It was a slow start for Jake Guentzel in Tampa Bay, but that is clearly a thing of the past. Guentzel scored a goal and an assist with five shots in the 5-3 win over the Blue Jackets, extending his goal scoring streak to seven games. This game brings Guentzel up to 18 goals and 15 assists in 28 games, with the shot rate creeping back up towards three per game. I was extremely bullish on Guentzel in Tampa Bay, ranking him 12th overall. He hasn't quite been to that level, but that's what I'm expecting for the rest of the season. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Hi all, and welcome to week 11 of the NHL season. Normal schedule this week but be prepared for next week with the Christmas Holiday (there will be no games on Tue/Wed/Thurs i.e. Christmas Eve, Christmas day, AND the day after Christmas).
As it’s a typical weekly schedule of games our off-days this week are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. With the remaining days being busy days around the league.
The top teams are listed in order by strength of schedule and opponent in the table below.
The two teams playing only 2 matches this week are Vegas and the Islanders. I know that Barzal is coming off IR and may be on some waiver wires but resist the temptation to pick him up at least until Saturday if possible.
Top Streaming Team Schedules for the Week:
It's about that time to update my hold/stream list.
"Every 4-6 weeks during the season, I change things up and post a list of fantasy relevant players. I look at things from the perspective of a 12 player league, and put players into three categories. First, there are holds, who are players that should be on 100% of rosters. Next, there are players on the fringe, who you can make a case for holding depending on team needs, or at the least, they’re the best of the best for streaming. Lastly, there are streamers, who are worth using, but not worth holding. I will list streamers in order of preference (generally, I only want to stream forwards, not defensemen. Also, goalies will be last regardless of preference just to separate them). Assume that I am holding every #1 goalie unless otherwise noted, but I will mention the backups I want to use. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please let me know below. Be on the lookout for Evan’s post on Monday as well." And that's me copying and pasting me stealing what Grey does! And with that, let's get to it!
If the early returns are any indication, the Flyers hit a massive home run picking 7th last year. Matvei Michkov dished two assists with three shots on Tuesday, giving him a five game point streak in which he has ten points. That brings him up to a point per game on the season as a 20 year old rookie (he turned 20 two days ago). We're starting to see the shot rate tick up a bit, and if you're in a league without hits but have PIM, Michkov is a top 20 forward on the season. Now imagine when the minutes increase, the team improves around him, and he grows into a better player. I don't think there's ten players in the league with more offensive talent than Michkov, and if the shot rate continues to grow, we're looking at a fantasy superstar for years to come. Let's take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night:
It's not even Christmas and Colorado has already traded away both of their goalies for replacements. They're the first team since the epic tank 2014-15 Sabres to even trade both of their opening night goalies. After swapping backups weeks ago, they made their big swing on Monday, acquiring MacKenzie Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks, sending Alexandar Georgiev the other way along with a pick and depth player. So what will Colorado be getting, and what's the fantasy impact?
Hi all, and welcome to week 10 (wow!) of the NHL season. Fairly normal week again this week but actually a limited number of great streaming options as our “off” days this week are pretty light on the total number of games each day. Especially Wednesday and Friday.
As it’s a typical weekly schedule of games our off-days this week are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. With the remaining days being busy days around the league.
The top teams are listed in order by strength of schedule and opponent in the table below. Note: Both Columbus and St. Louis also play four games this week but are not featured on this table. This is due to the fact that they both play three of their games on busy nights and their one off-night isn’t until Sunday. However, do keep in mind that both teams are an option for a Sunday stream if needed!
The only two teams playing less than three games this week are Washington and Dallas (sad to see it, but their time was due as they’ve been riding high with great schedules for weeks now).
After some brutal injury luck, Patrik Laine was able to return for the Canadiens on Tuesday, scoring a goal in his Montreal debut. On Thursday, Laine did the same, scoring a goal on three shots in the win over the Predators. Laine has stepped into a 17 minute role right away, including top power play time. I'm not going to say it's going to be completely smooth, but Laine has undeniable upside. He's available in about 50% of leagues, which seems too high. In 10'ers, he's definitely on the fringe. In 12'ers, I lean towards holding for that goal scoring upside, but it is also fringy. It depends on the bottom of your roster and your team needs. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
It has to be a good feeling to kick your rival while they're down. This is the worst stretch that the Rangers have had in years, and the Devils caused them to have a big postgame discussion amongst the players and coaches. The Devils won 5-1 on Monday, with their best players leading the charge. Jesper Bratt had a goal and three assists, Jack Hughes had two goals and an assist with eight shots, while Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. The most encouraging from a fantasy perspective was Jacob Markstrom, who saved 38 of 39 shots. He hasn't been a world beater, but Markstrom is up to the 6th goalie overall because of the elite wins and volume. The GAA is solid as well, and there's room to grow with the save percentage. I'm bullish on both goalies going forward, but Markstrom should keep getting 2/3rds of the starts with Allen getting the leftovers. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Hi all, and welcome to week 9 of the NHL season. We’re back to a more normal schedule this week, no Holidays, lots of games, and a few good streaming options.
As it’s a typical weekly schedule of games our off-days this week are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. With the remaining days being busy days around the league.
The top 9 teams by strength of schedule (which encompass all of the teams playing the league high of 4 games this week) are listed in the table below.
The 3 three teams who play only 2 games this week are: Anaheim, L.A., and Tampa.
I hope that everyone enjoyed their long weekend as much as I got to enjoy the Bills demolishing the 49ers on Sunday night! The Sabres and having to dig out my car, not as much fun. Anyways, I'm going to take a look at one player on each team around the league whose value has changed for the better or worse in the short term. I'll give you their current value and what I'm expecting from them in the near and short term. Let's get to it!
An injury on opening night took Macklin Celebrini out of the lineup for a while, but otherwise, his entrance in the NHL has gone swimmingly. Celebrini scored two goals and an assist with four shots, two PIM, two hits, and two blocks in over 20 minutes of ice time in the 7-2 Sharks win over the Kings on Monday. Celebrini has six goals and four assists in twelve games this season, and surprisingly, he's taking over three shots per game. I was not expecting this type of shot rate out of the gate for Celebrini, which is a game changer for his fantasy value. The plus-minus has the potential to be ugly, but you can make a good case for holding Celebrini in all formats now. Here's to hoping he can maintain this level of play over a long season. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Hi all, and welcome to week 8 of the NHL season. This week has a really weird and not at all fantasy-conducive schedule due to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. I will as usual do my best to give you some streamers to pickup as well as teams to target and/or avoid for this week but be aware that the schedule is tight. You may need to stream players specifically for the two off-nights this week and not necessarily for their entire weekly schedule.
