At the end of the day, Patrick Kane chose playing with a former linemate over his best chance to win a Cup, and his hometown. Kane signed a one year deal with the Red Wings, the rival of the team he’s most known for, the Blackhawks. Boy, it’s going to look weird seeing him in that jersey. Anyways, most would assume that Kane will play on the wing with DeBrincat and Larkin because of his connection with DeBrincat. I’m a little skeptical, except on the power play. No matter how Kane looks physically, Kane is a lock for Detroit’s top power play unit. That alone puts him on the fantasy radar. However, there hasn’t been one skater that has returned to peak form after a hip resurfacing. It would not surprise me if Kane struggles at even strength, and at the least, I expect Detroit to ease him back in. That means cushy minutes in a limited even strength role, plus the power play time. How good is that going to be for fantasy? I wouldn’t be spending a ton of FAAB to get him if he’s available. If you have nothing to lose, I’m fine with making a spec add on him if you’re in a 12’er or deeper, but keep expectations in check. I would guess the most likely outcome is Kane is a solid streamer who goes back and forth between a bottom end hold and slightly usable. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Monday’s Games
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 5-1 win over the Rangers. UPL is playing incredible well this season. Devon Levi was sent to Rochester so it’s Luukkonen’s net to run with. He’s must own everywhere now.
Casey Mittelstadt – Goal and two assists with three shots. Mittelstadt is the perfect example of a top draft pick who takes a lot of time to get to his potential. It took five seasons to happen, but now in his sixth, Casey has 20 points in 22 games. He’s probably worth holding, although it’s somewhat fringy because of the shot rate.
Alex Tuch – Two goals on eight shots with two PIM. Tuch has rounded back into form. Love to see it.
Victor Olofsson – Two assists with three shots. VO has six points in his last four games (all assists) and eight in the last seven. He’s one of the streakiest players around, and he’s on PP1 right now. He’s a solid streamer for the time being.
Owen Power – Two assists with a shot. Power is firmly on the fringe depending on team needs.
Kaapo Kakko – Suffered a long term leg injury. Tough break for Kakko, who has been playing well. Blake Wheeler will keep his spot in the top six, but I don’t have interest there.
MacKenzie Blackwood – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 2-1 win over the Capitals. While it doesn’t little good in fantasy, Blackwood is reviving his career with the Sharks. Having over a .900 sv% on this team is nothing short of a miracle.
Dan Vladar – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Golden Knights. The Flames are playing a bit better, but Vladar is a desperation stream.
Alexandar Georgiev – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 4-1 win over the Lightning. Nice to see Georgie have a great start after a rough patch. I’m still a big believer going forward.
Ryan Johansen – Two goals on three shots. Johansen lost his spot on PP1 so he’s a bottom end streamer.
Nathan MacKinnon – Two assists. I can’t remember another game where MacKinnon had zero shots. Legitimately shocking. I’m sure somebody lost a ridiculous parlay because of it.
Cale Makar – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Makar is on pace for well over 100 points. He simply needs to stay healthy. It would be nice to see his shot rate jump up, but hard to nitpick.
Sergei Bobrovsky – 20 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Senators. Bob’s overall numbers are quite good now, especially the W and GAA. He’s a solid #2.
Aleksander Barkov – Three assists with three shots. Sam Reinhart had two goals on three shots with four PIM. The duo have been unstoppable this season. It should get even better for Barkov going forward.
Sam Bennett – Goal and an assist with four shots and twelve PIM. The big news here is that Bennett was on the first power play unit. I have him as a bottom end hold now in all formats.
Boone Jenner – Two assists. It’s been a rough season for Columbus again, but Jenner has been fantastic. Easy hold in all formats.
Yegor Chinakhov – Goal and an assist. Bottom end streamer as long as he’s on PP2 and the third line.
Tuesday’s Games
Joseph Woll – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 2-1 SO win over the Panthers, making Anthony Stolarz (31 saves on 32 shots) the tough luck loser. Of course this game ended up a goalie battle. Woll is probably worth holding for the upside, while Stolarz is a solid streamer whenever he gets the nod.
