50 points in 40 games. That was my prediction for Sidney Crosby in the second half of the season. Yesterday, I said that “Sidney Crosby has been outstanding for a month and could easily lead the league in points from this point forward” here. That possibility is off to a great start. Crosby had a hat trick on Tuesday night with an assist and eight shots in the 6-5 win over the Senators. Amazingly, he’s become somewhat of a forgotten man this year but it’s his time to shine again. Here’s what else I saw around the league the night after the All-Star break:
James Reimer – 39 saves on 42 shots in the 4-3 win over Boston. He needs to stand on his head to give the Leafs a chance to win and he did that yesterday. I’d still try to sell high because I can’t see the wins being there.
Nazem Kadri – Goal and an assist with six shots. The inevitable turnaround has happened and is in full force. He’s been great in the non-point categories all year but now the points are coming. If for some reason he’s available, grab him.
Leo Komarov – Goal and an assist with three shots. Uncle Leo came out firing after his All-Star appearance. His amazing run continues.
Roman Polak – Two assists. And there’s your Roman Polak update for the year!
David Krejci – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. The Bruins offense is the real deal now; it’s amazing that it’s taken this many years for the same core to explode offensively.
Brad Marchand – Two goals on five shots. It makes me kind of sick that this troll is in the top 10 in goals. Shows how good the two centers are in Boston.
David Pastrnak – Two assists with two shots. I still would be owning him in 12’ers and can’t understand why his ownership percentage is so low.
J.T. Miller – Two goals on three shots. He’s been the best Rangers player for a couple months now and is must-own at this point.
Cory Schneider – 31 saves on 33 shots in the 3-2 win over the Rangers. Cory Schneider doing Cory Schneider things. What a workhorse.
Lee Stempniak – Goal and an assist with a shot. I still don’t like the Devils forwards in the second half as they were dominated again at even strength but scored two power play goals. I’d sell him if you can.
Charlie Coyle – Goal on four shots playing almost 21 minutes. Coyle is showing why he was one of the best prospects a few years ago. I talked about him being a sleeper for next season but he’s close to being must-own right now. He’s going to be one of my top streamers for the time being.
Matt Dumba – Two assists with three shots. If he received a bigger role, he’d be great but for now, he needs to stay on the wire in 12’ers.
Nino Niederreiter – Goal and an assist with eight shots. Woah. Nino has a ton of upside and even though he’s been around for 5 years, he’s still only 23. I’m not owning him in 12’ers but he’s also on the streaming radar.
Mikhail Grabovski – Goal and an assist with two shots. Played on the top line Tuesday with John Tavares (1+1, 6 SOG) so he’s a streamer as long as that lasts. The shot rate keeps him from being a hold.
Anders Lee – Goal on five shots with two PIM. The minutes are dropping but he remains a nice source of shots for the bottom of your roster. He’s right on the fringe.
Steve Mason – 30 saves on 32 shots in the 4-2 win over the Canadiens. He’s been very hit or miss this year so it’s hard to trust him, even in 12’ers because of the lack of starts.
Shayne Gostisbehere – Assist with two shots and two PIM. No slowing down the ghost!
Radko Gudas – Two shots and 15 PIM. For the people who own him in deep leagues for the secondary stats, there’s a nice boost!
Wayne Simmonds – Two goals on eight shots. Oh man, things are incredible for Simmonds’ owners right now. Apparently all it took was a role boost for him to dominate games. Outside of plus-minus, all of his stats are outstanding.
Jakub Voracek – Three assists with two shots and two PIM. As horrible as he was the first two months of the year, Jake now has 39 points in 48 games with an elite shot rate and special teams points. The way the first line is going, approaching 80 points again isn’t out of the question.
Cody Ceci – Goal and an assist with a shot. Ceci is blowing up and killing my sleeper post for next year! I still wouldn’t own him in 12’ers but he’s getting closer.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Goal and an assist with four shots. He’s getting big minutes right now with Kyle Turris out. In deep leagues, he’s worth taking a chance on but in 12’ers, he doesn’t contribute enough to be owned.
Mark Stone – Goal and an assist with a shot. He had been in a horrible slump so it was nice to see him get a multi-point effort right out of the gate.
Carl Hagelin – Assist with two shots. Nothing has changed with Hags; own him if you don’t need power play points, leave him on the wire if you do.
Patric Hornqvist – Assist with three shots. Disappointing he didn’t get more points with Crosby going off but a solid night nonetheless.
Chris Kunitz – Goal and two assists with four shots with two PIM. This guy took advantage of the Crosby explosion. He will probably mooch off Crosby enough to be owned in 12’ers but it’s bottom end.
Kris Letang – Goal and an assist with six shots. He’s an absolute stud and a no-brainer top 5 defenseman for the rest of the season.
Evgeni Malkin – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Geno is now at a point per game with amazing numbers outside of plus-minus. Expect him to keep rolling.
Al Montoya – 36 saves on 38 shots in the 5-2 win over the Capitals. He’s an elite streamer when he plays but Montoya’s starts will be limited in the second half.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. How good is this kid already? It’s a shame he missed 11 games due to injury.
Nick Bjugstad – Two assists with two PIM. The goals have been disappointing but he’s producing on the power play and great in PIM. I’m still holding in 12’ers for the upside.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two goals and an assist with two shots. The goals are finally start to come while the assists keep rolling in. And he’s still only 22 years old. Man, the Panthers are going to be good for a long time.
