Granlund Gets Ducks Towards Glory

The Anaheim Ducks have taken a big step forward this season.  Lucky for them, they’re geographically located in the right place.  In the Eastern Conference, they’d be on the outside looking in for the playoffs.  In the West, specifically the Pacific Division, they’re close to a lock.  The Ducks won their fourth straight game on Thursday, with Mikael Granlund scoring all three goals in a 3-2 OT win.  Granlund now has seven goals in his last four games and continues to get big minutes.  We’ve reached the point of the season where most of the fringe are streamers because we need to make a push in the fantasy playoffs, but with Anaheim having four games next week, Granlund is making a real case to be held while he’s on fire.  Let’s take a look at what else happened on Thursday night:

Matthew Tkachuk – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Tkachuk’s numbers are right in line with expectations.  Next season, he’s probably a top 25ish player given the injury risk but clear top 10 upside.

Brandon Montour – Two goals on five shots with four PIM.  Montour was already a hold everywhere, but seven points in his last seven games solidifies that.

Bobby McMann – Goal and an assist with three shots playing over 20 minutes.  McMann is being unleashed in Seattle and delivering.  Hold him everywhere.

Kappo Kakko – Goal and an assist.  Middling streamer.

Jake Guentzel – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Guentzel should set a new career high in assists thanks to his power play prowess.  He continues to crush offensively.

Charle-Edouard D’Astous – Two assists with a shot.  Very nice deep league guy as the rookie has come out of nowhere to perform admirably.

Samuel Ersson – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 5-1 win over Chicago.  This says more about Chicago than Ersson.  With Vladar being in control of the job, I’m not interested in Ersson.

Owen Tippett – Two assists with three shots.  Tippett remains a solid streamer.

Alex Bump – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Bump is currently getting some top line shifts, but he didn’t reach 11 minutes of ice time in this game.  He looks like an NHL’er, which is a big compliment for a 22 year old fifth round pick.  For now, he’s a bottom end streamer.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!

Erik Karlsson – Goal and two assists with eight shots and two PIM.  Quite the revenge game.  What the hell was Sullivan doing with Karlsson?  Thank god he was fired.  Karlsson has multiple points in seven of his last ten games and is a top ten defenseman again.

Rickard Rakell – Two goals and an assist with six shots.  With fourteen points in his last eleven games, Rakell is hold worthy.

Drake Batherson – Two goals on four shots, both assisted by Tim Stutzle.  Batherson has set a career high in goals and points shouldn’t be too far behind.  He’s the forgotten stud in Ottawa.

Matthew Schaefer – Two assists with three shots.  Schaefer is pushing 30 minutes on a regular basis as the Isles fight for the playoffs.  He’s already a superstar at 18 years old.

Ilya Sorokin – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 2-1 win over Dallas.  It’s nice to see Sorokin back to being a top five goalie.

Jakub Dobes – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 2-1 win over Columbus.  A lot of the rebounds were juicy, but Dobes managed to get the job done.  Six of his last seven starts have been good, and with the high win percentage, he should be held everywhere.

Zachary Bolduc – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Bolduc had been ice cold before this so he’s down in bottom end streamer range.

Nathan MacKinnon – Two goals on seven shots.  Kucherov is making a late push for the Hart, but MacKinnon is distancing himself from the pack for the Rocket once again.

Mark Scheifele – Two goals on four shots.  It’s still pretty shocking Canada couldn’t find a way to put him on their Olympic team.  For his flaws, Scheifele is a good bet for 100 points for the first time.

Jesper Bratt – Goal and two assists.  The top guys on New Jersey delivered, with Nico Hischier scoring twice and Jack Hughes dishing two assists, adding seven shots.  I’ve said it a few times lately, but I’m more than likely going to throw this season away from the top Devils and rank them highly again next year.

Jonas Siegenthaler – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  And there’s your biannual Siegenthaler update!

Joel Hofer – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Sharks.  The Blues aren’t making the playoffs, but they’ve found their game again on the backs of their goalies.  Hofer’s overall numbers are very good now and he should be held everywhere.

Dylan Holloway – Goal and an assist with three shots playing almost 21 minutes.  Holloway is on the fringe while being hotter than a pistol.  The Blues do have a good schedule next week.

Alex Ovechkin – Hat trick on five shots.  The shocking part wasn’t that Ovie had a hat trick.  It was that he had his first two defensive zone starts of the season in this game!

Ivan Miroshnichenko – Two goals on three shots.  It’s going to take me a while to memorize how to spell that last name.  There’s a lot of long term upside, but it’s only bottom end streamer range while Miroschnichenko is on the fourth line.

Dylan Strome – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  The problem with Strome’s player type is when they take a small step back in points, he goes from an easy hold to on the fringe.  Not enough secondary contributions.

Jakob Chychrun – Two assists, +4.  He’s cooled off a bit lately, but Chychrun is setting career highs across the board with 10 games to spare.

Dylan Guenther – Two goals on eight shots.  Clayton Keller and Mikhail Sergachev each had three assists.  Guenther has a real chance at 40 goals this season.  The former top ten pick has paid off my top 50 ranking.  He’s going to be there for the foreseeable future.

John Carlson – Two assists with three shots in almost 27 minutes.  After a slow start in Anaheim, Carlson has five assists in his last two games.  He should be the same player for fantasy that he was in Washington.

Olli Maatta – Two assists.  And there’s your annual Maatta update!

Connor McDavid – Goal and two assists with two shots.  Business as usual for McDavid, especially against the Golden Knights.

Evan Bouchard – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM.  Bouchard won’t win the Norris, but he’s got a great chance at being the #1 overall fantasy defenseman this season.  He’s crushing it in points, including PPP, and shots.

Mark Stone – Two goals on four shots.  Just stay healthy!

Ivan Barbashev – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Solid to elite streamer through and through.

Darcy Kuemper – 19 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Canucks.  It’s been a big dropoff this season for Kuemper, but I’d still hold him everywhere.  The Kings are going to push him to the limit down the stretch in their attempt to sneak into the playoffs.

Trevor Moore – Goal and an assist with five shots.  Talk about falling off a cliff this season.  Bottom end streamer.

Mikey Anderson – Two assists with two shots.  Solid in real life, zero value in the fantasy realm.

Quinton Byfield – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM.  Such a disappointing player this season, Byfield has been hot since Hiller was fired.  He has nine points in his last six games.  I’d put him back into elite streamer territory.

That’s all for now guys.  I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!