It’s been a long road to recovery for Artturi Lehkonen. With Big Val in the player assistance program, it couldn’t have happened at a better time. After being eased back into the lineup, Lehkonen moved onto the top line the game before Tuesday night. While he went to the second line to open the game, Lehkonen blew up against the Capitals, scoring two goals and adding two assists putting five shots on goal in the 6-3 win. There’s a few encouraging things here. One, Lehkonen was on the first power play unit. That alone is massive for his value. Additionally, it was Lehkonen, not Drouin, closing the game for the Avs, as Lehkonen scored an empty netter with a minute left from MacKinnon and Rantanen. Even in this role, Lehkonen received 18 minutes, which is plenty to succeed. This puts him right back on the fringe. Gun to head, I lean towards holding, but his schedule in the near term is heavy on busy days, so I see the case for leaving him as an elite streamer. Let’s take a look at what else happened the last two nights:
J.J. Moser – Two assists with a shot. Moser is getting some power play time, which gives him deep league appeal.
Travis Konecny – Goal and two assists with four shots. Full blown superstar.
Scott Laughton – Goal and an assist. There was a time where Laughton was a nice depth player, especially in real life. That time has passed.
Igor Shesterkin – 30 save shutout in the 2-0 win over Jacob Markstrom (29/30) and the Flames. Markstrom is fully in form. The Rangers are starting to play better hockey, and I suspect that Igor goes on a tear.
Jack Hughes – Two goals and an assist with thirteen shots over two games. Hughes has not missed a beat since returning, especially in the shots department.
Nico Daws – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 3-1 win over the Kraken. Ruff actually rolled Daws in both games of the back-to-back, and he saved 30/32 against the Preds. If you need goalie help, a short term spec add of Daws could pay off.
Nico Hischier – Two goals and an assist with eight shots. This is the most consistent run from Hischier over the past four weeks, with twelve points in the last ten games. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Devils go on a run.
Alex Pietrangelo – Two assists with four shots. Nice game from Pietragelo in his 1000th game, despite the Vegas loss. He’s a boring, bottom end hold.
Matt Boldy – Goal and two assists with seven shots. Boldy has turned his season around to the point that he’s ahead of last season’s pace. He’s a good bet to turn into a superstar down the line.
Ryan Hartman – Two assists with three shots. Bottom end streamer.
Joel Eriksson Ek – Two goals on four shots and two PIM. JEEK has turned into a star as the team around him underperforms. He’s even become a top 100 fantasy player, which I never expected despite my bullishness on him over the years.
Kirill Kaprizov – Two assists with six shots. It’s been a step back for Kirill the Thrill, but he’s still over a point per game and over three shots per game. That’s why he’s a top 20 pick.
Brock Faber – Two assists with two shots. Faber has been outstanding for any player, let alone a rookie. It’s not world beating for fantasy, but he’s a clear hold everywhere.
Nathan MacKinnon – Two assists with five shots and two PIM. I’ve run out of superlatives for MacKinnon. He’s the clear Hart favorite, although there’s a lot of time left.
Miles Wood – Goal and an assist, as did Ross Colton. The other parts of the second line with Lehkonen, Wood is a middling streamer while Colton is in the same boat now that he’s off PP1. I do prefer him to Wood.
Anthony Mantha – Two assists. Mantha has quietly had a resurgent season, especially as a defensive forward. I suspect the Caps will move him at the deadline. For now, he’s a bottom end streamer, but it could get better
Ilya Samsonov – 14 saves on 15 shots in the 4-1 win over the Blues. No Morgan Rielly, who got a well deserved five game suspension. No Marner or Tavares due to sickness. And yet, the Leafs had an elite defensive game. We all know the risk with Samsonov, along with the upside.
Bobby McMann – Hat trick on six shots. He was still only on the third line with those absences, and he’s normally on the fourth. Hard to see anything here for fantasy. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Brady Tkachuk – Hat trick on seven shots. Another lost season for the Sens, but Tkachuk has managed to take another step forward. He’s a monster.
Claude Giroux – Goal and two assists with four shots. It feels like the end of his career is being wasted, but Giroux is still rolling close to a point per game. He’s an easy hold everywhere.
Cayden Primeau – 13 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Ducks. Doesn’t get much easier than that. Primeau is worth streaming in quality matchups, but that’s it.
Nick Suzuki – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Eight game point streak for Suzuki, who is sitting right below a point per game. Easy hold everywhere.
