When it comes to the San Jose Sharks, the person playing with the Joes on the first line always gets a nice value boost. Lately, it’s been Patrick Marleau making him a solid streamer given his role on the first power play unit. Now that he’s settled into this spot, we have to talk about whether or not he’s a hold. Marleau had the period of a lifetime scoring four goals in the third period against Colorado. That brings his totals to 16+8 on the season. The shots are right around average and the PIM are low so what’s my verdict? It seems like a cop out but it’s team dependent. If you need goals and STP, then you can hold Marleau at the bottom of your roster. Otherwise, leave him on the waiver wire to hopefully stream. Also, bonus points if you get the title reference. Here’s what else happened around the league on Monday night:
Henrik Lundqvist – 36 saves on 38 shots in the 3-2 win over the Kings. Monster game from Hank who stood on his head. It could have been better but he gave up a goal with 0.8 seconds left. Anyways, this game was extremely encouraging to me for Lundqvist’s play the rest of the season. I know it’s been tough owning him lately but hold tight.
J.T. Miller – Assist and a shot. He just gets a point in almost every game (9 of last 10). Seems good.
Jordan Nolan – Goal and an assist with two PIM. I can’t even say this is his annual update because he doesn’t always get one. This is his sixth season and he’s never topped 10 points.
Elias Lindholm – Assist with two shots. The Hurricanes schedule gets quite a bit easier in February to the point that a few of their guys, including Lindholm, could become holds.
Karl Alzner – Two assists with two shots. Nice example of a player who is much better in real life than fantasy.
Andre Burakovsky – Three assists with three shots. Still only played 12:23 but at the same time, that’s 10 points in his last 6 games. I think he has to be held while he’s this hot.
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Goal and an assist. He’s back in full form at this point.
Dmitry Orlov – Two goals. He’s a nice short term fix on defense right now but it won’t last when John Carlson returns in the near future.
Justin Williams – Goal and an assist. Just like Burakovsky, he’s so hot right now that Williams should probably be held.
Braden Holtby – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 6-1 win over the Hurricanes. Holtby is as good as it gets right now between the pipes.
Frederik Andersen – 26 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Flames. He’s locked into being a #2 goalie this season. With the quality of the Leafs young core, Andersen is probably a top 10 dynasty goalie.
Nazem Kadri – Two goals on four shots. He’s already up to 20 goals putting him on pace for an amazing stat line across the board. At this rate, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t finish as a top 50 player in the player rater.
Mitch Marner – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Yes, he doesn’t have the shot rate Auston Matthews does but my preseason prediction of Marner being their best rookie doesn’t look completely insane. Marner now leads all rookies in points.
Nikita Zaitsev – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. He’s solid in deep leagues due to his blocks and hits contributions but he’s not in play in 12’ers. Zaitsev is strong in assists but a liability elsewhere.
Ryan Getzlaf – Goal and an assist with four shots playing over 26 minutes. Getzlaf is rounding into form right now and is already up to 30 assists on the season.
Rickard Rakell – Goal on two shots. He’s slowed down after his torrid start but Rakell is still a must own player.
Shea Theodore – Assist with a shot. Theodore’s role is limited at even strength right now but he was on the first power play unit against Winnipeg last night. I’m a big fan in dynasties but he’s probably not going to do enough this season to be owned in standard leagues. That said, it’s worth monitoring.
Jonathan Bernier – 31 saves on 33 shots in the 3-2 win over the Jets. I still don’t trust Bernier at all. He’s firmly a “desperate for starts” guy.
Nikolaj Ehlers – Goal on six shots. It was a beautiful goal with Ehlers turning on the jets before cutting in front of Bernier and burying the opportunity. This kid is so damn good and it’s only going to get better.
Brent Burns – Goal and two assists with four shots. He’s at 20+30 on the season. In 48 games. He plays defense. Burns is unbelievable.
Logan Couture – Two assists with a shot finishing +5. Somewhat disappointing season for Couture based on his high standards but he certainly has the talent to turn it on in the second half.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Two assists with a shot. I can go either way with Vlasic when it comes to 12’ers. I’d lean towards leaving him on the waiver wire but it’s close.
Jarome Iginla – Goal on three shots. Will he gets traded at the deadline? Probably. Will he make a difference wherever he goes? Probably not but it’ll be worth our attention because it’s possible Iginla becomes 12’er relevant again.
Nikita Zadorov – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. He’s been a mess this year (very few haven’t been on Colorado) but there’s a ton of talent here. I could see Zadarov becoming a #1 defenseman in real life but I could also see him out of the league in three years. He’s a low floor, high ceiling player that is a decent gamble in dynasties.
Vincent Trocheck – Goal on five shots with two PIM. There’s talk that Aleksander Barkov could be out for the rest of the season. Regardless, he doesn’t seem close so Trocheck gets a massive boost for the foreseeable future. I bet he pushes towards being a top 50 player in the second half of the season.
Alex Burmistrov – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. He now has five points in five games since being claimed by the Coyotes. I’m not grabbing him anywhere yet but it’s worth watching. Burmistrov was an elite defensive player in the past but there is plenty of offensive talent there; it’s why he was picked 8th overall in the draft.
Jakob Chychrun – Two assists. Considering the quality of his team, his rookie season has been fine to this point. Chychrun has a long way to go but that’s okay, he’s still only 18 years old.
Mike Smith – 23 saves on 25 shots in the 3-2 OT win over the Panthers. I still want nothing to do with him.
Tuesday Streamers:
Bryan Rust (7.2%) – He’s currently on the first line and the Blues goaltending is an abortion. Rust also has seven points in his last four games; it’s a great spot to stream him.
Andre Burakovsky (11.1%) – I see no reason to pass on using Burakovsky right now. As mentioned above, he’s hotter than a pistol right now and Ottawa doesn’t inspire confidence defensively.
Frank Vatrano (7.2%) – While he’s slowed down a bit, Vatrano played a career high in minutes last game. I don’t trust Detroit to hold up defensively against a desperate Bruins team.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Wednesday with daily notes recapping Tuesday’s games along with an overdue podcast with Reid. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments section below. Include any podcast topics you’d like as well and we’ll get to them either on Wednesday’s podcast or the other one we put out this week. Thanks for reading, take care!
