Oh, the irony of the timing. Right as Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz, puts out a release saying that he’s ready to bring a hockey team to Utah, the Arizona Coyotes go on a 14 game losing streak. Over the weekend, they managed to right the ship. The Coyotes snapped their skid on Friday, beating Ottawa 5-3, before defeating the Capitals 5-2 on Sunday. The featured performance was their former 9th overall pick Dylan Guenther. Guenther had a goal and an assist with two shots on Friday before scoring a goal and two assists with five shots and two PIM against the Capitals. Guenther playing over 18 minutes on Sunday was extremely encouraging. With Clayton Keller out, Guenther moved to the point on the first power play unit, and delivered three PPP over the two games. I’ve been a fan of Guenther’s as a prospect and it looks like he’s finding his game in the NHL. He’s an elite streamer for the time being who you can hold for this week if you’d like. Arizona has four games, including two against the Blackhawks. In dynasties, I see a guy that eventually becomes a hold in all formats. I think he’ll be a guy who gets three shots on goal per game on average, resulting in 25ish goals with upside for more with a good shooting percentage. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games
Owen Tippett – Goal and an assist with six shots. Tippett is a great example about how it takes time for players to develop, even top ten picks. He was compared to Kessel when he was drafted, and while the playmaking won’t reach that level, his shot volume and goal scoring are starting to.
Morgan Frost – Two assists with a shot. Not a lot here for fantasy outside of some assists in deep leagues. Even if Frost can take another step, it’ll be more in real life than for fantasy.
Dylan Strome – Goal and two assists with two shots and two PIM. Strome is firmly on the fringe depending on team needs.
Max Pacioretty – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. It’s great to see Patches back playing again, and the assists have been really good. The shot rate is down and so is his shooting percentage, which is unfortunate. He’s a middling to solid streamer with obvious upside.
Tom Wilson – Two assists with a shot and six PIM. The points are way down for Wilson, who is more of a niche guy for specific rosters at the bottom than a clear hold everywhere.
Hendrix Lapierre – Two assists with two shots. Lapierre is starting to show some signs, and can definitely be an asset in the future. However, right now, he’s under one shot on goal per game, so he’s an easy pass.
Mattias Maccelli – Goal and two assists. With Keller out, Maccelli played over 20 minutes. The shot rate keeps him from the fringe, but he’s a top end streamer, especially if you don’t care about a poor shot rate.
Michael Carcone – Goal and an assist with two shots. Carcone has turned into a clear NHL’er, but fantasy wise, the role is too small for regular contributions.
J.J. Moser – Goal and an assist with two shots. Not enough offense here besides for deep leagues, even with PP2 time.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Goal and an assist with two shots. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tarasenko gets scratched this week before a trade happens. His value will depend on where he ends up.
Shane Pinto – Goal and an assist with five shots. Pinto is on the fringe with Josh Norris out indefinitely again.
Tim Stutzle – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. It’s tough to see Stutzle regress after he looked like he was going to be a 100 point player this year. That said, I’m not betting against him next season. He’s still only 22, after all.
Tyler Toffoli – Goal and an assist with four shots. While Toffoli’s goal rate is what I expected, the assists are far behind. It’s been quite disappointing overall, but he’s still a clear hold
Jack Hughes – Goal and an assist with nine shots playing over 26 minutes. The workload is getting ridiculous. It’s a shame Hughes was injured because he’s playing around a 110 point pace with five shots per game.
Luke Hughes – Two assists with three shots. Hughes is giving plenty of assists and PPP, but the rest is ugly. Use him accordingly.
Frank Vatrano – Two goals on five shots. It’s presumed that Vatrano will be moved at the deadline. Unfortunately, I think it’s more likely than not it hurts his value, but time will tell.
Max Jones – Goal and an assist with three shots. Nothing to see here at this point.
Saturday’s Games
Josh Morrissey – Three assists. Morrissey is on a massive heater with sixteen points in his last eight games. Seemingly out of nowhere, he’s a top ten defenseman again.
