A week ago, I said this about Steve Mason: “Michal Neuvirth is out for over a month so it’s going to be Mason’s show. Perhaps the extra starts will help him get into a flow but he’s certainly in the ‘desperate for starts’ category for now.” After Tuesday’s big game, it’s been three strong starts out of four. Mason made 38 saves in the 3-1 win against the Panthers and if not for a horrible Matt Read turnover with less than two minutes left, he would have been a good bet for a shutout. Since Neuvirth went down, Mason has saved 107 of 115 shots which is more than solid. I picked up Mason for this start in multiple leagues and for now, I’d definitely grab him in 12’ers. He’s less than 20% owned at the time of this writing so odds are he’s available in your league. It may not be all peaches and cream but the volume alone has its value and the Flyers have played much better in their last five games. Here’s what else I saw on the short Tuesday slate:
Jake Allen – 39 saves on 41 shots in the 4-2 win at Boston. Monster game from Allen who has allowed 6 goals in the last 4 games with over a .950 sv% since the Columbus debacle. That sound you heard was the buy low window closing.
Patrik Berglund – Two assists with four shots. Berglund is one of those guys who always leaves me wanting more. For now, he’s only worthy of deep leagues.
Jori Lehtera – Two goals on two shots. I had high hopes for him coming into last season but his lack of shots caps his ceiling so much.
Colton Parayko – Two assists and a shot. Amazing that he doesn’t have a goal on 56 shots but at least he’s up to 11 assists.
Tuukka Rask – 24 saves on 27 shots in the loss. He’s human after all! It shows how good that Rask has been that this is his worst start of the year.
David Backes – Goal on six shots with two PIM. Backes has been in a slump but I’d still hold tight for the penalty minute boost.
Torey Krug – Assist and a shot. There’s finally some improvement here but I’m still looking for a goal streak.
Cam Ward – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 2-1 win over the Maple Leafs. We talked about him extensively on the latest podcast; ride the hot streak while you can.
Elias Lindholm – Assist and two shots. He was buzzing a lot in this game and with four points in his last five games, Lindholm is back on my streaming radar.
Jeff Skinner – Goal on four shots. No slowing him down right now.
Nazem Kadri – Assist with three shots playing over 21 minutes. The shots are incredibly right now; add in the penalty minutes in a 60 point pace and Kadri has been excellent through the first 25% of the season.
Derick Brassard – Goal and an assist with two shots. The minutes are lower than expected right now but I think I’d still hold tight in 12’ers.
Mike Hoffman – Goal and two assists with four shots and two PIM. Don’t hassle the Hoff(man)! I was going to give him the lede but Mason is widely available while Hoffman is not and I wanted to make a before and after title Wheel of Fortune style with an Alice in Chains album. Sue me! It was nice to see his return from being out a week in a big way.
Erik Karlsson – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM finishing +3. Decent day for the silky smooth Swede. The shots are down a fair margin which is frustrating but overall, no complaints with his total stat line.
Mark Stone – Goal and two assists with two shots. Stoner bashing time! A few commenters have asked me if Stone was a good buy low candidate. I said yes and then he gets three points. You couldn’t have waited a game before going off Stone? Let people make their trades? Just kidding, as an owner myself, I thank you.
Carey Price – 19 saves on 23 shots in the 4-3 loss to Ottawa. The two goalies who were the best by a mile in the early going, Rask and Price, each had rough nights. My level of concern for both is near zero.
Alex Galchenyuk – Filled up the stat sheet with a goal, assist, four shots and two PIM. Sorry Reid, just one point short for the Three Point Challenge lead. We are past the point of a breakout, he’s just the real deal.
Andrei Markov – Three assists with two shots playing over 30 minutes. Good lord, I can’t believe the old guy can play 30 minutes. As expected, it’s all assists and nothing else but amazingly he’s tied for second in the league in assists behind that McJesus fella.
Alex Radulov – Goal on three shots. Absolutely unreal in the early going.
Shea Weber – Goal and an assist with five shots. See Radulov, Alex except he’s been even more absurd.
Sean Couturier – Left the game injured. If you own him in a 12’er, definitely cut bait even if he misses just one game.
Brayden Schenn – Two power play assists. It’s unspectacular but it’s plenty good enough across the board.
Wayne Simmonds – Goal and an assist with three shots. It doesn’t make a difference if he’s on the first or second line, he’s going to produce.
Nick Bjugstad – Two shots in his season debut. Minutes were low to start but he was buzzing in this game. Assuming they go shortly, Bjugstad will be firmly on the streaming radar.
Jonathan Marchessault – Assist with a shot and four PIM. He’s stuffed the stat sheet all season becoming one of the best late round values of the year.
Keith Yandle – Assist and a shot. He’s heating up!
Thomas Greiss – 39 saves on 41 shots in the 3-2 fourteen round shootout win over the Ducks. The Islanders were lucky that Greiss was remarkable and that a controversy in the shootout went their way. Regardless, it looked like Greiss was going to be the workhorse and then didn’t start a game for three weeks. Good job Jack Capuano, you might want to play this guy some more.
Josh Bailey – Goal and an assist with six shots playing over 22 minutes. Bailey remains an elite streamer; I don’t think there’s quite enough to hold him.
Cam Fowler – Goal and an assist with five shots playing almost 25 minutes. The return of Hampus Lindholm (shot in almost 29 minutes) hasn’t hurt him one bit. Hold tight and enjoy it.
Ryan Getzlaf – Assist with a shot and two PIM. I watched most of this game and his line was buzzing the entire game. That is more important for…
Rickard Rakell – Goal on three shots as he moved onto the first line. He’s been excellent in the early going with 11 points in 11 games. He’s still available in 45% of leagues. Go grab him now.
Jonathan Bernier – 33 saves on 35 shots in the loss. Tough luck loser for sure especially since he should have won the game in the 12th round. I think Bernier has played his way into streaming status when he starts.
Wednesday Streamers – Unlike the majority of this season, there’s a massive 12 game slate tonight being Thanksgiving Eve. Here are my top three streamers:
Nino Niederreiter – Going back to the well here. A home matchup with a struggling Jets team should do the trick.
Martin Hanzal (13.3%) – It doesn’t get much better than a home matchup against the Canucks right now. I prefer Radim Vrbata in the same game but he’s at 22% owned and I don’t want to cheat my system today. Hanzal will do just fine.
Sam Gagner (14.1%) – I’m still not buying in but he’s so hot the ice could melt right now and the Flames are a dumpster fire defensively.
That’s all for now guys. To be honest, I’m not sure when my next set of daily notes will be! Probably on Monday but there’s a chance that there is one Friday morning. I’m recording a podcast with Reid later today though which should be out either late Wednesday or Friday morning. I’m also scheduling the RCL recap post for Friday in case I don’t have daily notes Friday and the podcast is already out. As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below. In case the podcast isn’t up on Wednesday, this is my last chance to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Take care!
