I’ve wrote a ton about Nikolaj Ehlers this season. At the beginning of the year, I thought he was must-own until Paul Maurice inexplicably dropped him into the bottom 6. A couple weeks ago, he was bumped into the top 6 and I said grab him again. Yesterday, I wrote about him at length here since I had him as my top streamer. I said that, “The minutes are up and getting a matchup with the Coyotes, who will be on the second of a back to back having just played an overtime game last night, is close to ideal. I think Ehlers should be owned in 12’ers right now but at the least, stream him tonight.” And that’s me quoting me doing what Grey does! Ehlers was amazing on Tuesday scoring a hat trick on four shots with two penalty minutes. He now has points in 4 straight and 8 points in his last 6 games. As I said before, he should have been owned in 12’ers already but he is still widely available so grab him right now! Here’s what else I saw on a busy Tuesday night:
Fredrik Andersen – 32 saves on 34 shots in the 6-2 win over Boston. He’s been one of the most disappointing players this season because even though he has a solid GAA and SV%, Andersen became the clear backup to John Gibson and has been horrible in wins. However, I do think he’s a sneaky buy-low in dynasties because there’s a good chance he ends up on a new team as the starter next season.
Ryan Getzlaf – Two assists with two shots. He has a decent chance for 50 assists but is only on pace for five goals. Yikes. There’s still solid value here with great PIM and assists but barring a big second half, he’s also going to go down as a big disappointment.
Ryan Kesler – Goal and an assist with ten shots. After an absolutely dreadful first half, the second line for the Ducks has been amazing over the last ten games. He’s must own again, even in 10 man leagues.
David Perron – Goal and an assist with a shot and two PIM. He’s a top end streamer but I’m still not quite holding him.
Corey Perry – Goal and an assist with two shots. Despite the horrible start, he’s still on pace for about 25 goals with elite shots and 70 PIM.
Jakob Silfverberg – Two assists with three shots. He’s worked his way into must own status again like Kesler. He has multiple points in 4 of his last 5.
Shea Theodore – Goal and an assist with three shots. Although it hasn’t been quite as good, I see a lot of Shayne Gostisbehere in Theodore. The 20 year old now has 6 points in 13 games yet hasn’t received the minutes boost yet. just like Ghost dealt with in Philly. I’m not sure how much it will go up, Theodore is only 20 years old, but the upside here is massive for dynasties.
Matt Beleskey – Two assists with a shot. Bottom end right now and is a useful streamer right now. I wouldn’t hold unless you need PIM or you’re in a hits league.
Zdeno Chara– Goal on three shots with two PIM. Keeps chugging along at 38 years old. He’s been great as a bottom end defenseman in 12’ers.
David Krejci – Assist with a shot and two PIM. I expected a second half decline and it hasn’t happened outside of shot rate. I don’t think it’s going to if he plays over 22 minutes on a regular basis.
Ryan Spooner – Assist with three shots. From now, I will refer to Spooner as Spoonman. Soundgarden for the win! As you already know, Spooner is must-own at this point.
Marc-Andre Fleury – 25 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Devils. He owns the Devils and continues to post great statistics. The way their offense has been going, I expect Fleury to rack up more wins in the second half.
Sidney Crosby – Goal on two shots with two PIM. I’m on record saying I think Crosby gets 50+ points in the second half. Keep up this pace Sidney!
Phil Kessel – Goal on four shots. Finally starting to pay off dividends for his second round draft status. It’s highly unlikely he justifies that pick but he also has the ability to be a major difference maker for you in the second half and fantasy playoffs.
Corey Crawford – 13 saves on 16 shots in the first period before getting pulled. Against Carolina? Really? Carolina is better than people think but that’s defensively, not offensively. I guess that Crawford was due for a bad start, shrug.
Eddie Lack – 26 save shutout in the 5-0 win over Chicago. Woot! I’ve been saying he’s must-own and then he shuts down the best offense in the league right now. He’s still widely available so grab him.
Riley Nash – Two goals on five shots. And there’s your annual Riley Nash blurb!
Jeff Skinner – Goal and an assist with five shots. It’s been a decent year for Skinner as he still has a shot at 30 goals. It’s almost amazing that Skinner is still only 23 years old. In dynasties, there’s a lot of value here since the Hurricanes are an up and coming team.
Joonas Korpisalo – 28 saves on 30 shots in the 5-2 win over the Canadiens. Meh, I still wouldn’t want him unless I’m desperate for starts. My biggest takeaway from the last two nights are that the Canadiens are a huge mess right now, not that Columbus or Korpisalo is going to turn it around now.
Cam Atkinson – Goal and an assist with two shots. Insert a line of fire emojis here.
Brandon Dubinsky – Goal and an assist with four shots. Insert a second line of fire emojis here.
Boone Jenner – Goal on six shots. Insert a third line of fire emojis here. Might as well do it in threes like I did in yesterday’s article. Damn, this line is on fire. Even though I said the Canadiens are a mess, this line is really good and it’s worth reiterating that all three are must-own.
Seth Jones – Assist with a shot and two PIM. Jones has been outstanding since he moved to Columbus and he’s showing the offense people expected when he was a top 5 pick. Jones is still only 21 years old and is in great position to build on this season so he’s a great dynasty target.
Alex Galchenyuk – Goal on six shots. He’s slowed down quite a bit recently. In my top 200, I said that “He should take another step forward this season but the big breakthrough is probably a couple years away.” I firmly stand by this and am thinking that the breakthrough will actually be next season instead of later. I smell a sleeper post… Man I am going to have a lot of sleepers.
