To say Jacob Markstrom finished October on fire would be an understatement. Markstrom had a 20 save shutout against the Flyers on Saturday, his third in the past four games. The Flames are off to a great start with Markstrom at the forefront. He’s saved nine goals above expected over in the last four. He’s a clear workhorse which is why I had him a bottom end #1 goalie going into the season, but the upside is higher than that because of the volume. Who knows, maybe he puts together a top five season because of how Sutter wants to play. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games
Aleksander Barkov – Two goals on three shots. Barkov has been his usual solid self as the Panthers get off to a torrid start. The shot rate isn’t quite at last year’s level, but it could easily get back with one game.
Erik Gustafsson – Two assists with a shot. The minutes are quite poor for Gustafsson, and he’s under a shot per game. His 60 point season is one of the craziest outlier seasons we’ve seen.
Tony DeAngelo – Goal and two assists with three shots and five PIM. DeAngelo has been a fantasy stud which comes as no surprise. It’s just a matter of staying on the ice.
Vincent Trocheck – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Trocheck is crushing across the board to open the season.
Sebastian Aho – Goal and an assist with two shots. Aho has at least one point in every game so far. I don’t think that streak is going to get snapped by Arizona on Sunday (written on Saturday).
Igor Shesterkin – 31 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Blue Jackets. Outside of one rough game against the Flames, Prince Igor has started off extremely well. He looks the part of a top five goalie.
Artemi Panarin – Three assists with two shots. I don’t like seeing the shot rate below two per game, but I have little doubt that Panarin will turn that around.
Adam Fox – Three assists with two shots and two PIM. If you had any doubts about last season being a fluke, that should be erased.
Chris Kreider – Two goals on seven shots with two PIM. Kreider has been an absolute unit so far. I was a bit skeptical about his fantasy value going into the season as it looked like he’d be on the third line, but he’s back with Zibanejad. Therefore, Kreider is an easy hold.
Ilya Samsonov – 16 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Coyotes. Doesn’t get much easier than that. Samsonov looks to be in a split with Vanecek. I’d hold them both as of now.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. Nine goals already with six assists and 4.5 shots per game. Just absolutely incredible.
John Carlson – Goal and an assist with three shots. Carlson has had a rough start, but there’s little reason for concern. He’s too good of a player to be on the steep decline at age 31.
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Two assists with a shot. I’m already admitting I was wrong on Kuznetsov this year. The bounce back is firmly in play with massive minutes and the shots really coming in.
Adam Henrique – Goal and an assist with four shots. The minutes are there for Henrique to be a middling streamer. I see his real value in deep leagues.
Trevor Zegras – Goal and an assist with two shots. I did not see Zegras pushing three shots per game which is a welcome development. I’m not holding yet, but I wouldn’t blame somebody for doing it. At the least, he’s an elite streamer.
Jonathan Marchessault – Two assists with two shots. Rough start for Marchessault, like most of the rest of the Golden Knights, but I’m not concerned.
Chandler Stephenson – Goal and an assist with two shots. Stephenson has been an exception to Vegas struggling with nine points in eight games. I’d prefer to keep him as an elite streamer because the shot rate is so poor, but I don’t mind holding him while he’s on fire.
Nicolas Hague – Goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM. I only see deep league value at the moment, but that could change if the Eichel to Vegas rumors become true.
Filip Gustavsson – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 4-1 win over the Stars. Gustavsson is an interesting player in dynasties because he could be the goalie of the future in Ottawa. For now, he’s only a streamer in good matchups.
Josh Norris – Two goals. Strong start for Norris who is right on the fringe depending on team needs.
Saturday’s Games
Darcy Kuemper – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 4-1 win over the Wild. It was nice to see Kuemper finally have a strong start for the Avs. I still expect him to be a #1 goalie come the end of the season, and a strong one at that.
Gabriel Landeskog – Two goals and two assists with four shots and two PIM. Dominant performance from the Kog who is crushing to start the season despite the Colorado struggles (relative to expectation).
Erik Johnson – Goal and an assist with three shots. While the offense won’t be there consistently, Johnson should pile up some hits and blocks for those of you in deep leagues.
Nathan MacKinnon – Two assists with five shots and two PIM. MacKinnon has had a point in every game and the shots are starting to pile up. It feels like Colorado is going to start a massive run with MacKinnon at the forefront.
J.T. Compher -Two assists with two shots. He’s been on fire to start the season, and while I wouldn’t give Compher the role he has at the moment, the fact of the matter is that he has that role and that makes him an elite streamer.
Tanner Jeannot – Two goals. Jeannot has nice underlying metrics, but the minutes aren’t there right now for sustained production. He could be an elite streamer, but for now, he’s a bottom end one.
Colton Sissons – Two assists. And there’s your bi-annual Sissons update!
Josh Anderson – Goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM. Anderson is back in the middling to elite streamer range.
Alex Iafallo – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Iafallo’s role has diminished this year, but the points are still coming in strong with seven in eight games. He’s a solid streamer.
Anze Kopitar – Two assists with four shots. I’m loving this version of Kopitar that is actually shooting the puck a lot. I liked him to have a good season this year, but perhaps he can have a great one.
Matt Roy – Two assists with two shots. The minutes are there, including on the PP, with Doughty out. Roy is a nice deep league option for now.
