Everyone knew that Shayne Gostisbehere wasn’t going to get a point in every game like he was when he was first called up. He’s an amazing offensive talent but everyone goes through rough patches, especially 22 year olds. Ghost broke his recent slump in a big way scoring twice on three shots to lead the Flyers to a 4-2 win over the Lightning snapping their nine game winning streak. Shockingly, the Flyers are only two points out of the playoffs right now and they can thank Ghost and the first line for carrying them. The shots are great, the power play points are elite and so are the goals. Where will Gostisbehere rank among defensemen for next season? It’s a very tough question to answer at this point. More than likely it’s in the top 20 which is outstanding for somebody who was in the AHL to start the season. Here’s what else I saw on Monday night around the league:
Tyler Johnson – Two assists. That’s seven points in the last four games now for last year’s breakout star. I expect him to finish the season on a high note and to make a major impact in the playoffs again.
Ondrej Palat – Goal on two shots. He now has a goal in three straight (four total) as the triplets start to play great again. Roll him.
Slater Koekkoek – First career assist and two shots. The former first round pick hasn’t received much of a shot so far but there’s some upside here in dynasties. He should have a full time role next season.
Claude Giroux – Two assists with five shots and two PIM. The shots have took a big dive from last year but he’s been better everywhere else. With the way their first line is playing, Giroux has an outside shot at ending the season at a point per game.
Wayne Simmonds – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s been better than ever this year, mostly thanks to the shot increase. If he played on the first line all year, Simmonds would be a top 10 forward.
Brayden Schenn – Goal and an assist with five shots. Whoever plays on the first line cleans up; Schenn is no different. He’s finally showing the offense that he did as a junior player. He’s a clear must-own at this point and will be a difficult person to rank next year. So much depends on his role.
Mark Streit – Assist and a shot. He’s now on the first power play unit with Ghost so he’s a clear must-own again.
Sam Reinhart – Two assists and a shot plus the game winner in the shootout. Streamer success! Reinhart is going to be incredible in his prime; I’m talking a 50 assist player. His vision is world class and he always seems to be thinking a few seconds in advance. He’s going to be one of my favorite players to target next year.
Evander Kane – Goal and an assist with a shot and four PIM. He goes through stretches where he frustrates you but then Kane comes back with a bunch of goals and you’re fine with him. The shots and PIM make him elite.
Jack Eichel – Goal on three shots with two PIM. That’s goals in three straight pushing him up to 20 on the season. It’s only going to get better.
Leo Komarov – Goal on five shots with two PIM. He’s slowed down considerably and with how weak his supporting case is, Uncle Leo is right on the fringe of 12’ers.
Nikita Soshnikov – Assist and four shots. I was extremely impressed with him tonight as this was the first time I saw extensively in the NHL. You could make a case for holding him in 12’ers because the shots should be elite but at the least, I’d look to stream him on a regular basis.
Lee Stempniak – Goal and two assists with a shot. He’s killing it on the first line since the trade and should continue to do so with how good Bergeron and Marchand have been.
Patrice Bergeron – Two goals on six shots. He’s a top ten player on the season now which is incredible considering he was the 56th ranked forward last season. The Bruins finally deciding to play real hockey instead of boring, trap hockey has paid dividends.
Brad Marchand – Two assists and two shots. Marchand is the #7 overall player which honestly makes me sick. He’s a good bet to regress next season.
David Pastrnak – Goal on three shots. He didn’t even play 10 minutes so I’d let him go in 12’ers until he gets the bigger role back.
Tuukka Rask – 47 saves on 51 shots in the 5-4 OT win over the Panthers. It’s hard to have a very good game giving up four goals but Rask did just that. The fact that the Bruins gave up 51 shots is the main reason why I don’t trust Rask going forward.
Jiri Hudler – Two goals on six shots. He struggled in his first two games as a Panther but exploded on Monday night. I think he’s still on the fringe since Hudler is on the third line right now but there’s an argument for holding him.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two assists, four shots and two PIM in his first game back from injury. Get him back in your lineup immediately.
Jaromir Jagr – Assist putting him third all-time in career points. We salute you, Mr. Jagr.
Vincent Trocheck – Assist and four shots playing over 24 minutes. The trade deadline additions plus the team getting healthy hasn’t hurt Trocheck’s playing time at all. He should be owned in all leagues at this point.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal on four shots. There’s no slowing down the 20 year old. His ceiling appears to be even higher than I anticipated.
Semyon Varlamov – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 3-1 win over the Coyotes. You never know what you’re going to get from him at this point. Patrick Roy has shown the willingness to roll with Calvin Pickard this year when he’s winning so Varly isn’t guaranteed the workload he usually has.
