As a Sabres fan, I’ve tortured myself for the better part of a decade watching this team. In the last few years in particular, they would play a ton of games that were over halfway through the game because of how poor their goaltending was (besides Ullmark, who was constantly hurt). Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen was considered the goalie of the future for the past few years, but in the eyes of most, he was passed this year by Portillo and Levi in college. Well, UPL was called up out of desperation ten days ago, and opinions are quickly changing. Luukkonen saved 30 of 32 shots in the 3-2 SO win over the Wild on Thursday. Since being recalled, UPL has started five games and allowed exactly two goals in all of them, making over 30 saves in the past four games. Even with the acquisition of Subban, UPL is going to stay up and should get most of the starts. Granato has made it clear that they need to reward guys who play well and Luukkonen is keeping them in games. I’m not rushing to grab him in redrafts, but he’s certainly worth considering in his next start, presumably against Columbus on Monday. In dynasties, I’m still a big fan. Who knows what happens with the other goalies, but both are 2-3 years away, and the time for UPL is now. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Note: I can run down the list of everybody that’s on the COVID list, but it’s constantly changing. It would take up a ton of time for that which you can just see looking at your roster. If you have any questions specifically about how somebody out impacts the lineup outside of what I touch on in posts, please ask them in the comments section. For streaming stuff for the weekend, please check out JKJ’s post here! It’s my fault that the post wasn’t up earlier so make it up to JKJ and check it out now!
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with ten shots. A team like Chicago never has a prayer against Ovechkin, but to be fair, very few teams do right now.
T.J. Oshie – Two assists with two PIM. The shot rate is dreadful, but the minutes are so good that Oshie is on the fringe.
Lars Eller – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Eller moved onto the top line for part of the game, as did Nicklas Backstrom (assist, five shots) in his return. Eller moves to elite streamer status.
Conor Sheary – Goal and an assist with five shots. Sheary playing over 19 minutes also makes him an elite streamer.
Patrick Kane – Two assists with two shots playing almost 25 minutes. The offense has dried up a bit lately, but Kane is still at a point per game and almost four shots per game. Things will be just fine.
Caleb Jones – Goal and an assist. Easy pass.
Alex DeBrincat – Two goals on three shots. DeBrincat is on pace for over 40 goals again. Sure, the assists are rough, but nobody can complain with him scoring 40.
Brandon Hagel – Two assists with two shots. He’s getting solid usage, but I still see Hagel as a bottom end streamer.
Kirby Dach – Two assists with three shots. Dach hasn’t done much this season which is unexpected. I was hoping for a second year jump, but Dach is only a bottom end streamer as of now.
Chris Kreider – Three assists with two shots. Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist while Kappo Kakko scored twice as the top line carried the Rangers against the Coyotes. Artemi Panarin left the game and if he misses any time, Kakko moves to an elite streamer while Kreider and Zibanejad are studs.
Clayton Keller – Goal and an assist with eight shots. Keller is having a very nice season being wasted away in the desert. He’s an elite streamer who can be a hold if your league doesn’t include plus-minus.
Anthony Stolarz – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 4-1 win over the Kraken. Stolarz continues to be good in every start and is worth streaming in most matchups now.
Mikko Rantanen – Goal and an assist with six shots. Rantanen isn’t quite on last season’s pace, but he’s still on pace for over 40+55. Pretty, pretty good.
Filip Forsberg – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Just stay healthy!
Colton Sissons – Three assists with a shot. Sissons always manages to have 2-3 big games every season. He actually played 25 minutes in this game which is absolutely insane. I’d stream him tomorrow to see if that role sustains.
Alexandre Carrier – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. There’s been some flashes, but Carrier should only be used in the deepest of leagues.
Tanner Jeannot – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM playing over 24 minutes. I like Jeannot’s game so I’d be willing to stream him tomorrow, and prefer him to Sissons.
Dylan Larkin – Goal and an assist with two shots. It has been three years since Larkin has played at this level. Makes you think a lot of it was the players around him and not Larkin himself.
Lucas Raymond – Two assists. Amazing rookie season for Raymond who has solidified himself as a hold right away.
Nino Niederreiter – Two goals on five shots. The Hurricanes were so shorthanded in this game that it’s hard to take a ton away from this. All of their players move up a level in terms of streaming or holding, but I assume they’ll get a full lineup sooner than later.
William Karlsson – Goal and an assist. Karlsson is a solid streamer, but it’s hard to get to higher with a poor shot rate and the points aren’t coming in.
Reilly Smith – Two assists. Smith is a step above the fringe for me.
Jonathan Marchessault – Goal and an assist with four shots. The third member of this line, Marchessault is the best of them for fantasy. Easy hold for me.
Dylan Coghlan – Goal and an assist with three shots and four PIM. I can see Coghlan turning into a solid fantasy player down the line, but the opportunity isn’t there right now, even with Theodore missing the game.
Tomas Tatar – Goal and an assist with two shots. Tatar is only a bottom end streamer at the moment as he hasn’t found his Montreal form in New Jersey yet.
Victor Hedman – Goal and an assist with three shots. Hedman is crushing across the board to the point where he’s a viable candidate for the #1 fantasy defenseman this year.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 2-1 win over the Senators. After the best season of his career last year, Vasilevskiy has managed to be even better this season. Pretty remarkable.
Jonathan Quick – 41 saves on 42 shots in the 4-1 win over the Panthers. Quick’s season has me shaking my head. It defies all logic based on his career trajectory further proving that goalies are voodoo. Quick needs to be owned in all leagues.
Cal Clutterbuck – Two goals on three shots. And there’s your annual Clutterbuck update!
Semyon Varlamov – 40 saves on 41 shots in the 3-1 win over the Bruins. Varly has taken a back seat to Sorokin as he struggled in his first six games, but perhaps this game gets him going. I wouldn’t hold him at the moment, but it could turn pretty quickly, so keep an eye on the Isles.
Jesse Puljujarvi – Two goals and an assist with eight shots. With Hyman out, Puljujarvi is on the first power play unit making him a must own for now.
Brendan Perlini – Goal and an assist with seven shots. Perlini didn’t have a point and has only six shots in his first 13 games of the season. Moving on…
Connor McDavid – Two assists with five shots. He’s slowed down a bit of lately, but McDavid is still on pace for 135 points. They don’t call him McJesus for nothing.
Brock Boeser – Two goals on five shots. J.T. Miller had a goal and two assists while Tanner Pearson had two assists as they’ve effectively become the first line under Boudreau. Boeser has been tearing it up since Boudreau came in which makes him a hold, Miller was an easy hold and Pearson moves up to a middling streamer.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
