
Brandon Hagel – Goal and an assist with nine shots and two PIM. I liked Hagel a lot this year, but I didn’t see a top 25 player coming. It will forever pain me that he was a Sabres sixth round pick and never even gave him an ELC.
Connor McDavid – Three assists with three shots. Leon Draisaitl had two goals on seven shots. Business as usual for these two, with a slight role reversal again as Draisaitl is the Hart favorite at the midway point.
Marcus Pettersson – Two assists with a shot. Fine player in real life, very little for fantasy.
Drew O’Connor – Goal and an assist with two shots. O’Connor has actually been one of the unluckiest players in the league in terms of goals below expected, but part of that is his lack of finishing ability. As is, nothing for fantasy.
Casey DeSmith – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 4-1 win over the Flyers. I’d stream DeSmith against anyone at this point. Barring an Oettinger injury, the volume should stay quite low.
Jason Robertson – Two assists. He’s not fully back, but this two week stretch is the best Robertson has looked this season.
Jack Hughes – Goal and an assist with three shots. It’s been far from a disappointing season from Hughes, who is playing at a 90+ point pace and pushing towards four shots per game, but I did expect slightly better.
Adam Fox – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Somehow, this is Fox’s second goal of the season. The assists are still elite, but the shot rate at a dreadful level keeps him in the 10th-15th defenseman range.
Jordan Staal – Hat trick on four shots, all assisted by Jordan Martinook. Staal had four goals in his first 40 games, so of course he scored four in his next two games. I still have no interest for fantasy, but good for Staal having a monster game. Martinook is a bottom end streamer.
MacKenzie Blackwood – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 6-1 win over the Wild. Blackwood is the hottest goalie in the league since moving to Colorado. Hopefully you grabbed him in every league you could.
Josh Manson – Two assists. All Colorado stats are from Thursday’s game as they did little against the Blackhawks Wednesday. And there’s your annual Manson update!
Nathan MacKinnon – Goal and an assist with five shots. Despite putting up 140 points last season, MacKinnon didn’t lead the league in points (Kucherov did). He might be able to get that first Art Ross this year.
Mikko Rantanen – Goal and an assist with three shots. How much money is Rantanen going to get paid this offseason? Does he push towards a 100 million contract? MacKinnon received 12.6m a year, could Rantanen get 8/100 to keep him under MacKinnon? Does he leave? Either way, back up the Brinks truck!
Jonathan Drouin – Two assists. Drouin has been in and out of the lineup lately. He’s a solid to elite streamer assuming health, with the chance of playing onto the fringe.
Logan O’Connor – Goal and an assist with three shots. Two O’Connor’s in one post! Logan’s offense has dried up this season so he’s an easy pass in fantasy.
Robert Thomas – Two goals on six shots with two PIM. Couldn’t get me a third point!? Thomas is over a point per game and again, he’s over two shots per game, which puts him in the 50-75th overall range.
Brayden Schenn – Two assists. Schenn is hot right now, but even with that temporary bump, it’s only in the middling to solid streamer range.
Pavel Buchnevich – Goal and an assist. Five game point streak for the Buch. He’s on the fringe as I expect a better second half.
Jordan Kyrou – Goal and an assist with seven shots. Kyrou has been very good overall, but I think the second half could be even better. He’s started the new year on a tear and the shot rate is scorching at the moment.
Brock Nelson – Goal and an assist. Nelson was also covered in the buy post I wrote that I linked with Quinn earlier.
Alexander Romanov – Two assists with a shot. Romanov crushes hits and blocks, but is rough at everything else. That makes him a streamer towards the end of the week for those.
Ilya Sorokin – 30 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Golden Knights. I never thought he would get this volume, but an injured Varlamov did that. He’s been far from his best, but Sorokin is still a #2 in 12’ers.
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!
