It looks like we could be seeing the Timo Meier breakout right before our eyes. The former top ten pick is really coming into his own this season as DeBoer has given him a top six role. Meier scored a goal on Friday because totaling two goals and an assist with four shots on Sunday. That brings Meier to eight goals and four assists in 11 games with over three shots per game. It’s pretty clear at this point: Meier is a must-own in all formats right now. He’s still available in over one third of leagues, so if you’re fortunate enough to be in one of those, go grab him now. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games
Laurent Brossoit – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 2-1 win over the Red Wings. Brossoit has looked solid for the Jets but I don’t have much faith in him. This looks like another exhibit in the case that you should start every goalie against the Red Wings.
Brent Burns – Two assists with three shots. He’s really piling up the assists and the minutes are back up to what we’re used to, so expect Burns to continue to do Brent Burns things.
Teuvo Teravainen – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. Strong start for Teravainen who is sitting at a point per game.
Matt Duchene – Two goals. Revenge game for Duchene who is over a point per game on the season. The Sens are bad, but they’re scoring plenty, so Duchene should be fine going forward.
Colin White – Two assists. I believe in White but he’s not fantasy relevant yet.
Mikko Rantanen – Goal and three assists with two shots. Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon each had a goal and two assists. This line is really pushing to be considered the best in the league. They are absolutely killing the opponent’s top line on a nightly basis.
Tyson Barrie – Three assists with seven shots. The shot rate is down, but the assists are piling up.
Saturday’s Games
Kyle Palmieri – Goal and an assist. Just an absurd start for Palmieri with 8+5 in 8 games with 10 PIM and over three shots per game. Looks like Hall finally has two linemates who can help him out regularly.
Nico Hischier – Two assists with a shot. Here’s the other linemate, who had his third two point game in his last four. We have to love what we’re seeing from Hischier at 19 years old.
Robin Lehner – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 6-1 win over the Flyers. Lehner has been very good to this point with a 2.39/.929 in six starts. Their defense is still a mess, so I expect some regression in the GAA, but Lehner has posted quality save percentages in the past.
Anders Lee – Goal and three assists with four shots. Lee has been excellent as he tries to prove he’s not a product of Tavares. He’s been a huge plus in every category.
Josh Bailey – Two assists with a shot. Bailey is a true forward AAGNOF who probably should be held but you don’t feel great about it.
Brock Nelson – Two goals on three shots and two PIM. Nelson is back to streamer status but he’s still a way from being a hold.
Adam Pelech – Goal and an assist with two shots. And there’s your annual Pelech update!
Mathew Barzal – Two assists with a shot. I am not sure what is going on with Barzal. On one hand, he’s at a point per game. On the other, he’s under one shot per game right now. That is an absolute killer since I thought he was going to take a jump into the 2.5-3 shots per game range. I’m not loving what I’m seeing from Barzal and would look to sell high.
Tobias Rieder – Two assists with a shot. He’s showing some signs of life, but I still need to see a bit more from Rieder to stream him.
Leon Draisaitl – Two goals with seven shots. Draisaitl looks like the same guy to me but is off to a hot start due to an unsustainable shooting percentage.
Connor McDavid – Goal and an assist with four shots. You almost expect him to get two points in every game right now.
Drake Caggiula – Two goals. Don’t see anything with Caggiula at the moment.
Ryan Johansen – Three assists with a shot and six PIM. Johansen has been excellent this season. If the shot rate stays above two, a top 50 season should be a near-lock.
Filip Forsberg – Hat trick on seven shots. Forsberg has found another gear and has a real chance at 40+ goals this year.
P.K. Subban – Two assists with a shot. Subban has been his usual steady self being a plus in every category.
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Two assists with two shots and four PIM. Kuznetsov’s shot rate is over three shots per game, and if that happens, a top 15 season is in play. I’m all in on Kuznetsov right now.
Mark Giordano – Two assists with four shots. Giordano has been excellent across the board to this point and there are no signs that it’s unsustainable.
Johnny Gaudreau – Two assists with two shots. Gaudreau has piled up the points and his minutes are even higher than they’ve been in the past.
Artturi Lehkonen – Two assists with a shot. The minutes are big but I still see him as a low end streamer.
Carey Price – 33 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Bruins. Price has been great as the team in front of him has been much better than expected. I’m still not fully buying in, but he certainly has more upside than I expected in the preseason.
Mitch Marner – Two assists with two shots. Saying Marner would lead Toronto in points in the preseason doesn’t look as outlandish now, especially that Auston Matthews is out with a shoulder injury.
Jason Pominville – Goal and an assist with six shots. I led Friday’s post about Pominville so check that out for more details on Pominville. The first line in Buffalo is on fire right now with Jeff Skinner and Jack Eichel also having two points.
Jake McCabe – Two assists with two shots. I could see considering McCabe in super deep leagues given the quality hits and blocks. The shot rate is abysmal though.
Cam Atkinson – Two goals and an assist with six shots. Like Buffalo, Columbus’s top line killed it with Artemi Panarin and Pierre-Luc Dubois also having three points each. Atkinson and Panarin have been spectacular while it feels like it’s only a matter of time for Dubois.