Nino Niederreiter – Two goals on three shots. Nothing like an afternoon revenge game. Niederreiter has actually been quite good, but he hasn’t been given the role he has in the past, even with Vilardi out. He’s a solid streamer.
Sebastian Aho – Goal and an assist with three shots, with Andrei Svechnikov dishing two assists. Aho has cooled off a bit, but he has a good chance of setting a career high in points. The overall stat line for Svech is fine, but it’s disappointing for a player of his caliber, specifically the shot rate.
Sergei Bobrovsky – 21 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Red Wings. We’ve happened to get another elite Bob season. He’s the #2 overall goalie behind Hellebuyck now.
Brandon Montour – Goal and two assists with four shots and two PIM. Montour is starting to look like the Montour of last season again. That’s terrifying for the opposition with Florida as good as anybody right now.
Evan Rodrigues – Goal and an assist with five shots. Bottom end streamer.
Anton Lundell – Two assists with four shots. Same as ERod.
Stuart Skinner – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 2-1 win over the Kraken. After the dreadful start, Skinner has played his way back into being a fringe #1 again.
Leon Draisaitl – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Even his disappointing season is a 107 point pace.
Juuse Saros – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 5-1 win over the Avalanche. All of a sudden, Nashville is on an eight game winning streak to get back in playoff position. He hasn’t allowed more than two goals in that entire stretch. Saros appears back in form.
Cody Glass – Hat trick on six shots and two PIM. You have to feel good for Glass after battling through plenty of injuries. Nothing for fantasy though.
Ryan McDonagh – Two assists. He used to provide enough offense to be a hold in fantasy, but props to McDonagh for still moving the needle defensively as he approached 35.
Tommy Novak – Goal and an assist. Novak’s shot rate keeps him in the middling streamer range.
Jordan Binnington – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 3-1 win over the Wild. Binnington has been a solid #2 despite a fairly weak team. Props to him for the bounce back.
Torey Krug – Goal and an assist. Krug is getting caved at even strength so if your league uses plus-minus, it’s a definite no-go. If it doesn’t, he’s a heavy assist option if you need that at the bottom of your roster.
Alexis Lafreniere – Goal and two assists with three shots. He’s up to an elite streamer. The only issue is Laf isn’t on PP1. If he was, we’d be talking about his breakout happening.
Vincent Trocheck – Two goals on three shots and two PIM. This is looking like a career year for Trocheck. The shot rate won’t touch 2017-18, but he could top the 75 points.
Artemi Panarin – Two assists with seven shots. Just stay healthy!
Paul Cotter – Two assists. Having been at this game in person, it was disgusting how many quality shot opportunities Cotter passed on. Even in the top six, he’s a bottom end streamer at best.
Jeff Skinner – Goal and two assists with four shots. The minutes are trending in the wrong direction. I lean towards elite streamer now instead of hold.
Owen Power – Goal and two assists. I can see a jump in the future, but right now, not that interested.
Casey Mittelstadt -Goal and an assist. Elite streamer unless your league doesn’t have plus-minus, then a bottom end hold.
Dylan Cozens – Two goals on three shots. Cozens feels like a prime bounce back candidate for next season. Right now, he’s a solid streamer.
Tyson Foerster – Two goals on seven shots with two PIM. Out of nowhere, Foerster has nine goals in his last nine games. You can stream him right now as a hot schmotato, but Foerster is a middling streamer otherwise.
Ilya Sorokin – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 5-1 win over the Bruins. It’s been a tough season for Sorokin, especially because his goals against average is way up even at a .909. That said, there’s nothing to do but hope for a turn around. Yay goalies!
Kyle Palmieri – Hat trick and an assist. Even with this game, hard to get Palmieri past middling streamer at this point.
J.G. Pageau – Two assists with a shot. Pageau’s offense has completely cratered. Hard pass.
Anders Lee – Goal and an assist with three shots. Lee has also fallen off quite a bit. He has very little fantasy value now.
Bo Horvat – Two assists with a shot. This was the realistic best case outcome for Horvat in New York. He’s a clear hold in all formats.
