No, I’m not talking about the musical. I’ve used “Teach Me How to Dougie” before, so I needed to change it up. Dougie Hamilton scored the first hat trick of his career on Saturday, albeit in a 6-3 loss to the Panthers. He probably won’t match last season’s 50 point total, but Hamilton has been just as good. He’s over three shots per game, the plus-minus is solid, the PIM are there, and a career high in goals is a near-certainty (he needs one more). As someone who has a betting ticket on the Flames to win the Cup, I just wish Glen Gulutzan would play Dougie more. Their first pair is so damn good that there’s no reason for Hamilton to be under 25 minutes per game. Regardless, he’s a solid #2 fantasy D for the all-around contribution with upside to be a bottom-end #1. With his recent play (11 points in his last 10 games), hopefully that happens. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games:
Michal Neuvirth – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 2-1 OT win over Columbus. I’ve long been a Neuvirth supporter, and he looked like he finally was going to get a chance as a #1. Sadly, he left Sunday’s game with an injury. There’s been no update as of this writing, so here’s to hoping it’s not as serious as Elliott’s.
Thomas Greiss – 45 save shutout in the 3-0 win in Carolina. Both Islanders goalies have been brutal all season, so naturally they post back-to-back 50 and 45 save shutouts. I still have both as desperate for starts guys given how wide open the Islanders play.
Connor Hellebuyck – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 6-1 win over the Avalanche. I’ve long been a fan of Hellebuyck, but I did not see this season coming. For dynasty rankings, he’s firmly #2 overall for goaltenders.
Blake Wheeler – Two goals and an assist with five shots. I still think Wheeler deserves to be in the Hart discussion. What a season.
Mark Scheifele – Three assists with two PIM. It’s a damn shame that Scheifele was injured because he’s been outstanding. The shot has improved marginally, but it makes a big difference going from 2 per game to a bit higher.
Dustin Byfuglien – Two assists with three shots and seventeen penalty minutes. Big Buff doing Big Buff things!
Tyler Myers – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Myers has been solid in a third-pairing role for the Jets this year. He’s right on the fringe in 12’ers and would lean towards holding him.
Patrik Laine – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s 19 years old and already has 62 NHL goals. Pretty crazy. If he can get that shot rate to three per game or better, it’s going to be insane.
Ben Bishop – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 2-1 win over the Blues. He’s been great at home, not so much on the road. Just wait until you see his name under Sunday’s games (spoiler alert!)…
Saturday’s Games
Anze Kopitar – Two goals on four shots. He’s at 799 points in his career at 30 years old. Given his defensive ability, Kopitar can already book his place in the Hall of Fame. There’s a good chance of Kopitar posting his first career season over a point per game.
Michael Amadio – Two goals on three shots. Still nothing to see here.
Dustin Brown – Two assists with three shots. Of all the craziness that’s happened this year, and there’s been plenty of it, Brown bouncing back to having one of the best seasons of his career is at the top. He’s looked washed up for years now and boom, he’s a six category beast.
Michael Grabner – Two goals on six shots. Speaking of craziness, Grabner already has 25 goals with a whopping 6 assists. He can be a real difference maker on the bottom six of somebody after the trade deadline.
Derick Brassard – Goal and two assists with four shots. I’m interested to see if he’s traded at the deadline. Brassard had some amazing playoff runs for the Rangers. He’s on the fringe right now and it could change depending on what team he’s on in a week.
Zack Smith – Two assists with three shots. He looked like he was on the verge of breaking out two seasons ago, had some stretches last season of being a decent streamer, now he’s useless.
Matt Duchene – Goal and an assist with three shots. Duchene looks like good Duchene lately with 12 points in his last 9 games. We know the upside so I’d hold him while he’s playing well.
Mark Stone – Goal and an assist with five shots. I feel like every time I write about Stone, I still mention he’s over a point per game. It’s been lost in Ottawa being a mess that Stone is playing extremely well.
Cody Ceci – Two assists with a shot. Moving on…
Thomas Chabot – Goal and an assist with three shots. One day, Chabot is going to be incredible. We aren’t there yet, and it could take a while, but it’s going to happen.