Robin Lehner – 34 saves on 36 shots in the 3-2 win over Ottawa. Nice for Lehner to get his first win against his old team in a revenge game. He’s looked outstanding since he came back from injury and is must-own right now.
Jack Eichel – Two goals on five shots. Oh baby, I like Eich! What’s his over under for points next season? I’d probably take over 80 points. He’s amazing.
Evander Kane – Goal on five shots. More goals are coming! Believe in me, and more importantly, Kane!
Cody Ceci – Assist with a shot. He’s reaffirming his status as someone not good enough for 12’ers yet but somebody I will want next season.
Mike Hoffman – Eight shots and two PIM. He was buzzing all night, including hitting a post, and looks great on a game to game basis.
Erik Karlsson – Goal on nine shots playing almost 32 minutes. Absolute sicko.
James Reimer – 22 saves on 27 shots in the 5-1 loss to Florida. That’s one way for your save percentage to regress. He obviously isn’t a good enough goalie to lead the league in save percentage so I expect some more rough starts shortly.
Nazem Kadri – Goal on three shots. I like it when I’m right! His shooting percentage is regressing to the mean in the right way lately. He’s a great case of why you have to stick with guys who pile up shots on goal.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal on three shots in his first game after receiving a 6 year contract at 5.9 million annually. Great move by the Panthers to lock up Sasha at this price. He’s already a #1 center and only going to get better.
Brian Campbell – Two assists with two shots. He’s on quite the heater right now. Campbell still isn’t 12’er worthy for me but I’d grab in anything deeper.
Jussi Jokinen – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. He hits all of the categories decently so if you want a generic guy at the bottom of your team, Jokinen is a solid option.
Reilly Smith – Goal and an assist with two shots. If you need goals, you can hold Smith but I’d rather leave him to stream.
Vincent Trocheck – Goal and an assist with three shots. Same boat as Smith. They’re on a boat!
Louis Domingue – 20 saves on 25 shots in 2 periods before getting pulled. Regression, meet Mr. Domingue. I’ve been calling it for close to two weeks and it finally happened. I think this will be closer to who Domingue is than what he’s been.
Anthony Duclair – Goal on three shots. The biggest thing is that Duke took three shots. His shot rate has been dreadful and for him to be a better fantasy player in the future, he simply has to shoot more. That said, he’s still 20 years old and that can certainly happen.
Connor Hellebuyck – 32 saves on 34 shots in the 5-2 win over Arizona. Bounced back nicely from his dud against the Devils and it would have been even better if he didn’t give up a meaningless goal with 16 seconds left up 5-1. Why does this nonsense keep happening to my goalies in my big leagues!? Ugh. Nonetheless, good to see Hellboy get back on track.
Dustin Byfuglien – Two goals and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Big Buff doing Big Buff things. He’s a very interesting free agent coming up this season. I don’t think it will have much impact on his fantasy value but Buff is a polarizing figure. I expect him to stay in the Peg but it’s very difficult to say.
Mark Scheifele – Assist with five shots in his return from injury. If for some reason he’s available in your league, grab him.
Blake Wheeler – Three assists with three shots. He’s a bonafide superstar at this point and doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Have I mentioned that ESPN had him ranked outside the top 60 in the preseason before? Makes me laugh every day.
Pekka Rinne – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 2-1 win over the Canucks. Again, I’d still try to sell high on Rinne if possible. This goes more towards the weak Canucks offense than Rinne looking like he’s fixed himself.
Mattias Ekholm – Assist with a shot and two PIM. He’s to the point where I’m holding him as my last defenseman in 12’ers.
Brandon Sutter – Goal on three shots. He’s returned to the Canucks at a great time as Sutter immediately centered the first line with Henrik Sedin still injured. He’s a top end streamer until Sedin comes back and you could make an argument that he’s a hold.
Nathan MacKinnon – Goal on three shots. I keep forgetting that MacKinnon is still 20 years old. He’s on pace for a second 60 point season already. He’s a blast to watch as arguably the fastest player in the league with incredible hands.
Martin Jones – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 6-1 win over the Avalanche. The Sharks are incredibly hot (8-0-2 in their last 10) leaving Jones to rack up the wins. They won’t stay this hot but Jones should pile up the wins in the second half in that horrible division.
Tomas Hertl – Goal and an assist with two shots and four PIM. Still on fire on the first line, still a clear must-own in all leagues.
Joe Thornton – Two assists extending his point streak to ten games. Jumbo Joe is ridiculous. He’s a lock for 60+ points again with great PIM and plus-minus. No slowing down this Hall of Famer.
Wednesday Streamers: There are only four games on the docket Wednesday. Check your league settings if you’re in a head to head league because with the All-Star break, this could be the last night of your week meaning you need to stream tonight. Here are my top 3 streamers tonight plus a goalie streamer that’s widely available:
Alex Killorn (6.6%) – Killorn is playing well right now on the second line and gets an outstanding matchup agaisnt Toronto.
Andre Burakovsky (1.1%) – Gets a great matchup against the Flyers and still is on the second line and second power play unit. He’s hotter than a pistol and should stay so in that matchup.
Vincent Lecavalier (1.4%) – Never thought I’d see the day where I said Lecavalier is a quality streamer. Nevertheless, he’s played very well for the Kings so far and they should dominate the Avalanche tonight.
Andrei Vasilevskiy (2.5%) – He’s getting the start against Toronto tonight. If you’re behind in goalie starts, he’s the top option by a mile.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Thursday recapping the short slate. It’s the last night of hockey for a week outside of the All-Star game so take in some games if you can! As always, please ask any questions or post any comments below. Take care everyone!
