It’s not the first time this season, but Jonathan Huberdeau had five points in Tuesday’s 7-4 win over the Predators, scoring twice and adding three assists. I know I’m a broken record with Huberdeau, but there’s no superstar that gets less recognition than Huberdeau does. Thankfully, the Panthers clinched a playoff berth with the victory so he’ll get back on the big stage. He’s playing a 95 point pace again and should be around 25th overall going into next season in standard leagues. If your league doesn’t include shots, he’ll be even higher. It took longer than anticipated, but Huberdeau has proven to be worth the third overall pick from 10 years ago and then some. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Monday’s Games
Jordan Binnington – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 4-1 win over Colorado. I’m sure Arizona wasn’t thrilled with the Avalanche starting Johansson in this one. Regardless, Binnington played very well. He’s been a disappointment overall this season and odds are I’ll have him as a #2 next season instead of a #1.
David Perron – Goal and two assists with two shots. A rough stretch had Perron under a point per game for the first time all season, but now he’s only one point off pace. With the Blues pushing for that last playoff spot, I’m not betting against him.
Ryan O’Reilly – Two assists. RoR has the same number of points as Perron, just less shots. It’s clear who O’Reilly is at this point in both real life and fantasy.
Jake Allen – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 2-1 win over the Flames. Huge win for the Canadiens to avoid losing three in a row to the Flames. Now, the gap is six points instead of two. Allen has been solid all season and should be held with Price out. His value next season will come down to what team he’s on.
Morgan Geekie – Two assists with a shot. Sixteen shots in 29 games isn’t going to get it done.
Jamie Benn – Goal and three assists with two shots. Benn has been much better than last season, matching last season’s assist total in 25 less games. He’s been a solid bottom end hold, and odds are, that’s what he’ll be for a couple seasons.
Jason Robertson – Two assists with two shots. This run by Robertson is incredible. Kaprizov will still win the Calder, but Robertson is a lock for second.
Brady Tkachuk – Two assists with a shot. It’s hard to say what Tkachuk’s points upside is, but there’s no denying that he’s already a play driver. With four shots per game and elite PIM, we’re looking at a better version of Evander Kane, and he’s a top 50 player without a doubt.
Marcus Hogberg – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 2-1 win over the Canucks. GAA pushing 4 and sv% under .880, hell no.
Juuse Saros – 39 saves on 40 shots in the 4-1 win over the Panthers. Saros’ numbers are truly elite now. Yes, he gave up 6 goals on Tuesday, but he made 49 saves! He’s looking like a potential #1 next season.
Erik Haula – Goal and an assist. This season hasn’t gone as hoped for Haula. He’s a bottom end streamer at best now.
Connor McDavid – Hat trick on seven shots, plus an assist. He’s had at least two points in every game against the Jets this season. Safe to say that the odds are in McDavid’s favor to tear up the playoffs. Leon Draisaitl had two points, as did Jesse Puljujarvi. As strong as the Jets have been this season, they’ve been no match for the Oilers’ studs.
Mike Smith – 36 saves on 37 shots in the 6-1 win. Smith has somehow managed to keep this up for the entire season. More proof that goalies are voodoo.
Jonathan Quick – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 4-1 win over the Ducks. I have been out on Quick since I’ve been writing here which is quite some time now. That said, with so many games against the Ducks this week, I’m fine with streaming him in that matchup.
Dustin Brown – Goal and an assist with four shots. Elite streamer this week because of the Ducks.
Jakob Chychrun – Two goals and an assist with six shots and two PIM. He’s not going to shoot 11% again, but Chychrun looks like he could be a bottom end #1D going forward. It’s a massive jump he’s made this year.
Nick Schmaltz – Two assists. Schmaltz is a middling streamer as the points have dried up lately and the shot rate is awful.
Michael Bunting – Goal and an assist with two shots. I honestly knew nothing of Bunting before his recall as the 25 year old barely played in the NHL, and that stint was two years ago. He has 8 goals in 14 games so if you want to ride the hot schmotato, go ahead. He’s getting top six minutes now, but obviously his shooting percentage is unsustainable.
