Hagel Highlights Frozen Frenzy

Tuesday was a rare day in the NHL where every team plays  Thankfully, they stagger all of the game times, marketing it as “Frozen Frenzy.”  Arguably the marquee matchup of the night was Tampa Bay at New Jersey, and it certainly was the craziest game.  The Lightning fell behind 2-1 before scoring five goals within ten minutes in the second period.  In that stretch, Brandon Hagel had a natural hat trick, finishing the game with an assist as well.  And yet, that still hasn’t put him on the first power play unit <rolls eyes>.  Regardless, Hagel is off to a fantastic start.  I wasn’t as far ahead of ADP on him as Guenther, but I was very bullish on Hagel.  I’m not sure he’ll get to the 90 points I attempted to wish into existence with my bold predictions post, but it’s in play if he gets that top power play time eventually.  Come on Cooper, do it already!  Let’s take a look at what else happened in the one Monday game and Tuesday night.

William Nylander – Two goals and an assist with five shots before blanking on Tuesday.  Seven games, seven points for Nylander, but all of them came in three games.  Hopefully he starts to find a bit more consistency.

Victor Hedman – Two goals and two assists with nine shots over two games.  The shot rate is through the roof for Hedman.  If it lasts, we can see him get back to a top five defenseman.

Anthony Cirelli – Four assists on Tuesday.  Cirelli did get a power play assist to Kucherov, showing he did get some PP1 time.  That can bump him up to an elite streamer.

Janis Moser – Goal and two assists.  That’s Moser’s second three point game already.  He’s shown some signs in the past, but for now, he’s just back on the deep league radar.

Jack Hughes – Goal and two assists with two shots.  And with that, Hughes gets me my second correct answer for the Three Point Challenge already!

Timo Meier – Two goals on five shots with two PIM.  I don’t love the low minutes in this one for Meier, but he’s off to a great start with 4+5 in nine games and elite shots.

Connor McMichael – Two assists.  Quality start to the season for McMichael, but he’s only a middling streamer for now.

Charlie Lindgren – 17 saves on 18 shots in the 4-1 win over the Flyers.  Washington looks to be in an even split right now.  I like Thompson quite a bit, but Lindgren should be usable in all leagues.

Filip Gustavsson – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 5-1 win over the Panthers.  Gustavsson is playing as well as any goalie in the league right now.  The Wild haven’t even trailed in regulation yet this season.

Jacob Middleton – Three assists.  And there’s your annual Middleton update!

Joel Eriksson Ek – Goal and an assist, as did Mats Zuccarello.  Nice to see JEEK back on the scoresheet after a brief absence.  Zucc has been his usual quality self.  Just stay healthy!

Filip Chytil – Two goals and an assist with four shots.  The third line went off for the Rangers, as Kappo Kakko had a goal and two assists, while Will Cuylle dished two assists with three shots and two PIM.  Analytically, this line is well regarded, but they’re generally poor finishers, especially Kakko.  They’re all lower end streamers, although Chytil is more in the middle.

Braden Schnieder – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Schneider could do wonders on a team with more opportunity, but that’s not happening in New York.

Reilly Smith – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Smith has been solid so far on the first line, but the minutes are mediocre.  He’s a solid streamer.

Nick Suzuki – Two goals.  Five game point streak for Suzuki.

Justin Danforth – Goal and two assists with two shots.  In super deep leagues, there could be some value with all of their injuries.  Danforth is getting some PP2 time.

Sean Monahan – Goal and an assist with five shots.  Monahan is getting the full #1 center workload right now, making him an elite streamer.

Zach Werenski – Two assists with a shot.  I really hope Werenski can stay healthy all season as I believe he has a massive season in his bag.

Mathieu Olivier – Two goals with two PIM.  Don’t see much here for fantasy.

Alex Lyon – 29 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Isles.  I’d call Ilya Sorokin a tough luck loser, but he only faced 11 shots!  Lyon has been great so far, so I’m expecting him to get an even split with Talbot.

Cole Perfetti – Three assists with two shots.  We could be seeing Perfetti taking a big step in his development.  He’s up to an elite streamer now.

Brandon Saad – Two goals on four shots, both assisted by Robert Thomas.  The lines continue to shuffle for the Blues.  Right now, Saad is a solid streamer as long as he’s with Thomas, but that can change quickly.

Evgenii Dadonov – Two assists with a shot.  These were Dadonov’s first two points of the season, and both came with the goalie pulled.  He’s looking like a bottom end streamer now.

Owen Power – Three assists with a shot.  As much as his defense can frustrate at times (mostly in terms of physicality), Power is really driving offense at an elite level right now.  He’s still only 21 years old so he could be making the jump.  He’s worth holding in almost all leagues.

