Tristan Jarry had his best game of the season on Monday night stopping 42 of 43 shots in the 4-1 win over the Bruins. He’s crossed both hockey versions of the Mendoza line and the wins are strong, but it’s still not pretty overall. However, I’m very bullish on Jarry and Casey DeSmith going forward. The Penguins are playing much better lately and their schedule going forward is outstanding. They still have six games with the Sabres and all eight games against the Devils. That means half of their remaining games are against teams that they should handle with ease. Think of how well goalies like Andersen normally rank at the end of the season because of how many wins they get. Both Pens goalies should have those kind of numbers in the second half. It’s hard to say how the starts will be split, but if you’re desperate for goalie help, I’m fine with holding DeSmith, and Jarry is a nice trade target. Let’s take a look at what else happened on Monday night:
Vitek Vanecek – 23 save shutout in the 6-0 win over the Sabres. Hard to give Vanecek a lot of credit for getting a shutout against this dumpster fire that is the Sabres, but good for him regardless. He’s a desperation stream unless it’s against the Sabres.
Justin Schultz – Two assists with a shot. Schultz has fallen off lately with Carlson back in the lineup. I wouldn’t use him in a 12’er but it’s not far off.
Nick Jensen – Two assists. He’s piling up points lately, but Jensen should be left for deep leagues.
Conor Sheary – Two assists. Sheary piles up points against teams he used to play for but does nothing against anyone else.
Pekka Rinne – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 4-1 win over the Lightning. Amazing game from Rinne on the back of giving up 5,5,3,3,6 and 5 goals in his previous six starts. I’m okay with streaming him against Detroit, but otherwise, treat this game as an aberration.
Calle Jarnkrok – Goal and three assists with two shots. Monster game from Jarnkrok who is playing around the same level as always. That leaves him as a bottom end streamer.
Mattias Ekholm – Goal and an assist with three shots. With all of the injuries Nashville is suffering, Ekholm could be a top 20 defenseman for the time being.
Jakub Voracek – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM. Voracek is looking like a bottom end hold against instead of an elite streamer.
Claude Giroux – Goal and an assist with two shots. Voracek has been the slightly better version of Voracek to this point. I feel better about him staying over two shots per game as well.
Sean Couturier – Two assists with three shots. Vigneault has done wonders for Couturier’s fantasy value as he uses him in a more offensive role. It’s a shame he was injured early in the year because he’s well over a point per game.
Ivan Provorov – Goal and an assist with three shots. Provorov’s second season made it appear that he was going to end up being a fantasy star. Unfortunately, he’s leveled off since then in terms of points, but the shot rate fell off a cliff. He’s still worth holding, but even at 24 years old, Provorov’s ceiling looks much lower than everyone assumed.
Joel Farabee – Goal and an assist with three shots. Farabee’s breakout happened earlier than anyone anticipated. He’s played his way into consideration for being a top 50 dynasty option. That may be a little high, but Farabee isn’t far off.
Artemi Panarin – Goal and two assists with two shots. Thankfully, Panarin looks as good as ever since returning.
Thatcher Demko – 44 saves on 46 shots in the 3-2 win over the Senators. Demko is on a tear like he was in the playoffs last summer. Here’s to hoping he keeps this up.
Sidney Crosby – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM. Here goes Crosby getting back to his 90ish point pace level. With how easy their schedule is going forward, I’m expecting him to be a top 10 player in the second half.
Evgeni Malkin – Goal and an assist with five shots. Eight game point streak for Malkin who is finally coming into his own. It would be great if the shot rate returns, but either way, it’s nice that there’s a great chance he finishes above a point per game.
Jake Guentzel – Goal and an assist. Same story as the previous two guys.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal and two assists with five shots. Barkov has gone from a guy near the bottom of the top 50 overall to someone in the top 10 player discussion. What a jump he’s made this season to true superstar status.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Huberdeau making 5.3m is one of the biggest bargains in the league. He’s well over a point per game once again.
Alexander Wennberg – Goal and an assist with three shots. I can’t believe Wennberg had three shots on goal! His dreadful shot rate keeps him as a bottom end streamer at best.
Carter Verhaeghe – Goal and an assist with two shots. He has to be held which is something that I never thought I would say about Verhaeghe. He’s looking like Marchessault having exploded after leaving Tampa.
Gustav Forsling – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. And there’s your annual Forsling update!
Tyler Toffoli – Two goals and an assist with six shots. Toffoli now has the second most goals in the league. To say that Bergevin nailed this offseason is an understatement.
Josh Anderson – Goal and an assist with four shots. Anderson slowed down quite a bit after missing time with an injury, but he’s showing signs of being back. I’d lean towards holding him for the goals and penalty minutes combo.
Kyle Connor – Two goals on three shots. Connor’s right in line with his standard stat line of right around a point per game with even goals and assists. He looks like a great bet for around 40+40 and three shots per game on an annual basis now. That’s a top 20 player.
Josh Morrissey – Two assists with five shots. Morrissey has been disappointing, but the upside is still there in his current role. I lean towards holding him, but it’s admittedly fringe.
Mikael Backlund – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Backlund is a bottom end streamer, although I like him more against the Oilers because he plays more minutes against McDavid.
Elias Lindholm – Goal and an assist, as did Andrew Mangiapane and Dillon Dube. Lindholm is an easy hold while the other two are middling streamers. I prefer Dube at the moment because he’s currently with Lindholm and Tkachuk, but that can change quickly.
Mark Stone – Goal and an assist with two shots, as did Max Pacioretty. These two have simply been incredible. There’s no reason to expect them to slow down either.
Marc-Andre Fleury – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 2-1 win over the Sharks. Fleury being great again is the epitome of goaltending voodoo. At this point, I guess we can’t bet against him.
Three Point Challenge: I will give everyone the option to pick somebody in either Tuesday or Wednesday’s games. There are no teams playing a back to back so you don’t have to worry about that. You can’t take anyone in the top 10 in points, which means no McDavid, Draisaitl, Kane, Marner, Matthews, Scheifele, Huberdeau, Kopitar, Marchand, Barkov, or Stone. I have two correct picks, while Eli Man Penguin Boy, Veritas, and Shitwolf all having one correct pick. I’ll go with Rantanen tonight against the Ducks.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Thursday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.
