It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve written daily notes. I guess being stuck inside due to a blizzard will do that. It was great to be able to watch the NHL on Tuesday night with a massive slate of games. He didn’t have the biggest game of the day, but Erik Gustafsson can be a huge difference maker that impacts the vast majority of fantasy leagues. Gustafsson scored a goal and added a power play assist in the 4-0 win over the Rangers. This is notable because John Carlson is out “long term” after taking a puck to the face last Friday against Winnipeg. It seems like an eternity ago, but Gustafsson did have 60 points with Chicago four years ago with 18 coming on the PP. It’s his top unit to run now, and the minutes have been decent even before Carlson’s injury. The blocks are okay and the hits are below average, so in those formats he’s still on the fringe, but without them, I think he’s a no brainer hold. He’s available in over 90% of leagues right now, so open another tab, put a claim in for Gustafsson, and then come back and see what else happened on Tuesday night!
Antti Raanta – 24 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Blackhawks. All indications were that Kochetkov was going to be back and start, but alas, we received a Raanta revenge game instead. Raanta is a good streamer in all matchups with how well Carolina is playing.
Darcy Kuemper – 32 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Rangers. After a really tough start, Kuemper’s GAA and sv% are right in line with last season in Colorado. The wins are down, and the volume is a bit lower because of how well Lindgren has also played, but Kuemper is a bottom end #1 in fantasy.
Conor Sheary – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Sheary remains on the first line, but second PP unit. He’s a middling streamer.
Drake Batherson – Two assists with two shots, six hits, and two blocks. It is crazy that Batherson is one point off a point per game, but also -23. In H2H, I’d just roll with it without hesitation, but he’s on the fringe in roto.
Ilya Sorokin – 20 saves on 21 shots in the 5-1 win over the Penguins. There’s a few goalies that stand out over others so far this year, but Sorokin has been the best of the bunch as we approach the midway point.
Josh Bailey – Goal and an assist. Bailey’s days of fantasy relevance are over.
Brock Nelson – Two assists with four shots. Nelson is up to a point per game, which I never expected. He’s only one assist off last season’s total despite playing half of the total games to this point. The goal scoring is at a sustainable rate now. Nelson is a clear top 100 player now.
Anders Lee – Two goals on four shots. Lee does enough across the board that I think he’s an easy hold. He’s a net positive in every category.
Mathew Barzal – Two goals on five shots. It’s not the most exciting stat line, and after Barzal’s rookie season, I expected his fantasy numbers to be better at this point in his career. That said, it’s an easy hold.
Calle Jarnkrok – Goal and two assists with two shots. Solid player in real life, but Jarnkrok is stuck as a bottom end streamer in Toronto.
Roope Hintz – Two goals on five shots. Two straight two goal games for Hintz, who has taken his game to another level. The shot rate keeps him from fantasy superstardom, but he’s damn good.
Jamie Benn – Goal and an assist with three shots. Benn now sits on a six game point streak. I would lean towards hold which is a remarkable turnaround for Benn, who hasn’t been a hold in four seasons.
Filip Gustavsson – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 4-1 win over the Jets. The Jets are depleted at the moment, but that doesn’t take away from a strong game from Gustavsson. He’s on the fringe but I lean towards holding given that his workload has become more stable.
Mats Zuccarello – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Zucc now has seven goals in his past six games and he’s quickly erasing his terrible plus-minus. He’s still showing no signs of aging at 35.
Jared Spurgeon – Goal and an assist with four shots. Unless you’re in a blocks league, I would leave Spurgeon on the waiver wire unless your league has 14+ teams.
Frederick Gaudreau – Goal and an assist with three shots. Bottom end streamer.
Sam Steel – Two assists. Steel is up to a middling streamer while on the first line, although I can’t see it improving with his shot rate in the doldrums.
Stuart Skinner – 46 saves on 47 shots in the 2-1 win over the Flames. Skinner has been a godsend for Edmonton with how bad Campbell has been. He’s playing like a #1 goalie right now so ride Skinner in all matchups.
J.T. Compher – Two assists with five shots. Compher has a massive role with all of Colorado’s injuries. He’s in the solid streamer range now.
Cale Makar – Goal and an assist with four shots. I doubt you can buy low on Makar, but I’m still all in on him going forward. The shot rate is excellent, the Avs can only get healthier, and he’s still hitting all of the categories extremely well.
Lawson Crouse – Goal and two assists with four shots. Crouse has found another level the last two seasons that I didn’t think he was capable of. I would actually hold him in hits leagues, and he’s a solid streamer otherwise.
Jakob Chychrun – Three assists with three shots. Chychrun has been an absolute monster since returning. It’s to the point where I’m not sure a trade would even help his fantasy value.
Clayton Keller – Goal and an assist with two shots, as did Nick Schmaltz. Keller is a bottom end hold while Schmaltz is in the elite streamer category.
Timo Meier – Two goals, both assisted by Erik Karlsson. It was an ugly night for the Sharks, but it was good to see their two best players perform.
Bo Horvat – Two goals and two assists. Ilya Mikheyev had a goal and three assists, while Brock Boeser scored a goal and added two assists. Suffice to say that the Sharks had no answers for this trio. Dr. Bo is up to 26 goals, tying him with Tage for second most in the league. Remarkable season. Mikheyev is a solid streamer while Boeser is an elite one.
Phillip Danault – Goal and two assists, as did Viktor Arvidsson. Alex Iafallo moved onto their line with Moore injured, and had a goal and an assist of his own. All of these guys are solid streamers, and I would rank them Arvidsson, Danault, Iafallo.
We will do the Three Point Challenge for Thursday’s games. You can’t select McDavid, Draisaitl, Thompson, Robertson, Kucherov, Pastrnak, Kaprizov, Karlsson, Crosby, or Rantanen. I’ll go with Dubois against the Canucks.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action of the last two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
Update: My next post will be out Friday afternoon. Apologies for the delay, but I’m not feeling well and struggling to stay awake to write. You can still ask questions here, or hold off until that comes out. Thanks guys!
