I said on Friday that I don’t like leading off with the same person back to back, let alone the same month. Well, Devan Dubnyk deserves to be the lede again with his third consecutive shutout on Saturday stopping all 29 shots against the Stars. For those of you who own Dubnyk in weekly head to head leagues, congrats on winning the goaltending categories this week! Three starts, three shutouts for my most frequently owned goaltender, go me! In the big picture, this doesn’t really change things for me; Dubnyk is a #1 goalie and will continue to be so. While it matters less in fantasy hockey (it still has an impact for streaming and matchups), this shows me that the Wild are for real this season. I harped on it in the preseason and on the podcasts (mostly the over-under) but Bruce Boudreau does amazing things for hockey teams. I’m sure we’ll be talking about it on Tuesday’s podcast. Anyways, let’s take a look at everything that happened around the league this weekend.
Friday’s Games:
Blackhawks 3, Devils 2 (OT) – A late PP goal in regulation gave the Blackhawks overtime where they won it on a goal from Artem Anisimov. Arty is up to 5+5 with 8 PIM and +6 in 8 games. Shots are mediocre but clear must own. Artemi Panarin had 1+1 and is starting to turn things around. It was a very strong performance from Corey Crawford stopping 30 of 32 shots. Keith Kinkaid got his first start of the season and played very well only allowing power play goals and then the overtime goal. P.A. Parenteau scored and is right on the fringe of 12’ers right now.
Hurricanes 3, Rangers 2 – Mats Zuccarello scored both Rangers goals on five shots to continue his strong start. Ryan McDonagh and Mika Zibanejad each had an assist; McDonagh is up to 7 assists on the year while Zibanejad is right at a point per game with over three shots per. Pavel Buchnevich returned from his injury and dished an assist; he’ll be one of my favorite streamers again right now. For Carolina, Jeff Skinner scored two goals and an assist. He is hotter than a pistol right now with 9 points (4+5) in 6 games with almost 4 shots per. Reid and I have talked about the Skinner line a decent amount and probably will more today; needless to say we love Skinner and Victor Rask (two assists). Cam Ward stopped 28 of 30 shots in the win but I’m still not a fan.
Jets 1, Avalanche 0 – Michael Hutchinson stopped all 37 shots stealing the game for the Jets. The Jets seem to be alternating goalies although the shutout got Hutch the extra start Sunday, which did not go well (spoiler alert!). Joel Armia had an assist to extend his point streak to three games; he’s worked his way onto the streaming radar. Semyon Varlamov saved 20 shots in the loss.
Flames 5, Senators 2 – First off, best wishes to Craig Anderson‘s wife who was diagnosed with cancer. His wife wants him to play since it was diagnosed early so he only missed this game. The goaltending was a mess as a result for Ottawa as they gave up 5 goals on 19 shots. Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson scored for Ottawa while Ryan Dzingel had an assist with three shots for some streamer success. Brian Elliott continued his strong play with 31 saves on 33 shots in the win. Dougie Hamilton was the star of the game scoring twice and adding an assist with four shots. It’s frustrating that his minutes are only in the 16 range; it’s incredibly frustrating to see Deryk Engelland, who is horrible, get significantly more minutes. Johnny Gaudreau had two assists as he starts to turn things around while Alex Chiasson dished two assists to get onto the streaming radar. Sam Bennett scored and added four penalty minutes to score for the third straight game. Bob Hartley can’t be thrilled with 20 PIM already but us fantasy owners are!
Oilers 2, Canucks 0 – Cam Talbot keeps rolling with a 26 save shutout. I still think things will drop off defensively in front of him but he’ll easily be a #2 goalie with his volume. Connor McDavid scored a goal to take the league lead in points. Milan Lucic filled the boxscore with a goal and an assist with a shot and two penalty minutes. Ryan Miller was strong in net saving 25 of 26 Oiler shots. The Canucks have unsurprisingly lost 4 in a row in regulation so the wins won’t be great but they are better defensively than expected making their goalies okay options.
