LOGIN

One of my main focuses as far as team projections go is coaching, especially when it deals with goaltending.  I always love the Isles goalies because of Trotz, or Arizona because of Tocchet.  Well, I made the mistake of not giving enough credit to Dave Tippett going to Edmonton.  Tippett has always had great defensive teams in Arizona, and that’s continued in Edmonton.  The biggest beneficiaries have been the goalies, and over the weekend, that was Mikko Koskinen.  Koskinen had a 29 save shutout on Friday against the Devils before saving 31 of 33 shots in the 6-2 win over the Ducks on Sunday.  His numbers are spectacular as are Mike Smith‘s.  Do I love these guys going forward?  No, I still prefer the Isles guys, for example.  That said, I probably undersold both of these guys.  I think both Koskinen and Smith need to be held and could be decent #2’s for the rest of the season.  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:

Friday’s Games

Sam Reinhart – Two goals on seven shots.  Reinhart was excellent in Sweden over the weekend.  The Sabres are back to being extremely dependent on their top guys for scoring.  Reinhart is an easy hold right now with 8+7 in 17 games.

David Krejci – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM.  We’re seeing signs of Krejci getting back into form, but I still lean towards elite streamer for the time being.

Anthony Mantha – Goal and an assist with six shots.  Mantha is finally putting it together over a longer period of time this season.  The PIM are solid as usual and he’s pushing four shots per game which is excellent.  The only worry is that he buries us in plus-minus, but I think he avoids disaster there.

Tyler Bertuzzi – Two assists with three shots.  I consider Bertuzzi a bottom end hold right now but I do think he gets to a point where he’s back to a streamer.

Robby Fabbri – Two goals.  Couple things here on Fabbri, who added an assist on Sunday.  One, I don’t know why the Blues dumped him for De La Rose.  That’s selling extremely low on Fabbri.  I love this move for Detroit as they get some high upside for organizational fodder.  Two, Fabbri is getting every chance to succeed now.  He went on the first power play unit right away and scored both goals there.  In deep leagues, I’d definitely take a chance on Fabbri.  I’m bumping him back up to decent streamer for now.

Connor Hellebuyck – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 4-1 win over the Canucks.  Hellboy is making me look worse every day.  Props to him and to Maurice for setting up a better defensive system with their weakened blue line.

Kyle Connor – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Solid start for Connor who is on his usual pace but with more shots.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Two assists with two shots.  Solid streamer but I don’t see any reason to hold RNH right now.

Alex Chiasson – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM.  It all depends on what line Chiasson is on, but at the moment, he’s a bottom end streamer at best.

Joel Persson – Two assists.  Nothing to see here.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!

Saturday’s Games

Sam Reinhart – Goal and an assist, as did Jack Eichel.  See Reinhart above.

Kevin Shattenkirk – Two assists with two shots.  Shattenkirk has been rejuvenated for Tampa Bay this season.  He’s back to an easy hold in all formats.

Patrick Maroon – Two goals on six shots.  Maroon is decent in deep leagues because of the power play time and penalty minutes, but the minutes aren’t there to be anything more than a bottom end streamer in 12’ers.

Cedric Paquette – Two assists with a shot and twelve PIM.  Easy pass.

Yanni Gourde – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Gourde looked very good in Stockholm and now has a goal in three straight.  He’s a decent streamer, but the lower shot rate is hard to hold.  You could make a case for H2H leagues though because of the solid PIM.

Cale Makar – Two goals on seven shots.  Makar is looking like the easy Calder front runner right now.  The shot rate is getting much higher lately which is extremely encouraging. He’s at a point per game and looks like a clear fantasy superstar in the future, if not right now.

Nazem Kadri – Goal and an assist with two shots.  The shocking thing was that Kadri didn’t take a penalty for the first time in 9 games!  He’s been very good for the Avs.

Tyson Jost – Two assists with two PIM.  Jost is one of those guys that always teases me thinking he’s going to break out but doesn’t find the consistency.  He’s a middling streamer because it’s been better this season overall but I’m not giving up hope.  He’s still only 21 years old.

Mathew Barzal – Goal and an assist with five shots.  Hopefully Barzal keeps up the higher shot rate.  His current shooting percentage is unsustainable but a new career high in goals is a near-lock.

Thomas Greiss – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 2-1 win over the Panthers.  Love me some Isles goaltending.  Greiss is always criminally underrated in fantasy circles.

Blake Lizotte – Goal and an assist with four shots.  When I watch the Kings, it is painful, but Lizotte has generally stood out.  There’s nothing there yet, but he’s a rare young player who is a bright spot on their roster.

Shea Weber – Two goals on seven shots.  Very good start for Weber across the board.  Just stay healthy!

Jonathan Drouin – Two assists with a shot.  Solid start for Drouin, who remarkably is still only 24 years old.  It’s not automatic, but I’m holding Drouin for now.

Anders Nilsson – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.  Nillson has been outstanding for the Senators with a .930 sv% in 8 games.  When he was on the tanking Sabres, Nilsson had a .923 sv%, so this isn’t completely out of nowhere.  Obviously the GAA and wins won’t be great, but there is some value here if you’re desperate.

Evgeni Malkin – Two assists with four shots.  Just a matter of health for Geno who has been great when healthy.

