In their last two games, Florida has put a whopping 94 shots on goal. Incredibly, they only scored two goals. Anton Khudobin was robbed off a win on Monday stopping 49 of 51 shots so he decided to one up that performance on Wednesday. Khudobin posted a 43 save shutout to get the Stars back on track. I was high on Khudobin going into the season because of the absence of Bishop. The one problem for Khudobin is with the Stars being delayed for COVID, that’s more games later in the schedule when Bishop should be back. Regardless, Khudobin should be the workhorse for at least one more month and should be a #1 goalie in the meantime. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Linus Ullmark – 41 saves on 42 shots in the 4-1 win over the Devils. Ullmark was incredible in this game missing a shutout by 28 seconds. The fact that Ullmark started both games in the back-to-back makes it clear he’s going to be starting a ton of games going forward. He’s been average so far which is enough for him to be held in all formats.
Sam Reinhart – Two assists with two shots. Reinhart has nine points in the past seven games, including six in the past four. The good news is that the Sabres have been brutally unlucky, as they have three players in the top five in posts hit that weren’t goals (Eichel, Reinhart, Hall). He’s pushing a point per game already and I think it can actually be sustained.
Shea Weber – Two goals on three shots with four PIM, four hits, four blocks, and +3. Weber had gone pointless in the previous seven games, but the shot rate has been very good. I think we see Weber improving going forward. It will be interesting to see everyone’s roles in Montreal now that Julien has been fired.
Phillip Danault – Two assists with a shot. The shot rate is so poor that Danault is a bottom end streamer at best.
Brady Tkachuk – Two goals on four shots with a fight. Tkachuk is well over four shots per game, the PIM are elite, and the hits are on another level. He’s great already and it should only get better when his teammates are better.
Drake Batherson – Goal and an assist with two PIM. After a rough patch, Batherson has six points in the last five games. He’s a solid streamer at the moment.
Jake Guentzel – Goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM. The shot rate is down which is a bit annoying. There are a bunch of games with one shot but then games with 6+. Hopefully he starts putting more shots on goal because he’s a great shooter.
Kasperi Kapanen – Goal and an assist with two shots. Kapanen is playing on the first line at the moment which makes a solid streamer by default.
Patrick Kane – Goal and three assists with three shots and two PIM. I’m not saying Kane is in the Hart conversation considering what McDavid is doing and also Matthews, but Kane is playing his way into potentially being a finalist for the award.
Carl Soderberg – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM. Soderberg is on the first power play unit right now, but his role has changed constantly. For now, he’s an elite streamer, but it could change very quickly.
Dominik Kubalik – Goal and an assist with six shots. I know they keep winning, but Kubalik playing under 15 minutes in a game that goes to a shootout is annoying. The assists are significantly up but the goal rate is down because of the drop in shooting percentage.
Patrik Laine – Two goals and an assist with six shots. Congrats to Veritas picking Laine in The Three Point Challenge! The shot rate has been poor in Columbus so it was great to see him take six shots. With Laine playing 20 minutes per game, we could see the best season Laine has had, or at least very close.
Cam Atkinson – Goal and an assist with four shots. Atkinson has to be thanking his lucky stars that Laine ended up in Columbus and on his line because it completely turned his season around. Easy hold now.
Seth Jones – Two assists with two shots playing 32 minutes. Safe to say with Werenski out, Jones is going to play every minute he can handle.
Oliver Bjorkstrand – Two goals on five shots. The minutes for Bjorkstrand have been up and down which is getting frustrating, but he still has eight points in the last nine games. He’s close to the fringe at the moment and depends on your league settings.
Jack Roslovic – Two assists with two shots. Roslovic is also on the fringe solely because the shot rate is poor. From a points perspective, he’s a no brainer.
Pekka Rinne – 24 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Red Wings. I don’t trust Rinne, but if he gets the start tonight against the Red Wings, I’d stream him again.
Filip Forsberg – Goal and an assist with five shots. Could we finally be getting the big season from Forsberg that we’ve been waiting on? I can’t quit Forsberg and despite the poor play of the Red Wings, he’s been excellent.
Roman Josi – Two assists with five shots and two PIM. Josi has been over three shots per game but only has two goals. He’s due for some positive regression sooner than later.
