While I wasn’t expecting a repeat of last season from Filip Forsberg, his drop off was a much higher level than it should have been. Thankfully, he started the turn around in a massive way this weekend. Against Anaheim on Friday, Forsberg had a goal and two assists. He followed it up with an even better game, scoring a hat trick on six shots against the Golden Knights. With those performances, Forsberg is on a 33+41 pace, which isn’t amazing, but far more acceptable given Forsberg’s shot rate. Here’s to hoping that Forsberg can keep building. Nashville is going on a long road trip soon, which could lead to a bit more ice time for Forsberg when Hynes can’t protect matchups as easily. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games
Juuse Saros – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 6-1 win over the Ducks. After a dreadful start, Saros is up to a .916 save percentage. He’s had above a .900 in nine straight starts, so thankfully we’re getting close to Saros being a solid #1 again.
Colton Sissons – Goal and an assist with two shots. Sissons is playing with Forsberg and Juuso Parssinen (2A) right now but I still have very little interest in streaming him. Parssinen is a bottom end streamer.
Dougie Hamilton – Goal and an assist with six shots. Dougie already has more points than last season in 25 less games. It’s great to see him back at his elite level again.
Jack Hughes – Two goals on six shots. Ranking Hughes in the top 20 has certainly paid off. Sure, he doesn’t hit or get PIM, but he’s been a monster in all of the scoring categories.
Dawson Mercer – Two assists with a shot. Mercer is playing with Hughes right now, which is enough to bump him above a middling streamer to a solid one.
Antti Raanta – 19 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Panthers. Raanta is on a massive tear as the Canes continue to play it safe with Kochetkov. He’s worth streaming every time he starts, and you can hold Raanta for now, but don’t expect him to hold that value for much longer.
Brent Burns – Two assists with a shot. Burns is hitting all of the categories at a solid level. It’s enough to be a #2 without any doubt.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Goal and an assist with four shots. He’s been better lately with six points in the last six games, but Kotkaniemi had six points in his first 30 games. That was with being in the top six most of the time too. Bottom end streamer at best.
Seth Jarvis – Two assists with three shots. Jarvis has dropped off quite a bit lately to the point where he’s only a middling streamer.
Connor McDavid – Goal and four assists with three shots. Guy is just ridiculous. He’s playing at a 69+86 pace. Amazing to even type it.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Four assists. Easily the best offensive season of RNH’s career. He’s the forgotten star on their team.
Zach Hyman – Two goals and an assist. Hyman has 17+23 in 37 games, and he’s still underperforming considering his expected goals. The perks of playing with McDavid. Absolute stud for fantasy.
Darnell Nurse – Goal and an assist with four shots, two PIM, and a +4. After a rough start, Nurse is closer to his massive year from two seasons ago than last season now. Perfect fit on all teams.
Klim Kostin – Two goals on four shots with six PIM. I have to say, Kostin has really been standing out when I watch the Oilers lately. I liked him as a prospect so maybe he’s a second team guy. His hits are off the charts right now and the points are coming in at a decent rate, making him a very appealing deep league streamer.
Saturday’s Games
Alex Tuch – Two goals and two assists. Massive two points for the Sabres in Boston. Tuch is easily having the best season of his career, reaching no brainer hold status.
Dylan Cozens – Goal and an assist with three shots. Cozens tied it late before making an incredible play owning Bergeron in overtime and setting up Tuch for the winner. Cozens is right around a point per game and while it’s a bottom end hold, it’s still a hold.
Brad Marchand – Goal and an assist with six shots, as did David Pastrnak. Marchand’s shot rate is down, which is the only reason his goals are down since his shooting percentage is the same as last season. Even with that, Marchand has been fantastic, it’s just not top five player level.
Joonas Korpisalo – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 4-1 win over the Blackhawks. Korpisalo is a pure desperation play even after three good games in a row. That’s because two of those games were against the Blackhawks.
Gustav Nyquist – Two goals on five shots. Out of nowhere, Nyquist has 5+ shots in three straight games. This coming from a guy who has been below 1.5 shots per game. I still can’t put him higher than a bottom end streamer.
Johnny Gaudreau – Two assists with four shots. The team may suck, but Gaudreau is scoring right around what was expected of him.
Mark Stone – Three assists. Stone has actually thrived even more without Eichel, which is quite surprising. It’s great to see Stone healthy again, knock on wood.
Chandler Stephenson – Goal and two assists. I really like Stephenson at center, even if that means that Vegas reworks their lines upon Eichel’s return. The shot rate is dreadful, but Stephenson needs to be held sitting at a point per game.
Keegan Kolesar – Goal and an assist with three shots. Kolesar rarely attempts to do anything but hit people, which doesn’t do anything for us in fantasy.
Scott Laughton – Goal and an assist with two shots. Decent stretch from Laughton, but it’s still bottom end streamer territory for me.
Owen Tippett – Goal and an assist with two shots. I’m encouraged by how Tippett has looked in December. I think it’s middling streamer for now.
Noah Cates – Goal and an assist. The shot rate is so poor that it puts Cates behind the two previous guys.
Cole Caufield – Two goals on five shots. Caufield is great in terms of goals and shots but isn’t providing much else. It’s still worth holding because you don’t cut a guy on a 45 goal pace, but his holes have to be acknowledged.
Alex Ovechkin – Hat trick on five shots with two PIM. I really hope that Ovechkin scores 50 this season to be the first player to score 50 ten times. What an animal.