Hampus Lindholm – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Lindholm is right on the fringe. It depends if you want a decent all-around stat line from your last defenseman or you’re looking for a specialist.
Antti Raanta – 40 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Oilers. Don’t look now, but Raanta has a .924 save percentage on the season. Wowzers. He needs to be owned everywhere.
Cam Talbot – 31 saves on 32 shots taking the loss. If you haven’t watched Talbot’s post-game tirade, check it out. Definitely worth your time.
Tyler Bozak – Goal and an assist with two shots. Outside of a deep league where you need faceoffs, I don’t see much use of Bozy at this point.
Connor Brown – Goal and an assist with five shots. I thought Brown was going to be a solid streamer this season, but he’s unusable at this point.
Evgeni Malkin – Goal and two assists. Malkin has been fabulous once again. Just stay healthy!
Bryan Rust – Goal and two assists. Is Rust playing with Malkin or Crosby? Then he’s an elite streamer. Is he on the third line? Then leave him on the wire.
Kris Letang – Two assists with seven shots. He’s due for some positive regression in the goals department shooting below 3%. He’s largely erased his awful plus-minus start and has stayed healthy so it’s largely good.
Carl Hagelin – Goal and an assist with five shots. Swagelin’s fantasy relevance is near-null.
Ben Lovejoy – Goal and an assist with two shots. And there’s your annual Ben Lovejoy update!
Sami Vatanen – Two assists with two PIM. He’s been piling up the assists, so if you need them, use Vatanen. AAGNOF!
Eddie Lack – 48 saves on 51 shots in the 4-3 win over Tampa Bay. If you had Eddie Lack having arguably the biggest win of the season to this point (this was huge for the Devils’ playoff chances), congrats!
Reilly Smith – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Jonathan Marchessault dished three assists. Good job Florida!
Nate Schmidt – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. He’s on a nice little hot streak with eight points in his last eight games. The problem is that the shot rate is awful and there’s little PIM. I’m probably passing but it’s not the worst decision to use Schmidty.
Ryan Carpenter – Goal and an assist with four shots. Dude can’t stick in the NHL for years, immediately scores 5 goals in 12 games for Vegas. Unbelievable. Still not using Carpenter but it’s a nice story.
Petr Mrazek – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 3-1 win over the Predators. Mrazek should be owned everywhere now. He’s played extremely well and he could be moved to a playoff team in the next week giving him more upside.
Anton Forsberg – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 7-1 win over the Capitals. Man, Chicago absolutely destroyed the Caps in this one. Chicago waived Glass so until Crawford is back, it’s Forsberg’s show. Proceed with caution.
Jonathan Toews – Goal and two assists with three shots. Toews has been solid, but it won’t be too long before that contract is an albatross.
Brandon Saad – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. He’s a fine streamer but that’s it.
Patrick Kane – Goal and an assist with seven shots. Kane is at 500 assists and remains over a point per game in his career. Seems decent. He looks more like a second round pick in drafts next season instead of a first, although it’ll be close.
Vinnie Hinostroza – Two assists with four shots and two PIM. Fine streamer as long as he’s with Toews.
Sean Monahan – Two assists with a shot. Keep on rollin’, baby.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal and two assists with two shots. Bob Boughner has been terrific for all of the studs on Florida as they’re playing massive minutes. The huge jump in shot rate is massive for Barkov’s long term fantasy value.
Evgenii Dadonov – Goal and an assist with two shots. Very nice return to the States by Dadonov this season.
Vincent Trocheck – Goal and an assist with two shots and four PIM. Same story as Barkov as Trocheck is 3rd in ice-time among forwards (Barkov is 1). He’s been a savage all season.
Michael Matheson – Two goals on three shots. I think we could see a jump from Matheson to being a hold in the next season or two. We’re just not there at this point.
Anders Nilsson – 44 saves on 45 shots in the 6-1 win over the Bruins. ‘Ders has had incredible ups and downs this season. Outside of his time in Buffalo, he’s been near unusable in all formats, and I’d have to be extremely desperate to use him now.