Mathew Barzal – Goal and two assists with four shots and two PIM. I feel like Barzal is kind of a forgotten player now. He’s pushing towards a point per game and more importantly, he’s well over three shots per game. That does wonders for his fantasy value. Barzal is a top 100 player again.
Noah Dobson – Two assists with two shots. Solid #2 defenseman for 12’ers.
Jack Hughes – Goal and two assists with nine shots. He’s playing as well as anybody in the league through the first two months.
Curtis Lazar – Goal and an assist with two shots. And there’s your annual Lazar update!
Michael McLeod – Goal and an assist with three shots. McLeod is back on the third line with Hischier’s return, which makes McLeod a bottom end streamer.
Dawson Mercer – Goal and an assist with two PIM. Mercer is with Hughes right now, which makes him an elite streamer.
Pyotr Kochetkov – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 4-1 win over the Flyers. I watched this game solely to see how Kochetkov looked in net, and he was quite good. Carolina is playing very well defensively, which should keep the GAA very good. I don’t know how good the save percentage, but with the wins likely to be good, I’m fine with holding Kochetkov for the upside.
Michael Bunting – Goal and an assist with two shots. He moved onto the first line with Svechnikov scratched due to illness at the last minute. He’s a solid streamer while he’s there with Sebastian Aho (two assists, six shots), but if he’s not, Bunting is down on the fourth line, making him borderline useless.
Filip Gustavsson – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blues. The Wild change coaches and Gustavsson remembered how to make a save! The Wild were never as bad as their record indicates, so if you want to gamble on a bounce back, then you can gamble on Gustavsson. Just be aware that it’s apparent how low the floor is now.
Jake Oettinger – 27 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Jets. He’s as good as there is in the league.
Filip Forsberg – Goal and an assist with four shots. Forsberg is playing the best hockey of his career. Just stay healthy!
Michael McCarron – Two goals on three shots with five PIM. Big Sexy (how dare they steal Kevin Nash’s nickname) has been decent so far, but he’s a fourth liner, so nothing to see here.
Matty Beniers – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. Beniers is starting to show signs of breaking out, and the minutes have increased as a result. He’s an elite streamer who can obviously turn into a hold.
Joey Anderson – Two assists with a shot. Nothing to see here.
Connor Ingram – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 3-1 win over the Lightning. Ingram has been shockingly good so far for Arizona. I don’t really believe in hi, but if you want to play the hot streak, I’m okay with a spec add. I do prefer Kochetkov and Gustavsson to him though because they could turn into #1’s. Vejmelka isn’t going anywhere.
Michael Carcone – Two goals. Carcone now has nine goals after a huge season in the AHL. His shot rate is poor, so Carcone is stuck as a bottom end streamer.
Alex Kerfoot – Two assists with a shot. Kerfoot is getting huge minutes, including on PP1. That said, his shot rate is so dreadful that I would only consider him in deep leagues.
Michael Amadio – Goal and an assist. Amadio is a middling streamer through and through.
Nicolas Roy – Two assists with a shot. The minutes are quite big for Roy, but I don’t see him as more of a bottom end streamer.
Connor McDavid – Goal and two assists with two shots and two PIM. That’s twelve points in the last three games for McDavid. Safe to say that he’s back and about to blow by everyone for the points lead sooner than later.
Brock Boeser – Two goals on three shots, both assisted by J.T. Miller. That puts Boeser in the league lead in goals. Great to see Boeser back in form after dealing with his father’s illness and death. The stars at the Canucks are carrying the team right now.
Thatcher Demko – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 3-1 win over the Ducks. Demko has been out of this world so far. He’s making a real push for being the #1 goalie so far this season.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Thursday’s games per usual. We will start using the current top ten in the league in points. That means no Kucherov, Miller, Q. Hughes, Makar, Pastrnak, Panarin, Pettersson, Point, McDavid, Draisaitl, and MacKinnon. I’ll go with DeBrincat against the Red Wings.
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. If you need any help with streaming, be sure to check out Jules’ post for the full week here, and JKJ’s post that will be out on Thursday. Thanks for reading, take care!
