After missing the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, the Sharks have started off this season on fire winning their three games by a 12-1 aggregate score. The fact that the Sharks have scored 12 goals in 3 games isn’t surprising; they have a lot of firepower and are bound to have streaks like this. The stunning part is that they’ve given up 1 goal in 3 games and the credit goes to Martin Jones. Back to back shutouts against the Ducks and the Capitals for a goalie entrenched as a full-time starter for the first time is nothing short of impressive. It remains to be seen if the Sharks keep it up and to determine if Jones will wear down being a workhorse for the first time but enjoy the ride while you can.
Here’s what else happened on Tuesday night:
Brent Burns – Assist with 4 shots and 6 PIM. Burns looks like a good bet to end the season as a top 5 defenseman.
Tomas Hertl – Goal on his only shot. Good to see Hertl start the year with 2 goals in 3 games. New coach Pete DeBoer has the Sharks rolling and the early power play time for Hertl is outstanding.
T.J. Oshie – Five shots in an insane 24:40 time on ice. Played insane minutes with Alex Ovechkin out (minor, should only miss this game) and should continue to be on the first line so the points will be coming very soon.
Roman Josi – Two goals and 3 shots. In the early going, Josi and Shea Weber aren’t playing as many minutes as last year (that’s why I had them lower than most places, 10th and 12th in my defenseman rankings) but they’re still going to produce plenty playing 22ish minutes.
Pekka Rinne – 22 saves on 23 shots. Almost disappointing that he didn’t get a shutout against the Devils.
Keith Kinkaid – 17 saves on 18 shots filling in for Cory Schneider while his wife had their first kid. Schneider should be back soon but I wouldn’t want to own Kinkaid even in the deepest of leagues. The Devils are going to be horrible.
Michael Hutchinson – 40 saves on 41 shots in a dominating performance against the Rangers. Coach Paul Maurice played Hutchinson for long stretches last year even though Ondrej Pavelec had a career season so at the least, Hutchinson is generally a great stream when he starts. He’s on the fringe of being ownable in 12 man leagues; anything bigger is a no-brainer.
Nikolaj Ehlers – First career goal on an absolute snipe against the best goalie in the world. Roll him in all leagues and don’t think twice.
Bryan Little – Two goals on 4 shots, one shorthanded and one power play. One of the most underrated players in hockey, Little’s locked into the first line in Winnipeg so the opportunity will be there for a career season.
Tyler Myers – Assist with 2 shots and 2 PIM in 22 minutes. I had him in my top 200 overall and I’m sticking with it; I think he should be own in standard 10 man leagues and deeper as your 4th or 5th defenseman.
Mats Zuccarello – Goal on 5 shots in almost 21 minutes of ice time. Rangers are rolling the top line for big minutes early and Zuccarello is producing. He’s someone I’m going to throw trade offers out there for as a career year may happen with his situation.
Rick Nash – Assist on 5 shots and 2 PIM. Don’t worry, the goals are coming.
Derick Brassard – Assist on 1 shot and 2 PIM. I’d like to see him take more shots (only 4 in 4 games) but the assists are going to be there playing with Nash and Zucc.
Carey Price – 31 saves on 33 shots in the win against the Penguins. Very impressive 4-0 start for the Canadiens, all on the road. The team is on Carey Price’s shoulders and he looks like he’ll be able to carry them for a second straight season.
Max Pacioretty – Two goals on 4 shots. Great start to the season; I’m betting on Pacioretty getting 40+ goals for the first time this year.
Beau Bennett – Goal on 6 shots. I wouldn’t rush to pick him up but with the struggles of the wingers getting a chance in the Penguins top six, Bennett could get a shot there soon. If he does, he’s must-own.
Kris Letang – Goal on 5 shots in 26:40. Yes, he’s pretty damn good. Yes, I still don’t get how ESPN had him ranked outside the top 100. No, I’m not going to stop reminding you of this all season,
Al Montoya – 22 saves on 23 shots for the win in his first start against the Hurricanes. Roberto Luongo is going to get the majority of the starts for the Panthers but Montoya should be a good streamer when he gets the occasional nod.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal on six shots. Worth repeating again; get Barkov if possible in all leagues.
Nick Bjugstad – Goal on two shots. I’d like to see the minutes higher than they have been but they’re giving him more offensive zone starts than expected so it’s not the worst situation.
Justin Faulk – Assist with four shots and two penalty minutes. I’m going to boldly predict Faulk gets to 55 points this season. He’s a key cog to the Hurricanes offense and they don’t have anyone else worthy on their defense to stop Faulk from playing 25+ minutes.
Eddie Lack – 26 saves on 29 shots. He was shutting down the Panthers until a late explosion in the third period. Lack is still miles better than Cam Ward so he should take over the main goalie shorter rather than later.
Jonathan Drouin – Assist and 2 PIM. Could Drouin get 65 points this year? I don’t think it’s out of the question. The kid has so much talent.
Anton Stralman – Assist. He’s going to be horrible in shots but if your league doesn’t have shots as a category, he’s must own. I’d still own him as my last defenseman in 12 man.
