Luukkonen Leads Sabres To Big Win In Big Apple

After blowing out the Senators on Tuesday, I was fully expecting the Sabres to lay an egg in Manhattan on Thursday.  Instead, they scored on the first shift of the game and didn’t look back.  The Sabres won 6-1, with all twelve forwards getting at least one point in the game, just the second time that’s happened in team history.  Besides the top line continuing to dominate, the big story here is Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.  UPL saved 25 of 26 shots on Thursday, with the lone goal a completely fluky deflection that looped over him.  Based on expected goals metrics, this was a second monster game in a row for Luukkonen, with the Detroit game before that also a solid performance.  He’s getting back to the goalie that he was last season, which makes him a solid #2 in fantasy.  The upside is there for a bottom end #1 because UPL is the clear #1 with Levi the backup.  In fact, if Anaheim waives Reimer when Gibson comes back shortly, I would not be surprised in the slightest if the Sabres claim Reimer back and send Levi down I-90 to Rochester.  Let’s take a look at what else happened the last two nights:

Zach Benson – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM.  This was the best game that the Buffalo second line has had by a country mile.  They’ve been struggling mightily, so while they could all turn it around, I’m not targeting Benson, Cozens, or Jack Quinn (2A, 4 SOG) right now.  Cozens, Quinn, Benson would be my order of priority for streaming.

Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Just an absolutely fantastic start to the season for Ovechkin, even in the defensive end.  Love to see it.

Cam Talbot – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 4-1 win over the Blackhawks.  Talbot has been playing out of his mind so far, doing better than he even did in Los Angeles.  Clear hold everywhere.

Dylan Larkin – Goal and an assist, as did Alex DeBrincat.  The shot rate for DeBrincat is disappointing, but the points are still there.  Larkin’s assist totals are dreadful, but I have to think that fixes itself sooner than later.

Jack Eichel – Goal and two assists with three shots.  As much as I dislike him, it’s a pleasure watching Eichel play at this level right now.  He’s finally playing like a top ten player in the league.

Ivan Barbashev – Three assists with a shot.  Barbashev has to be on the fringe now with a real case for holding.  I don’t really buy it, but 15 points in 13 games can’t be ignored.

Noah Hanifin – Two goals on three shots.  After a rough start, Hanifin has turned it around.  Clearly a hold everywhere.

David Pastrnak – Two assists with four shots.  Pasta is lagging a bit behind his paces right now, but the shot rate is still among the league’s best so I’m not concerned.

Pavel Zacha – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Despite a big role, Zacha has done very little so far.  He’s a bottom end streamer until further notice.

Tim Stutzle – Two assists with a shot.  Stutzle is up to an assist per game, and the goals are solid.  I’m a bit worried about his ceiling though because the shot rate is really down.

Bo Horvat – Goal and two assists with three shots.  Clear bottom end hold.

Anders Lee – Goal and an assist with three shots.  I didn’t see Lee getting back on the fantasy radar, but the shots are through the roof and he has a four game point streak.  He’s a borderline elite streamer.

Carter Verhaeghe – Two goals and an assist with three shots.  Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist, while Aleksander Barkov dished three assists.  Nashville is in shambles defensively right now, as the top guys on Florida ran rampant on the Preds.  All three are fantasy superstars.

Uvis Balinskis – Two assists with four shots and two PIM.  So this is a weird one.  Balinskis has come out of nowhere to run the first power play in Florida.  He played almost 8 minutes on the power play in this game.  He went from playing around 10 minutes per game to playing in the 17-20 minute range in the last four.  I’d only use him in deep leagues, but he’s on the radar now.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!

Alex Newhook – Two goals on three shots.  You can see the talent from Newhook semi-regularly, but he hasn’t been able to put it together.  With no assists yet, he’s a deep league guy at best.

Jesper Bratt – Two goals and an assist with five shots and two PIM.  Bratt continues to be underrated.  He’s one of the best wingers in the league, point blank period.

Jack Hughes – Goal and two assists with five shots.  It hasn’t been the best start for Hughes, but he’s still right around a point per game.  I have zero concern and if anything, I’d want to acquire Hughes.

Pyotr Kochetkov – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 5-1 win over the Penguins.  Kochetkov is 7-1 despite having a save percentage below .900.  That’s how good Carolina is playing right now.  With Andersen down, Kochetkov is a #1 because his level of play is going to get better.

Jack Roslovic – Two goals and an assist with three shots.  Unbelievably, Roslovic has nine goals already.  As long as he’s on the first line with Sebastian Aho (2A), Roslovic is a solid streamer, even with low ice time.

Jalen Chatfield – Three assists.  And there’s your annual Chatfield update!

Ivan Fedotov – 22 saves on 23 shots, beating Andrei Vasilevskiy (30/31) 2-1 in a shootout.  I have zero interest in a Flyers goalie right now, while it’s nice to see Vasilevskiy playing well again.

Dylan Guenther – Goal and an assist with three shots.  The goal was a pass across on a two on one that the defenseman put into his own net, but they count the same!  Great start to the season from Guenther, no complaints.

Pavel Buchnevich – Two assists with a shot.  It hasn’t been the best start for Buch, but I’m still holding.  I’m too much of a believer in his talent and we have an established floor much higher than where he’s currently at.

Jake Oettinger – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blackhawks.  Oettinger is back to his level from two seasons ago where he was the borderline #1 goalie in fantasy.  I don’t expect him to be the #1, but I completely buy this level of play.

Logan Stankoven – Goal and an assist with six shots.  The upside is high enough that Stankoven is a bottom end hold for me.  The minutes are capped being on Dallas, but he’s up to a point per game.

Sam Steel – Goal and an assist with four shots.  And this is your biannual Steel update.

Connor Hellebuyck – 35 save shutout in the 1-0 win over Alexandar Georgiev (27/28) and the Avs.  Somehow, Hellebuyck is managing to improve his numbers.  Ridiculous.  Georgiev is a complete mess right now and while I’d hold him in roto leagues and just leave him on the bench, it’s hard to justify holding him in head to head leagues.

Quinn Hughes – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM.  Hughes is playing even better than he did last season when he won the Norris.  The defensive level of play, while it doesn’t matter in fantasy, has at an elite level, and we know he’s going to pile up the points.

Macklin Celebrini – Two goals on seven shots, both assisted by Mikael Granlund and Henry Thrun.  It’s a shame Celebrini was injured, but it’s great to see him back on the ice already.  I’m not holding him yet in 12’ers, but it’s borderline.  Granlund is a hold everywhere, while Thrun is an afterthought now that Liljegren has PP1 and Walman/Thompson have PP2.

Kirill Kaprizov – Three assists with three shots.  Sometimes, the chalk pick is best.  Props to Saints and goodfold2 for picking Kaprizov for three points!

Matt Boldy – Two goals on five shots.  Absolute monster in fantasy.  Clear top 50 player.

That’s all for now guys.  I’ll be traveling to Indianapolis during the day tomorrow, but I’ll be sure to answer any questions you leave as soon as I can.  Since I will be out of town, I’m going to have my first hold/stream list of the season come out on Monday, and then I’ll be back to daily notes on Wednesday.  Be sure to look out for Evan’s post on Monday as well.  Thanks for reading, take care!