Unfortunately for the hockey world, the biggest news to come out of Monday’s games was that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be out for “a long time” after blocking a shot with his hand against the Panthers. He managed to get an assist before the injury putting him at 30 points on the year, not great but solid. It’s terrible for the Oilers as they were about to get healthy with Connor McDavid close to returning. In redrafts, you can stash RNH on IR but if you don’t have the IR spots, you can safely cut him. Obviously hold onto him in dynasties. As far as the value of the other Oilers, I don’t think anyone takes a hit since McDavid will slide right into that slot. If anything, I would argue there’s a winner here and it’s Leon Draisaitl. The German should have kept a role in the top 6 even with McDavid back but now it’s a certainty that he remains at center on the top line. Here’s some info on the players who did something fantasy relevant last night:
Jordan Eberle – Goal on his one shot on goal. He’s losing his long time center but like I said in the intro, I don’t think this will hurt Eberle as long as McDavid doesn’t have a setback.
Cam Talbot – 31 saves on 33 shots in the 4-2 win after locking up an extension with the Panthers. Prince Cam is on a heater right now and was rewarded with a nice contract. He should be owned in 12’ers at this point.
Taylor Hall – Two goals and an assist with two shots. He had only one goal in his last fourteen games so it was nice to see him take over a game again. Even with this cold stretch, Hall still has incredible numbers across the board.
Teddy Purcell – Goal and two assists with three shots. You could also argue Purcell was also a winner with RNH going down because if Draisaitl took the RW1 spot, Purcell would have dropped down to the third line. He’s doing enough to be held at this point.
Sidney Crosby – Assist and three shots. Not going to call him the best player in the world again but he’s starting to look like it more and more.
Carl Hagelin – Assist with three shots. Hooray for a good streamer call! More importantly, he played 18:30 in this game and played with Evgeni Malkin (goal on five shots) the whole game. He doesn’t have the most offensive ability so I’d leave him to stream, although it’s closer in leagues that count hits.
Chris Kunitz – Goal on three shots plus four PIM. He’s a monster in hits leagues but at this point in his career, he’s best left on the waiver wire in standard 12’ers.
Kris Letang – Two assists with two shots in his return after missing a game. It was a surprise that Letang played as he was seen as doubtful for the game Monday morning. Nevertheless, he kept up his great play and looks well on his way to being the monster I expected in the second half.
Brian Elliott – 36 saves on 38 shots in the 5-2 win. He’s going to start every game until Jake Allen returns and he looks up to the task. If for some reason he’s available, grab him now for the short term.
Troy Brouwer – Goal and an assist with six shots. He’s currently on the second line giving him great opportunity every night to get on the scoreboard. If you need PIM, he’s a great fit for the bottom of your roster. In hits leagues, he’s must-own. If you don’t need the PIM, Brouwer is still a solid streamer.
Robby Fabbri – Assist. I’d like to see the shot rate increase but he’s still producing on the first line.
Paul Stastny – Goal and three assists with five shots and two PIM. Woah. Stastny apparently went in a time machine and brought Colorado Stastny to St. Louis. Don’t expect another game like this anytime soon but he should be owned in all 12’ers centering the potent second line.
Alex Steen – Goal and an assist with a shot. He’s the one leading the way on the second line which couldn’t be stopped by the Pens. Just stay healthy!
Vladimir Tarasenko – Goal on four shots with two PIM. His minutes have been down which seems strange but he’s still scoring goals at an excellent rate; he’s a lock for 40+ barring injury.
Semyon Varlamov – 36 saves on 37 shots in the 2-1 win over the Jets. You’ll get a fair number of starts like this which makes him a good daily fantasy target in tournaments but for season long leagues, there are so many duds mixed in that he’s hard to trust. A goals against average close to 2.8 isn’t going to cut it.
Jarome Iginla – Goal number 602 on his only shot of the game. He simply keeps scoring despite being 38 years old.
Carl Soderberg – Goal and an assist with two shots. Soderberg is an easy hold for me in 12’ers now. He’s a very good source of assists for the bottom of your roster that doesn’t kill your shots on goal. He’s on pace for around 55 points which is great for a bottom end guy in a 12’er.
Connor Hellebuyck – 32 saves on 34 shots in the loss. Automatic start every game he plays the rest of the year. That should be clear at this point but it’s worth reinforcing.
Joel Armia – Goal on two shots. Saw a bump to the third line and a big minutes boost. I love his potential long term and think he’s a solid gamble to take in deep leagues right now.
Nikolaj Ehlers – Assist and a shot. Looks to have fully snapped out of his funk. Another guy who I love long term and right now is back on the fringe of standard 12’ers.
Blake Wheeler – Ten shots on goal with two PIM. Even when he doesn’t get on the scoresheet, Wheeler finds a way to give value. He’s a beast, plain and simple.
Chad Johnson – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 2-1 win over Arizona. He received a second straight start despite Robin Lehner returning and only gave up one goal again. For the next couple weeks at least, I expect Johnson to split with Lehner just like he was with Linus Ullmark before.
Jack Eichel – Goal and an assist with two shots. Big things are ahead for Eichel but for right now, he’s starting to show more consistency. He’s also the focal point on the Sabres power play right now which is firing on all cylinders.
Evander Kane – Seven shots on goal. Goals are coming, I promise!
Sam Reinhart – Five shots on goal. Not the worst stream ever, not as good as the other two were though. His role looks locked in right now so I’ll be looking to stream Reinhart often, starting again tomorrow when the Sabres play Colorado. Free foreshadowing alert!
Rasmus Ristolainen – Two assists with ten PIM playing over 30 minutes. Boy do I love me some Risto going forward. Everything about this kid says star.
Shane Doan – Assist with a shot and twelve PIM. He was the “third man in” in a postgame scrum so there’s the chance he gets a suspension for the altercation. It’s worth noting since the Coyotes play their next game Thursday which is a busy day of games.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Six shots on goal and ten PIM. Absolute stud in real life and fantasy.
Antoine Vermette – Goal on four shots with ten PIM. I’m still leaving him to stream because of the lack of shots and poor plus-minus. If you need the PIM, I’d rather go to a guy like Brouwer.
Bobby Ryan – Goal with two PIM. While the rest of his team has slumped, Ryan keeps scoring at a rate we haven’t seen from him in years.
Mike Hoffman – Left the game injured and did not return. The Senators lineup was already thin; if this is a serious injury they’re in major trouble.
Brent Burns – Assist and five shots. Standard at this point.
Logan Couture – Goal on three shots. Couture looks great since returning from injury and should have no problem being around a top 50 player rest of the season.
Tomas Hertl – Goal on five shots. The best streamer call of the three yesterday; I wrote about him yesterday here and this game solidifies that he’s a clear must-own for me. He’s going to keep scoring with this opportunity.
Tuesday Streamers: There are eight games on Tuesday which is actually a bit lighter than normal. This will allow us to stream more so here are my top three options:
Brayden Schenn (24.9%) – Schenn is higher owned than my normal streamer calls but he’s still available in over 75% of leagues. He has seven points in his last seven games, the second line for Philly is on fire right now, he’s on the lethal first power play unit and he gets to go against Toronto. There’s a lot of like here.
Andrew Shaw (13.3%) – He’s still on the first line and has 7 points in the last 5 games. Might as well run with it while Shaw is hot.
Kevin Fiala (0.3%) – It’s not a great matchup against Chicago but the 19 year old played on the first line again last game taking three shots. He was a first round pick for a reason and playing with an in-form Ryan Johansen makes Fiala a solid option in all leagues.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap of tonight’s action. As always, feel free to ask any questions or post any comments below. Take care everyone!
