It’s Miller Time

Remember a month ago when it was a foregone conclusion J.T. Miller was going to get traded?  It sure seems like he played the Canucks into close enough contention that it’s no longer a consideration.  Miller had a goal and three assists with two PIM in the 5-3 win over the Canadiens on Wednesday.  That’s 21 points in the last 10 games for Miller, a remarkable run that has him in the top 10 in the NHL in points.  in the next 10 days before the deadline, the Canucks have games against the Red Wings, Devils, and Sabres.  Not exactly stout defensive teams.  The thing is, right now, it doesn’t matter who the Canucks are playing because nobody has a chance of stopping him.  I was always a fan of Miller’s game, but this is a level I didn’t think he had in him.  He’s currently a top 15 forward on the season in overall value.  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:

I made the mistake of scheduling JKJ’s streamer piece for today instead of yesterday.  Stupid me looking at the date past midnight after it already changed.  Please be sure to check out his post to help you out for the weekend here!

T.J. Oshie – Two goals and an assist with four shots.  Oshie is more of an elite streamer at this point of his career.  The points are solid, but not good enough given the poor shot volume.

Nicklas Backstrom – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Props to Backstrom for his 1,000th career point.  That’s some incredible company that he’s joined.

John Carlson – Two assists with two shots.  He’s piling up the assists lately with ten in his last ten games.

Brad Malone – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Malone is one of those AAAA types.  Pretty good in the AHL, but not quite good enough to stick in the NHL.

Connor McDavid – Goal and an assist with three shots.  It’s shocking when he goes two games in a row without a point as he did the previous two games.  After Tampa on Saturday, McDavid has some dream matchups next week.

Evan Bouchard – Two assists with three shots.  I’m still holding Bouchard, but it’s tenuous because of the minutes drop.

Artturi Lehkonen – Two goals and an assist with four shots.  Lehkonen is on a nice run with 6+2 in his last five games.  He’s a solid streamer and likely to be moved at the deadline.

Rem Pitlick – Goal and two assists.  He shockingly has 11+13 in 41 games this season between Montreal and Minnesota, but he’s also taking below one shot per game and shooting over 30%.  No thanks.

Bo Horvat – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM.  Dr. Bo is cutting up the competition again.  He’s on the fringe, but I somewhat lean towards holding while the schedule eases up.

Craig Anderson – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 3-1 win over the Golden Knights.  Congrats to Anderson for his 300th career win, becoming the sixth USA goalie to reach that milestone.  I’d also like to thank him from providing me, a Sabres fan, a rare moment of joy watching Eichel lose in our arena again and whining in his postgame press conference.  It was even better that Krebs and Tuch scored.  Oh, the salt.

Brandon Hagel – Two goals on three shots.  Hagel is up to solid streamer status.  There’s some talk he could be moved at the deadline, but I think any trade would hurt his fantasy value.

Alex DeBrincat – Goal and an assist with six shots.  Five game goal streak has DeBrincat sitting at 34 on the season.  The minutes are through the roof as they should be.  Top tier goal scorer.

David Pastrnak – Two goals and an assist with three shots.  And just like that, Pasta is back over a point per game on the season.  That dreadful start has finally been erased.

Patrice Bergeron – Two assists with seven shots.  If anything, Bergeron has been unlucky this season in the goals department.  His assists are higher than the last two seasons, and he’s been the best defensive player in the league by a mile.  Hard to find any signs of aging.

Matt Boldy – Two goals on three shots.  He needs to be held everywhere, no doubt about it.

Joel Eriksson Ek – Goal and an assist with three shots.  His goal was Nedeljkovic deflecting the puck into his own net, but they all count the same!  I have JEE in the elite streamer range.

Frederick Gaudreau – Two assists with two shots.  Solid streamer as long as he stays on the second line.

Nick Leddy – Three assists with two shots.  He had a nice run with the Islanders and was underrated in his time.  At this point, he’s shot.

Jakub Vrana – Two goals on four shots.  Great to see Vrana back on the ice after his shoulder surgery.  I don’t think he’s an automatic hold, but he’s an elite streamer already with three goals in two games.

Joe Veleno – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  Veleno hasn’t panned out yet, but he’s still only 22 years old.  I have no interest for now, but there’s no denying the talent.

Lucas Raymond – Two goals on six shots and two PIM.  Raymond is right on the fringe depending on team needs.

Antti Raanta – 36 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Avalanche.  Raanta should be owned everywhere for now, although Andersen could be back on Saturday already.  Either way, the Canes have a back to back this weekend so Raanta will get at least one game, and another back to back next week.

Darcy Kuemper – 35 saves on 36 shots as the tough luck loser.  After a rough start, Kuemper’s overall numbers are that of a solid #1, mostly because of the wins.