Patrick Kane – Two goals and an assist. This start by Kane is insane: 11+6 in 11 games with 5 shots per game.
Artem Anisimov – Goal and two assists. If he’s with Kane, Anisimov is a strong streamer. If he’s not, Anisimov isn’t worth considering. Simple enough.
Alex Pietrangelo – Goal and two assists with two shots. He’s had a slow start, but I have no concern over Pietrangelo. I can’t believe people are dropping him in shallow leagues.
Ryan O’Reilly – Goal and two assists with five shots. RoR looks terrific with the Blues and 65-70 points looks like a realistic outcome.
Zach Sanford – Goal and two assists with two shots. Sanford, who was a key part of the Shattenkirk rental, looks great in the early going. I’d stream him right now while he’s with RoR.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Two goals on six shots. He’s randomly -7, but 5+4 with 4.5 shots per game in 10 games is pretty, pretty good.
Eric Staal – Goal and an assist with two shots. Staal hasn’t been great and we knew the goals were going to regress. He’s a clear hold, but expecting anything close to last season is a mistake.
Mikael Granlund – Goal and an assist. Seven game point streak for Granlund who should do what he normally does: post just under a point per game come the end of the season.
Antti Raanta – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 7-1 win over the Lightning. Man, what a performance by the Coyotes. It was nice to see Raanta back in the net. The Coyotes looks pretty good right now so Raanta could be a low end #1.
Brad Richardson – Two assists. And there’s your annual Richardson update!
Michael Grabner – Two goals on three shots. Both of these goals were shorthanded in true Grabner fashion. He’s off the streaming radar for now.
Alex Goligoski – Two assists. Goligoski’s time as a fantasy asset have come and gone.
Vinnie Hinostroza – Goal and an assist with three shots. Hinostroza has looked very good in a relatively small workload with six points in his last six games. He’s a bottom end streamer, but there’s a bit more upside if the minutes go up.
Casey DeSmith – 29 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Canucks. The Pens are just ravishing teams right now. DeSmith isn’t great but he’s worth streaming in every start.
Evgeni Malkin – Two goals and an assist with six shots and two PIM. The Canucks simply didn’t have an answer for any of the superstars on Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby also scored twice while Phil Kessel had two points. All of these guys are rolling and there’s no reason to expect a change.
Jake Guentzel – Two assists. He’s a bottom end hold as long as he’s with Crosby.
Sunday’s Games:
Vladislav Namestnikov – Goal and an assist with two shots. Names has started off the season quite poorly, so he’s nowhere near fantasy consideration right now.
Tony DeAngelo – Goal and an assist with two shots. When DeAngelo has played, he’s always produced offensively. The problem is that he’s regularly scratched. Hopefully he gets more of a chance with the Rangers rebuilding because DeAngelo could even be 10’er relevant.
Ilya Kovalchuk – Goal and two assists with four shots. It’s been an okay start for Kovy in his return to the NHL. I think it’ll be a bit better, but don’t expect too much.
Drew Doughty – Two assists with five shots. Come the end of the year, we know what we’re going to get from Doughty.
John Klingberg – Two assists with a shot. Klingberg is just killing it with over a point per game and pushing three shots per game. The coaching change appears to have helped out an already elite player.
Dylan Larkin – Two assists with three shots. The plus-minus is rough but Larkin has piled up the points like I expected.
Thomas Greiss – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 2-1 win over the Hurricanes. It looks like Greiss will get back to his standards before last season. Lehner appears to be the #1 right now, but I’m sure Greiss will get plenty of opportunities. I would stream him in good matchups.
Sebastian Aho – Assist with four shots. Is an 11 game point streak good? Asking for a friend.
Cam Talbot – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 OT win over Chicago. I’m still scared of Edmonton’s defense, but Talbot looks to be a decent #2 now instead of a complete desperation play.
Ryan Dzingel – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM playing almost 20 minutes. Dzingel has been very good to this point. I feel confident streaming him most nights.
Thomas Chabot – Two assists with two PIM and two SOG. Chabot is going to be a fantasy stud one day. He’s up to 3+10 in 10 games, and while that certainly won’t keep up, Chabot is going to pile up points.
Alex Tuch – Two goals on eight shots. Great to see Tuch back scoring goals again. He’s positioned for a big breakout this season.
Erik Haula – Two assists with five shots. Haula has had a rough start to the season, but I still feel comfortable streaming him. The minutes are still there and Tuch’s return is going to help immensely.
Logan Couture – Goal and an assist. He crushed with Meier on Sunday, along with the third wheel Tomas Hertl (2A, 3 SOG). Both of these guys are over a point per game on the season. The second line has outproduced the top line by a wide margin to this point.
Ryan Getzlaf – Two assists with five shots. After an awful start in terms of shots, Getzlaf has 13 SOG in the past three games. Whether he’s below two per game or if he can get to the 2.5 range again will go a long way in determining how valuable he ends up.
Pontus Aberg – Two goals. I thought Aberg showed some potential in the Smashville Cup run two seasons ago, but he hasn’t received much of a chance since. There’s nothing here yet, but Aberg is worth monitoring.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back Wednesday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, please leave any questions or comments below. Thanks for reading, take care!
