The Pittsburgh Penguins have taken a beating this season in terms of injuries, but they’ve kept chugging along piling up the wins. On Tuesday, Sidney Crosby returned and he didn’t miss a beat. Crosby had a goal and three assists with three shots in the 7-3 win over the Wild. So what impact does Crosby’s return to the lineup have in fantasy? Crosby centered Jared McCann and Dominik Simon on Tuesday. McCann had a goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM while Simon had a goal and an assist. These two guys are massive winners in this. Both are elite streamers with upside from there. Of the two, I prefer McCann going forward. Props to Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo for picking Crosby for three points! Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Carey Price – 31 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Flames. That’s two monster games in a row for Price, but he’s still only one step above desperation.
Artemi Panarin – Two goals and three assists with six shots. What Panarin is doing this season is ridiculous. He’s pushing his way into the fringes of the Hart conversation.
Jesper Fast – Goal and two assists with two shots. Nice player in real life, but Quickie doesn’t bring much fantasy value.
Brady Skjei – Two assists with three shots. Skjei is right on the fringe. He’s a little light in points, but hits the other categories well so it depends on team needs.
Adam Fox – Goal and an assist with four shots. Fox is another team needs guy who really is the opposite of Skjei. The points are a bit better, but the PIM and SOG are a bit below average.
Brock Nelson – Three goals and an assist with four PIM over two games. Nelson is on pace to set career highs across the board and get to 30+ goals.
Jordan Eberle – Two goals and two assists with five shots over two games. Eberle is a bottom end streamer with a bit of upside, but I’m not getting excited about him scoring against the Rangers and Senators.
David Krejci – Two goals on four shots Monday. The Bruins stats are all for Monday only as they were shut out on Tuesday. Krejci has been solid this season when healthy outside of shots. He’s great if you can stomach the shot rate, but it really dampers his overall value.
Charlie Coyle – Goal and an assist with three shots. Coyle hasn’t done a ton offensively in Boston leaving him as a bottom end streamer.
Jake DeBrusk – Two assists with three shots. He was on a four game point streak before Tuesday’s shutout. He’s a middling streamer for now, but we’ve seen DeBrusk reach elite streamer status before so I’m not ruling it out.
Sean Couturier – Goal and two assists with five shots. There aren’t many bigger fans of Couturier out there. I’m expecting a big finish from Couts to push last season’s and 2018’s 76 points.
Jakub Voracek – Two assists with four shots. Right now, I’m considering Voracek a bottom end hold as he’s playing a bit better.
Travis Sanheim – Two goals on five shots. I like Sanheim as a player in real life, but he carries little value in any format right now.
Ilya Samsonov – 23 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Hurricanes. After Backstrom was signed to a 5 year deal, it became pretty clear that Braden Holtby is going to be gone after the season. That means it’ll be Samsonov’s team. In dynasties, he’s a must own. In redrafts, he should be streamed in every start.
Alex Ovechkin – Two goals on four shots. Another day, more goals for The Great Eight.
Jake Allen – 20 saves on 21 shots in the 4-1 win over the Ducks. This says more about the Ducks than Allen. That said, Allen has been very good this season. I’d stream him in most matchups.
Brayden Schenn – Two assists with two shots. Schenn has been solid across the board as expected.
Shea Theodore – Two assists. Theodore has been very good this season and should be held in all formats.
Sam Reinhart – Goal and two assists with two shots. Reinhart has been very good this season as expected.
Jack Eichel – Goal and an assist with three shots. What Eichel is doing right now is remarkable given the lack of quality teammates besides Reinhart with Skinner and Olofsson down.
Nathan MacKinnon – Two assists with five shots. MacKinnon is making a case to be the #1 fantasy player going forward because of the shot rate.
Zach Parise – Two goals on four shots. Parise is looking like a bottom end streamer right now.
Evgeni Malkin – Two goals and an assist with six shots. Malkin has been as good as anyone on a per-game basis this season.
Bryan Rust – Goal and an assist. Rust’s season is one of the most surprising of the entire NHL. He’s been playing at a 50+60 pace for almost half a season!
