It’s not too often that an NHL record that’s stood for over one hundred years gets broken. That happened on Wednesday night. Despite his role shrinking, Kris Letang had the period of a lifetime. Letang dished five assists in the second period in a seven minute span, becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to record five assists in a period. He finished the game with six assists, all at even strength to give him a +6 rating in the 7-0 win over the Islanders. Even with this game, Letang is far from the defenseman he used to be, partially due to age, and partially due to the arrival of Karlsson. He’s under two shots per game, and has only three goals as a result. However, the assists are still very good, the hits and blocks are solid, and the PIM are much higher than they’ve been. He’s the perfect #3/4 defenseman on most teams since he’s hitting most of the categories and piling up assists.
It’s been a shortened week with the Christmas break, so our schedule has been different than usual. If you need streaming help, check out Jules’ post here and JKJ’s here. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Drake Batherson – Two goals on four shots. Batherson is currently playing some of the best hockey in his career. He’s clearly must own in all formats.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Two assists with a shot. Tarasenko is an elite streamer, but it’s not quite good enough to be a hold in 12’ers.
Aleksander Barkov – Three assists with three shots and two PIM. He’s not quite at his usual offensive pace, but Barkov is doing just fine. If anything, he’s been a bit unlucky.
Sam Reinhart – Two goals on three shots. Reinhart has been an absolute monster this season. He won’t shoot 24.7% forever, but Reinhart is every bit of a top 50 player. Perfect timing for him, as he’s about to be a free agent.
Jeremy Swayman – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 4-1 win over the Sabres. He’s been as good as any goalie in the league, but Swayman won’t get the necessary volume to be a top five goalie unless Ullmark goes down. Regardless, Swayman is a stud.
Charlie Coyle – Two goals. Solid streamer through and through.
Brad Marchand – Two assists with two shots and four PIM. He hasn’t been the usual dominant force at even strength, but Marchand is crushing everything else, including a resurgent shot rate.
Jake DeBrusk – Two assists with three shots. DeBrusk has done very little this season. He’s stuck as a bottom end streamer.
Igor Shesterkin – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 5-1 win over the Capitals. He hasn’t been as good as usual, but I can’t help but think Igor goes on a big run sooner than later.
K’Andre Miller – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Miller is on the fringe as his points are solid, but the shot rate is so poor that I lean towards passing.
Mika Zibanejad – Two assists with a shot. Zibanejad is in the midst of a big hot streak, with 15 points in his last eight games. The shot rate is down a bit which has dropped his goal rate, but overall, it’s a great stat line across the board.
Artemi Panarin – Goal and an assist. Panarin continues to stay on his career best points pace, which is saying a lot considering he had 95 points in 69 games in his first season as a Ranger. If he stays healthy, he should set a career high in goals and points. I have to say that I never saw his shot rate jumping to four per game after being around 2.5 for years.
Dawson Mercer – Goal and two assists with three shots. Mercer tends to be the Devil that goes up and down the lineup. I’m a big fan long term, but right now, it’s hard to have him as more than a middling streamer.
Zach Werenski – Out week to week with an LBI. It’s hard to imagine someone with worse injury luck than Werenski. I assume Ivan Provorov gets the big bump in the short term.
Tristan Jarry – 22 save shutout in the 7-0 win. The numbers are solid for Jarry, but he has only 10 wins in 23 starts. He’s been a solid #2, which is better than I expected.
Marcus Pettersson – Four assists. Pettersson stumbled into enough points playing with Letang. They’ve been good at even strength, and Pettersson is decent at blocks, so there’s some deep league value here. However, his zero goals on 37 shots shows why he can’t be used in anything 12’ers or shallower, and probably not 14’ers either.
Jake Guentzel – Two goals and an assist with three shots. I can’t wait to see what happens with Guentzel. He’s been his usual self, a.k.a. a top end winger, and he’s about to be a free agent. His fantasy value is going to be elite no matter where he is, but if he leaves, Pitt’s demise can be starting sooner than later.
Evgeni Malkin – Two goals on five shots. Malkin has dropped off a bit, but it’s still enough to be a hold in all formats.
Valtteri Puustinen – Goal and an assist with three shots. This was his first career goal, but Puustinen is worth mentioning because he was on PP1. He could be a viable deep league streamer for now. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Rickard Rakell – Goal and an assist with five shots. Rakell is showing signs of life lately, so I’m bumping him back up to a solid streamer with upside from there.
Alex DeBrincat – Goal and an assist with four shots. While Detroit is starting to fall back to earth, DeBrincat is still putting up plenty of points. All of it looks sustainable.
Marcus Johansson – Two goals and an assist with three shots. The new second line is having plenty of success, and Johansson has nine points in his last nine games. That said, I can’t get him past a middling streamer.
Kirill Kaprizov – Goal and an assist with six shots. The Wild needed Kaprizov to step up with Zuccarello down, and he’s delivered with nine points in his last five games. The star player we are accustomed to appears to be back.
Ryan O’Reilly – Goal and an assist with five shots. He’s dropped off quite a bit from his hot start, but RoR is sitting as a bottom end hold for me.
