It was only a matter of time before Vegas got on a heater. The Golden Knights won their fourth straight game on Tuesday night and Jonathan Marchessault led the way. Marchesssault scored a hat trick on a whopping 9 shots on goal to beat the Devils 4-3. While Marchessault hasn’t quite gotten back to the level he was at in his first season in Vegas, he has been very good this season. He has 8+13 in 30 games with an elite 104 SOG. If anything, we should expect more goals because even after this hat trick, he’s still at a career low shooting percentage. I’m expecting Vegas to go on a massive run soon and Marchessault should be at the forefront. This is also a good point for anyone looking to make a futures bet to place a wager on Vegas to win the Cup. No, I don’t think they’re the best team, but you can get them at 20 or 22-1 at the moment and they might have the best chance in the league to make the Conference Finals given the weak division. Let’s take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night:
Jaroslav Halak – 24 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Hurricanes. His 500th game couldn’t have gone any better. Halak is a borderline hold even though the volume is low. He’s at 2.14/.934 in 11 starts and is a favorite to get the win almost every time out.
Shea Weber – Goal and an assist with three shots playing almost 30 minutes. He’s crushing all six categories at the moment. Just stay healthy!
Brendan Gallagher – Goal and an assist with six shots. Career highs across the board for Gallagher is certainly in play.
Phillip Danault – Goal and an assist with two shots. Solid streamer solely for points but the shot rate is abysmal and keeps him from being a hold outside of deep leagues.
Alex Tuch – Three assists with two shots. That’s six points in the last three games for Tuch and he is back on the first power play unit. That makes him an elite streamer.
Reilly Smith – Two assists with two shots. Smith slowed down after a torrid start but he’s still been plenty good enough to hold.
Kyle Palmieri – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Despite the Devils being a massive disaster, Palmieri is still churning out his usual solid numbers.
Damon Severson – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. I remember when Devils fans and a lot of hockey people thought Severson was going to be a great top pair defenseman. That has… not happened. He’s useless for fantasy.
Philippe Myers – Three assists. Myers was a late bloomer who turned into a great signing by the Flyers. The 22 year old isn’t getting a lot of minutes so it seems like a fluke for now, but he’s worth keeping an eye on long term.
Shayne Gostisbehere – Goal and an assist with two shots. This game was 1-1 with 10 minutes left and Philly somehow won 6-1. Both of Ghost’s points came in the last minute of the game. It was nice to see him get some points, but I’m not buying a rebound yet.
Travis Konecny – Goal and an assist with two shots. The monster season from Konecny has shown no signs of slowing down or being a fluke.
Carter Hart – 27 saves on 28 shots earning the win against Toronto. That’s three straight starts for Hart allowing exactly one goal. His GAA is down to 2.35 which is elite, despite having a mediocre .910 sv%. If he gets his save percentage to where it’s capable, he’s going to have one of the best GAA in the league.
Jason Zucker – Goal and an assist with two shots. Zucker’s shot rate has dropped significantly yet he has 10 goals because he’s shooting 19.6%. He’s a great streamer for now, but I’m not holding because regression is coming.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Goal and an assist with four shots. Even after a rough week with one point in four games, Huberdeau is still on pace for 100 points this year.
Carl Soderberg – Goal and two assists. Soda has been fairly decent for the Coyotes, although he’s another guy with an unsustainable shooting percentage. Mediocre streamer at best.
Steven Stamkos – Two assists with six shots. This brings him right to a point per game and almost exactly three shots per game. Honestly, a point per game seems like the floor for Stammer at this point in his career.
Nikita Kucherov – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Just like that, Kuch has 18 points in his last 10 games. I’m not betting against him going on a half-season tear that lets him crush 100 points again.
Kyle Turris – Goal and an assist with three shots. This was Turris’ first game back in almost three weeks. Nice to see him start well, but he’s still in the mediocre streamer category.
Connor Hellebuyck – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 5-1 win over the Stars. Lesson learned from Hellboy: sometimes the goaltender is good enough that you shouldn’t panic about a horrible defensive corps. He’s played at a Vezina caliber level this season.
Kyle Connor – Goal and two assists with four shots and two PIM. Wheeler had one point while every other stud on the Jets had two. The big guns led the charge tonight and simply destroyed the Stars at even strength. Jets fans have to be happy that their top six seems to be getting back on track with no exceptions.
Thatcher Demko – 40 saves on 42 shots in the 5-2 win over the Senators. Jacob Markstrom‘s father passed away so he is away from the team. The Canucks don’t play again until Saturday so it shouldn’t have a lot of impact. If you’re building for the future in a dynasty league, I think Demko is a great trade target. The volume isn’t there right now, but he’s still the goalie of the future on a team with an excellent core.
Adam Gaudette – Two assists with a shot. I really like Gaudette’s upside in the long term. He’s putting up great numbers right now, but his role is limited so regression is coming.
Christopher Tanev – Two assists. And there’s your bi-annual Tanev update!
John Carlson – Goal and two assists with two shots. It was his first goal in ten games, but defenseman can’t shoot 15% forever. 40 points in 29 games is just ridiculous.
Jakub Vrana – Two goals on four shots. Vrana taking a huge step forward has done wonders for the Washington second line. Easy hold in all formats.
Garnet Hathaway – Two goals on three shots, assisted by Nic Dowd. Don’t expect to see these names again on Razzball any time soon.
That’s all for now guys. With a short slate tonight, I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action from Wednesday and Thursday. You can make a Three Point Challenge pick for Thursday below: just remember that it can’t be anyone in the top 10 in the NHL in points. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
