The Coyotes are stuck in a continual rebuild, but acquiring Shayne Gostisbehere has been one of the bright spots. Inexplicably, the Flyers gave a second round pick for Arizona to take Ghost Bear, only to give up a first and other assets to get Risto from the Sabres. Woof. Now, the Desert Dogs have rebuilt Gostisbehere’s value. He scored two goals and an assist with four shots in the 6-3 win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday. that gives him 4+4 in six games this season. In five of those games, he has at least four shots on goal. Yes, the plus-minus is bad, but those PPP are excellent. Even if Chychrun returns and play games, I can’t imagine Gostisbehere losing his PP1 spot. Unless your league puts a big priority on plus-minus, he needs to be held everywhere. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Monday’s Games
Dylan Strome – Two assists. He played over 18 minutes, and he’s put up some decent assists so far. That said, the shot rate is dreadful so he’s only a middling streamer..
John Marino – Two assists with a shot. Solid player in real life, but no fantasy value here.
Thomas Chabot – Goal and an assist with seven shots. The points haven’t been great yet, but the shot rate is excellent. It should only get better.
Brady Tkachuk – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. That’s four straight multi-point games for Tkachuk who is easily playing the best hockey of his career.
Jason Zucker – Two assists with two shots. Decent streamer in general, but Zucker did miss Tuesday’s game due to injury, so keep an eye on that.
Rickard Rakell – Goal and an assist with two shots. Rakell hasn’t blown up like I hoped, but the shot rate is there, and the Pens are cruising at even strength. I’m still holding.
Leon Draisaitl – Goal and two assists with four shots. It’s only a matter of time until more pucks find the back of the net with Draisaitl taking 3.5 per game.
Evander Kane – Goal and an assist with nine shots and two PIM. Kane has been everything we could have hoped for. Like Draisaitl, the goal rate will go up if the shot rate maintains. And Evander sure loves a bad shot.
Zach Hyman – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. Hyman has been good across the board. Easy hold for me.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Goal and an assist. RNH has played his way into the hold discussion with 7 points in 6 games. For now, he’s on PP1 which makes me want to hold him, but it should be a fluid situation.
Connor Hellebuyck – 25 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Blues. This game was an excellent performance by the Jets in general. Hellebuyck is sitting with a .929 despite playing a brutal schedule to start. You love to see it.
Josh Morrissey – Two assists with two shots. Morrissey is a hold in most formats at the bottom of your roster.
Logan Thompson – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 3-1 win over Toronto. Vegas is the best defensive team in the early going. Thompson has a real chance to be a #1 goalie this season.
Brent Burns – Two assists with four shots. He hasn’t scored yet, but Burns is piling up the shots, and the plus-minus is bound to fix itself playing with Slavin. I’m still expecting big things.
J.T. Miller – Two goals. It’s been a disastrous start in Vancouver, but at least Miller is scoring his share of goals. One assist in seven games on the other hand isn’t going to cut it. It should only get better for the Canucks, but there’s a chance their plus-minuses become an issue as long as Hughes is out.
Tuesday’s Games
Linus Ullmark – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 3-1 win over the Stars. Ullmark has been fantastic so far, becoming the clear #1. If that volume continues, he’ll be a #1 goalie, no doubt.
David Pastrnak – Goal and an assist with three shots. Pasta started the season on fire and hasn’t cooled down one bit. He’s looking like the borderline top five player he was in 2019-20.
Dominik Kubalik – Goal and an assist with two shots. Hotter than a pistol! I covered Kubalik extensively in Monday’s post.
Jesper Bratt – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Bratt has a point in every game so far this season. He’s turned into one of the best play drivers of the league and that’s going to do wonders in fantasy.
Dougie Hamilton – Two assists. Decent start to the season across the board for Dougie. Here’s to hoping he can keep it up because we know the upside is massive.
Ryan Graves – Two assists with a shot. Solid player in real life, but no fantasy value here.
Jack Hughes – Goal and an assist with three shots. Hughes’ shot rate is so good right now that if he keeps it up, we’re going to be looking at an incredible season. Hughes hasn’t blown up yet which is a good sign for the Devils going forward.
Marc-Andre Fleury – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 3-1 win over the Canadiens. It’s been a nightmare start for the Wild and specifically MAF. I’d expect his numbers to get closer to the 2.8/.910 range but with quality wins, making him a #2. I wouldn’t consider cutting him or anything rash.
Joel Eriksson Ek – Two goals on five shots playing over 20 minutes. JEEK is an elite streamer that you could hold depending on team needs or if your league includes faceoff wins.
Brandon Duhaime – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Don’t see much here for fantasy unless some big line changes happen.
Clayton Keller – Three assists with a shot. Five game point streak for Keller. He’s on the fringe for me because he’s shooting the puck a lot less than last season and again, plus-minus.
Jake Bean – Two assists with two PIM. I really wish I could see Columbus roll Bean and Boqvist big minutes just to see what they can do. Nobody needs to see Peeke play a ton of minutes not being able to get out of his own end and blocking a ton of shots. For now, Bean is a deep league option at best.
Alexandar Georgiev – 44 saves on 46 shots in the 3-2 SO win over the Rangers. Georgiev was excellent, as was his old teammate Igor Shesterkin (42/44). Georgiev has been very good so far and the wins should get better.
Barclay Goodrow – Goal and an assist with two shots. And there’s your annual Goodrow update!
Patrick Kane – Goal and an assist with four shots. Kane has been okay so far, but it also feels like he’s in a holding pattern. I’m much more interested in Kane in H2H leagues where he can be a massive difference maker in your playoffs.
Nazem Kadri – Two goals and an assist with four shots and two PIM. It’s been the best start possible for Kadri, with a point in every game and elite shots. The PIM aren’t there yet, but it’s only a matter of time until he gets into it with somebody.
Jacob Markstrom – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 4-1 win over the Penguins. It’s been a slow start for Markstrom, but I have no concern at all. If anything, I’d try to buy low, but I’d assume people have enough patience for a guy like Markstrom.
Gabriel Vilardi – Goal and an assist with four shots. I still lean elite streamer because the minutes are low, but the longer he stays on PP1 and keeps producing, the more I have to debate Vilardi’s status.
Shea Theodore – Goal and an assist with four shots. I cannot understand at all why Vegas would have Pietrangelo on PP1 and Theodore on PP2. To be blunt, Theodore is simply much better in that role. That said, Theodore is still going to produce plenty because he has that offensive ability.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Thursday’s games, and you can’t select McDavid, Gaudreau, Huberdeau, Draisaitl, Kaprizov, Matthews, Stamkos, M. Tkachuk, Miller, or Marner. I’ll go with Nylander against the Sharks.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