Matt Duchene – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. After a horrible year last season, Duchene has already set a career high in goals this season. There’s talk that the Avs could trade him or Gabriel Landeskog if they miss the playoffs which would be absolutely hilarious. I’d write it off but they already traded away Ryan O’Reilly so I wouldn’t put it past Sakic. All of this young talent is being wasted with a weak supporting cast yet the young guys are getting blamed for it. The Avs overachieving two years ago actually hurt the franchise.
Mikhail Grigorenko – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s been on the first line recently but Grigo is very inconsistent. He can be streamed in deeper leagues and worthy of consideration in deep dynasties.
Martin Jones – 47 saves on 48 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Flames. He was a minute away from a shutout before a late Joe Colborne goal. Home ice will be massive in the playoffs so expect Jones to get the majority of the starts if he plays well down the stretch as they battle the other two California teams. However, if he slips, James Reimer could get a lot of action.
Brent Burns – Goal and an assist with four shots and nine PIM. That’s goals in four straight, he was plus in all four and he’s taken 22 shots in that span. Burns is now the #1 defensemen on the season. You’re still my number one mancrush Chewbacca, I mean Brent!
Joe Thornton – Assist, two shots and two PIM. How good is this guy? Top 10 forward on the season now by the ESPN player rater.
Joe Pavelski – Goal on three shots. The Big Pavelski is already at 30+32 with a +25 +/-. He’s got a chance to set a career high in points. Pavelski is the #6 forward at this point.
Mark Giordano – Assist and five shots with two PIM. That’s a point in three straight as he pushes towards 50 points again.
Dougie Hamilton – Eight shots. He’s been so many people this season that I expect Hamilton will be undervalued next season.
Andre Burakovsky – Goal on three shots. He only played 12:42 despite the game going to overtime which is unfortunate to see. Burakovsky is back to streamer status again.
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Assist and three shots. He should settle in around 20th overall going into next season. Kuznetsov doesn’t take enough shots or add enough PIM to go any higher. That said, you can’t complain about a 23 year old averaging a point per game.
Braden Holtby – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 2-1 shootout win over the Ducks. With how far ahead the Capitals are, I expect Philipp Grubauer to get a fair number of starts down the stretch. I would grab Grubauer if I owned Holtby and have the roster spot to spare.
John Gibson – 31 saves on 32 shots in the loss. The Ducks have been playing Gibson for two starts, then Fredrik Andersen for two starts. Frustrating for their owners but at least both have been outstanding when they play.
Ryan Getzlaf – Goal on four shots. He finally reached double digits in goals after his horrible start. Despite his struggles, Getzlaf is still on a 71 point pace over 82 games with a strong plus-minus, penalty minutes and special teams points. The shots have fallen off as well as his shooting percentage explaining the lack of goals but his shots are still at 2 per game. It’s good enough to keep him around the top 20 for forwards.
David Perron – Assist and two shots. He’s a must-own at this point with how good he’s played with Getzlaf.
Dan Hamhuis – Goal on his only shot. He’s scored in two straight after not scoring in his first 39 games and has points in three straight after having six points in his first 38 games. I still can’t believe the Canucks held onto him at the deadline.
Linden Vey – Assist and three shots playing 20 minutes. He’s worth considering in 16’ers or deeper with the minutes he’s getting. Vey is currently centering the first line and the opportunity to play with Daniel Sedin (assist) makes Vey intriguing.
Jonathan Quick – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 5-1 win over the Canucks. Quick is going to start almost all of the games down the stretch as the Kings fight for home ice.
Anze Kopitar – Goal and two assists with a shot. Outside of penalty minutes, Kopitar is crushing it across the board. He should settle somewhere around the 25-30 range going into drafts next year.
Drew Doughty – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. Only played 28 minutes in this one, he was slacking. This has been his best offensive year in a while, mostly because of how many power play points he has. If he was producing at even an average even strength level, Doughty would be close to the best defensemen this year.
Jeff Carter – Two goals on nine shots. Congrats to Carter on getting his 300th career goal. If he can stay healthy, he has an outside shot at 500 career goals down the line.
Tuesday Streamers – The schedule is much lighter than usual with 8 games on the slate. That said, there’s still plenty of options and gives us more reason to stream so here are my top three options:
Sam Reinhart (4.4%) – Going back to the well again. First line minutes are there and he’s looked dangerous on most shifts lately. Eichel and Rhino have been clicking lately and with Henrik Lundqvist out again, this is a better chance for him to get on the board than it looks.
Patrick Maroon (2.1%) – He has at least one point in every game with the Oilers and is playing on the first line with Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl. That opportunity is enough for me.
Elias Lindholm (10.2%) – He’s still on the first line and the Senators are a mess defensively. Carolina should control the play here giving Lindholm plenty of chances.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping all of Tuesday night’s action. As always, feel free to ask any questions ad leave any comments below. Take care everyone!
