“Laf has had the big breakout this season, it just hasn’t been noticed because he doesn’t get real power play time.” And that’s me quoting me from last week copying what Grey does! Well, I think people have taken notice of Alexis Lafreniere after Saturday. Lafreniere had three goals and two assists with four shots in the 8-5 win over the Coyotes, with Lafreniere finishing +4. That brings him up to 25 goals and 27 assists while pushing towards three shots per game. As discussed previously, the Rangers schedule is awful for the last two weeks in terms of fantasy hockey usage, so I’m probably not holding him. That said, Lafreniere has to be considered now. In dynasties, it’s a great reminder that even for #1 overall picks, it sometimes takes time. Lafreniere is still only 22 years old (will turn 23 by the start of next season), so the best is still to come. Where he will be ranked next season is a tough question, but it should be pretty high. Even in his current role, he’s on the fringe. If he takes a spot on the top PP unit, whether it’s replacing somebody or one of their four forwards get injured, we could be looking at Lafreniere pushing a point per game. It’s safe to say that the bust label can go away now.
Sorry that there wasn’t a post on Friday, the website outside of baseball crashed for a couple days. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Tage Thompson – Four goals on six shots. It’s been an extremely trying season for Thompson, starting with his wrist injury that he rushed back from and hampered him for months. That alone explains the drop in shooting percentage. Even with his struggles, Tage is playing at a 33 goal pace over 82 games. He’s a solid bet to get back in the 40 range next season with the shots that come with it.
J.J. Peterka – Goal on five shots. Peterka has caught fire down the stretch, bringing himself up to 26 goals. He’ll be worth a late round draft pick next season, especially if Peterka looks like he could stay on the first line after the offseason.
Ilya Samsonov – 34 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Sabres. It’s been a dreadful season for Samsonov, and Woll has been getting most of the starts since his return. Every time he starts, he’s likely for a win but it’s a huge risk.
Wyatt Johnston – Goal and an assist with four shots. It just keeps getting better and better for Johnston. I want him on every team going forward.
Jake Oettinger – 17 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Kraken. It’s been a very disappointing season for Oettinger, but at least the wins have been great. I look at him like I did Hellebuyck a couple seasons ago, where I’m expecting a full bounce back next year.
Mackenzie Blackwood – 35 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Blues. The overall numbers are ugly, but Blackwood has actually been quite good for the Sharks. The problem is that they’re at least two seasons away from being a respectable team.
Seth Jarvis – Goal and an assist with three shots. Jarvis should get to 30 goals and is firmly in the middle of his breakout. He’s a budding fantasy star if he can get the shot rate up.
Pyotr Kochetkov – 26 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Canadiens. Kochetkov has been amazing after a slow start, and is projected to be a top ten goalie next season and going forward.
Anthony Cirelli – Two goals and an assist with four shots. He’s back on the second unit and off the top power play unit so he’s back to middling streamer level.
Nathan MacKinnon – Two goals and two assists with five shots and two PIM. His home point streak ended by millimeters with Lindgren putting it in his own net, but that hasn’t stopped MacKinnon from moving back into the scoring lead, although McDavid is right on his heels. Here’s to MacKinnon getting the Hart that he deserves and should have won before.
Jonathan Drouin – Goal and an assist with five shots playing almost 22 minutes. With Big Val out, Drouin pushes must own territory.
Sean Walker – Left the game due to injury. Walker has looked quite good on the Avs, but my expectation is that Walker misses at least Monday’s game.
Logan Cooley – Goal and an assist with four shots. The finish to the season has been elite for Cooley. I think we see a huge step forward next season.
Artemi Panarin – Goal and three assists with two shots. The top guys for the Rangers exploded in this game. It’s been a truly elite season from Panarin and he’s managed to stay healthy. Great to see.
Connor McDavid – Two goals and an assist with seven shots. And out of nowhere, McDavid is only two points behind MacKinnon for the league lead. 100 assists looks like a lock, and the only question is where he finishes.
Filip Gustavsson – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 2-1 OT loss to the Wild. I have no idea what Hynes is doing. The Golden Knights already had a point locked up, so why are you pulling the goalie in overtime? At the end of regulation, I’d completely support it, but they dumped a point for no reason. Gustavsson is somewhere in between his last two seasons.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Tuesday’s games. You can’t select Kucherov, MacKinnon, McDavid, Panarin, Pastrnak, Rantanen, Nylander, Matthews, Draisaitl, or Miller. I’m going to go with Jack Hughes against the Penguins.
That’s all for now guys. Feel free to ask any questions regarding the finish to your fantasy season, as well as giving any comments or suggestions below. I’ll be back later in the week, probably Wednesday, depending on how things are going this week around the league. Thanks for reading, take care!