Anthony Cirelli – Two assists with a shot. The minutes are starting to increase for Cirelli which is exciting, but he’s still only a bottom end streamer.
Jeff Carter – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Carter didn’t have a point in the previous seven games. The shot rate is great, but there’s not much here otherwise.
Kyle Clifford – Goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM. And there’s your annual Clifford update!
Blake Coleman – Hat trick on six shots with two PIM. Coleman is quietly having a great season with 18 goals, solid PIM, and good shots. He’s a top end streamer at the moment with seven goals in his past eight games.
Will Butcher – Two assists with three shots. Honestly, I still don’t care about Butcher.
Rasmus Sandin – Two assists with two shots. With Morgan Reilly out for eight weeks or longer, Sandin was recalled and slid right onto the second power play unit. Long term, there’s a ton of upside here. If you want to make a spec add in redrafts, he’s a decent gamble.
John Tavares – Goal and two assists with three shots. He’s not going to score 47 goals again, but Tavares has been damn good this season.
Auston Matthews – Hat trick on four shots. Matthews has firmly entered the Richard race.
Zach Hyman – Goal and an assist with two shots. Elite streamer.
William Nylander – Goal and an assist with five shots. Last season’s epic disaster is a thing of the past. Nylander could have a career high in goals by the end of the month.
Mitch Marner – Two assists with two shots. Nine game point streak for Marner who has been outstanding once again.
Elvis Merzlikins – 34 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Bruins. Elvis is officially on fire! I’ve been saying to add him for over a week now. If you haven’t, hopefully it’s not too late.
Tuukka Rask – Left in the second minute of the game due to an inadvertent elbow to the head. Here’s to hoping it’s not a long term issue. Jaroslav Halak is a no-brainer hold everywhere now.
Dominik Kubalik – Two goals on nine shots with two PIM. My man is finally get a chance! Kubalik should be held everywhere for the time being. I can’t guarantee it will last all season, but it has a chance to.
Jonathan Toews – Goal and two assists. Speaking of on fire, Toews has ten points in his last six games.
Patrick Kane – Two assists with three shots. Kane doing Kane things.
Connor Brown – Goal and an assist. Brown is a bottom end streamer due to decent points and a decent shot rate while not having a terrible plus-minus like one could assume being a Senator.
Connor Hellebuyck – 41 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Canucks. That the Jets are in a playoff spot right now with that wretched blue line is a testament to how well Hellebuyck has played.
Kyle Connor – Two goals and an assist with five shots. As much as I like Connor, I didn’t think he’d find another level this season. He’s on a 41+40 pace with great PIM and over three shots per game.
Patrik Laine – Two assists with five shots. Laine already has a career high in assists this season. His shot is so good that 10% seems criminally low. I think we see a second half surge.
Leon Draisaitl – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Connor McDavid had three assists with four shots. I mean, what can’t these guys do? I’d joke about maybe not make the playoffs, but given the division, they’re probably a slight favorite to do so now.
Evander Kane – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. The Sharks are among the biggest disappointments in the league, but Kane certainly hasn’t been an issue.
Kevin Labanc – Goal and an assist with five shots. He’s showing signs of life but Labanc is still only a bottom end streamer in my book.
Phil Kessel – Two goals and an assist with six shots. They’re coming in bunches, but Kessel now has nine points in his last eight games. Keep shooting the puck!
Taylor Hall – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Sure, two of his points came on empty net goals, but they all count the same for us! Hall is now pushing a point per game in Arizona with over three shots per game. Back to where we expect him.
Derek Stepan – Three assists with two shots. Easy pass right now.
Conor Garland – Goal and two assists with six shots and two PIM. Garland is turning into a solid player. He’s a middling streamer.
Lawson Crouse – Goal and an assist with four shots. It looked like Crouse was going to be a complete bust, but he’s having a nice season in his role. He’s a great streamer in hits leagues, but otherwise, he’s bottom end. Crouse is still only 22 so there is a sliver of hope.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action of the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, make any comments, or give any suggestions below. You can also make Three Point Challenge picks for Thursday below as well. I will take Mark Stone tonight. Thanks for reading, take care!