William Nylander – Goal and an assist with five shots.  We’re starting to see Nylander put it together, with an even better game coming on Sunday (spoiler alert!).  He’s worked his way back to an easy hold.

Auston Matthews – Two assists with a shot.  Easy game for Matthews right now.

Nicklas Backstrom – Two goals on six shots.  Backs is doing his usual thing so far in the early going.  The shot rate is a bit better than normal which is nice, but the PIM aren’t there yet.  That said, we aren’t owning Backstrom for PIM and he’s getting assists per usual.

John Carlson – Two assists with four shots.  I’ve run out of superlatives for Carlson so put your own here.

Evgeny Kuznetsov – Goal and an assist with five shots.  Kuznetsov has looked outstanding lately as he’s gone past a point per game.  He’s crushing all categories.

Jakub Vrana – Two assists with three shots.  I started off a post with Vrana last week so be sure to check that out.  I don’t expect this current pace to be maintained, but he’s an easy hold.

Ryan Suter – Two assists with two shots, as did Jared Spurgeon.  Both of them are pretty boring holds, especially Suter.  He’s not an automatic hold any more, but I still barely lean that way.

David Perron – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Both of Perron’s points were on the power play.  Alex Pietrangelo and Ryan O’Reilly also had two PPP as well.  With Tarasenko down, we should see Perron and RoR receive massive ice time on a regular basis.  Pietrangelo has been terrific for the Blues so far as he’s trying to play his way into a massive contract.

Juuse Saros – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 SO loss to the Sharks.  Tough loss for Saros who was outstanding all game.  He’s had a rough start to the season, but I expect Saros to be just fine.  I would be looking to trade for him in dynasties if possible, and I’d stream him in most matchups in redrafts.

Martin Jones – 24 saves on 25 shots earning the win.  Jones was great against Smashville, but I remain very low on Jones for fantasy.  I just have no faith in him to produce quality results.

Sunday’s Games

Evgenii Dadonov – Goal and two assists with two shots.  Typical Dadonov in the early going, except the point total is a little shifted towards goals which is nice.  We know what to expect from him.

Aleksander Barkov – Goal and an assist with four shots.  After he couldn’t buy a goal, Barkov has a goal in five straight games.  Barkov has been elite through the first five weeks of the season.

Chris Kreider – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Slow start for Kreider, but he should be fine.  He’s getting 20 minutes a night lately as the Rangers want to boost his trade value.  Zibanejad’s imminent return only helps his cause.

Ryan Strome – Two assists with a shot and four PIM.  Strome is one of the most unlikely point per game players, that’s for sure.  I’m not completely buying it, but he’s at least an elite streamer as long as he’s playing with Artemi Panarin (2A, 4 SOG).  The shot rate is poor enough that I lean towards that side of things, but I don’t hate holding him while he’s hot.

MacKenzie Blackwood – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 2-1 win over the Canucks.  He’s so much better than Schneider that it’s comical.  That said, Blackwood still isn’t great right now.  I would use him only in good matchups.

Sean Couturier – Two assists with two shots.  As I mentioned last week, Couturier is one of my favorite trade targets.

Travis Konecny – Goal and an assist.  Konecny has been outstanding with over a point per game.  I expected him to be a solid streamer this year, but he’s an automatic hold at the moment.

William Nylander – Two goals on four shots.  As mentioned above, easy hold.

Auston Matthews – Four assists with ten shots and two PIM.  Matthews led a Toronto rally but ultimately came up short.  Babcock is finally giving him the minutes he deserves so Matthews should conservatively be a top 10 player as long as he’s healthy.

John Tavares – Goal and an assist with three shots.  It’s only 11 games but the shot rate is disturbingly low.  Mitch Marner is out for at least one month, if not longer, which also hurts Tavares quite a bit at even strength.  He’ll still be great, but I don’t see him approaching last season’s gaudy numbers.

Patrick Kane – Two goals and an assist with five shots.  The second line has been reunited and as mentioned on Friday, the heater was coming and it’s arrived.  Alex DeBrincat dished three assists while Dylan Strome had two assists of his own.  They should start dominating again on a regular basis.

Jonathan Toews – Goal and an assist with four PIM.  Toews has been brutal, especially at even strength.  I’m not holding right now but he’s still a great streamer.  He’ll probably get back to being a hold, but I don’t think Toews is going to be great enough that he’s worth holding in the mean time.

Leon Draisaitl – Four assists with two shots.  Connor McDavid had a hat trick on five shots with four PIM.  It’s not fair to the opposition.  Slowing them down seems like an impossibility, let alone stopping them altogether.

Zack Kassian – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM.  As long as he’s playing with the other two, he’s an elite streamer.  You can make a case for holding him, but I’d only do it if you needed the PIM.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Two goals on seven shots.  Still not enough to consider holding.

Oscar Klefbom – Two assists with two shots.  He had been pointless in the previous nine games, but Klefbom is still an easy hold in all formats.

Current top 10 in points: Draisaitl, Pastrnak, McDavid, Marchand, Carlson, Matthews, Ovechkin, MacKinnon , Barkov, Huberdeau, and Pettersson. For the three point challenge tonight, I will take Evgeni Malkin against the Rangers.

That’s all for now guys.  With only two games tonight, I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the action from today and Tuesday.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!