We found a new level of ridiculousness on Thursday night. The Canadiens were in Florida and they managed to tie the record for the most goals in a first period in modern NHL history, and they did it in barely over 13 minutes! Both Montreal goalies allowed 3+ goals in the first 13 minutes, and Sergei Bobrovsky allowed goals on the first three shots he faced. My god. The Panthers ended up winning 9-5 to keep pace in the Eastern playoff race. The only player who made more than two points was Matthew Tkachuk, who had a goal and three assists to keep up his torrid pace. Thanks Aleksander Barkov for not getting three points when I pick him in the three point challenge! Anyways, Florida is battling hard for a Wild Card spot, so expect their studs to get all of the minutes they can handle. For playing all games against Eastern teams the rest of the way, Florida’s schedule is fairly soft, so expect it to come down to the wire. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Peyton Krebs – Two assists. Bottom end streamer right now, but I’m still a big fan in terms of being a playmaker going forward. Get him some wingers Adams!
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. Ovie missed Tuesday’s game, but he didn’t miss a beat Wednesday. He probably won’t get back to 50 barring a big hot streak, but it’s a great season regardless.
T.J. Oshie – Goal and an assist with two shots. Middling streamer.
Dylan Strome – Two assists with two shots. Six game point streak for Strome, who has been solid in his first year in Washington. He’s only a middling streamer because of the shot rate.
Alexandar Georgiev – 17 saves on 18 shots in the 2-1 SO win over the Leafs, making Ilya Samsonov (27/28) the tough luck loser. This game was quite a snoozer which benefited both goalies. Georgiev is getting all the games he can handle, while Samsonov is still in the bottom end #1 range.
Nathan MacKinnon – Four assists with eight shots and four PIM over two games. Mac Daddy is over a point per game… at even strength alone. That’s the best mark in the league, and quite easily. Monster performance.
Mikko Rantanen – Two goals and two assists with nine shots and two PIM over two games. Rantanen has a great chance at 50 goals this season. He’s a full blown superstar. Congrats to Surfer Dude for successfully picking him in the Three Point Challenge!
Cale Makar – Goal and two assists with five shots over two games. That brings Makar up to a seven game point streak with 13 total points. He’s fully back.
Tim Stutzle – Three assists with three shots. Does Stutzle have to be a top 20 player in rankings next season? I’m starting to think so.
Brady Tkachuk – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. Tkachuk is at a point per game with over 4 shots per game and 100+ PIM. Monster stat line that makes Tkachuk a top 25 guy.
Jake Sanderson – Two assists with four shots. I have no doubt that Sanderson is going to be a very good player long term. The problem for fantasy is he has to pass Chabot or Chychrun for top PP time and I’m not convinced that happens. He’s one of the most difficult players to rank in dyansties.
Ryan Hartman – Two goals and an assist with five shots and two PIM. The Wild put up an eight spot on the Blues, who are a complete dumpster fire defensively. I just wish we got to see MAF fight Binnington. Hartman is an elite streamer right now.
Joel Eriksson Ek – Goal and two assists with six shots. This snaps a cold streak for JEEK, who I still have as an elite streamer.
Ryan Reaves – Goal and an assist with three shots. Two games in a row with a goal and an assist with Reavo. My god. Absolutely hilarious. And there’s your annual Reaves update!
Pavel Buchnevich – Hat trick on four shots with two PIM. Buch has been elite once again in his second year with the Blues. He’s broken out and belongs in the elite tier below superstars.
Torey Krug – Three assists with a shot. I wouldn’t use Krug if my league had plus-minus, but he’s probably worth holding otherwise.
Jakub Vrana – Two goals on five shots. Nice to see Vrana doing well once again with four goals in his first five games in St. Louis and almost four shots per game. He’s bordering on solid vs. elite streamer.
Kevin Shattenkirk – Two goals on four shots. Don’t even think about it at this point in his career.
Kyle Palmieri – Goal and three assists with two shots and two PIM. Solid streamer but nothing more.
Brock Nelson – Two goals on six shots. That’s another 30 goal season for Nelson, who is a clear hold in all formats.
