Even with Columbus up 4-0 halfway through the game, it never felt remotely close to over. In the span of the first four minutes of the third period, the Penguins turned a 4-1 deficit into a 4-4 battle. A careless overtime penalty set the stage for Sidney Crosby to score the overtime game winner to complete the comeback. Crosby had a goal and two assists with four shots in the win, setting up a game on Thursday with the Islanders for the first wild card spot. While he’s not at his peak anymore, Crosby still has a chance for 100 points again. You don’t need me to tell you how good Crosby is, but where he’ll rank going into next season is an interesting debate. My guess is that it’s somewhere around 20th overall, a clear second rounder in drafts, but perhaps it’s a few spots above that. Even at 36, he’s given us no reason to expect him to slow down. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Monday’s Games:
Connor McDavid – Two goals on three shots. It’s always a pleasure to watch McDavid in person, but it’s a bit annoying to watch him beat your team. The 150 point season is firmly in play right now.
Logan Couture – Goal and an assist with two shots. I’d say Couture playing almost 24 minutes is a waste of time for the Sharks given their race to the bottom of the standings, but it’s not like there’s much young talent on the team. Couture is an elite streamer, but I can’t hold because of the plus-minus.
Erik Karlsson – Two assists with three shots. Like Crosby, the 100 point season is still alive for Karlsson. The difference is that it’s been decades for a defenseman to do it. In a wasted year for the Sharks, let’s hope they have a bright spot.
Nazem Kadri – Two assists with three shots. Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar also had two assists and have all disappointed to various degrees. Kadri is on the fringe for me, while Huberdeau is only a solid to elite streamer now. Weegar is a fantasy afterthought,.
Jamie Benn – Goal and an assist with three shots. The resurgence continues. Clear hold everywhere.
Rasmus Sandin – Goal and an assist with two PIM. To say Sandin has started well in Washington would be an understatement. He’s looked fantastic and is on the fringe for me now. If your league doesn’t have SOG as a category, clear hold.
Adrian Kempe – Goal and an assist with two shots. Kempe is right on the fringe since he’s a plus across the board outside of assists, but the assists are quite poor for a forward that you’d consider holding.
Viktor Arvidsson – Two assists with seven shots and two PIM. Solid streamer, but nothing more at this point of Arvy’s career.
Alex Stalock – 35 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Senators. It’s nice to see Stalock back playing NHL games after suffering myocarditis due to COVID-19. That said, I don’t want anything to do with a Blackhawk right now with the possible exception of Seth Jones (2G on 3 SOG), but even that has to be either deep leagues or no plus-minus.
Jeremy Lauzon – Two assists. And there’s your annual Lauzon update!
Luke Evangelista – Two goals on six shots. The former second round pick is getting a chance with Nashville gutting their roster at the deadline. Long term, I see a second line winger who plays PP2, someone who has deep league value and probably is a top end streamer who gets held for stretches in 12’ers. Do with that what you will. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Tuesday’s Games:
Hudson Fasching – Goal and an assist with three shots. A nice revenge game from one of the various Islanders plugs in their lineup. They even let Fasching kick the puck into the net and allowed the goal because it’s the NHL and there’s no consistency. Hard pass on all of their depth guys as the Isles barely attempt to play actual hockey.
Brett Pesce – Two assists with two shots. I don’t even like Pesce in deep leagues for the lack of hits. Nice player in real life, but brings very little to fantasy.
Chris Tierney – Two assists. Michael Pezzetta and Alex Belzile each had a goal and an assist. Easy pass on all of them; this Montreal lineup is brutal right now.
Mitch Marner – Goal and an assist with three shots. The game didn’t even go to overtime and Marner played almost 26 minutes. Good lord. He’s back in the top ten in scoring.
William Nylander – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Back up the Brinks truck!
Erik Haula – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Ondrej Palat had a goal and two assists with three shots, as the third line did all the damage. Both have slid down the depth charts due to the health of others and then trades, so they’re middling streamers.
Emil Bemstrom – Goal and an assist with four shots. Speedster, but not much to see here. Not really looking for Columbus guys right now.
Liam Foudy – Goal and an assist with two shots. Under a shot per game, easy pass.
Kent Johnson – Two assists with three shots. I do like Johnson a lot long term, but he’s only a bottom end streamer for the rest of the season.
Evgeni Malkin – Three assists with five shots. Jason Zucker had two goals on four shots, while Rickard Rakell dished two assists. All of the top forwards for Pittsburgh drove the comeback. Zucker is actually playing his best hockey in quite some time and is back into solid to elite streamer territory.
Nikita Kucherov – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Nice to see him back on track after a benching and a couple rough games.
Alex Killorn – Two goals and an assist with four shots and two PIM. Right now, Killorn is on the first PP unit in Hagel’s spot, making Killorn an elite streamer. Mikhail Sergachev had two assists, both on the PP, and gets a big boost with Victor Hedman out of the lineup.
Sergei Bobrovsky – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 win over Vegas. Bob has caught fire lately. He could crumble at any time, he could be the best goalie in the league for the last six weeks, who knows!? He’s as high variance as a player can be in fantasy hockey.
Jacob Markstrom – 40 save shutout in the 1-0 SO win over Filip Gustavsson (26/26) and the Wild. The Wild are playing some insanely defensive hockey right now, allowing two goals or fewer in eight straight. Tough to watch, but it’s been effective. Who knows what we’re going to get from Markstrom, just like Bob. Markstrom did start both games of the back-to-back, so expect him to be a true workhorse down the stretch.
Alexandar Georgiev – 13 save shutout in the 6-0 win over the Sharks. Doesn’t get easier than that. Start everyone against the Sharks, and start Georgiev every time out.
Valeri Nichushkin – Goal and three assists. Eight game point streak for Big Val who has been excellent when on the ice this season. Clear hold.
Cale Makar – Goal and three assists with five shots, +5. And just like that, Makar is back over a point per game.
Nathan MacKinnon – Goal and an assist with four shots. MacKinnon has been as good as anyone not named McDavid this season on a per-game basis.
Artturi Lehkonen – Goal and an assist with four shots. Lehkonen is on the fringe depending on team needs.
Devon Toews – Two assists with four shots. It’s been a big drop off for Toews after a career season last year, but he’s still an easy hold in all formats.
Pavel Buchnevich – Two goals on five shots. Injuries have plagued Buch this season, but he’s been elite once again. Clear hold.
Clayton Keller – Goal and two assists. Nick Schmaltz had a goal and an assist, while Barrett Hayton had two assists, two PIM, and a shot. Keller and Schmaltz are clear holds while Hayton is a middling streamer.
Jared McCann – Goal and an assist with three shots. Last season, JKJ and myself were all-in on McCann. He was solid, but this year, he’s surpassing expectations. He has a real chance at 40 goals.
Matty Beniers – Two assists with two shots. I still think it’s fringe worthy because of the low shot volume.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Thursday’s games per usual. You can’t select McDavid, Draisaitl, Kucherov, Thompson, Pastrnak, M. Tkachuk, Karlsson, Pettersson, Robertson, or Marner. I’ll go with Kyrou against the Sharks.
That’s all for now guys. I will be back on Friday, either with daily notes, or one last hold/stream list for the season. As always, feel free to ask any questions, make any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
