Life without Couturier hasn’t been as good without Claude Giroux. He started the turnaround on Thursday night. Giroux scored two goals and two assists with three shots and two PIM in the 5-3 win over Carolina. That brings Giroux up to 17 points in 22 games, not exactly lighting the world on fire, but the shot rate is the best of his career. 75 shots in 22 games is a huge step forward, and if that continues, we could be looking at a new career high in goals. Yes, he only has 7 to this point, but we could be on the verge of a heater. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Craig Anderson – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Canadiens. I have zero faith in Anderson going forward, but both Ottawa goalies are capable of having monster games.
Henrik Lundqvist – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 4-1 win over the Rangers. The save percentage is solid, but the GAA is brutal. It will be up and down at this point, but Lundqvist is closer to desperation than anything right now.
Artemi Panarin – Two goals on three shots. That’s a twelve game point streak for the Bread Man who is loving life in Manhattan.
Pavel Buchnevich – Goal and an assist. A long time Razzball favorite, Buch is pushing a point per game. He’s right on the fringe to me because of the poor shot rate, but he can’t be ignored anymore.
Kappo Kakko – Two assists with two shots. That’s eight points in the last eight for Kakko is starting to come into his own. The only thing holding him back is his shot rate.
Brad Marchand – Two goals. David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist with seven shots. You almost expect it on a nightly basis at this point.
Danton Heinen – Two assists with a shot. He was on the first power play unit which makes Heinen a solid streamer and a great deep league option.
Cale Makar – Two goals on five shots. I don’t want to give the Calder away now, but Makar is lapping the field. Having him as a top 20 defenseman in the preseason is looking pretty good right now.
Andre Burakovsky – Two assists with two shots playing over 20 minutes. I’m holding Burakovsky while he’s on the top line.
Ryan Suter – Two assists. Suter is trying to lure me back in but I will not fall for his mundane fantasy stat line anymore.
Travis Konecny – Three assists with four shots and two PIM. To be honest, I didn’t think Konecny had this type of offense in him. He’s an easy hold now, no doubt about it.
Morgan Frost – Goal and an assist with three shots. I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Frost lately. He’s a great streamer right now while he’s on the first line, and if you want to gamble on him in his situation, I’m good with it. Long term, he seems like more of a playmaker to me, but Frost should be a top six option without a doubt.
Teuvo Teravainen – Goal and an assist with three shots. The big jump in shot rate gives Teravainen a chance to be a top 50 player.
Evgeni Malkin – Goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM. He’s been crushing it since Crosby went down. Just stay healthy!
Mathew Barzal – Three assists. Maybe Barzal thinks the only way he can continue to shoot 20% is to not shoot anymore! Next level thinking. He’s bouncing back in a big way as the Isles have a point in 16 straight games.
Brock Nelson – Two goals on five shots with two PIM. Nelson is another guy who has found another level of offense I didn’t think he had. He’s a slam dunk hold in all formats.
Anthony Beauvillier – Goal and an assist with two shots playing over 21 minutes. That’s six goals over the last four games for Beauvillier. I would probably hold him while he’s a hot schmotato with the expectation of letting him go in a few weeks.
Ondrej Kase – Goal and an assist with two shots. Eakins can’t hold him down! I love Kase but for now, he’s only a middling streamer. The upside is through the roof, he just needs the opportunity. Kase is a better version of Donskoi and we see what he’s doing with a bigger role in Colorado.
Aaron Ekblad – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Ekblad has found another level offensively under Q. He’s also drastically cut down on the penalty minutes. Ekblad should be a hold all season which is a nice step forward from where he was last season.
Brett Connolly – Two goals. He’s shooting over 25% which should mean the regression fairies are coming, although Connolly has always shot a very high percentage. Regardless, he’s a strong streamer.
Aleksander Barkov – Two assists, as did Jonathan Huberdeau. It’s getting overlooked because of the Edmonton and Boston duos, but these two have been excellent all season.
Andreas Athanasiou – Two assists with four shots. The offense is coming on strong, but my god, the plus-minus is a train wreck. Athanasiou is a solid streamer but that’s it for now.