Pierre Engvall – Goal and an assist with three shots, +4. He’s scored three games in a row as he starts to get more ice time for the Isles than he ever received in Toronto. Solid streamer with upside.
Steven Stamkos – Two goals and an assist with four shots and two PIM. Stammer cooled off a bit, but he’s back above a point per game and has mostly stayed healthy. Love to see it.
Mikhail Sergachev – Two assists with two shots. Sergachev has taken a nice step forward this season. Remarkably, he’s still only 24 years old. It could get better going forward.
Timo Meier – Two goals on four shots and two PIM. Life is good for Meier in New Jersey, as expected.
Nico Hischier – Two assists with six shots. He’s not getting the credit because of the year that Hughes is having, but Hischier has elevated into superstardom in real life. In fantasy, he’s very good, but not a star.
Rickard Rakell – Goal and an assist with three shots. Rakell is on the fringe as long as he’s on Sidney Crosby‘s (2A, 3 SOG) wing, and also on the top power play unit.
Chris Kreider – Two goals on four shots. That gets Kreider to 30 goals, a strong season but nowhere near last season’s huge totals, as expected.
Mika Zibanejad – Goal and an assist. He’s clearly a top 30 player again.
Michael Matheson – Goal and an assist with three shots. Matheson has been pretty good for the Canadiens this season. He’s always produced in fantasy when getting the playing time, so I would hold him in most formats.
Alex Stalock – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 2-1 win over the Predators. It’s great to see Stalock playing again and receiving regular playing time. That said, he’s a desperation play.
Jeremy Swayman – 36 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Jets. This could have easily been the Swayman show this year, but instead, Ullmark is the #1 goalie overall. Whether or not I hold Swayman comes down to format, but I’d stream him in every start.
Mattias Janmark – Two goals. And there’s your biannual Janmark update!
Connor McDavid – Goal and an assist with three shots. 150 points is firmly in play!
Evan Bouchard – Two assists playing over 20 minutes. Bouchard has been a clear hold since the trade deadline and Barrie’s departure. He’s still available in over 1/3 of leagues somehow, so if you’re in one of those leagues, grab him.
Stuart Skinner – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 4-1 win over the Stars. Skinner is a hold, albeit a bottom end one on the fringe of a #2/3.
Elias Pettersson – Goal and an assist with five shots. Pettersson has a real chance of getting to 100 points despite the struggle of the team around him. He’s making my bold prediction look not so bold!
Anthony Beauvillier – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. The Canucks are really trying to boost Beauvillier’s value back up. He’s close to a point per game since arriving in Vancouver, making him an elite streamer.
Travis Boyd – Two goals on three shots and two PIM. Boyd is still on PP1 which is enough to keep him a bottom to middling streamer, but with real value in deep leagues.
Tyler Toffoli – Two goals and two assists with four shots and two PIM. This game was 2-2 with 3 minutes left in the second, and then the Flames blew Vegas’ doors off. Toffoli is a bottom end hold.
Elias Lindholm – Two assists with a shot, +5. It’s been quite the disappointing season from Lindholm, but I still see him as a hold, albeit a bottom end one.
MacKenzie Weegar – Goal and an assist with two shots, two PIM, six hits, and four blocks. Sadly, the offense has dried up in Calgary for Weegar, so he’s a hits and blocks specialist.
Reilly Smith – Goal and an assist. Seven game point streak for Smith, who is an elite streamer.
Oliver Bjorkstrand – Goal and an assist with three shots. McCann is having the type of season I envisioned from Bjorkstrand. It’s been better lately with seven points in the last eight games, but he’s still only a solid streamer. He’s pretty much the only Kraken who has had bad shooting luck.
Philipp Grubauer – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Sharks. Grubauer is on the fringe of #3 goalie versus being a streamer. I lean towards streamer in any decent matchup.
Pheonix Copley – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 4-1 win over the Blue Jackets. Copley is alternating starts with Korpisalo, but I still think I would hold him.
That’s all for now guys. Be sure to check out MarmosDad’s DFS post on Saturday! You can make Three Point Challenge picks on that post. I should be back on Monday with a post. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