Jimmy Howard – 20 saves on 21 shots in the win. I suggested you own both parts of the Wings goalie platoon and it’s paying off dividends early. The Wings look outstanding and they don’t even have Pavel Datsyuk back yet.
Gustav Nyqvist – Goal on 3 shots. He only played 10:35 which is concerning and quite frankly, I don’t understand it. He should be a 30 goal scorer if given even 15-17 minutes a game. He’s on the first power play unit and will get better linemates when Datsyuk gets back but I’d like to see the minutes move up. His ceiling is lowered drastically if he’s in the 10-13 minute range.
Dylan Larkin – Assist and two shots. Must own for me in all leagues.
Henrik Zetterberg – Goal and assist with one shot. Please just stay healthy. It’s great for hockey fans to see Zetterberg do his thing.
Connor McDavid – First career goal on three shots. Excellent goal deflecting a shot from Andrej Sekera. It’ll be the first of many. He’s playing around 16 minutes a game which is good to get his feet wet. By the end of the season, I expect that number to be closer to 20.
Nail Yakupov – Assist on 3 shots and 2 PIM. Moved onto the wing on Mcdavid’s line. He’s must own if he’s in the top 6.
Anders Nillson – 48 saves on an insane 51 shots against. He won’t play much and I wouldn’t own him in the deepest of leagues but I’ll be watching his spot starts to see more of Nillson.
Kari Lehtonen – 26 saves on 28 shots in the win. How Antti Niemi does is going to directly effect how many games Lehtonen gets. If Niemi struggles at all, Lehtonen can work this situation into a split and Lehtonen becomes must-own. If I had Niemi, I’d have Lehtonen on my bench.
Jamie Benn – Goal and 3 shots in almost 23 minutes. Only a matter of time until the Stars top line gets on a hot streak.
Tyler Seguin – assist and 10 shots. Goals are coming very soon.
Jason Spezza – Hat trick on 8 shots. He had all the good fortune today among the superstars on the Stars. The Stars power play hasn’t even started to score yet so all of these guys are going to have a hot streak coming.
Patrick Sharp – Seven shots. Same sentiments as the previous three guys.
John Klingberg – Assist and 4 shots in 26+ minutes. Good to see the shots and again, once the PP starts going, Klingberg is going to rack up the points.
Ales Hemsky – Assist and 4 shots and 2 PIM. He’s made of glass and has fallen off in recent years when healthy but it’s an encouraging start to the season. I’m not adding him in 12 man yet since he’s not in the top 6 but anything deeper, I’m picking him up.
Brian Elliott – 15 saves on 18 shots but got the win. I expect the Blues to turn to Jake Allen in their next game after this poor performance.
Colton Parayko – First two career goals. He’s on the second power play unit and played 18 minutes so he’s worth monitoring. I’d grab him in the deepest of leagues like 20 man but not making the move yet in shallower leagues. If somebody got hurt on the Blues blueline ahead of him, then that changes things.
Troy Brouwer – Goal and an assist in 19 minutes of ice time. He’s getting big minutes right now in the Blues top 6 so he’s becoming must own in 12 man. He’s good for 45-50 points (usually around 20+25) and is a good source of PIM and hits if your league counts that category.
Paul Stastny – Assist with 4 shots. The entire first line (Alex Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko) all had an assist so the points keep coming. The Blues are counting on them for scoring right now so expect the big minutes and production to continue.
Jiri Hudler – Goal on 2 shots in 21 minutes. First line keeps getting big minutes (Hudler played the least) so things are looking good for a repeat of last year.
Dennis Wideman – Two assists and 1 shot in 26 minutes. I’m not big on Wideman for this year but he’s probably must-own, at least until T.J. Brodie returns from injury.
Ryan Miller – 16 save shutout. Probably the easiest shutout of his career. Man, the Kings are a disaster right now but the Canucks look much better than I expected.
Alex Edler – Goal on two shots and 2 PIM. Has the PPQB spot on the first power play right now so I’d own Edler in all leagues.
Streamers for Wednesday’s games: It’s a four game slate so I expect a lot of streaming to happen. Here’s three guys I like for tonight:
Michael Raffl (0.7% owned) – He’s on the first line, first power play unit and Chicago has been vulnerable defensively this year. Raffl doesn’t have a point yet but he has 10 shots and 6 PIM in 3 games so the peripherals are there for him to finally get on the score sheet.
Tobias Rieder (1.7%) – He’s been hot to start the year getting ample opportunity so might as well ride the hot schomato (Grey reference!) while you can.
Alex Tanguay (7.1%) Tanguay is on the first power play, with two of the hottest players to start the season (Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog) at even strength and the Bruins are a disaster right now.
Thanks for reading guys! As always, post any questions and comments below. With the very short slate tomorrow, barring something drastic happening that needs immediate discussion on Thursday, I’ll have a recap of Wednesday and Thursday out Friday morning. If I don’t have a short article out on Thursday, I will post my Thursday night streamers in the comment section below this article. Take care everyone!