Blue Jackets 4, Ducks 0 – Sergei Bobrovsky was excellent again saving all 35 shots he faced. Bob has a .940 save percentage in the early going which is excellent to see. Having only 3 wins in 7 starts with those numbers is pretty brutal but that’s what he has to work with in front of him. Brandon Saad scored twice on three shots to extend his point streak to three while Sam Gagner scored the other two goals. He’s a okay streamer but generally I’ll look elsewhere. Nick Foligno dished three assists while adding four shots and two penalty minutes. He’s at 7 assists in 7 games; with only 10 shots the goals will remain horrible. I’d hold Foligno for now but I’d look to sell high if possible. I slightly prefer his teammate Alexander Wennberg rest of season who had two assists.
Saturday’s Games
Sabres 3, Panthers 0 – Excellent performance for the Sabres at home after laying an egg Thursday. Anders Nilsson made 33 saves for his second career shutout. Robin Lehner came back on Sunday and will be the workhorse so if you streamed Nillson in the last week, you can safely drop him. Obviously not much here for Florida in a shutout but I was encouraged to see Keith Yandle shoot the puck a lot on the power play resulting in 7 SOG. Sam Reinhart scored a goal and an assist with five shots. It hasn’t been great early but I’m still holding Rhino. Rasmus Ristolainen had another assist to get to 7 in 7 games while Kyle Okposo broke a mini goal drought with one goal on two shots. For deep leagues, especially those that count faceoff wins, Johan Larsson deserves your attention. Same with Brian Gionta who has played surprisingly well in the early going.
Canadiens 2, Maple Leafs 1 – Frederik Andersen played well again but 29 saves wasn’t enough in this one. Nazem Kadri scored a goal on four shots with two PIM as he starts to string together some games. William Nylander had an assist to continue his amazing start. For Montreal, it was more of the same. Carey Price was spectacular saving 37 of 38 shots, Shea Weber scored a goal on six shots, Alex Galchenyuk scored a goal and an assist while Alexander Radulov had two assists. Weber will certainly be discussed on tomorrow’s podcast but my first thought is to try and sell high. The role is excellent but he has a long history of being a bottom end #1, I can’t see him staying as the #1 overall D.
Bruins 1, Red Wings 0 – Both goalies played well but Tuukka Rask came away with the W saving all 24 shots faced. He’s been incredible through his first 4 games allowing only 5 goals total. Tim Schaller scored the only goal in the game but isn’t relevant for fantasy. Jimmy Howard saved the other 35 shots he faced and will keep seeing starts in his current form.
Devils 3, Lightning 1 – The second start of the year for Andrei Vasilevskiy against New Jersey didn’t go as well as he gave up 3 goals on 23 shots. I’m still streaming him every chance I get though. Tyler Johnson scored the Lightning goal and I’ve been asked a ton of questions about him lately. I’m still giving him a little more time to work his way out of his slow start. Cory Schneider was a beast per usual making 32 saves in the win. Damon Severson has solidified himself as the Devils defenseman to own with a goal and an assist with three shots playing over 22 minutes. Adam Henrique also had 1+1 with 2 SOG and 2 PIM. It hasn’t been a great start but it’s been decent enough to hold. Michael Cammalleri had an assist with three shots but him I’m a bit more concerned about. No goals yet and he’s not on the first power play unit. I’d consider turning his spot into a stream spot on my team.
Penguins 5, Flyers 4 – This game was a treat to watch with both teams have two goal leads at different points and subsequently blowing them. It was 4-4 going into the third where Pittsburgh scored the winner. Despite giving up 4 goals, Marc-Andre Fleury deserved the win he got saving 38 of 42 shots. The big guns all did work for Pittsburgh as Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin all scored two points. Both goalies were poor for the Flyers as Steve Mason gave up 3 on 13 in the first while Michal Neuvirth gave up 2 on 14 after that. Jakub Voracek scored twice on nine shots with two penalty minutes; he looked fabulous in this game. He’ll be one we talk about on the podcast with how great he’s been in the early going. Wayne Simmonds had 1+1 with 6 shots playing over 22 minutes. 9 points in 9 games with 12 PIM and 28 SOG. Yeah, Simmonds is the man. Radko Gudas had two assists as he took a break from taking penalties. Claude Giroux and Brayden Schenn each had a point.