Eric Comrie – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 2-1 win over the Devils.  Very little interest in using Comrie in his rare starts.

Josh Norris – Two goals on three shots.  Norris is playing at over a 40 goal pace per 82 games.  I don’t completely buy it given the shooting percentage, but he’s a damn good player.  He’s on the fringe.

Brady Tkachuk – Goal and an assist.  His numbers across the board are staggering.  A 30+30 with 300 shots per 82 games is in play, and obviously the PIM and hits are out of control.

Jakob Chychrun – Two goals on four shots.  Chychrun has looked much better lately.  If he’s available, I would add him in anticipation of a trade to a better spot.

Alex Galchenyuk – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Even Galchenyuk partakes in a sweet revenge game.  No interest for fantasy.

Matias Maccelli – Two assists.  With one shot in four games, it’s hard to get excited.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!

Alex Kerfoot – Goal and two assists with four shots.  Solid streamer.

William Nylander – Goal and an assist with five shots.  The points have cooled off a bit to take Nylander below a point per game, but the huge jump in shots locks him into being a top 75 player despite poor PIM/hits.

Jonathan Huberdeau – Four assists, as did Aaron Ekblad.  Huberdeau is really going to give it a go for the Art Ross.  Just a fabulous offensive season.

Sam Reinhart – Hat trick on five shots.  Reinhart is overshadowed by the other star power on his team, but I look forward to him finally getting some playoff games.  Fantastic player.

Carter Verhaeghe – Two goals on five shots with four PIM.  Verhaeghe is doing enough across the board to be held everywhere.

Ilya Sorokin – 25 save shutout in the 6-0 win over the Blue Jackets.  He’s not as good as the other Russian goalie in New York, but Sorokin is playing his way into the league’s elite.

Anders Lee – Hat trick on seven shots with two PIM.  As someone who bet over 5.5 in this game, I’d like to thank Lee for getting his first career hat trick with 2 seconds left in the game.

Ryan Pulock – Three assists with five shots.  It looked like Pulock was going to be a bottom end hold for years, but the offense has dried up the last two seasons.  He’s only viable in deep leagues.

Anthony Beauvillier – Three assists with two shots.  Beauvillier has struggled this season putting him in the bottom end to middling streamer range.

Josh Bailey – Goal and an assist.  And there’s your biannual Bailey update!

Adam Fox – Two assists.  It was a rare game where Fox gets wrecked at even strength and Igor can’t bail the Rangers out.  Fox is being a huge AAGNOF.

David Perron – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM.  Moving back to the first line has Perron really going again, along with Brayden Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly, who also had a goal and an assist each.  I lean towards holding Perron again, but it’s fringy.

Jordan Kyrou – Two assists with two shots and two PIM.  The breakout is real.

Robert Thomas – Two goals on four shots.  Thomas’ value comes down to your league settings and team needs.  It’s sad that 1.5 shots per game is a big upgrade, but here we are.

Matt Duchene – Two goals and an assist with three shots.  Filip Forsberg had a goal and two assists with two shots.  Monster performance all season from both players.  It’s going to be very interesting to see if Forsberg signs a contract before the trade deadline or not.

Juuse Saros – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 4-1 win over the Ducks.  After a bit of a rough patch, Saros has allowed two goals over his past three games.  Massive stretch here for the Preds with the standings very bunched together.

Jacob Markstrom – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 4-1 win over the Lightning.  This is the goalie the Flames envisioned when they gave him six years.  Easily a top five goalie.

Johnny Gaudreau – Hat trick on four shots.  His numbers are completely off the charts this season.  Back up the Brinks truck!

Rasmus Andersson – Two assists with a shot.  It’s a niche role for fantasy, but Andersson is a hold everywhere for the assists and PPP.

Erik Karlsson – Two assists with three shots in his return for the Sharks.  Get him EK65 back in your lineups immediately.

Brent Burns – Goal and an assist.  Burns is a bottom end hold despite his struggles at even strength.

Tomas Hertl – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM.  Hertl is the biggest name likely to be moved at the deadline, although there’s a chance the Sharks could get him signed.  He’d do wonders for so many teams.

Alexander Barabanov – Goal and an assist with three shots.  He’s had a nice season in San Jose establishing himself as an NHL player.  Barabanov is a bottom end streamer.

Trevor Moore – Goal and two assists with four shots.  The second line thrived for L.A., even with Arvidsson out.  Phillip Danault had a goal and an assist with five shots, while Andreas Athanasiou had a goal and an assist with four shots.  Athanasiou gets bumped up to solid streamer while being on the second line.  Danault is the same, while Moore is a middling streamer.

That’s all for now guys.  I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend.  Again, please be sure to check out JKJ’s post!  Apologies for getting that out a day late.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!