Marcus Johansson – Goal and two assists. Johansson is on the first power play unit which gives him real deep league value. It’s only a bottom end streamer in shallow leagues since the shot rate is low.
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Three assists with a shot. Kuznetsov is on a hot streak which has solidified him as a hold.
Erik Gustafsson – Goal and two assists with two shots. I highlighted Gustafsson last week and said he was must own in that post. If you disagreed then, you’ll have a hard time disagreeing now.
Victor Hedman – Three assists with two shots. All the big guns for Tampa beat up on Arizona as expected, with Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point each getting two points. Hedman is starting to put together a run in assists, but amazingly, he’s still sitting on one goal. If I had him, I’d just roll with him, but I wouldn’t necessarily target him in a trade either.
Jared Spurgeon – Goal and an assist with two shots. Spurgeon has been playing well enough lately to get back on the fringe. If you want a guy who is ok at everything on the bottom of your roster, you can hold him.
Ryan Hartman – Two goals on five shots. Hartman isn’t on the first line right now, which obviously hurts his value quite a bit. I think he’s a solid streamer still with upside if Evason flips the lines eventually.
Jordan Greenway – Goal and an assist with two PIM. Solid player in real life, but nothing for fantasy.
Jordan Kyrou – Two assists with three shots. Kyrou is on a massive run right now to be on a 40+40 pace. The shot rate has also taken a massive jump. The plus-minus is brutal, but Kyrou still needs to be held.
Lucas Raymond – Goal and an assist with two shots and six PIM. It’s getting better, but it’s still only solid streamer territory. Raymond has even been lucky to have 9 goals with how poor his shot rate is.
J.T. Compher – Goal and an assist with three shots. The return of MacKinnon knocks Compher down to a middling streamer at best.
Michael Bunting – Two goals on four shots. Bunting is firmly on the fringe depending on team needs.
John Tavares – Two assists, as did William Nylander. Tavares has slowed down quite a bit, but the overall numbers are still right in line with last season.
Auston Matthews – Goal and an assist. Matthews has been fine, and has a low shooting percentage for his standards, so it should get a bit better.
Joe Pavelski – Goal and two assists with five shots. Pavelski celebrated with a one year contract extension. Pavelski has been fantastic once again on the first line, thriving with Hintz and Jason Robertson (1+1).
Miro Heiskanen – Two assists with three shots. Heiskanen is rapidly approaching last season’s point total. Everyone expected a breakout with Klingberg gone, and Heiskanen is delivering.
MacKenzie Weegar – Goal and an assist. The offense has really dried up for Weegar in Calgary. The hits and blocks are great, but he’s not providing anything else. You make the call in deep leagues.
Connor Hellebuyck – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 win over the Oilers. Hellebuyck’s numbers are much better than in his Vezina season; that’s how good he’s been. I was all in because of Bowness being hired and it’s paying off and then some.
Kyle Connor – Goal and an assist with two shots. Last season’s Connor has arrived. He’s clearly in the top 20.
Neal Pionk – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Pionk has disappointed offensively as Morrissey blows up. You can still make the case for holding with hits and blocks, but it’s probably 14+ man leagues.
Sunday’s Games
Tim Stutzle – Two goals. Stutzle was one of the few noticeable players in a game where it was obvious both teams were on a back to back. The plus-minus is poor, but everything else is great.
Claude Giroux – Two assists with two shots. It’s boring, but Giroux is a bottom end hold.
Anton Forsberg – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 3-1 win over the Sabres. Forsberg is clearly the backup at this point so I’m not looking to hold him. I’d consider streaming in decent matchups, but even that isn’t a necessity.
Derek Stepan – Two goals on four shots. Stepan barely plays at this point of his career. Very solid career though.
Stefan Noesen – Two assists with a shot. Noesen is still on the first power play unit which gives him some streaming value, but it’s still minimal.
Sebastian Aho – Goal and an assist with five shots. Aho always manages to be right around a point per game no matter what. Mr. Consistency.
Jesper Bratt – Two goals and an assist. Bratt continues to be one of the best play drivers in the league and sits at a point per game. His RFA case in the offseason will be fascinating.
Tomas Tatar – Two assists with a shot. Solid streamer.
Mika Zibanejad – Two goals on four shots. The shot rate has jumped back up for Zibanejad which is leading to a resurgence in goals. He’s been excellent.
Chris Kreider – Goal and an assist, as did Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin, while Adam Fox had two assists. Nice to see all the big guns have a big game at once.
Eric Staal – Goal and an assist with two shots and four PIM. Props to Staal for still grinding it out, but there’s no fantasy value here.
Logan Couture – Two assists with three shots. Couture has played enough to get on the fringe, but I lean towards top end streamer because of the plus-minus.
Erik Karlsson – Two assists. Can’t stop, won’t stop.
Oskar Lindblom – Two assists with two shots. Lindblom isn’t getting too many minutes for the Sharks which mean I wouldn’t stream him in any league right now.
Martin Jones – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 4-1 win over the Islanders. I would still hold Jones, but it’s more tenuous now that Grubauer is back and playing better.
Yanni Gourde – Two assists with three shots. Gourde has been fantastic in real life, but that’s not too valulable for fantasy. He’s a bottom end streamer.
Vince Dunn – Two assists with a shot. Dunn has solidified himself as a bottom end hold.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Tuesday’s games per usual. You can’t take McDavid, Draisaitl, Robertson, Thompson, Kucherov, Karlsson, Pastrnak, Rantanen, Kaprizov, RNH, or Ovechkin. I’ll go with DeBrincat against the Blue Jackets.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, give any comments, or make any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