Blues 1, Kings 0 – Another goaltending battle with Jake Allen coming on top. He made 27 saves to earn the shutout; his numbers are certainly #1 goalie worthy to this point. Jaden Schwartz scored the lone goal from Vladimir Tarasenko and Jori Lehtera. The STL line is back! I’m not a big fan of Lehtera in fantasy because of the lack of shots but he should provide assists for those who are desperate. Peter Budaj was excellent again stopping 24 of 25 shots. It wouldn’t surprise me if he keeps the #1 job even when Jeff Zatkoff returns.
Wild 4, Stars 0 – I’m starting to worry about this Stars team, we’ll be sure to talk about them on the podcast. Besides Dubnyk, it was a balanced effort for Minnesota. Mikael Granlund scored a goal and an assist with three shots. He’s still a streamer for me though. A bunch of Wild players had one point which doesn’t shift their values at all. I just want to mention Charlie Coyle who had an assist. He’s up to 7 points in 9 games with 18 PIM and almost 2 shots per. Very solid from a guy I was higher on than most.
Avalanche 3, Coyotes 2 – Matt Duchene scored twice to lead the Avs to victory. Tyson Barrie fixed his early season shot woes by putting 8 on goal in this one while adding an assist. Nathan MacKinnon also had an assist with four shots to reach 6 points in 7 games. Max Domi, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Martin Hanzal and Radim Vrbata each had a point in this one. They’re all on differing levels but all of them should be owned right now.
Capitals 5, Canucks 2 – Philipp Grubauer started and made 23 saves on 25 shots in the win. Marcus Johansson scored two goals and an assist to lead the way for the Caps. He’s a clear must own right now. T.J. Oshie filled the boxscore with a goal, assist, three shots and two penalty minutes. Not much changed for Caps players in this one, or Canucks for that matter. Bo Horvat scored a goal on three shots to stay on the streaming radar.
Sharks 4, Predators 1 – The Predators are a mess right now and will be another team we talk about on the podcast. James Neal scored a goal on three shots to finally get his first on the season. I think he’s a great buy low candidate. Martin Jones stopped 27 of 28 shots in the win giving up only 1 goal in 3 straight games. Joe Pavelski scored a goal and an assist to reach 11 points on the season while Joe Thornton scored his first goal of the season. He pulled off the rare feat of scoring a goal without having a shot on goal in the game (he just touched the puck last in a weird goal). Really not much else going on in this game.
Sunday’s Games:
Sabres 3, Jets 1 – Robin Lehner returned from his illness and was a monster saving 37 of 38 shots. Kyle Okposo scored twice on four shots as he starts to settle in while Brian Gionta scored the other Sabres goal. I can’t believe I’m saying this but he’s worked his way onto the streaming radar in 12’ers. Michael Hutchinson followed up his shutout with a dud allowing 3 goals on 15 shots in 34 minutes before being pulled. Connor Hellebuyck played in relief and saved all 13 shots he faced. Nikolaj Ehlers scored the Jets goal on four shots playing over 22 minutes as the Jets reunited their top line from the opener. It’s something I want to talk about with Reid so we’ll do so on the next podcast. The big guns all contributed in some manner with Dustin Byfuglien dishing an assist with 7 SOG, Mark Scheifele also had 7 SOG, Blake Wheeler had an assist with three shots and two PIM while Patrik Laine put on four shots.
Panthers 5, Red Wings 2 – I’ll start with Detroit since they’re easy. Petr Mrazek was horrible allowing 4 goals on 10 shots in 25 minutes. Jimmy Howard was fine in relief (13/14) so expect him to start the next game for Detroit. Dylan Larkin scored a goal on three shots playing almost 20 minutes to solidify his buy low status for me while Frans Nielsen had two assists to stay on the fringe of hold and elite streamer. James Reimer had a better matchup than he did in his first two Florida games and he delivered in this one making 34 saves. I still believe he should be streamed in virtually all matchups. The story of this one was Colton Sceviour. He was an absolute monster in this game scoring a hat trick on five shots plus an assist and two penalty minutes. With the injuries, he’s moved into the top six and is an elite streamer for the time being. I don’t think he’s a hold though. Vincent Trocheck added 1+1 centering Sceviour and is someone I’m still a fan of. Jonathan Marchessault stayed on fire with a goal on six shots while Keith Yandle had an assist with two shots and two PIM. Jason Demers dished two assists but won’t have enough value barring an injury.
