To say I’ve been bullish on Filip Forsberg for half a decade now would be an understatement. To say I’ve been over-bullish is probably fair. Call it stubbornness, call it belief in the player, whatever you want, but I was the high man on Forsberg this year and I think we’re finally getting that massive season we’ve all been waiting for. Forsberg was incredible on Thursday night, a back-and-forth affair between the Panthers and Predators. Forsberg totaled five points, two goals and three assists, with eight shots in the victory. For the season, that puts Forsberg at 6+5 in 10 games with exactly four shots per game. Pretty, pretty, pretty good. He hasn’t even played Detroit yet! If he keeps shooting four shots on per game, he’ll be a slam dunk top 50 player with upside from there. Forsberg is at 15% shooting right now which isn’t far off his norm. The minutes are starting to go up a bit which is the main thing which held him back under Laviolette. Thirty goals and over a point per game isn’t out of the question. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Blake Coleman – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. I like Coleman, but his role isn’t as big in Tampa as it would be virtually anywhere else. He’s an okay streamer, but that’s it barring injury. That said, I would target Coleman in dynasties because Tampa can’t afford to play him after this season and he should end up in somebody’s top six.
Victor Hedman – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s been great which is no surprise.
David Pastrnak – Hat trick and an assist with seven shots. Safe to say Pasta is just fine health wise. He’s probably the third best player in fantasy right now with MacKinnon out. That top line is back to its usual ways, as Patrice Bergeron had a goal and three assists while Marchand also had a point.
James van Riemsdyk – Two assists with three shots with two PIM. JVR has been excellent and I can’t say I saw it coming. He needs to be held everywhere for the time being.
Travis Sanheim – Two assists. Not enough here fantasy wise for Sanehim to be owned outside of deep leagues.
Tim Stutzle – Goal and two assists. Please, DJ Smith, for the love of God start giving Stutzle more minutes. He’s fringe in redrafts for now, but by the end of the season he’ll probably be a sure fire hold.
Thomas Chabot – Goal and an assist with three shots. Solid start for Chabot, we just have to hope to avoid a terrible plus-minus.
Phillip Danault – Two assists with a shot. Despite Montreal playing great hockey, Danault has had a mediocre start. He’s a bottom end streamer due to the lack of shots.
Artemi Panarin – Three assists with five shots. Back to back three point games for the Breadman has him rolling now. Fifteen points in ten games with three shots per game is more than we could ask for.
Ryan Strome – Two goals playing over 21 minutes. Four game point streak for Strome solidifies him as a hold as long as he’s with Panarin.
J.T. Miller – Goal and an assist with three shots. The plus-minus is rough as the top line for the Canucks has been struggling at even strength, but everything else for Miller has been strong.
Jason Spezza – Hat trick on five shots. An early leader in the clubhouse for an unlikely hat trick, Spezza is stuck on the fourth line. Sure, he gets PP time, but I can’t see using him anywhere.
Mitch Marner – Goal and two assists with four shots. You can put me on the board… Yes! The first hit in the Three Point Challenge is yours truly. Thank you Mr. Marner.
William Nylander – Three assists with a shot. The shot rate is only at two per game which is disappointing, but I assume it will fix itself.
Auston Matthews – Two goals on seven shots. Matthews has scored in six straight games and now has 46 shots in 10 games. If he can maintain that, he’ll be battling for a top 5 overall spot.
Matt Duchene – Two goals on four shots. The changing of lines in Nashville really benefits Duchene as it puts Forsberg on his wing. He struggled to open the season but obviously this was an encouraging sign. Duchene is right on the fringe.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Hat trick and two assists. The other five point man of the evening, Huberdeau and Forsberg were going back and forth all night. The shot rate is rough, but nobody can complain about 4+8 in 7 games. I don’t understand why he only played 15 minutes.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal and an assist with three shots. I always liked Barkov as a player, but he’s raised his offense over the last few seasons to a level I didn’t think was possible.
Alex Radulov – Three assists with four shots and two PIM. Five game point streak for Radulov who is well over a point per game so far. If he starts shooting more, Radulov can be a plus in every category again.
Oliver Bjorkstrand – Goal and an assist with two shots. I thought Bjorkstrand would benefit from Patrik Laine‘s arrival (Laine scored his first goal with CBJ) but his minutes are going in the wrong direction. I’m hoping it’s a blip on the radar as Bjorkstrand has been solid so far this season.
Jack Roslovic – Goal and an assist. He looks good since getting to Columbus. Roslovic has a three game point streak and has Bjorkstrand on his wing making him a solid streamer.
Dougie Hamilton – Two assists with five shots. It’s been a slow start for Dougie as he doesn’t have a goal, but the Hurricanes are dominating with him on the ice so it’s only a matter of time. It’s comical that he isn’t considered a lock for the Canadian Olympic team next year. You can make a better argument that he’s the best Canadian defensemen than that he doesn’t deserve to make the team.
Sebastian Aho – Goal and an assist with four shots. Andrei Svechnikov (1+1, 3 SOG) moved onto his wing for this game which is great for both of them going forward.
Patrick Kane – Goal and three assists with four shots and four PIM. Kane has been his usual dominant self as Chicago has been much better than I anticipated.
Dominik Kubalik – Goal and two assists with four shots with four PIM. Thankfully Colliton realized that Kubalik needs to be on the first power play unit and in the top six. Easy hold once again.
Mattias Janmark – Goal and an assist. He played over 19 minutes on Kane’s line which makes him a middling streamer.
Alex DeBrincat – Two goals on six shots. I was high on DeBrincat going into the season as Chicago’s depth is quite poor. I may not have been high enough.
Jordan Oesterle – Two assists. And there’s your annual Oesterle update!
Christian Dvorak – Goal and an assist with three shots. That’s three straight multi-point games for Dvorak who needs to be held everywhere at the moment.
Conor Garland – Goal and an assist with four shots. Garland is over four shots per game which makes him an easy hold.
Mike Hoffman – Two goals on nine shots. He got big minutes as the Blues were down most of the game. Hopefully it’s a sign of things going forward as Hoffman should not be playing 13 minutes a game.
David Perron – Two assists with six shots playing over 23 minutes. Perron has been outstanding once again. It’s so strange how Perron failed in Pittsburgh as he’s been great everywhere else.
Torey Krug – Two assists with a shot. The assists are starting to come in, but the shot rate is low for Krug. I assume it’ll work itself, but he’s looking more like a middling to bottom end #2 instead of near the top end.
Connor Hellebuyck – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 4-1 win over the Flames. The percentages probably won’t be as good in that division, but Hellebuyck’s GAA is actually lower than last season’s Vezina campaign at the moment.
Mathieu Perreault – Three assists. Easy pass at this point in his career.
Mason Appleton – Two goals. Solid start from Appleton, but I’m not buying it.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
