One way to prove last season’s breakout wasn’t a fluke? Get an early hat trick. Kirill Marchenko did just that, scoring three times on four shots in the 7-4 win over the Wild. Yes, Marchenko didn’t get any points in the Columbus opener, but the eight shots on goal also goes a long way. I was neutral compared to consensus on Marchenko going into the season, but I already kind of regret not being bullish. Columbus is playing a wide open, attacking style, and their best forward will continue to benefit from it. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Adrian Kempe – Goal and an assist with six shots playing almost 22 minutes. It’s nice to see the top guys getting some additional minutes for the Kings. I already had Kempe as a top 40 player, and while I don’t see much of a chance of going up a tier from there, the playing time should solidify it.
Mark Scheifele – Two goals on three shots, both assisted by Gabriel Vilardi. Monster start from Scheifele, who is trying to repeat last season’s monstrous performance. Vilardi remains a bottom end hold.
Matt Coronato – Two goals on four shots. The opportunity for Coronato is there, so he’s right on the fringe.
Robert Thomas – Goal and an assist with two PIM. I don’t love seeing one shot on goal over two games, but Thomas is every bit of a lock for a point per game.
Jake Neighbours – Two goals on three shots. Neighbours is on the first line with Thomas, but he’s only on PP2. That puts him more in elite streamer territory than bottom end hold.
Shane Pinto – Two goals on five shots. Pinto is must hold right now with 4+1 in two games. Whether he’s a hot schmotato or not, he’s on a great tear with more opportunity than in the past.
Brad Marchand – Goal and an assist with two shots. Marchand has a great chance to bounce back to a top 75, if not 50 player with the injuries Florida suffered. He’s getting PP1 time that he never would have otherwise.
Seth Jones – Two assists with two shots. Not the best start for contributions outside of these two assists, but we’re clearly holding Jones.
Aaron Ekblad – Goal and an assist with two shots. Same deal as Jones, except the shots are fine through three games.
Gustav Forsling – Two assists. It’s not going to be flashy, but Forsling is perfectly fine at the bottom of your roster.
Anton Lundell – Goal and an assist with two shots. Lundell has the chance to take a big step this season, and my expectation is that it happens. Bottom end hold for now.
Max Crozier – Two assists with two PIM. I don’t see much here, but we’ll see what shakes out after a few more games. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Connor Brown – Two goals on three shots. With third line minutes and no PP time to start, it’s hard to get Brown higher than a middling streamer.
Timo Meier – Goal and an assist, as did Nico Hischier. Nice to see both getting off to a good start.
Luke Hughes – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Hughes is on PP1 over Dougie despite all indications to the contrary in preseason and training camp. Given that, I definitely sold Hughes short in my rankings, although Hamilton could take the spot back.
Arseny Gritsyuk – Two assists with three shots. Gritsyuk produced fairly well in the KHL and has elite speed. He’s on PP2, but I’m only monitoring for now. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Adam Fox – Two goals and an assist with four shots against the Penguins. It’s obviously early, but the shot rate being up is great to see. Four points in four games doesn’t hurt either.
Sam Carrick – Two assists with four shots. And there’s your biannual Carrick update!
Nick Laba – Two assists with a shot. Laba broke onto the team as a third liner. He’s getting PP2 time, but that time is negligible on the Rangers. There’s nothing here for now, and I don’t see a ton of upside long term. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Igor Shesterkin – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 6-1 win over the Penguins. Three games in and Igor has already saved over 7 goals more than expected. Beast mode.
Aliaksei Protas – Two goals and an assist with five shots against the Islanders. Protas is on the fringe with a lean towards bottom end hold. Hopefully the shot rate boost is a sign of things to come.
Jakob Chychrun – Two assists with two PIM against the Isles. Weird to see him go two games in a row without a shot, but no reason for concern.
Bo Horvat – Two assists with five shots. Kyle Palmieri also had two assists, with two PIM. Very good start for Palmieri, who I’m bumping up to solid streamer. Horvat remains a clear hold.
Charlie Lindgren – 35 save shutout in the 1-0 win over Jonathan Quick (20/21) and the Rangers. Nice to see Lindgren off to a strong start after being one of the only Caps with a rough season last year. I need to see another couple starts before I’m using Lindgren. Quick is a decent streamer in most starts.
Bobby Brink – Goal and an assist with four shots. Third line and PP2 role has Brink sitting as a bottom end streamer.
