Ryan Getzlaf has been killing it for the Ducks since they were known as The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He’s been bald for that long too! Getzlaf missed extensive time this year due to injury but he’s been great when in the lineup. He had his best game of the season on Thursday dishing four assists and adding two shots in the 5-4 OT win over the Islanders. To be honest, he wasn’t even the best player on his team for fantasy (more on that guy later), but Getzlaf’s fantasy impact is much greater. Getzlaf now has 2+13 in only 12 games so far. He played almost 25 minutes in this game which just goes to show you, everything is in place for Getzlaf to get back to being a top 50 player for the rest of the season. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Jake Gardiner – Goal and an assist with three shots. Gardiner is just on the outside looking in towards being a hold in a 12’er. The points should be okay along with the PIM being decent enough but the shot rate isn’t good enough.
Mitch Marner – Goal on seven shots. He’s finally starting to get going. We could see a Kuznetsov-like second half for Marner where he had a dreadful start of the year only to finish strong. I’d grab him if he’s still available.
Cam Atkinson – Two assists with six shots playing almost 20 minutes. Could Atkinson be in the same boat as Marner? Certainly if he maintains these minutes, there’s a chance. I’d own Atkinson now if you need the shots. Otherwise, monitor him very closely and stream him.
Seth Jones – Goal and an assist with two shots on Wednesday. Jones is now at exactly three shots per game, a massive jump from last year where he set a career high with just over two per game. The penalty minutes are dreadful but we could be looking at a 50 point season with elite shots. That would make Jones a bottom end #2 or great #3.
Joonas Korpisalo – 39 saves on 41 shots in the 4-2 win over Toronto. Korpisalo has been your general run-of-the-mill backup goalie so stream him in quality matchups (which Toronto is without Matthews).
Mike Green – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s not the world beater he used to be but Green has been a solid #3 to this point.
Dylan Larkin – Two assists with four shots playing almost 23 minutes. This gives Larkin a career high in assists already through 34 games. He’s also been unlucky in shooting percentage so it could get better.
Claude Giroux – Three assists with three shots and two PIM. The shooting percentage is certainly going to regress but Giroux has had an incredible resurgence. Giroux has a good chance for his fourth point per game or better season. Props to the Flyers staff for putting him on the wing.
Wayne Simmonds – Goal and an assist with three shots. It’s been somewhat of a slow start for Simmonds but I assume he’ll end up with his normal numbers, especially now that he’s on the first line.
Mike Smith – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 2-1 win over the Blues. Smith is sitting at a solid .919 with decent wins and goals against average. No surprise but Smith should end up as a decent #2.
Patrik Laine – Goal on six shots. That’s the third straight game with a goal for Laine with 15 shots on goal during that stretch. I’m more encouraged by the fact that he played almost 20 minutes. If the shot rate stays up, the goals are going to keep flowing.
Connor Hellebuyck – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 2-1 SO loss to the Bruins. Hellebuyck has been a great surprise as he’s moved into #1 fantasy goalie already. It’s only going to get better going forward too because of how young the Jets core is.
Tuukka Rask – 37 saves on 38 shots earning the win. I think Rask is a nice trade target if you need goaltending help. The Bruins are playing very well right now which should let Rask have a good goals against average.
Kyle Palmieri – Two assists with six shots and two PIM in his second game back. Grab him immediately if someone dropped him while he was injured.
Hampus Lindholm – Hat trick on six shots. I’m a huge fan of Lindholm in real life; I’d argue he’s a top 5 defenseman in the league, or at least a top five defenseman going forward. That said, he just doesn’t do enough for fantasy yet to be a sure hold. I’m fine taking a chance on him if you want to but I’d rather look elsewhere.
Ondrej Kase – Goal and an assist with two shots. The former seventh round pick has been a fan of mine for a while. I would definitely stream him but Kase isn’t close to being a hold yet.
Josh Bailey – Three assists with two shots. This is just getting ridiculous and I’m running out of superlatives for Bailey.
John Tavares – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Same story as Bailey although it’s far less of a surprise that Tavares is having this type of season.
Mathew Barzal – Goal and an assist with four shots. One of the original Razzball dynasty favorites, it’s remarkable how far he has come in such a short amount of time. Upside is through the roof for the 20 year old and he’s already a top 75 player pushing towards the top 50.
Artemi Panarin – Goal and an assist with four shots on Thursday. I think we see a big second half from Panarin. The minutes are there, the shooting percentage is bound to increase and the Blue Jackets power play surely has to get better.