Juraj Slafkovsky – Goal and two assists with three shots. We’re finally starting to see signs from the former first overall pick. He’s worth a bump up to a solid streamer.
Brad Marchand – Two assists with three shots in his 1000th career game. Marchand is on a 40-40 pace while hitting all of the categories well. The 35 year old remains a fantasy stud.
David Pastrnak – Two assists with four shots. There’s still time for Pasta to get into the Hart conversation, but either way, he’s played his way into being a top five fantasy asset.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – 33 saves shutout in the 7-0 win over the Kings. In one of the dumbest seasons ever, Tuesday’s game might have been the dumbest for the Sabres. The Kings played the worst game I’ve seen from a team all season. Regardless, UPL has turned into a stud. He’s a #2 in all formats.
Jordan Greenway – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Greenway is getting huge minutes right now for those of you in deep leagues. He’s only a bottom end streamer in 12’ers.
Alex Tuch – Goal and an assist with four shots. Tuch is inching closer to the fringe, although it would be typical Sabres to get on a run towards the end of the season so Adams does nothing again.
Jacob Bryson – Two assists with two PIM. Bryson is playing because Owen Power is week-to-week. Nothing to see here for fantasy.
Rasmus Dahlin – Goal and an assist with two shots. It hasn’t been his best season, but Dahlin has still been a #2D and has as much upside as any defenseman for fantasy.
J.J. Peterka – Goal and an assist with four shots. Peterka’s breakout has been a rare bright spot for the Sabres. The 22 year old is on pace for 30 goals despite minimal top PP time, and part of the worst PP in the league. He’s in the top 20 in the league in even strength goals. Peterka is an elite streamer, and I expect him to settle as a solid one for the rest of the season.
Philipp Grubauer – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Islanders. Grubauer was excellent in his first game for over two months. It will be interesting to see how the starts split between him and Daccord.
Roman Josi – Two assists with two shots. You rarely hear Josi mentioned in the press, yet here he is with 49 points in 53 games. He’s simply fantastic.
Cody Glass – Two assists with five shots. It’s notable because Glass was on the first PP unit. He’s done next to nothing to this point, but it’s worth monitoring for deep leagues.
Jordan Staal – Goal and an assist with two shots. Staal’s overall play has fallen off a cliff. There’s nothing here outside of non-points stats for deep leagues.
Jordan Martinook – Two assists. Very little here as well, but it’s a bit better than Staal.
Joe Pavelski – Two assists with a shot. Pavelski has fallen down to a bottom end hold, but I’m still not considering moving him to the fringe.
Matt Duchene – Goal and an assist. What a signing for the Stars. Great bounce back for Duchene, who figures to get a longer deal in the summer. With 50 points in 52 games, he need to be held everywhere.
Jani Hakanpaa – Two assists. And there’s your annual Hakanppa update!
Jason Robertson – Goal and an assist with two shots. The goals are down quite a bit due to the combo of shooting less and a worse shooting percentage. This is pretty much Robertson’s floor, and that’s still damn good.
Conor Garland – Two goals on six shots. Garland has looked better lately, but looks more like a bottom end streamer more than anything.
Dakota Joshua – Goal and two assists with two shots and five PIM. Dakota has scored plenty considering his limited role, but he’s more of a deep league option than anything else.
Filip Hronek – Two assists with four shots. Hronek has been a solid #2.
Patrick Kane – Goal and an assist with three shots. Kane is over three shots per game and isn’t far off a point per game. He should be held everywhere.
David Perron – Goal and an assist with two shots. The Red Wings are balancing out their two power play units, which I always hate. That hurts Perron, which leaves him as a middling streamer.
Alex DeBrincat – Goal and an assist with four shots. DeBrincat has played within expectations. He’s been fine, but nothing special. That’s still enough to be a hold everywhere.
Connor McDavid – Six assists with two shots, +6. This game gives McDavid an outside shot for 100 assists this season. The goals have dropped plenty, but obviously anything is in play for McDavid the rest of the season.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Two goals and an assist with three shots. This season is more in line with what we should expect from RNH, not last season’s 104 points. It’s nothing special, but there’s still plenty of value here.
Evan Bouchard – Goal and two assists with five shots. It’s nice to see Bouchard put five shots on goal in each of the last two games. Regardless, Bouchard has played his way into being a #1 fantasy option.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Thursday’s games per usual. You can’t select Kucherov, MacKinnon, Pastrnak, McDavid, Miller, Pettersson, Panarin, Rantanen, Nylander, or Q. Hughes. I’ll go with a Reinhart revenge game against the Sabres.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