Morgan Rielly – Two assists with two shots. My Rielly bold prediction couldn’t be off to a better start!
Nic Roy – Goal and an assist with four shots. Roy is a fine depth player, but nothing here for fantasy.
Patrick Kane – Goal and two assists with four shots. Lucas Raymond scored two goals, while Alex DeBrincat dished three assists, adding three shots. Raymond and DeBrincat are clearly holds and aren’t particularly interesting. However, Kane is an interesting case. On one hand, he’s about to turn 37 years old and he was bad at even strength last season. On the other, Detroit doesn’t have anyone else to even consider bumping Kane out of the top six or top power play. He’s on the fringe.
Teuvo Teravainen – Two assists, as did Frank Nazar. The second line looks great for the Blackhawks, and both are on the top power play. Nazar’s upside has him on the fringe with a lean towards bottom end hold, while Teravainen is on the fringe depending on team needs.
Nick Suzuki – Three assists with two shots and two PIM. Suzuki has started off great with five assists already. He should continue to crush with Cole Caufield (1+1).
Zachary Bolduc – Goal and an assist with three shots. Bolduc is actually on the top power play unit after scoring three goals in the first three games. There’s definitely some talent here, so Bolduc is a solid streamer with upside.
Jeremy Swayman – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 3-1 win over the Sabres. Very good start to the season for Swayman, who is trying to make me look silly.
Zach Werenski – Goal and two assists with seven shots. Full blown superstar.
Boone Jenner – Goal and two assists with two shots. Columbus seems to be easing Jenner back in minutes wise, and by playing him on the wing. He’s a solid streamer with upside of being a hold if the workload goes back up.
Adam Fantilli – Goal and an assist. I’m still all in on Fantilli.
Kirill Kaprizov – Two goals and an assist with eleven shots. The Wild power play destroyed Columbus with four goals. Matt Boldy had a goal and two assists with five shots, Joel Eriksson Ek had two assists with two shtos, while Zeev Buium had a goal and an assist with four shots. Buium’s workload was massive, even though it took a bunch of power plays for it to happen. If you had any doubt before, he’s a clear hold.
Dylan Guenther – Goal and an assist with four shots. Guenther played almost 24 minutes in this game. He has clear top 50 potential.
Thomas Harley – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Two multi-point games in two for Harley, who looks primed to break into superstardom.
Nathan MacKinnon – Goal and two assists, as did Martin Necas. When MacKinnon is buzzing, it is a sight to see. I can’t wait to see him terrorize my lowly Sabres in 10 hours time. Necas is increasing his payday with every big game, having six points in three games already.
Vince Dunn – Two assists with two shots. I was quite bullish on Dunn going into the season, and he’s delivered so far. The minutes are huge so a #2D in 12’ers is well within reason.
Matty Beniers – Goal and an assist with three shots. Beniers has regressed the last couple seasons, so a good start should do him wonders. He’s a middling streamer for now, but there’s no denying the upside.
Joey Daccord – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Golden Knights. Two monster games from Daccord to start which is great to see. Solid #2.
Mason McTavish – Three assists with four shots and two PIM. The second line was outstanding again, with Cutter Gauthier scoring twice on nine shots, while Beckett Sennecke had a goal and an assist with five shots. Gauthier, who I had ranked above consensus, is a clear hold right now. Sennecke is an elite streamer in this current role with clear upside from there.
Leo Carlsson – Goal and two assists with three shots. The first line also tore up the Sharks, with Chris Kreider scoring twice on five shots, and Troy Terry dishing two assists. I’m also holding Carlsson everywhere. Kreider is a solid streamer, while Terry is on the fringe.
Mikael Granlund – Two assists. Granlund played over 20 minutes and is running the point on PP1. That also puts him on the fringe.
Macklin Celebrini – Three assists, as did Will Smith. Celebrini is on the verge of superstardom, while Smith is on the fringe as well.
Dmitry Orlov – Two assists with three shtos and two PIM. Now that Orlov has a big role again, he could get back towards the fringe, but for now, he’s only a deep league option.
Calvin Pickard – 14 saves on 15 shots in the 3-1 win over the Canucks. I’m fine with holding Pickard if you want goalie help. I don’t see the volume being there unless Skinner struggles mightily, but every Pickard start has a high win probability and should be decent on the whole.
That’s all for now guys. MarmosDad will be back on Wednesday, while I’ll be back on Friday. It will probably be more daily notes as I want a bit more time before a hold/stream list. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
