We are at the point in the season where it’s more important to lead my posts off with the things that have the biggest impact going forward and not the best performances. Robin Lehner is currently day-to-day with what Barry Trotz called an upper-body injury. When asked if it was a concussion, Trotz wouldn’t give an answer. Best wishes to Lehner to a speedy recovery no matter what the issue is, but he does have concussion history. Thomas Greiss started on Thursday and made 35 saves on 37 shots in the 4-2 win over the Senators. I wouldn’t expect anything else against the Senators. I have been saying Greiss is must-own for a few months now, but for some reason he’s still only 27% owned! If Lehner does miss time, Greiss has a legitimate chance to not only be a #1 goalie the rest of the way, but a top 5 goalie overall. Pick him up immediately if he’s still available in your league. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two days:
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist. What, only one shot on goal!? Bum.
Nicklas Backstrom – Goal and an assist with two shots. Backstrom has been pretty much exactly what you would expect from him this season.
Dmitry Orlov – Two assists with three shots. I had high hopes for Orlov going into last season but it looks like the offense is never going to come around as I hoped.
Claude Giroux – Goal and an assist with two shots. Five out of six games with multi-points for Giroux. Great finish for Giroux who could get back to 90 points again.
Sean Couturier – Two assists with four shots and two PIM. After a really slow start, Couturier has a really good chance of topping last season’s 31+45.
Adam Gaudette – Two assists with two shots over two games. Could be something here eventually but nothing at the moment.
Brock Boeser – Three assists with four shots over two games. He hasn’t taken the step forward that I hoped but I’m still a massive fan of Boeser going forward. He has all of the makings of a guy who is a top 50 player every season.
Connor McDavid – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Let’s just call him a cheat code and move on.
William Karlsson – Two assists with five shots. Karlsson is a solid streamer who obviously has potential for more, but I wouldn’t be holding him at this point.
Marc-Andre Fleury – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 2-1 win over the Flames. That’s four monster games in a row for Fleury who is catching fire at the right time.
Troy Terry – Three assists with a shot. Terry has plenty of offensive upside long term but I don’t have much interest in using guys on the Ducks right now. Nice dynasty option though.
Jaycob Megna – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Congrats on the first career goal and welcome to the Razzball database! Nothing here fantasy wise.
Brayden Schenn – Goal and three assists with six shots and two PIM in two games. Get Schenn back in your lineup immediately.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Goal and three assists with eight shots over two games. His horrible start seems like a distant memory at this point. Tarasenko has been incredible the last two months.
Ryan O’Reilly – Goal and two assists with seven shots and two PIM over two games. New career high in points for RoR who has fit in perfectly with the Blues.
Robert Thomas – Two goals and an assist with four shots over two games. I am all in on Thomas for dynasties. Special offensive talent and I can already see the sleeper post coming for next seasonl.
Jake Allen – 28 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Kings. Play every goalie against the Kings!!!
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Keith Yandle had two assists with three shots while Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. We all know to roll the Panthers studs at this point, nothing to really see here… except that Barkov actually committed a penalty!
Brad Marchand – Three assists with a shot, while Patrice Bergeron scored two goals. The top of Boston’s roster is so damn good that I would actually pick them to beat Toronto in the first round assuming they play again.
Charlie McAvoy – Two assists with a shot. I was hoping for a bigger step forward from McAvoy this year, but it’s coming sooner than later. He’s still only 21 and in his second season. Whether it’s next year or the year after, it’ll happen.
Matt Murray – 25 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Blue Jackets. Murray continues to be up and down. I like his chances to finish more up than down but no guarantee.
Pavel Buchnevich – Two goals on five shots. Big fan of the Butcher who I’m bumping back up to solid streamer status.
Brendan Lemieux – Two assists with two shots. Great streamer in deeper leagues with his hits and PIM. In standard leagues, there’s not enough here yet
Andreas Athanasiou – Goal and an assist with five shots playing over 24 minutes! Dylan Larkin missed the game giving Athanasiou a major opportunity. He’s a super elite streamer if Larkin remains out. I’m a big fan of AA’s game and he just needs the minutes.
Valtteri Filppula – Two goals on five shots. Filppula hasn’t been fantasy relevant in a few years. It’s to the point where I have to double check I’m spelling his name right after I used to have it down pat.
Devan Dubnyk – 25 save shutout in the 4-0 win over Tampa. Shutting out Tampa in Tampa is no easy feat. He’s very up and down but I’m rolling Dubnyk in most matchups.
Jason Zucker – Hat trick, two of which were assisted by Ryan Donato. The new first line in Minnesota has been rolling since Donato’s arrival. They are both on the fringe right now. I would probably lean towards holding both, especially Donato while he’s hotter than a pistol.
Zach Bogosian – Goal and an assist with five shots. And there’s your annual Bogosian update!
Evan Rodrigues – Two assists with three shots. Rodrigues has been playing well lately by his standards but that only makes him an option for deep leagues, not 12’ers.
Artem Anisimov – Two goals. No interest in using Arty at this point in his career. Still love his celebration when he was with the Rangers pretending to snipe the goalie though.
Patrick Kane – Two assists as did Jonathan Toews. They can’t stop, won’t stop.
Ben Bishop – 31 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Avalanche. I started Wednesday’s post about Bishop so you can read more expanded thoughts there. He’s as good as any goalie going right now.
Alexander Radulov – Hat trick on five shots. It’s a shame he missed some time because Radulov would be pushing towards being a top 25 player.
Jamie Benn – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s been one of the biggest disappointments in the league so far but we’re finally seeing signs of life. With the Stars pushing to lock in a playoff spot, look for Benn to finish strong.
Darcy Kuemper – 30 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Flames. Kuemper has been great lately and should be used in all formats. There are a lot of bad teams coming up on their schedule.
Marcus Sorensen – Goal and an assist. Bottom end streamer.
Kevin Labanc – Two assists. Also a bottom end streamer.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday previewing the upcoming week. If you’re going to make the head to head playoffs, be sure to make some moves this weekend to set yourself up for next week. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