Leon Draisaitl – Three assists with three shots. McDavid and Matthews have stolen all the headlines and rightfully so, but Draisaitl is sitting here with 33 points in 21 games. Just an animal.
Dominik Kahun – Two goals on three shots. Kahun was ice cold, but he’s back on Draisaitl’s wing. The problem is that he only plays 12-13 minutes because Tippett gives a ton of shifts with McDavid and Draisaitl together. He’s a bottom end streamer for now.
Elias Pettersson – Goal and an assist with two shots. Pettersson is really showing signs of breaking out and turning things around. I doubt you can buy low, but if you own him, don’t panic at all.
Mats Zuccarello – Goal and an assist with two PIM. I guess Zucc should be held right now? I don’t see it lasting, but nine points in four games is bonkers.
Kirill Kaprizov – Two assists with a shot. That’s three straight two point games for Kaprizov which brings him to a point per game. His shot rate has been very disappointing as he was around 2.5 shots per game in the KHL, but I think that’ll turn sooner than later.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 25 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Hurricanes. Just an absolute monster.
Alex Killorn – Two assists with a shot. Killorn is a solid streamer as always. He’s decent enough across the board that most of his value comes in deep leagues.
Joe Pavelski – Two assists with a shot. The shot rate is starting to dry up a bit, but Pavelski’s resurgence from last season’s bubble on is pretty remarkable at age 36.
Chris Kreider – Hat trick on four shots. It’s been a disappointing start for Kreider as he has only one assist on the season. That said, his minutes are through the roof right now with the Rangers missing a large chunk of their roster, so I don’t mind grabbing him for the time being. At the least. he’s an elite streamer.
Mika Zibanejad – Two assists with four shots. Zibanejad has been known to score in bunches so here’s to hoping this is the start to him turning his season around.
Claude Giroux – Three assists with eight shots. Vintage game for Giroux that we haven’t seen from him in years. He only has one goal, but he’s still over a point per game making Giroux a true AAGNOF.
Shayne Gostisbehere – Goal and an assist with six shots. He’s on the second power play unit and playing more minutes than he has since his rookie year. I probably leave him on the waiver wire, but he’s right on the fringe.
Erik Gustafsson – Goal and an assist with two shots. Gustafsson is also on the second PP unit, but he’s not in the lineup every night. He’s only a deep league option because of that.
William Nylander – Two goals on six shots, both assisted by Auston Matthews. Nylander only has four points in his past ten games, but he still needs to be held everywhere.
Michael Hutchinson – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Flames. Sorry, I just can’t do it unless you’re in a H2H league solely looking for a win.
Max Comtois – Goal and an assist with two shots. Comtois is really rolling at the moment with nine points in the last nine games. He’s an elite streamer as his minutes start to uptick.
Cam Fowler – Two assists with two shots. Starting to show some signs of life, but Fowler should still be left on the waiver wire in 12 man leagues.
Phil Kessel – Goal and an assist with two shots. That’s points in four straight for Kessel who has played his way back onto the fringe. I did not expect all of this offense from Arizona this season.
Conor Garland – Two assists with a shot. The shots are dropping a bit, but he’s still over three per game while Garland is at a point per game. Best player on one of the biggest surprises in the league.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. OEL used to be over three shots per game and now he’s under two. However, he’s piling up the assists right now which is enough to be held.
Cal Petersen – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 2-1 win over the Blues. Petersen has been so good this season that I would almost stream him in every game he plays. I probably still wouldn’t against Colorado or Vegas, but it’s getting close. I really like Petersen in dynasties because there’s a chance that he ends up the goalie when the Kings really break out in a couple seasons with their elite prospect group.
Three Point Challenge: We’re back to our normal Thursday night slate for picking someone for the Three Point Challenge. It can’t be anyone in the Top 10 in points. From now, we will use last season’s top 10 (we will change that in March), so that means no Draisaitl, McDavid, Panarin, Pastrnak, MacKinnon, Marchand, Kucherov, P. Kane, Matthews, Huberdeau, or Eichel. Veritas has tied Eli Man Penguin Boy and myself on top of the standings with one a piece. I’ll go with Filip Forsberg against the Red Wings.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action from tonight. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