Daniel Sedin – Goal and an assist with two shots. They are specialists at this point, but the Sedins have been solid this season. Daniel is still an elite streamer.
Loui Eriksson – Two goals on four shots. Nothing like a sweet revenge game.
Derrick Pouliot – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. There was a lot of hope for Pouliot when he was drafted in the top ten, but at this point, it looks like a long shot that he’ll pan out.
Sunday’s Games
Claude Giroux – Goal and two assists with four shots. Ain’t nobody slowing down Giroux this year.
Travis Konecny – Goal and two assists with two. Konecny has been a point per game player for 24 games since moving on to the first line. He looks like the midseason waiver wire add of the year.
Valtteri Filppula – Two assists. Hard pass.
Jori Lehtera – Goal and an assist with two shots. Man, I completely forgot Lehtera was still playing in the NHL. This was his first goal of the season. He’s been on the steady decline since his solid rookie campaign for the Blues.
Brandon Manning – Goal and an assist with four shots. Nothing to see here.
Peter Holland – Goal and an assist with four shots. He was a promising prospect once upon a time. We’re well past the point of there being hope.
Connor McDavid – Hat trick on five shots. He’s on pace to match last season’s 100 point total and still the Oilers are a dumpster fire. Leon Draisaitl had two assists with five shots and two PIM. He’s right on pace with last season as well. Just goes to show you how bad the rest of the roster has been.
Sami Vatanen – Two assists with a shot. AAGNOF!
Keith Kinkaid – 40 saves on 42 shots in the 3-2 OT win over the Hurricanes. The Devils are a mess defensively right now but they’ve had great goaltending. I still do not trust Kinkaid.
Jake Guentzel – Goal and two assists with two shots and two PIM. He could be a nice buy low candidate next season given this year’s disappointment. For now, he’s a decent streamer.
Riley Sheahan – Two goals on four shots. Nice player in real life for the bottom six but he does nothing in fantasy.
Jamie Oleksiak – Two assists with two shots. Oleksiak is a streamer for hits in like, 20 teamers. That’s about it.
Gustav Nyquist – Two assists with three shots. I haven’t really thought about Nyquist as a trade piece but he would make some sense for contenders who don’t want a rental or to take on a big contract.
Joe Pavelski – Goal and two assists with four shots. He’d had some massive games lately to work towards salvaging his season. He’s fine for the rest of this season, but I can already tell I’m going to avoid Pavelski next season.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Two assists. He’s fine for deep leagues for the blocks, but there’s not quite enough in 12’ers and the lack of hits really hurts in those formats.
Mikkel Boedker – Two goals on three shots. Boedker is on a mini hot streak with five points in the past three games. The shot rate has been much better too, which is encouraging. I’m still not using outside of the deepest of leagues but it’s not impossible for him to get back to streamer level.
Timo Meier – Two assists with two shots. Timo gives me the excites for dynasties.
Justin Braun – Goal and an assist with two shots. Braun is a great example of somehow who is solid in real life but isn’t doing much for fantasy. At least he’s worked his way into deep league relevance with strong hits, blocks, and decent assists.
Melker Karlsson – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s a bottom end streamer even when playing with Pavelski.
Blake Wheeler – Three assists with five shots. Straight savage.
Mathieu Perreault – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM. I’d definitely be holding Perreault right now, although I’m a bit worried that he falls down the depth chart after a trade at the deadline.
Tyler Myers – Three assists with three shots and two PIM. This eliminates the debate from early, own Myers in 12’ers.
Bryan Little – Goal and an assist. Fine streamer but Little hasn’t been good enough lately to hold.
Kyle Connor – Two goals on three shots. I am going to want Connor on all of my teams next year. He’s right on the fringe at the moment.
Patrik Laine – Goal and an assist. Only played 12:50 but not concerned given the blowout (7-2 win over the Panthers on a back to back).
That’s all for now guys. Depending on the amount of goals during the six games today, I’ll either be back on Tuesday or Wednesday with daily notes. As always, feel free to leave any comments, questions, or suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