Evander Kane – Goal and three assists with seven shots. Despite the ongoing issues off the ice, Kane has managed to have arguably the best season of his career. He’s been a huge asset across the board which, as someone who always owns Kane because he’s massively undervalued in fantasy, is great to see.
Tomas Hertl – Two assists with three shots. He’s had a nice run of things lately with Kane moving up to his line. I’m holding Hertl at the moment.
Tuesday’s Games
Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen – 38 saves on 41 shots in the 3-1 loss to the Rangers. UPL has looked like he’s belonged in his two games in the NHL so far. If you’re in a dynasty, there’s a nice future here, although there’s a decent chance he’s still in Rochester next season. Welcome to the Razzball database!
Igor Shesterkin – 36 saves on 37 shots earning the win. Igor was spectacular in this game, especially in the first period. There’s a great chance he’s ranked as a top 5 goalie for me going into next season.
Ryan Strome – Two assists with a shot. Strome was great last season and has managed to be better this year.
Jack Hughes – Two assists with a shot. After a strong start, Hughes has been a disappointment. That said, the shot rate took a huge step forward which is an encouraging sign. A breakout in year three is firmly in play.
Pavel Zacha – Goal and an assist with three shots. He hasn’t developed as I expected, but Zacha did take a fairly big step forward this season. What the Devils do this offseason will make a fairly big impact on his overall value.
David Krejci – Goal and an assist with four shots. Krejci should be held right now as he has nine points in the past nine games and has found chemistry with Hall.
Tuukka Rask – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 3-1 win over the Penguins. Rask with the Ryan Miller shutout losing it with 2:21 left. There’s no reason to expect Rask to be anything but great going forward.
Vitek Vanecek – 18 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Islanders, beating Ilya Sorokin (32/33). I hope these teams don’t play in the playoffs because their games have been incredibly boring this season, even by Islanders standards.
Elvis Merzlikins – 41 save shutout, beating Thomas Greiss (33/33) in a shootout. Elvis has disappointed this season, but his save percentage still isn’t that bad. There’s no guarantee he’s even on Columbus next season so guessing what his fantasy value would be is purely a guess.
Brayden Point – Goal and two assists. And that’s another for me in the Three Point Challenge. One, two, three, four, fif! Back to back three point games for Point gets him closer to a point per game even without Kucherov. He’s a superstar.
Alex Killorn – Two goals on five shots. Hopefully you read my post on Monday saying to stream Killorn this week.
Aleksander Barkov – Two goals and an assist with six shots. Like Huberdeau, I’m excited to see Barkov back in the playoffs, especially that he’s reached another level in his game.
Sam Bennett – Three assists with three shots. “If you need an early streamer for this week, Bennett is a great choice.” And that’s me quoting me from Monday! Bennett also scored on Monday. Things couldn’t be going any better for him in Florida.
Owen Tippett – Goal and an assist with eight shots. It’s nice to see Tippett take that many shots on goal. He has an elite shot and while the rest of his game hasn’t come together yet, he’s still only 22. I’m still a believer long term.
Ryan Ellis – Two goals on five shots. This season has been a disappointment for Ellis, partially driven by injury. I’m still holding because he should be counted on massively over the next two weeks..
Alex Nedeljkovic – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 5-1 win over the Stars. Nedeljkovic was the first person I highlighted in Monday’s post so again, I will pat myself on the back.
Jordan Staal – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Staal has been surprisingly good this season, especially on the power play. I’m back to holding.
Sebastian Aho – Goal and two assists with two shots. Props to Chet for picking Aho for three points!
Andrei Svechnikov – Three assists with two shots and two PIM. As mentioned before, this season really doesn’t change my opinion on Svechnikov going forward. I still think he’s going to end up being a top 25 fantasy player.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Tuesday’s games per usual. I now have 5 correct picks, Veritas remains in second with two with Eli Man Penguin Boy and Chet, with a few people having one. You can not select McDavid, Draisaitl, Kane, Marner, Matthews, Huberdeau, Marchand, MacKinnon, Panarin, or Crosby. I’m going to take Couturier against the Devils.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Best of luck to everyone in their fantasy playoffs or deep in their roto leagues! Thanks for reading, take care!