Tyler Bertuzzi – Two goals on three shots. Bertuzzi has been excellent as the third wheel on the first line. Easy hold, no doubt about it.
Cam Atkinson – Goal and an assist with four shots. Atkinson is an elite buy-low target as he won’t continue to shoot 5% forever. We’ve seen him go on massive tears in the second half of seasons before, and I think we see another one.
Oliver Bjorkstrand – Goal and an assist with three shots. Play him more Torts!
Seth Jones – Two assists, as did Zach Werenski. Both of them are solid, but they seem stuck in the 2/3D group. We had the one year from Jones as a #1, but otherwise, they seem to be settled into a middling hold defenseman.
Jordan Binnington – 40 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Flames. Any doubt of Binnington being a fluke is disappearing quickly.
Zach Sanford – Goal and three assists with three shots. Elizabeth! Sanford had 1+3 in 17 games before this one so, yeah, not much to see here.
Robert Thomas – Three assists with a shot. Still loving Thomas long term, but there’s not a ton there at the moment.
Oskar Sundqvist – Two goals on five shots. This line destroyed the Flames on Thursday which you don’t see too often. Again, not much to see here with Sundqvist.
Elias Pettersson – Goal and two assists with two shots. The Canucks had five power play goals, including four by the first unit, so instead of listing all of the guys on the first unit, just assume that they had 2-3 points. The Canucks look like they could be a playoff team come April.
Mikael Granlund – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Finally a sign of life from Granlund, but it’s going to take a few more games for me to hold him again. Solid streamer in the moment though.
Calle Jarnkrok – Goal and an assist with seven shots. Jarnkrok has always been one of those guys that I refer to as “good in real life, not so much in fantasy.” Well, he’s starting to be pretty decent in fantasy. I’m certainly not holding him, but he’s worked his way into being a nice streamer.
Anthony Cirelli – Goal and an assist with three shots. Steven Stamkos left the game after the first period and did not return. He did sit on the bench so my guess is it’s not that serious, but if he does miss some time, Cirelli is an elite option.
Alex Killorn – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Six game point streak for now so you can bet your ass I’ll be streaming him on Saturday against the Ducks.
Corey Perry – Three assists with a shot. Still don’t care about Perry for fantasy. Bottom end streamer at best.
Jason Dickinson – Goal and an assist. Easy pass.
Ilya Mikheyev – Two assists with four shots. With Mike Babcock gone and Sheldon Keefe in, it will be very interesting to see whose workload changes. Mikheyev getting 18:32 in this game is extremely encouraging. I would consider picking him up in case he takes off. The other guy who could see a big jump is Tyson Barrie, who did score in this game.
Frederik Andersen – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 3-1 win over the Coyotes. I wouldn’t be shocked at all if the Maple Leafs go on a run, and Andersen should pile up the wins as a result.
Aaron Dell – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 2-1 OT win over Vegas. Dell has had two great starts this season, one mediocre, and three dreadful. Use him at your risk.
Jonathan Quick – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 5-1 win over the Oilers. Still a desperation play that I’m not even considering in any format.
Jeff Carter – Goal and two assists with two shots. Carter is approaching the end, but if you do need help in shots, he’s a reasonable option. He’s over three per game on the season now and the goals are still solid as a result.
Drew Doughty – Three assists with a shot. A rare game where Doughty is worth the contract. The plus-minus is going to end up rough, but Doughty should be a help in every other category.
Tyler Toffoli – Two goals and an assist with three shots. The Kings have to be loving this as they look to move him at the deadline (or sooner) for futures. Toffoli is a decent streamer.
Michael Amadio – Goal and an assist with two shots. I have to say, you only see it in stretches, but I do like Amadio’s game. I haven’t watched as much of the Kings lately and he has been slumping, but Amadio did stand out a lot earlier in the season. There’s nothing here now, but long term, he could end up a decent scoring middle six player for those of you in deep dynasties.
That’s all for now guys. Sven will have a buy/sell/hold post coming out later today so be on the lookout for that! As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the weekend’s action. Thanks for reading, take care!
