Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It’s Charlie Daniels week in Winnipeg!
Ok, maybe not. But to be fully transparent, we won’t be diving too deep into a satanic banjo battle.
Tuesday night’s short hockey schedule had no shortage of drama and excitement even before the puck dropped at 7:00 EST.
If you’ve logged into any news or social media site, you likely saw that Connor Hellebuyck’s newest employer fumbled the hottest story north of Minnesota ahead of Tuesday night’s game.
We're in the midst of one of the best goal scoring streaks in recent times. After scoring a goal on four shots on Friday, Cutter Gauthier had a hat trick and an assist with six shots against the Penguins on Sunday. That's his third hat trick in five games, and during his six game goal streak, he has thirteen goals! 13!!! Gauthier is now a top five player on the season, and while I don't expect that to last, I'd definitely bet on top 20, and possibly top ten. The shot rate is over four per game now and while his shooting percentage is a tad high, I don't want to bet against him. The superstars on the Ducks are on another level right now. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Missing one game looks to be the perfect reset for Adrian Kempe. After missing Saturday's game against the Sabres, Kempe came back with a vengeance on Wednesday, scoring a hat trick and an assist with four shots and two PIM in the 7-2 blowout against the Sharks. This was on the back of three pointless games and no goals in his previous five. Life for Kempe has been great with Panarin, as he has 6+6 in 13 games. He's also well over three shots per game. Kempe looks to be a guy who should settle in the bottom part of the top 50. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we see career highs this season because of Panarin's presence. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
And they say triples are a baseball thing.
It was once, twice, three times a natural hat trick for Jason Robertson (3 G, 1 A, 5 SOG) and the Dallas Stars last night.
According to the broadcast, J-Rob’s natural triple trouble in just 5:42 of time in the second period was the third-fastest natural hat trick in Stars history.
Despite Robertson’s dominance on the scoresheet, the Capitals tried to make a late push. Ryan Leonard’s 5th goal of the year with 1:02 left in the third made for an exciting finish, but in the end it was Dallas with a 6-5 win on the road.
The Stars bounced back from a rough last week (back-to-back losses to NJ and MTL) and have now won back-to-back games.
Is there any truth to the whispers that the Stars and Lightning have talked about a straight swap of Robertson for Kucherov?
Maybe. Or maybe not. But despite the number of trade requests/demands piling up in the hockey world these days, there was much more to report from another 11-game NHL schedule.
Elliotte Friedman dropped a bomb on Friday, reporting that Nikita Kucherov requested a trade from Tampa Bay, telling them that he won't sign an extension. The Tampa Bay GM said that they will not be trading him, but this is still massive news. The reports are that Tampa offered him four years at 15 million per year, which is an absurd lowball given the current market. This is playing out very similarly to Stamkos' end in Tampa, although Kucherov is a much better player right now than Stammer was at that point. That was evident on Saturday, as Kucherov had three assists and a shot against the Predators. For now, this doesn't change anything in fantasy, as Kucherov's agent is adamant that it won't turn into a holdout. That said, this could have a massive impact on the Tampa franchise in the next year, if not sooner. Could they pivot into a quick rebuild, as they have a ton of players who could return them a ton of value? Do they stay on their current track and hope to stay in contention? Time will tell, but it could end up hurting a bunch of Tampa guys in dynasties if one of the best playmakers of all time ends up leaving. There's not a dull day in the NHL right now. Let's take a look at what happened on the ice over the weekend:
There were plenty of wild games on Thursday night. The Sabres won a wild 7-6 game against the Ducks. The Senators came from 5-1 down to get a point before ultimately losing in overtime. However, the Mammoth game against the Penguins took the cake. Kindel scored with 24 seconds left, just for Logan Cooley, a Pittsburgh native, to complete his hat trick with one second remaining in the game. Sergachev went on to win the game in overtime. Cooley now has seven goals and eight assists in 14 games. Yes, the shot rate is quite poor, but we can't complain about those results. His shot rate is up quite a bit lately, so perhaps it could get better. Cooley does seem like he's on the path of a Robert Thomas type of season, but if he does get to two shots per game or even higher, we could be getting a top 50 season. Let's take a look at what else happened the last two nights:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
If you’re looking for an LW/RW-eligible breakout with goal-scoring potential, a high volume of minutes, and a healthy dose of power-play time, you may not need to look much further than the Columbus Blue Jackets’ first line.
With 10 points in his last 10 games, it’s becoming pretty clear that opposing teams Kent stop, and won’t stop Kent Johnson (2 G, 1 A, +3, 2 SOG, 2 H, 1 BLK).
The 24-year-old forward is in his 5th full season (excluding a 9-game cup of coffee in 2018-2019), and he’s ready to prove last year’s 22 points in 76 games was an outlier in his development path.