Sebastian Aho – Goal and seven assists with four shots and two PIM over two games. Well then. Safe to say that if it wasn’t for Letang, Aho would have been the focus today. Maybe Aho actually surpasses his usual point per game range?
Brent Burns – Goal and four assists with six shots and two PIM over two games. Burns has been a hold all season because of the all-around contribution, but it’s nice to see him start piling up the points.
Andrei Svechnikov – Four goals and an assist with five shots and two PIM over two games. Svech has had an extremely slow start, but being reunited with his old linemates, Aho and Teravainen, seems to have done him wonders. The upside is undeniable.
Jesper Fast – Two goals and an assist with three shots. And there’s your annual Quickie update!
Joel Hofer – 39 saves on 40 shots in the 2-1 win over the Stars. Hofer stole the show for the second straight game. He’s boosted his save percentage to a respectable .912 sv%. I’d stream Hofer in decent matchups for now, while acknowledging that he’s the likely goalie of the future in St. Louis, making him a real value in dynasties.
Scott Perunovich – Two assists with a shot. I don’t see nearly enough here for Perunovich to make a fantasy impact, even if he’s getting shoehorned power play time.
Nathan MacKinnon – Goal and an assist with four shots. Mikko Rantanen also had a goal and an assist, while Cale Makar dished two assists. The stars had their point, but Colorado managed to blow a 4-0 lead late in the second period. I fully expect a pissed off version of the Avs against the Blues in their next game.
Sean Durzi – Goal and three assists with two shots. After a slow patch, Durzi has caught fire again. It’s bottom end, but definitely worth holding.
Jason Zucker – Goal and an assist with four shots and four PIM. Zucker is only a bottom end streamer as he hasn’t done much to this point.
Lawson Crouse – Goal and an assist. Crouse remarkly has 15 goals already. He’s a solid streamer that could be a hold in hits leagues based on team needs. It’s really bad in assists though so you have to be able to overcome that.
Matias Maccelli – Two assists with two shots. Maccelli is up to two shots per game, which is a massive jump from his rookie season. That makes him an elite streamer, even though it’s assist heavy.
Connor Bedard – Two goals on five shots. This is in line with Bedard’s ceiling as a rookie. It’s not great at even strength, but he’s pushing a point per game and over three shots per. It’s going to be incredible as soon as next season.
Petr Mrazek – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Jets. His save percentage is a respectable .911 with nine wins in 20 starts. There’s deep league value, and I’d risk a stream in quality matchups.
Chris Driedger – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 2-1 win over the Flames. Seattle is getting good goaltending, what is happening? You have to be happy for Driedger, who stood on his head in his first start in two seasons.
Mason McTavish – Three assists with three shots and two PIM. McTavish is firmly on the fringe after his return from injury.
Cam Fowler – Two assists with a shot. Fowler is in his usual point range, but the plus-minus keeps him from being a hold if that’s relevant in your league. If it’s not, he’s on the fringe.
Brett Leason – Two goals. I don’t see much offense here, so I have little to no interest.
David Rittich – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 5-1 win over the Sharks. Rittich’s two starts have been against the Sharks. He’s going to fed starts against bottom feeders, which makes him stream worthy every time he gets the nod.
Adrian Kempe – Two goals and an assist with five shots over two games. Kempe is sitting right around a point per game, with his drop in goals a direct result of a drop in shooting percentage. The increased playmaking is encouraging, and I expect the goals to increase going forward.
Anze Kopitar – Goal and an assist with four shots in two games. The shot rate is approaching poor, but at a point per game, Kopitar has to be held everywhere.
Samuel Ersson – 18 saves on 19 shots before leaving the game early in the third period due to dehydration. Carter Hart came in and sealed the game for the Flyers, who continue to be the surprise of the season. Good to see it was nothing serious for Ersson, and this should guarantee Hart’s start tonight against the Kraken.
Joel Farabee – Goal and an assist with four PIM. A good run from Farabee bumps him up to a solid streamer.
Travis Konecny – Assist with two shots before leaving the game early due to injury. Konecny has been fantastic and is the one guy they can’t afford to lose. Here’s to hoping he’s alright.
Stuart Skinner – 25 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Sharks. Skinner has started to turn things around and has become a clear hold again in all formats. The coaching change has sparked the Oilers to getting above fake .500 again.
Zach Hyman – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. Hyman is playing at a top 25 level. He’s crushing it across the board.
Darnell Nurse – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Nurse has not stumbled into nearly as many points as he usually does. He’s still very good in hits and blocks plus all of the other non-scoring categories, but it’s hard to hold in shallow leagues when he’s playing at a 30 point pace.
Evan Bouchard – Goal and an assist with two shots. Bouchard continues to be above a point per game while getting three shots on goal per game. He’s a clear #1 fantasy defenseman.
Ryan McLeod – Goal and an assist with two shots. That’s three straight games with two points for McLeod, who is currently playing with Draisaitl. That said, I can’t get him past a middling streamer with a poor shot rate and little to no PP time.
That’s all for now guys. My plan is to be back on Tuesday next week with New Year’s Eve falling on Sunday. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
