Dynamite Devils

It has to be a good feeling to kick your rival while they’re down.  This is the worst stretch that the Rangers have had in years, and the Devils caused them to have a big postgame discussion amongst the players and coaches.  The Devils won 5-1 on Monday, with their best players leading the charge.  Jesper Bratt had a goal and three assists, Jack Hughes had two goals and an assist with eight shots, while Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM.  The most encouraging from a fantasy perspective was Jacob Markstrom, who saved 38 of 39 shots.  He hasn’t been a world beater, but Markstrom is up to the 6th goalie overall because of the elite wins and volume.  The GAA is solid as well, and there’s room to grow with the save percentage.  I’m bullish on both goalies going forward, but Markstrom should keep getting 2/3rds of the starts with Allen getting the leftovers.  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:

Luke Hughes – Two assists with a shot.  After I was throwing in the towel on Hughes for the rest of the season, he has six assists in his last six games.  It’s still pretty much only assists, so I’d only use him if you need the apples at the bottom of your roster.

Anthony Stolarz – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 4-1 win over the Blackhawks.  And just like that, Stolarz is a top five goalie on the season.  Wild.

Mitch Marner – Two assists.  It looks like we might get that first 100 point season for Marner finally.

Casey DeSmith – 34 saves on 35 shots in the 2-1 win over Utah.  He doesn’t play much, but I would stream DeSmith in basically all matchups because of Dallas’ strong defense.

Tage Thompson – Two goals on five shots.  Of course I had to witness my Sabres lose in regulation after being up four goals for the first time in history.  The problem certainly isn’t Tage, who looks outstanding on a nightly basis right now.

Nathan MacKinnon – Two goals and an assist with nine shots.  Business as usual.

Calvin de Haan – Two assists with seven shots and two PIM.  That’s more points than de Haan has all season.  His days of any fantasy relevance are over.

Logan O’Connor – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Solid depth player in real life, but not much for fantasy.

MacKenzie Blackwood – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Capitals.  There’s more value here in deep leagues where volume matters more.  He’s very high upside, very high downside on a nightly basis.

Matthew Tkachuk – Two goals and two assists with seven shots.  Thanks to Tkachuk for getting me a third correct pick in the Three Point Challenge!

Jesper Boqvist – Two assists.  Nothing for fantasy.

Evgeni Malkin – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Malkin is back towards the fringe, although he’s probably worth holding despite the plus-minus.

Blake Lizotte – Two assists with two PIM.  He’s off to a hot start with the Pens, but I’m not interested outside of the deepest of leagues.

Samuel Montembeault – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Islanders.  Same deal as Blackwood, although I have a slight preference to Blackwood.

Nick Suzuki – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Three straight multi-point games has Suzuki over a point per game on the season.

Martin Necas – Goal and an assist.  Necas taking the big step forward doesn’t surprise me, but Necas leading the league in points is mind blowing.

Jaden Schwartz – Goal and an assist with five shots.  Middling streamer.

Yanni Gourde – Goal and an assist.  Gourde’s role really decreased to start the season, but now his minutes are back up.  That said, he’s really only a deep league option.

Matty Beniers – Two assists with two shots.  I thought Beniers would have taken a jump by now, but Necas is proof that for some guys, it takes quite a while.  For now, he’s in the middling to solid streamer range.

Lucas Raymond – Two goals on four shots.  Eight game point streak for Raymond, who is clearly building off last season’s step forward.  His shot rate keeps him from being a top 50 player, but Raymond is definitely a top 100 player.

Simon Edvinsson – Two assists with three shots.  The blocks are very good and the points are decent enough that Edvinsson is on the fringe in blocks leagues.  I lean towards leaving him on the wire in standard 12’ers, but he’s making it close.

Elias Pettersson – Two assists with three shots.  Pettersson’s rough start is a thing of the past as he has eight points in the last four games and 14 in the last nine.  The shots are still a big drag though.

Joel Hofer – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 4-1 win over the Jets.  Right now, the Blues are rolling under Montgomery.  I would start either goalie in all matchups for the time being.

Jordan Kyrou – Two goals on seven shots.  Kyrou is right in line with expectations which is good to see.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see his minutes gradually increase.

Robert Thomas – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Clear superstar in real life, and while he’s not at that level in fantasy, he’s a clear hold in all formats.

Scott Perunovich – Two assists.  He has five shots on goal in 16 games.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before, even from a guy like Rempe.

Dylan Holloway – Goal and an assist with four shots.  It appears that Montgomery trusts Holloway in a bigger role than Bannister did.  With seven points in his last four games and the shot rate jumping, Holloway is in the solid to elite streamer range.

Dan Vladar – 16 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Blue Jackets.  He’s on the fringe, although of the two, I definitely prefer Wolf.

Mikael Backlund – Two assists with a shot.  The points have taken another step back, putting him in the middling streamer range.

Adin Hill – 28 save shutout in the 1-0 win, beating Stuart Skinner (15/16) and the Oilers.  As I talked about on Monday, it looked like Hill was back on his game and he delivered on Tuesday.  He should get most of the starts in the short term and can go on an elite run if things break right.

Three Point Challenge:  We will start to use the current Top 10 in points now that we’re in December.  That means no Kaprizov, Necas, MacKinnon, Eichel, Kucherov, Bratt, Rantanen, Strome, Reinhart, Marner, or J. Hughes We will do Thursday’s games per usual.  I’ll go with Forsberg against the Canadiens.

That’s all for now guys.  I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action from the next two nights.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!