I mentioned in Viz’s post on Monday that I had a dynasty league trade offer involving his Johnson (hey-now) for my Quinton Byfield, but that it felt a bit light.
Will I regret turning down that deal? Maybe.
Is this Columbus forward headed for an increase in his “weekly rostered percentage” of 47% this week? Certainly, if he keeps this up.
Should you be looking to add Kent Johnson in straight points leagues? I think that’s a definite yes.
Are we seeing any other point-scoring, statsheet-padding skaters from an 11-game schedule last night? Well…I’m gonna say that’s a yes. Because…
The Hellebuyck saga has finally come to an end, and while the fit makes a lot of sense, it's a team that was on the outside of the inner circle of discussed teams that swooped in and got him. The Devils acquired Connor Hellebuyck from the Jets on Friday for forwards Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, goalie Nico Daws, the rights to forward Alexander Command, New Jersey’s second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft and its seventh-round selection in the 2027 NHL Draft. The Devils have started off the season extremely well, and the cost wasn't prohibitive, so good for Mehta to swoop in and get the superstar. Hellebuyck should be back in the lineup this week and goes right back to being a top five fantasy goalie. Mercer played on the third line on Sunday, and looks to remain a middling streamer in 12'ers. Bjugstad is a cap dump who is injured, and Daws is just depth for the Jets. Command was the 12th pick in last draft, and projects to be a middle sixer. This trade doesn't affect his value. The biggest impact of this trade comes to Jake Allen and the goalies on teams that didn't acquire Hellebuyck. Allen isn't worth holding anymore outside of deeper leagues, although I'd stream him in almost all matchups. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen remains the Buffalo starter, at least until Lyon returns. It's been a dreadful start for UPL, but I would still hold for now. Karel Vejmelka has been even worse than UPL, but the wins are better, so for now, we hold there too. I wouldn't be surprised if Cossa eventually works his way into a platoon though. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It’s double duty for your guy, MarmosDad, this week!
After writing just under 4000 words on this past weekend’s NHL action, I’m back again for our Tuesday night roundup!
I managed to squeeze in a quick snooze before the 7:00 games started up, but I guess I didn’t tune in early enough as the Leafs were already down 1-0 when I turned the game on 5 minutes after puck drop.
But don’t worry, fans. The Blue Jackets Fam door was wide open, and the torrential downpour that followed soon after soaked everyone in Leaf showers.
Sure, Columbus got the chickens and pigs in before it got too muddy. But they couldn’t get the Cowan.
Happy MONDAY, Razzball faithful!
Let’s start this one out with one of Friday night’s goalies.
Clay Stevenson - 34 saves on 37 shots in a 3-2 loss to Carolina…Ah, who am I kidding? With all due respect (and with apologies to Grandma Stevenson), no one wants to read a Clay Stevenson update.
It’s true. There’s no need to add your name to the Razzball database just yet, Clay.
Most of Buffalo's forwards have started slowly, but their second line has been fantastic. That continued on Thursday, with the majority of the second line out there for four goals, leading the Sabres to a 5-4 OT victory over their rivals in Toronto. For fantasy purposes, it certainly starts with Jack Quinn. Quinn stuffed the stat sheet, scoring two goals, dishing two assists, put four shots on goal, was +4, and got in a fight! That brings him to 4+4 in eight games while pushing close to three shots per game. It's clear how much Ruff trusts this line right now, with Quinn playing over 18 minutes, while Noah Ostlund and Zach Benson each had two assists while playing over 21 minutes. I've been holding Quinn in a 10 man league since the draft, which goes to show you that I think he's a hold in 12'ers. Ostlund has been unbelievable in real life, but I see more middling to solid streamer. Benson falls into the elite streamer category right now. The schedule is pretty light for the Sabres next week with only two games, so I wouldn't prioritize Benson or Ostlund right now, but despite the schedule easing up for a bit, Quinn is standing out enough on a regular basis that I'd be holding him. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Tuesday marked the return of The Frozen Frenzy, where every team in the league plays in a stand alone time slot. It's a cool concept, but I can't understand for the life of me why this doesn't happen on a Saturday instead? I digress. The second game of the night was Florida against the Blue Jackets, and the Florida superstars destroyed Columbus 7-3. They were led by the Tkachuk brothers, with Brady Tkachuk scoring a hat trick, his first goals as a Panther, while Matthew Tkachuk dished five assists. Matthew was off to a very good start, while Brady started woefully. I haven't seen anything to think the switch to Florida is going to bring a drastic change to Brady's fantasy value. He does seem to be shooting the puck a bit less, mostly cutting up the hopeless, bad angle shots. His spot on the top power play unit is locked in as long as Barkov is out, so for now, enjoy the production that you're getting. Let's take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night:
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