Luke Kunin – Two assists with two shots. The minutes are high, but I still have no interest in Kunin.
Ryan Donato – Goal and an assist, as did Philipp Kurashev. Both moved onto the first line with Bedard, which makes them middling streamers at worst. That said, I’m not rushing to use someone on the Blackhawks.
Zach Werenski – Two assists with three shots. The goals are down, mostly because of bad luck, but Werenski has been very good. It’s no small feat being +5 with a 54 assist pace per 82 games on the Blue Jackets.
Jack Roslovic – Two assists with three shots. Roslovic has caught fire with ten points in the last nine games. Roslovic is also over three shots per game, making him an elite streamer in the short term while he’s en fuego.
Yegor Sharangovich – Two goals on four shots. Very good season for Sharangovich in Calgary. He’s a solid streamer.
Mikael Backlund – Two assists with a shot. Backlund has been quietly great for Calgary this season, specifically defensively, but the offense has dried up. Middling streamer now.
Sunday’s Games
Jason Zucker – Goal and an assist with four shots. Zucker is a prime trade candidate so his value is going to change. I’d argue for the better, but time will tell.
Nick Schmaltz – Goal and an assist with two shots. It’s been a tough season for Schmaltz, although it’s been better lately. With Keller out, maybe Schmaltz pushes back towards the fringe. For now, he’s a solid streamer.
Cam Talbot – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 5-1 win over the Devils. Talbot gave up a goal 15 seconds in after a bad turnover and never looked back. He’s rolling again and while Rittich is getting plenty of starts, I’m still holding Talbot everywhere.
Phillip Danault – Hat trick on four shots. Danault’s offense has taken a step back this season. He’s a bottom end streamer despite his quality play in real life.
Kevin Fiala – Goal and two assists with four shots. That’s ten points in the last five games and 12 in the last 7 for Fiala. Big finish coming for Fiala again? Fingers crossed.
Trevor Moore – Two assists with three shots. Moore’s offense has dried up, although the second line being reunited certainly helps his cause. He’s a borderline elite streamer as long as he maintains the shot rate.
Kirill Kaprizov – Hat trick on five shots. After a three game pointless streak, Kaprizov exploded again. Kaprizov is up to a top 20 forward, showing you how high the floor is.
Matt Boldy – Two assists with a shot. It hasn’t been a big step forward for Boldy, but he’s been plenty good. Perhaps this is who Boldy is, but I still think there’s a step forward in there.
Vladislav Namestnikov – Goal and an assist with two shots. Names moved up to the first line during the game because every coach has to hate Ehlers for no reason. The goal was an empty netter, so I’m not going to overreact. He’s a middling streamer if he keeps that spot.
Casey DeSmith – 17 saves on 18 shots in the 2-1 win over the Ducks. I’d stream DeSmith in quality matchups, btu that’s it. We don’t need to be risking another eight goals against game like against the Wild.
Calvin Pickard – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 6-1 win over the Penguins. Pickard is a solid streamer because of the high likelihood for a win. I’d take the chance on all but the hardest matchups.
Zach Hyman – Two goals on three shots. Absolute monster season.
Brett Kulak – Two assists with two shots. Kulak popped offensively more last season. Nothing to see here.
Warren Foegele – Two assists with two shots. He’s back on the third line which drops him to middling streamer at best.
Connor McDavid – Goal and an assist with five shots. He’s the #4 overall forward despite his goals dropping drastically. Here’s to hoping he can get to that 100 assist mark.
Ryan McLeod – Goal and an assist. Bottom end streamer.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Tuesday’s games per usual. You can’t select Kucherov, MacKinnon, Pastrnak, McDavid, Panarin, Nylander, Miller, Matthews, Rantanen, Draisaitl, or Pettersson. I’ll go with Crosby against the Blue Jackets.
That’s all for now guys. Little change of schedule this week. I’ll be traveling on Tuesday night, so I’ll be back on Thursday instead of Wednesday. Jules’ streaming post will be out later today, as well as JKJ’s later in the week, so be sure to check out both of them! As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