Flyers 4, Hurricanes 3 – Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds led the way for Philly with two points each. Their plus-minuses have been horrible but with how great they’ve been elsewhere, we have to accept it for now. Same goes with Shayne Gostisbehere who scored a goal on three shots with two penalty minutes. Justin Faulk scored a goal for Carolina to maintain his strong start while Jeff Skinner is en fuego after a goal and an assist with six shots. Ron Hainsey had two assists but isn’t fantasy relevant as they were his first two of the season. Cam Ward returned to his normal self allowing 4 goals on 28 shots.
Islanders 5, Maple Leafs 1 – Thomas Greiss was outstanding saving 33 of 34 shots in this game and if you take away one thing from this post, make it this: grab Greiss in all leagues right now. Jaroslav Halak‘s agent released a statement about how he’s upset that the team is carrying 3 goalies and now Elliott Friedman is reporting Halak is on the trade block. Now, this may turn into nothing, but there’s a chance Greiss becomes the workhorse of a solid team and he’s less than 15% owned on ESPN. Worst case, you’re getting an extremely solid goalie who is splitting time. Offensively, Brock Nelson, Shane Prince, Dennis Seidenberg, Nick Leddy and Nikolay Kulemin each had two points. Nelson and Leddy are must own right now, Prince is a streamer while the other two are deep league worthy only. William Nylander had another assist and can’t be stopped right now while James van Reimsdyk also had an assist.
Blackhawks 3, Kings 0 – Peter Budaj was solid again with 26 saves but again, it wasn’t enough. Corey Crawford saved all 32 shots and your chance to buy low is completely out the window. Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa each had 1+1 while Artem Anisimov continued his top notch start scoring the other Blackhawks goal.
Rangers 6, Lightning 1 – At least for the regular season, it’s time to start taking this Rangers team seriously. I mean, I did already, I played the over in our podcast, but I think they can push the Caps and Pens in the regular season and at the least run away with third in the division. Antti Raanta made 31 saves in the win and is another backup worthy of streaming in all opportunities. Michael Grabner scored a hat trick on six shots but is more of a deep league option than anything else. Kevin Hayes dished three assists to get back on the streaming radar. J.T. Miller scored a goal and added two assists; he’s widely available but should be owned everywhere. Rick Nash added 1+1 and is really starting to pick up steam. Ryan McDonagh added another game to his assist streak while Jimmy Vesey has reached hold status for me with a goal on three shots and two PIM. For Tampa, Ben Bishop was rocked while Steven Stamkos scored from Nikita Kucherov.
Senators 2, Oilers 0 – Craig Anderson came back from his brief hiatus and stole the show making 37 saves for the shutout. Major props to him with obviously a lot on his mind. Cam Talbot played great as well saving 20 of 21 shots. Mike Hoffman scored the crucial goal on four shots while Bobby Ryan sealed the game with an empty netter.
Capitals 3, Flames 1 – Marcus Johannson was the story again scoring two goals for the second straight game. As stated above, clear must own right now. Braden Holtby made 21 saves on 22 shots in the win while Alex Ovechkin added an assist with three shots. Matthew Tkachuk had an assist in this one but is a streamer, at best, right now in redrafts.
Monday Streamers – Psyche! There are no games tonight so obviously there’s no need to stream. I’ll include Tuesday streamers in the podcast post.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back with the podcast tomorrow with the next set of daily notes coming on Wednesday. Also, Matt has some sudden issues to deal with which delayed his newest post but it should be out this afternoon so be sure to give that a read! It’ll focus on rookies throughout the NHL. As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below. Take care!
