Last season couldn’t have been more of a disaster for Patrik Laine. Is he as good as people expected when he .came out of the draft in regards to being an overall player? Probably not. As an offensive player? He’s still incredible. Laine had two goals and an assist with five shots on Tuesday, and that doesn’t even count his empty net attempt in the last five seconds that somehow hit both posts and went out. Laine now has 12+12 in 25 games this season. Does 40+40 seem good to you because it does to me? Laine is an incredibly gifted offensive player who has the upside to determine fantasy leagues. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Monday’s Games
Matt Murray – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 4-1 win over the Devils. This might be the first time in his Ottawa tenure I have him above a desperation play. Ottawa is a generic bad team now instead of a dumpster fire and Murray is the main guy. His value depends solely on league format.
Connor Brown – Goal and an assist with three shots in his return, as did Nick Paul. With Ottawa’s forwards depleted, both of these guys are middling streamers.
Tony DeAngelo – Goal and an assist with four shots. Tony Dawgs continues to be fantastic for the Canes. Just stay out of trouble!
Mitch Marner – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Four of the Toronto big guns had 2+ points as John Tavares and Morgan Reilly had two assists, while Auston Matthews had two goals. Can anyone stop Toronto. No, not really.
Tuesday’s Games
Danton Heinen – Two goals on three shots. He’s a bottom end streamer because games like this happen semi-frequently, but he has too many duds even with quality linemates.
Bryan Rust – Goal and an assist with two shots. Jake Guentzel had two assists. Ottawa’s top guys are virtually unstoppable in any matchup. That’s makes them a viable DFS stack even in bad matchups.
David Pastrnak – Two goals on four shots, both assisted by Taylor Hall. One PP goal, one even strength for this duo. Even Hall has to be held at this point.
Jon Gillies – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 7-1 win over Montreal. This is more indication that Montreal is a dumpster fire. Gillies is a desperation play.
Damon Severson – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Solid hold for now, but when Dougie comes back, he’s right back on the fringe.
Ryan Graves – Two assists with five shots. Deep league option or a GPP punt.
Pavel Zacha – Goal and an assist with two shots. Middling streamer who still has upside, but kind of think this is who Zacha is by now.
Michael McLeod – Two goals. And there’s your biannual McLeod update!
Jesper Boqvist – Goal and an assist with two shots. Can’t say Boqvist does anything for me right now.
Ty Smith – Two assists with a shot. Still a fan long term, still think he has little value right now, and will have next to no value when Dougie returns.
Dawson Mercer – Goal and an assist with four shots. Still like Mercer plenty long term, but also steadfast in believing he’s a bottom end streamer ROS.
Brady Tkachuk – Two goals on seven shots. He’s a monster with upside from here.
Nick Holden – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. And there’s your annual Holden update!
Tim Stutzle – Two assists with a shot. His last name has so many spellings that I don’t want to debate it anymore and just going with what it was in the draft. He’s an elite streamer for now bordering on a hold. No strong opinion either way.
Gustav Nyquist – Two assists with two shots. Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist with four shots. The top line was great, but can we make Laine a better pass to get him a hat trick please?
Max Domi – Two assists. Sadly, it looks like his apex mountain came at 23 years old. He’s a middling streamer now depending on team needs.
Adam Boqvist – Goal and an assist. Can we have Adam and Gustav argue over Qvist vs. Quist? It’s tough for me to keep track of! Anyways, huge fan of Boqvist long term, but for this season, he’s a deep league option barring a Werenski injury.
Carl Hagelin – Two assists with a shot. Nic Dowd had a goal and an assist with three shots. Sometimes, a fourth line does well. And there’s your fourth line update!
Kyle Connor – Two assists with three shots. Even with Pierre-Luc Dubois on the COVID list, Connor can’t be stopped. Speaking of unstoppable Connor’s…
Connor Hellebuyck – 27 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Wild. Just a reminder that Hellebucyk can shutout anybody at any time, any where.
Kappo Kahkoken – 27 saves on 28 shots as the tough luck loser against the Jets. With Talbot back, I’m torn if Kahkonen is a hold in 12’ers or less. That said, he’s a must stream every start if he’s not a hold.
Laurent Brossoit – 28 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Oilers. Nice to see Brossoit back in the lineup. He’s worth streaming in almost all matchups.
William Karlsson – Goal and an assist with two shots, as did Reilly Smith. Karlsson is a middling to solid streamer while Smith is an elite streamer very close to the fringe. Hopefully this sparks a turnaround.
Thatcher Demko – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 5-1 win over the Desert Dogs. Demko is a borderline top 5 goalie ROS given Boudreau’s system and the volume.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Three assists with two shots. Revenge game! Auto hold while Quinn Hughes has COVID but not worth holding when Hughes comes back.
J.T. Miller – Goal and an assist, as did Bo Horvat and Elias Pettersson. Auto hold for Miller and I still think I’m holding the other two. I feel stronger about Pettersson because of the upside.
Noah Juulsen – Two assists with a shot. And there’s your annual (at best) Juulsen update!
Will add in Three Point Challenge here tomorrow (want this posted before I go to sleep) but will do Thursday.
That’s all for now guys (and possibly girl reader). As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