Andre Burakovsky – Goal on ten shots playing 18 minutes. Wow, if you had any hesitation in holding him after his recent games as a streamer, you shouldn’t now. Hold him.
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Two assists with two shots. He’s one of my best calls in the preseason now having him ranked higher than anywhere else. I didn’t expect him to be in the top 5 in the entire league in scoring though.
T.J. Oshie – Assist with four shots and two PIM. He’s been incredibly solid across the board in his first year in the nation’s capital.
Brian Elliott – 16 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Predators. Wow, what a performance by the Blues to only allow 16 shots against the Predators. Elliott has been outstanding to the point where he will probably get more action even when Jake Allen returns.
John Klingberg – Goal and an assist with four shots. I expect the Stars to turn it around over a rough month and a lot of it starts with Klingberg from the backend. The best sign is that the shots have been steadily increasing.
Tyler Seguin – Two goals on five shots. Just like the Stars, he was in a horrible slump but Seguin is too good to stay down for long. I expect a heater over the next couple weeks.
Dustin Byfuglien – Goal with five shots and six PIM. There’s another standard Big Buff line. He’s been outstanding all season and it will be interesting to see if he’s moved at the deadline. Personally, I love him on the Jets but if he went to say, the Kings, he would be amazing.
Nikolaj Ehlers – Assist with a shot. Own him everywhere.
Corey Crawford – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 2-1 win over the Avalanche. His best season kept rolling and it’s a crime that he wasn’t an All-Star.
Patrick Kane – Assist with a shot. What a bum.
Calvin Pickard – 40 saves on 42 shots in the loss. He’s had a few solid starts in a row so he can be considered for streaming in the right matchups but don’t expect Pickard to play much going forward.
Gabriel Landeskog – Goal on four shots. The Kog has been solid across the board and the only thing out of line is the lack of shots. Hopefully the last few games are a sign of things to come.
Cam Talbot – 36 saves on 37 shots in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jackets. Prince Cam is starting to look like the goalie he was in New York. He should be owned everywhere now.
Connor McDavid – Goal and two assists with four shots in his much-anticipated return. Wow, what a performance. His goal was a thing of beauty that will be shown for years to come. The wunderkind should build off this and be close to a point per game for the rest of the season.
Jordan Eberle – Goal and an assist with two shots. Eberle gets a massive boost with McDavid back and could be someone to target in trades since McDavid is unattainable.
Benoit Pouliot – Goal and an assist with four shots. Woot! Another great streamer but he put my bold prediction in my article yesterday off to a great start. I’d be ahead of the curve and grab him now.
Andrej Sekera – Two assists with three shots. He’s bottom end but if you need special teams points, Sekera is a decent option as your last defenseman.
Dustin Brown – Two goals on four shots. This is a reminder that the Kings have Brown signed through 2022. For a player who has already fallen off the cliff, I can’t imagine what he’ll be like in a few years, let alone six.
Drew Doughty – Two assists with two shots. He’s above average to elite in every category which is great to see
Vincent Lecavalier – Goal on his only shot. Amazingly, he’s producing consistently since being traded to L.A. I’m still holding off in 12’ers but he’s firmly on the streaming radar.
Alec Martinez – Goal and an assist with a shot. He’s a nice source of STP and +/- on the bottom of your roster if you need help there.
Anze Kopitar – Two assists with five shots. No slowing him down right now.
Jake Muzzin – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. He’s quietly having a really nice year as he has only one less point than Doughty. Muzzin has a decent chance at reaching 50 points with 70+ PIM.
Louis Domingue – 20 saves on 25 shots before being pulled. The wheels on the bus are fall-ing off. Fall-ing off. Fall-ing off. I’ll see myself out…
Anthony Duclair – Goal on four shots with two PIM. At this point, I’m more excited to see the four shots than Duclair actually scoring. For the 20 year old to be effective in the long term, he needs to take more than 1 shot per game.
Brent Burns – Assist and five shots. Did anyone catch him using “The Evolution of Brent Burns” picture that I used on the site multiple times earlier in the year during the Breakaway Challenge? Hilarious. Chewbacca is having quite the season.
Shea Theodore – Sent down to the AHL to make room for Cam Fowler‘s return. Sigh. He’ll be back sooner than later.
Ryan Getzlaf – Assist with a shot. Now if only he would score some goals!
Wednesday Streamers: There are only three games tonight so streaming will be a priority. Here are my top options:
Sam Reinhart (0.8%) – Going back to the well here. He’s expected to return from his minor injury tonight and gets a matchup against the reeling Canadiens, who also played yesterday. Sam’s role is locked in at this point so look for him to get on the scoreboard.
Alex Killorn (10.0%) – He’s currently on the second line and second power play unit and has four points in his last four games. Hard to find more than that on such a short slate.
Michael Frolik (1.9%) – He’s on the second line right now which is starting to get rolling but also has been bumped up to the first power play unit. Nice spot against the Hurricanes tonight.
That’s all for now guys. With such a small slate tonight, there won’t be a daily notes post tomorrow. I’ll be back on Thursday recapping the action from both nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions or post any comments below. Take care everyone!
