To complete yesterday’s hold/stream post, I will comment on my thoughts on some of the close decisions. If you didn’t check out yesterday’s post, you can read that here. Let’s get to it!
It’s tough to figure out what the plan in net for Boston is. They gave Linus Ullmark a big contract, but they started Jeremy Swayman in their opener. They seem to be riding the hot hand which makes things tough fantasy wise. Since the Bruins goalie is worth starting in every game, I’m holding them both for now to see how things shake out.
I never could have imagined the Sabres goalie holding any value this season, but Craig Anderson has played extremely well for the Sabres. They’re headed to California to play three games before visiting Seattle and coming home to play Detroit. That’s a great opportunity to keep up this hot streak. I’d hold onto him for now, but beware that it could fall apart at any time.
I thought Antti Raanta was going to be the 1B to Frederik Andersen‘s 1A, but Andersen is clearly the workhorse right now. I took Raanta late, but I’m cutting bait now.
I was incredibly low on the Blackhawks but even I gave them too much credit. I don’t have any Marc-Andre Fleury shares but if I did, I’d be really close to cutting bait and wouldn’t be starting him right now.
The Blue Jackets have been a pleasant surprise so far. While I’m not looking to hold anyone besides the guys in the post plus Elvis, I’m more willing to stream a lot of their guys than before.
Bowen Byram is playing top pair minutes right now. The problem is that he’s not getting power play time, but he does have my interest in deep leagues. Still a big fan long term.
I’m running out of patience with a lot of the Dallas players. Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski have been brutal and Bowness has also shorted them on ice time. I’m not cutting them yet, but it’s starting to become very worrisome.
Lucas Raymond scored a hat trick the other day and has moved onto the top line. Do I think he’ll be a hold all season? No. Would I hold him while he’s on fire? Yes. Same goes for Tyler Bertuzzi who is up to six goals already.
The Oilers split up the two main guys which is great for everybody else involved. Hello, Zach Hyman.
Sam Reinhart isn’t in the role that I expected, but I’m still holding him. Like Hyman before him, we need to be patient.
It’s a tough break for the Kings for Drew Doughty to get injured, especially on an ugly play. There really isn’t anybody worth using in his place though. For those in deep leagues, Matt Roy is going on the first power play unit and Alex Edler will get a lot of minutes.
I’m bumping up Mats Zuccarello to a hold. Most of his points came in one game, but he’s getting top line minutes and power play time. Really like the start for Matt Dumba as well.
While he’s not going to be a hold any time soon, I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Dawson Mercer. He’s getting some top six minutes with Hughes out at the moment putting him on the streaming radar. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Ryan Strome returned to the lineup on Tuesday so get him back on your fantasy rosters.
Cam Atkinson is in full bounce back mode with the Flyers. With the shot volume back to where it’s been in the past, I’m good with holding him at the moment.
The Sharks have been a pleasant surprise to open the season. Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson has bounced back in a massive way, as has Timo Meier. I’m holding all of them for now. I don’t necessarily think they’ll keep this up, but the Sharks seem to have rallied around Kane being off the roster.
The Blues have looked outstanding. I was high on them going into the season because they added some quality top six talent and people were overreacting to them being blown out by the Avalanche. The Avalanche being the barometer for how good a team is a rough gauge to judge teams on. If you haven’t seen the Vladimir Tarasenko goal from last night, check it out. Unbelievable.
With Kucherov out, the Lightning have loaded up the top line. That hurts the rest of the guys who are streamers such as Alex Killorn.
Michael Bunting bumped up onto the first line on Monday night which makes him an elite streamer.
At the moment, Tanner Pearson is on the second line while Nils Hoglander is on the third line. It doesn’t change my opinion of Pearson too much, but it does bump down Hoglander.
Vegas has been a disaster so far due to their injuries. The old top line is the new top line again which gives a boost to William Karlsson and Reilly Smith. They aren’t at a hold level, but could get there, especially Karlsson.
Big boost to Andrew Copp with the players Winnipeg is missing at the moment.
Three Point Challenge: For those that are new or need a refresher, you pick one player to score three points in a game but they can’t be in the top ten in points. We’re going with Tuesday night or Wednesday night this week and with the Top 10 from last season for the time being. That means you can’t take McDavid, Draisaitl, Marchand, Marner, Kane, Matthews, Rantanen, MacKinnon, Scheifele, or Crosby. Please indicate with your pick what day the game is to avoid any potential conflict with some teams on a back to back. Fungazi is the leader in the clubhouse with Aho getting him on the board. I’ll go with William Nylander against the Blackhawks on Wednesday.
That’s all for now guys. Depending on what happens tonight, I may be back tomorrow, but otherwise, I’ll be back on Thursday, as will JKJ’s streaming post. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
