This is year three of me writing daily notes for Razzball, and at this point, I don’t think it provides a ton of value for me to write the intro paragraph on superstars. That said, four goal games are a different animal. Connor McDavid crushed the best team in the NHL on Monday, scoring a whopping four goals on nine shots and adding an assist in the 6-2 win over the Lightning. We know McDavid is as good as it gets and he’s the best player in fantasy for the foreseeable future. This is just a reminder about how good he is (let’s not take him for granted) and how bad of a job Peter Chiarelli has done as a GM that McDavid isn’t going to be in the playoffs this season. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Kevin Fiala – Two goals. He’s already had one absurd hot streak this season so grab him while he’s hotter than a pistol.
Nick Bonino – Two assists. Hard pass at this point in his career.
Brock Nelson – Two assists. He’s an interesting trade target but for now, leave him on the waiver wire.
Andrew Ladd – Two assists. Slightly better than Bonino but I still don’t want to use Ladd.
Jake Gardiner – Three assists with three shots. I’d lean towards holding him now with the other Toronto injuries but if you have any moves cap, I wouldn’t bother.. the upside isn’t high enough for Gardiner.
William Nylander – Two goals and an assist with five shots. He’s rolling right now, I’d just like the shot rate to go back up.
Auston Matthews – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Come on Babcock, will you start playing Matthews 20 minutes a night? It’s the only thing stopping Matthews from being a slam dunk first round pick.
Nazem Kadri – Two assists with two shots. After an awful stretch, Kadri is back on track and should be owned everywhere.
Zach Hyman – Goal and an assist with two shots. As long as he’s with Matthews, Hyman is a solid streamer.
Corey Perry – Four assists with six shots on Monday, goal on two shots Tuesday. I’ll be honest, he looked awful against the Sabres last night. He should be owned in all formats, but I don’t like Perry that much and I’ll be avoiding him in drafts next year.
Rickard Rakell – Three goals and an assist with six shots over two games. He’s hotter than hell right now with six goals and six assists over his last six games.
Ryan Getzlaf – Goal and two assists with ten shots over two games. I am absolutely loving Getzlaf’s shot rate recently, and he’s well over a point per game on the season. His baldness will never slow him down!
Ondrej Kase – Two goals and an assist with seven shots. I’ve long been a Kase fan, what a find by Anaheim in the 7th round, but for now he’s only a streamer.
Ben Bishop – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 win over the Rangers. Two things. Bishop at home is as good as it gets. Also, the Rangers are going to be bad down the stretch and should be streamed against.
Yanni Gourde – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s come out of nowhere to be a valuable fantasy asset. Gourde is right on the edge of stream vs. hold and I’d actually lean hold at the moment.
Leon Draisaitl – Goal and two assists with three shots and four PIM. He played with McDavid at even strength as well meaning Leon could be a monster down the stretch again.
Ryan Strome – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Sure, he’s on the top power play unit, but I’m still not giving Strome consideration outside of the deepest of leagues. Just nowhere near enough.
Jack Eichel – Goal and an assist with six shots. He snapped a small cold streak with this game. I still expect Eichel to finish over a point per game.
Sam Reinhart – Two assists with two shots. He’s never going to be a superstar but I’m extremely encouraged by Reinhart’s recent progress. Great streamer in redrafts but he’s a great target in deep dynasties.
Brian Elliott – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 2-1 OT win over Carolina. I still have zero faith in Mr. Elliott.
Jonathan Marchessault – Goal and an assist with three shots. Mr. Reilly Smith also had two points with a double dimebag, a shot and two PIM. Well played Mr. Tallon!
Evgeni Malkin – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. Phil Kessel and Sidney Crosby also had two points each. Studs for Pittsburgh cruising right now. Just stay healthy!
Alex Ovechkin – Two assists with eight shots. The penalty minutes have dried up, but what an incredible season across the board from Ovie.
Nicklas Backstrom – Goal and an assist with two PIM. What a disappointing season from Backs, and he’s 30 years old now. Seems like a guy I’m going to fade going forward.