Alex Tuch – Goal and an assist with three shots, as did Tage Thompson.  The first line looks outstanding for the Sabres right now.  Thompson looks fully healthy again, while Tuesday was definitely Tuch’s best game.  His speed bursts were frequent, making me excited going forward.

J.T. Miller – Goal and two assists with two shots.  These days, it’s a surprise when Miller doesn’t get two points in a quality matchup.

Danton Heinen – Two goals on three shots.  Heinen has bounced up and down the lineup, but he’s stuck as a bottom end streamer for me.

Conor Garland – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Garland has the fifth PP1 spot back right now making him a solid streamer.

Kiefer Sherwood – Two assists with three shots.  I’m only mentioning Sherwood because his hits total are absolutely insane.  He had 12 in this game, giving him 44 in six games already.  He’s not a must own in hits leagues, but it’s pretty close.

Quinn Hughes – Two assists with five shots.  The shots are great once again, increasing hope that last season’s jump is the new norm.

Joel Kiviranta – Two goals on four shots with two PIM.  Nothing to see here.

Cale Makar – Two assists with three shots.  Fourteen points in seven games.  Seems good.

Juuse Saros – 33 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Bruins.  Despite the slow start before this game, there’s no reason to be concerned about Saros.

Ryan O’Reilly – Goal and an assist with two shots.  RoR has been somewhat of a forgotten man in Smashville, but he has six points in six games.  He should remain a bottom end hold.

Roman Josi – Two assists with five shots.  The assists are there, and it’s only a matter of time until the puck goes into the back of the net with Josi’s shot rate.

Luke Evangelista – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Middling streamer at best.

Martin Necas – Goal and two assists with three shots.  Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist with nine shots.  I’d like to see these two play together regularly, but it seems to only happen on the power play and then in 3 on 3 overtime.  Both are off to good starts.

Shayne Gostisbehere – Goal and an assist.  That’s a goal in four straight for Gostisbehere.  He’s a clear hold in all formats, even though his ceiling is a bit capped because the minutes won’t be as high on a good team like Carolina.

Connor McDavid – Two goals on five shots.  The Oilers are starting to put together some decent performances, and it’s no surprise that McDavid is on a six game point streak.

Anton Forsberg – 31 save shutout in the 4-0 win over Utah.  This was the first good start for Forsberg, who is about to lose his temporary starter job to the return of Ullmark.  I’d only stream Forsberg in the best of matchups.

Nick Jensen – Two assists.  Nice depth defenseman, but it doesn’t do us much for fantasy.

Blake Coleman – Two assists with two shots playing almost 22 minutes.  After a slow start, Coleman has three points in his last two games.  The shot rate is fantastic, so I’m not concerned.

Rasmus Andersson – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Andersson is playing some of the best hockey of his career.  He’s been a clear #1 in blocks leagues and is a clear hold everywhere, playing as a #2.

Cutter Gauthier – Two assists with four shots.  First two points of the season for Gauthier.  I believe in him long term, but the role isn’t big enough right now to be more than a middling streamer.

Lukas Dostal – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 3-1 win over the Sharks.  Dostal has been extremely good so far.  The quality of the team in front of him will leave him prone to some bad stretches, but he should be held everywhere.

Ilya Samsonov – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 6-1 win over the Kings.  Another great start for Samsonov.  In my rankings, I had him in the tier of goalies that I would stream in most starts.  Right now, I’d roll him against anyone.

Tomas Hertl – Two goal and two assists with five shots.  That’s the first big game of Hertl’s Vegas tenure.  He’s firmly on the fringe, mostly because the shot rate is down quite a bit.

Alex Pietrangelo – Three assists with two shots and two PIM.  Shea Theodore missed the game due to illness, bumping up Pietrangelo and Noah Hanifin (PPA, 3 SOG).  Pietrangelo should be a boring bottom end hold going forward.

Mark Stone – Goal and two assists with four shots.  Just stay healthy!

Pavel Dorofeyev – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Middling streamer.

Three Point Challenge:  We will bring back the Three Point Challenge with this Thursday’s games.  For those of you that are new here, you pick a player to get three points in one of the games on Tuesday.  You can’t pick somebody who is Top 10 in the league in points.  For the first 4-6 weeks, we will use last season’s top ten, so you can’t pick Kucherov, MacKinnon, McDavid, Panarin, Pastrnak, Matthews, Draisaitl, Rantanen, Miller, or Nylander.  I’m the only one on the board with Reinhart last Tuesday and Hughes yesterday.  I will go with Guentzel against the Wild.