He won’t win the Hart, but Anze Kopitar‘s season should not go unnoticed. He had his best game of the season scoring four goals on seven shots in the 7-1 win over the Avalanche. That brings Kopitar to 33 goals and 53 assists in 75 games. That’s a new career high in assists and points, and goals may not be too far behind. Not so bad for a guy people were worried about after last season’s 52 points. He’ll never be in the top tier of fantasy players because of the lack of PIM and average shot rate, but Kopitar has reestablished himself as a fringe top 25 guy. Here’s to hoping he keeps it rolling over the last two weeks. Let’s take a look at what else happened on Thursday night:
Alex Goligoski – Two goals on four shots. Decent finish for Goligoski but it appears that his day of being 12’er relevant are over.
Derek Stepan – Two assists with a shot. Three straight multi-point games for Stepan makes him move up the streamer list, but next week’s matchups are brutal so I wouldn’t be planning on using him outside of Saturday and light days.
Clayton Keller – Goal and an assist with two shots. Seven game point streak makes him an elite streamer; only reason he’s not a clear hold is because of matchups mentioned above.
Jeff Skinner – Two goals and an assist with four shots. I’m good with streaming Skinner down the stretch but he’s been so bad for an extended period that I wouldn’t be holding him.
Phillip Di Giuseppe – Goa and two assists with five shots. When your team scores six goals, everyone gets in on the action!
Jaccob Slavin – Three assists with three shots. It kind of bugs me that Slavin isn’t better offensively. He had 4 points in 40 games before last night.
Sebastian Aho – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. One point shy of three, sorry Reid! Just kidding, I’m not sorry.
Valentin Zykov – Two goals on five shots. I’m a fan of Zykov’s upside for dynasties. The floor is relatively low, but he’s one of my favorite lottery tickets. If he ended up being a 30 goal scorer on a semi-regular basis, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Brayden Point – Goal and two assists with three shots in the 7-6 shootout between Tampa and the Islanders. Point has somewhat limped down the home stretch so I’d lean towards holding him, but it’s not the slam dunk it was.
Brayden Coburn – Two assists with a shot. You know there were a lot of goals when Coburn gets two points!
J.T. Miller – Two goals on three shots. Miller has been buzzing ever since he went to Tampa. The upside is tremendous while he’s on the top line and top power play unit. He’s looking like a top 100 guy for next year.
Jordan Eberle – Three assists with five shots. Eberle has been a bottom end hold for virtually the entire season. I’ll expect the same next year.
Anthony Beauvillier – Two goals and an assist with three shots. He’s too inconsistent to use now but I’m expecting Beauvillier to take a step forward next year. How big of a step remains to be seen.
Ryan Pulock – Two goals on nine shots. I watched the majority of this game and Pulock stood out on every shift. I could see taking a flier on him as my last defenseman in 12’ers next year, but he’ll definitely be a deep league target of mine. His slap shot is tremendous.
Jesper Fast – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Quickie is a nice bottom sixer in real life but his fantasy value is near null.
Claude Giroux – Three assists with three shots. I’ve run out of good things to say about Giroux and his bounce back. Career highs in both goals and assists are in play.
Travis Konecny – Two goals on four shots. Keep streaming the man as long as he’s on the first line.
Sergei Bobrovsky – 33 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Panthers. We talked about Bobrovsky and Columbus’ upside on Thursday’s podcast.
Cam Atkinson – Goal and an assist with two shots. Everyone who cut Atkinson has to be kicking themselves at the moment. Everyone fortunate to pick him up once he started the turn around has to fist pumping. <Pumps fist>
Pierre-Luc Dubois – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Dubois had gone six straight scoreless before Thursday so I’d only stream him in prime matchups and light days right now. I still love him in dynasties.
Philipp Grubauer – 39 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Red Wings. Grubauer was also covered extensively on the podcast linked above in Bobrovsky’s blurb. I am all in on Grubauer as a #1 goalie, assuming Washington moves him in the offseason. Who knows, at this point, maybe he’ll be seeing playoff action.
Jimmy Howard – 25 saves on 26 shots as the tough luck loser. Avoid Howard like the plague right now. Detroit has won one game in their past 12.
Connor McDavid – Two goals and two assists with five shots. I said on the podcast that McDavid has a real chance of winning the Art Ross. Good timing! After this game, it’s firmly in play, and I’d go as far to say that he’s the favorite.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Goal and two assists with five shots. It has been a strong season for RNH that will go unnoticed because of his time missed due to injury.
Darnell Nurse – Three assists with four shots. Nurse has taken some big steps forward this year. All of the non-point categories are moving towards elite levels. Can the points get there? I don’t see why not with more opportunity. He looks like a great late-round pick in 12’ers for the PIM and SOG, because he could be a solid #3D if the points can get into the 45 range.
Morgan Rielly – Three assists with a shot. He’s played his way into being an easy hold. It’s somewhat AAGNOF’y, but some better luck in terms of shooting percentage could have Rielly posting a 10+45 season in the future, maybe better.
James van Riemsdyk – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. I feel like if you read all of my daily notes over the last few weeks, JVR is mentioned. What a finish by him.
Tyler Bozak – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Couldn’t care less about Bozak for standard 12’ers at this point.
Mitch Marner – Goal and an assist with three shots. Seven game point streak for Marner has him topping last season’s goal and assist totals despite his dreadful start.
Auston Matthews – Goal on four shots with two PIM in his return. If you are lucky enough to still be in your league and have Matthews, hopefully he’s a difference maker for you.
Bo Horvat – Goal and an assist with four shots. Speaking of frustrating years ruined by injury, Horvat matched his career high in goals despite playing 25 games less than last season. I’ll call that a successful sleeper prediction even though he didn’t fully break out. Perhaps he’ll be undervalued next year because of the injury?
Alex Edler – Two goals on three shots with two PIM. We know what Edler is at this point. The important thing is that the Blackhawks found a way to lose at home to Vancouver. Yikes.
Dustin Brown – Two assists with five shots. Still can’t believe Brown has had that this kind of season. He owes Kopitar so much.
Jake Muzzin – Goal and an assist. Just a solid season across the board for Muzzin. It’s somewhat yawnstipating but that’s not the end of the world for a defenseman.
Brent Burns – Goal on ten shots. Brent Burns back to doing Brent Burns things!
Martin Jones – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 2-1 OT win over Vegas. Decent season for Jones in all the categories. I’d be a bit worried that Jones doesn’t play much down the stretch since they are distancing themselves in second in the Pacific.
Malcolm Subban – 42 saves on 44 shots as the tough luck loser. Amazing performance for Subban who completely stole a point for Vegas. There is a chance he gets another start with the uncertainty surrounding Flower. He’s a clear must own if he does start.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the weekend’s action. As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below. Thanks for reading and best to luck to everyone still in their fantasy playoffs!