Dalton Heinen – Goal and an assist with four shots. He’s been a huge surprise this season as a 22 year old former 4th round pick. I’m still unsure how sustainable it is, and Heinen is a solid streamer in redrafts, but for dynasties he’s an extremely intriguing option.
Sean Kuraly – Goal and an assist with two shots. And here’s your first of an extremely small amount, possibly one, Sean Kuraly update!
Martin Frk – Goal and an assist with three shots. Frk is difficult to judge. On one hand, his shot is absolutely incredible. On the other hand, the rest of his game is lacking. Perhaps he can carve out a role, but compared to consensus, I’m down on Frk.
Kyle Palmieri – Goal and an assist with five shots and four PIM. I can only say for so long that I really like Palmieri for the second half. I just said it again and didn’t even mean to. If he’s available in your league, get him!
Pavel Zacha – Two assists with four shots. I don’t know when it’ll happen, but eventually Zacha is going to have everything click and it will be outstanding.
Matt Duchene – Goal and two assists with four shots. We know how good he is capable of being, but Duchene is only a streamer for me in 12’ers right now. The consistency is simply lacking.
Mike Hoffman – Goal and an assist with two shots. Don’t hassle the Hoff, Man! Everyone knows how much I like him and that I expect the Sens to make some awful trade.
Aleksander Barkov – Two goals on five shots. The fact that he’s better in real life than in fantasy is a testament to how good of a player Barkov truly is. The shot rate is elite now and he’s not far off a point per game.
Harri Sateri – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 3-1 win over the Canucks. Both Reimer and Luongo could be back in the next week so unless you’re desperate and looking extremely short term, I’m ignoring Sateri.
Eric Staal – Goal and an assist with four shots. He’s had a bit of luck but Staal is a monster. Good job Boudreau.
Mikko Koivu – Goal and an assist with two PIM. Middling streamer at best.
Mikael Granlund – Two assists with a shot. He started slow but Granlund has surely erased that horrible start.
Jason Zucker – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. It’s solid everywhere, especially in goals, that Zucker needs to be rolled in all leagues.
Colton Parayko – Two assists with five shots. I expected big things from Parayko this season, and while he’s been solid, he didn’t elevate his game as I hoped. Parayko is still only 24 so it could potentially get better, but I haven’t seen enough to think there’s any elite upside anymore.
Carter Hutton – 5 saves on 8 shots in the first period before being pulled in the 6-2 loss to the Wild. Hutton apparently gets killed or gives up one goal or less in a game. I still have a lot of faith, just remember that Hutton isn’t a sure thing.
Derek Stepan – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. Your format determines Stepan’s value but it’s hard to back him with that plus-minus.
Christian Dvorak – Goal and an assist with three shots. There’s still long term upside but Dvorak has little value outside of dynasties or super deep leagues.
Dustin Byfuglien – Goal and an assist with two shots. Big Buff is due for plenty of positive regression so look for a big second half.
Sean Monahan – Goal and an assist with two shots. His partner in crime, Johnny Gaudreau, had two assists. Look for Calgary to roll the top line a ton down the stretch as they push towards the playoffs.
Tyson Jost – Goal and an assist. Long term, huge fan. Right now, bottom end streamer at best.
J.T. Compher – Goal and an assist with two shots. Big fan of Compher in real life but I don’t see a lot of real life upside. That said, the shot rate is strong enough that he should at least turn into a solid streamer.
Jonathan Bernier – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 3-1 win over the Sharks. He is hotter than a pistol right now, and while I don’t have a lot of faith in him, Bernier needs to be owned everywhere.
That’s all for now guys. With another small slate on Wednesday, I will have my next set of daily notes on Thursday. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or make any suggestions below. Just as a heads up, I made day two of a World Poker Tour tournament at Fallsview in Niagara Falls, Canada, which is today. My cell phone service was going in and out there on Monday, so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to answer you. If it’s before 10 am eastern, it won’t be an issue, and I promise I will get to it if it’s later, but I will try to have Reid and LDOM help me out if I can’t get service. Thank you very much for reading, take care!
