Going into Wednesday’s game against the Sabres, the Red Wings were at the bottom of the cluster of teams battling for a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. They have the hardest remaining schedule in the NHL, so it was as close to a must win that a game could be for them with five weeks left in the season. After falling down 1-0, they took control of the game, with their future Hall of Famer leading the way. Patrick Kane had three points in the first period and finished with five, totaling two goals and three assists with five shots. I can’t lie, I completely whiffed on a potential Kane turnaround. You can split his season into two parts: with Lalonde as coach and McLellan as coach. Since the coaching change, Kane has turned back the clock and found a level that we haven’t seen in three years. He’s a clear hold in all formats as the Red Wings try to snap the second longest playoff drought in the league. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Alex DeBrincat – Goal and three assists with four PIM. DeBrincat is up to 30 goals for the first time in three years, and remains a clear hold everywhere.
Marco Kasper – Two goals and an assist with three shots and ten PIM. Kasper was ice cold before this and the PIM were an aberration as the game got out of hand late, so he’s only a middling streamer.
Dylan Larkin – Three assists with a shot. He’s taken a minor step back across the board, but it’s a great stat line everywhere but +/- .
Tage Thompson – Goal and an assist with three shots and ten PIM. It’s sad that the Sabres are wasting an elite season from Tage and Dahlin.
Zach Benson – Goal and an assist with two shots and twelve PIM. He bumped onto the first line in this game and performed well. That said, I’m kind of the low man on Benson, especially amongst Sabres fans. He’s a middling streamer only in this role.
Elias Pettersson – Goal and an assist with two shots. This was the best game that I’ve watched Pettersson play in a long time. Hopefully it’s a harbinger of things to come.
Nazem Kadri – Goal and an assist with seven shots. I lean towards hold for Kadri, although it comes down to team needs.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two goals on four shots playing over 26 minutes. Safe to say that Calgary is going to push their stars as much as they can down the stretch. I have Huberdeau in elite streamer range, albeit with little hold consideration.
MacKenzie Weegar – Two assists. Set Weegar in your lineup and forget it. He’s a plus in everything.
Dylan Guenther – Goal and an assist with eight shots. In the last three games, Guenther has 22 shots on goal. He’s produced exactly as I expected, making me look good for ranking him 100+ spots above ADP.
Patrik Laine – Goal and an assist. He missed a couple games so Laine only played 10 minutes in his return. I’ve been holding everywhere but it is fringy.
Juraj Slafkovsky – Two goals on four shots. Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki each had two assists. Slafkovsky is worth bumping to a solid streamer as he’s playing better.
Brandon Montour – Two goals and two assists with three shots and two PIM. It’s incredible that Montour has the record for fastest overtime game now. Four seconds! It’s been a bit disappointing overall, but Montour is still a bottom end #2 in 12’ers on the season.
Jordan Eberle – Three assists with four shots. Eberle has been fine since his return, but he’s a middling streamer at best.
Chandler Stephenson – Two assists. He was never much of a shooter, but below one shot per game is appalling. There’s okay deep league value for assists, but that’s about it.
Adin Hill – 27 save shutout in the 4-0 win over Columbus. Hill has been a top end #2 in 12’ers. The save percentage sitting at .905 is keeping him from being a #1.
Brandon Saad – Goal and an assist with four shots. Saad has been decent with Vegas, enough to be a middling streamer.
Tomas Hertl – Two assists with two shots. Massive heater for Hertl with eight points in his last five games, and thirteen in his last ten. He’s on the fringe while he’s this hot.
Nic Roy – Goal and an assist with four shots. Bottom end streamer.
Sam Bennett – Two power play goals, both assisted by Sam Reinhart and Mackie Samoskevich. Bennett’s value swings greatly based on league format. He’s either a clear hold or on the fringe depending on team needs. Samoskevich taking Tkachuk’s place on the power play and even strength puts the former first rounder in the solid streamer range. He does have six points in the last six games, so he could even go past that.
Bryan Rust – Goal and an assist. I lean towards hold for Rust, although it is getting a big fringy. I do have a slight preference towards Rickard Rakell (1+1, 2 SOG) now over Rust.
Sidney Crosby – Two assists. Locking up that 20th consecutive point per game season.
Blake Lizotte – Two assists. And there’s your annual Lizotte update!
Bobby Brink – Two goals and an assist with four PIM. It’s Brink’s second 3+ point game in the past few weeks, but the consistency isn’t there at all. He’s still only 23 so there is hope for more, but Brink is a bottom end streamer for the time being.
Ryan Poehling – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Nothing here for fantasy.
Olle Lycksell – Two assists. Looks like a AAAA player. With Philly out of it, maybe he can do something for super deep leagues. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Drake Batherson – Two goals and an assist. Batherson is firmly on the fringe. The shot rate dropping makes me lean towards elite streamer, but if you need assists, you can hold.
Shane Pinto – Goal and an assist with three shots. Bottom end streamer.
Ridly Greig – Goal and an assist with two shots. A step behind Pinto.
Connor McDavid – Two assists with two shots. Nine game assist streak, which comes as zero surprise.
Jesper Bratt – Goal and two assists with three shots. Bratt has finally adjusted to like without Jack. He’s a true superstar that still doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
Brett Pesce – Goal and an assist with three shots. Pesce was never great offensively, but it’s completely dried up at this point in his career. There’s nothing for fantasy.
Jared Spurgeon – Two assists with a shot. Spurgeon is on the fringe for 12’ers, but I lean towards leaving him on the wire outside of blocks leagues.
Will Smith – Goal and an assist with three shots. Smith has really turned the corner with twelve points in his last nine games, including seven in the last five. His shot rate has also skyrocketed. He’s already into elite streamer range.
Collin Graf – Two goals on three shots. Graff was undrafted and ended up destroying NCAA, deciding to sign with the Sharks. There could end up some deep league value here, but nothing yet. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Kevin Fiala – Goal and an assist with six shots. I can’t help but think Fiala could end up being the next traded piece from L.A. A lot will depend how the playoffs go. For now, he’s on the fringe.
Darcy Kuemper – 21 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Capitals. Kuemper continued his elite play in an excellent revenge game. Hopefully a lot of you drafted him as your G3 because then you are cleaning up.
That’s all for now guys. I should be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