Rasmus Kupari – Goal and an assist with three shots. Kupari has high upside long term, but the role isn’t there now for him to be useful.
Aaron Ekblad – Two assists with a shot. Ekblad has been outstanding so far. I have all the stock this year which makes me pretty excited.
Taylor Hall – Two assists with three shots. I was really hoping Hall’s shot rate would go back to around three per game again. It was in his short stint in Boston last season, but right now, he’s just below two. He’ll be a hold either way, but to get back to where he was, he’ll need to get the shot rate back up.
Andreas Johnsson – Two goals on three shots and two PIM. Solid start for Johnsson. I had higher hopes when he was to New Jersey from Toronto, but for now, he’s only a bottom end streamer.
Jesper Bratt – Goal and an assist. These were Bratt’s first two points of the year. He’ll need to get on a better run for Bratt to get back to streaming level.
Zach Aston-Reese – Two assists with a shot. The hit rate is mind blowing for ZAR right now; he has 34 in six games. That makes him a viable streamer in hits leagues alone.
Timo Meier – Goal and an assist with six shots. Meier has been dominant so far with 5+6 and 37 SOG in eight games. You love to see it.
James Reimer – 34 saves on 35 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Jets. A bunch of Sharks were ruled out last minute, but that didn’t stop Reimer from stealing the show. Reimer has been excellent so far and I’d keep streaming him until he slows down.
Filip Zadina – Goal and an assist with two shots. Zadina has been decent so far, but nothing special. He’s a bottom end streamer for the time being.
Joe Veleno – Goal and an assist with three shots. This was Veleno’s first game of the season so he’ll be worth monitoring going forward. The minutes aren’t there yet, but maybe they’ll get there.
John Tavares – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM. A slow start from Tavares was mostly erased by this game. While I’m lower on him than most, I still expect him to only be a bit below a point per game.
Jake Muzzin – Goal and an assist with three shots. I don’t see much value in Muzzin at this point in his career.
Alex Kerfoot – Goal and an assist with three shots, +4. I thought we were going to see Kerfoot take a leap after his first two seasons, but it never happened. With the shot rate being absolutely dreadful, he’s a bottom end streamer at best.
Marc-Andre Fleury – 36 saves on 37 shots as the tough luck loser in a 1-0 loss to the Blues. MAF stood on his head in the game but didn’t get any help. It can’t stay this bad for Chicago, but I’m glad I don’t own him anywhere.
Jordan Binnington – 25 save shutout earning the win. Binnington has been great so far with a .926 save percentage to go along with five wins in six games. He’s looking more like a bottom end #1 than a #2 going forward.
Elias Lindholm – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Great start for Lindholm who has been the best skater for the Flames so far.
Sean Monahan – Goal and an assist with five shots. I’m completely out on Monahan right now. The minutes aren’t there at all and I don’t see it changing with the Flames rolling.
Rasmus Andersson – Two assists with a shot. The shot rate has sucked, but Andersson has been solid elsewhere. I’m still holding, but looking to get improved.
Mikko Koskinen – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 2-1 win over the Flames. He’s been getting all of the starts with Smith out so Koskinen can be held for the time being. It could end up being bad, but the Oilers are playing well enough right now that Koskinen shouldn’t bury anyone.
Sunday’s Games
Anze Kopitar – Goal and an assist with four shots playing 25 minutes. Too good.
Adrian Kempe – Two assists with four shots. His role is a bit diminished which drags him towards bottom end streamer.
Tobias Bjornfot – Two assists with three shots. There could be something long term, but he looks like more of a defensive defenseman which limits his fantasy ceiling.
Frederik Andersen – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 2-1 win over the Coyotes. Andersen looks like he did at his peak right now which makes him a #1 goalie again.
Martin Necas – It’s been a slow start, but I still think Necas should be a hold.
Kevin Shattenkirk – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Shattenkirk has had a great start with ten points in ten games. That’s plenty to make him a hold for now.
Cam Fowler – Two assists with a shot. Fowler has also had a nice start, but I have him on the fringe. I don’t see a lot of upside, but his current rate is definitely worth holding.
Adam Henrique – Goal and an assist with five shots. Henrique’s shot rate is outstanding given his baseline. I have him in elite streamer range at the moment.
P.K. Subban – Two assists. I want nothing to do with Subban at this point in his career.
Jakub Voracek – Two assists with a shot playing almost 22 minutes. The shots are dreadful, but Voracek has seven assists in eight games. Assists ain’t got no face!
Patrik Laine – Goal and an assist with three shots. Very good start for Laine who looks like a top bounceback candidate.
Barclay Goodrow – Goal and an assist with two shots. Goodrow is on the first line right now, but I still have him a bottom end streamer at best.
Igor Shesterkin – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 3-1 win over the Kraken. The Prince is carrying the Rangers right now.
Three Point Challenge: For those that are new or need a refresher, you pick one player to score three points in a game but they can’t be in the top ten in points. We’re going with Tuesday night this week and with the Top 10 from last season for the time being. That means you can’t take McDavid, Draisaitl, Marchand, Marner, Kane, Matthews, Rantanen, MacKinnon, Scheifele, or Crosby. Fungazi is still the leader in the clubhouse with Aho getting him on the board. I’ll go with Kaprizov against the Senators.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll have a post out later in the week, probably on Wednesday. As always, ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