Pierre-Luc Dubois – Goal and an assist with five shots playing almost 19 minutes on Thursday. Dubois is starting to get going tallying 8 points in his last 10. As long as he’s with Panarin, Dubois is an elite streamer at minimum. I wouldn’t hold him yet because of the shot rate but I could see it happening before the end of this season. Massive upside for dynasties.
Evgeni Malkin – Goal on six shots with five PIM. Malkin continues to be a six category stud as expected. Just stay healthy!
Matt Murray – 30 saves on 32 shots in the 3-2 SO win over the Blue Jackets. As talked about on yesterday’s podcast, if Pittsburgh makes a run, it’s going to be in large part due to Murray. I expect it to get better but I don’t see Murray getting back to last year’s numbers.
Derick Brassard – Goal and an assist with two shots. Brassard remains right on the fringe; you could convince me either way.
Nikita Kucherov – Two assists with seven shots. Four straight multi-point games, six straight with a point. He already has 50 points in 34 games. Unbelievable.
Alex Killorn – Goal and an assist with two shots. Killorn has been his usual self which is a solid streamer.
Cam Ward – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 4-1 win over the Predators. With how Darling has played, you have to expect Ward to get more starts going forward. If you want to take a shot on Ward with how poor goaltending is outside of the top 20ish guys, I’m fine with it.
Noah Hanifin – Goal and two assists with six shots. The shot rate has been incredible over the last two games. It’s enough to make him a hold in 12’ers now and odds are Hanifin will be for the next 10-15 years.
Jeff Skinner – Two assists with two shots. Skinner is really starting to get rolling. He’s a great one off DFS option that generally goes under the radar.
Derek Ryan – Goal and an assist with three shots. Ryan is back to streamer status with eight points in his past ten games.
Kevin Fiala – Goal on eight shots. Nine(!) game point streak for Fiala right now. He’s somehow still available in over 60% of leagues; go grab him immediately. Fiala is the real deal, glad to see he’s back healthy and playing the best hockey of his career after his gruesome leg break in the playoffs.
Pekka Rinne – 2 saves on 6 shots. Woof. There’s your worst start of the year. When you give up twice as many goals as you make saves, you’re in trouble. Chalk it up to one bad night and feel fine about Rinne going forward. We know his variance is historically extremely high but it’s lower now with the quality of Nashville in front of him. Juuse Saros played great in relief saving all 26 shots he faced. Stream Saros whenever he starts.
Ben Bishop – 24 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Blackhawks. Bishop has been absolutely dominant at home this season while he’s struggled on the road. In head to head, I’m playing Bishop almost every time he starts. In roto leagues, I’m starting him in every home start and the better road matchups.
Dan Hamhuis – Two assists. And there’s your biannual Dan Hamhuis update!
Tyler Seguin – Two goals on four shots. Seguin was in the middle of a rough stretch with only four points in his previous nine games. That said, he’s averaging almost five shots per game in that period so look for him to get on a heater sooner than later.
Cam Talbot – 34 saves on 36 shots in the 3-2 win over the Blues. Massive win for the Oilers who were down with 4 minutes left, only to score twice, including the winner with 50 seconds left. Could this spark them? I’m not ruling it out but I have my doubts. You could buy super low on Talbot and I wouldn’t hate it but I don’t have much faith.
Jonathan Quick – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Avalanche. To this point, this has been the second best season of Quick’s career and it’s not even close. He’s finally been the goalie that people think he’s been based on his reputation.
Alex Biega – Two assists with three shots. Props to Biega for carving out an NHL career after a long journey through the AHL.
Jake Virtanen – Goal and an assist with five shots. I was a big fan of Virtanen in his draft class and while he hasn’t developed as I hoped (partially due to injury), he’s still only 21 years old. I’m not giving up hope for dynasties.
Kevin Labanc – Goal and three assists with four shots. Labanc has nine points in his past six games so stream him while he’s on fire.
Joe Thornton – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Five shots!? That’s more than a normal week’s worth for Jumbo Joe. He’s putting together a decent stretch because the Sharks power play is rolling. The shot rate is actually up a decent amount (still well below 2 per game) but with the PIM and points coming in, I’m fine with owning Thornton for the time being.
Joe Pavelski – Two assists with a shot. I never would have imagined the Sharks playing this well without Pavelski having another big year. He does have a point in six of his last seven so hopefully he keeps it up.
Tomas Hertl – Goal and an assist with four shots. Elite streamer, nothing more, nothing less.
That’s all for now guys. With no games from Sunday through Tuesday, I’m unsure of what my plan is in regards to posting. Odds are that I will have my next set of daily notes on Wednesday because of that schedule and the holidays. As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below. I want to thank all of you loyal readers and commenters for making this worthwhile for me. I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a great holiday weekend!
