Steve Yzerman can’t ask for a better start from his big offseason swing. After his first game without a point as a Red Wing, Alex DeBrincat followed it up with a hat trick and an assist with five shots in Sunday’s win over the Flames. That brings DeBrincat to a whopping eight goals and four assists in his first six games with Detroit. He’s clicked with Dylan Larkin (two goals and three assists over two games) to give Detroit an elite first line. We’ve seen DeBrincat score 41 goals twice before playing with Kane, so it’s not like this is completely out of nowhere. While this shooting percentage won’t last, given how much Detroit is rolling the first line, I’m expecting career highs across the board for DeBrincat. There’s a real chance Detroit plays its way into the playoff picture this season if the first line can win its matchups on a regular basis. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games
Spencer Martin – 36 saves on 37 shots in the 3-1 win over Calgary. Martin was excellent, but I’ll need to see a couple quality starts strung together before I want to stream him.
Zach Werenski – Goal and an assist with three shots. Good to see Werenski back in the lineup already and performing.
Justin Danforth – Goal and an assist. He has three goals already, but Danforth is still getting fourth line minutes. Can’t buy it at all.
Jack Hughes – Two goals and two assists with six shots playing over 24 minutes. That gives Hughes 10 points in four games with 5.5 shots per game. Seems good.
Jesper Bratt – Three assists with a shot. The Devils power play is crushing early, and Bratt has been a big factor. Of his eight early points, seven are on the power play.
Timo Meier – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Meier was benched in the third period in the previous game, but was back over 20 minutes in this one. Nothing to really worry about.
Brock Nelson – Two goals on five shots. Nelson has easily been their best forward in the early going.
Bo Horvat – Two goals on five shots. Massive minutes for Horvat, who is averaging four shots per game. While I don’t expect anywhere near last season’s production, Horvat should still be solid.
Kyle Palmieri – Two assists with three shots. Decent start to the season for Palmieri, who is in solid streamer territory.
Saturday’s Games:
Casey Mittelstadt – Two assists with a shot. Buffalo shuffled their lines, putting Casey with Jeff Skinner (1+1, 4 SOG) and Tuch, who he finished the season with. Mittelstadt has been Buffalo’s best forward through five games and has reached elite streamer status.
Eric Comrie – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 2-1 win over the Isles. Comrie looked excellent, and he should start either tonight or tomorrow. If he plays tonight, I would stream him as Buffalo is a big favorite at home. If he doesn’t, just monitor how he does Tuesday.
David Perron – Goal and an assist. Perron’s shot rate is down quite a bit, but the Red Wings power play has started off strong. He’s a solid streamer.
Shayne Gostisbehere – Goal and an assist. Great start overall for Gostisbehere in Detroit. Easy hold everywhere.
Joe Veleno – Two goals on three shots with two PIM. Good start for the former first round pick, but he’s only a bottom end streamer for now.
Moritz Seider – Two assists with two PIM. While the points and blocks have been great, Seider is only averaging one shot per game. I don’t have any Seider this season, but if I did, I want to see if that changes over the next week or two. After a solid shot rate as a rookie, it was below average last season, and he can’t afford another step in the wrong direction.
Karel Vejmelka – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 2-1 win over the Ducks. That’s three strong starts out of the gate for Vejmelka. He’s must own everywhere.
Dylan Strome – Two goals on five shots. He’s a fine streamer, but I need some more consistency out of Strome to consider him for more.
Cole Caufield – Goal and an assist with five shots. The first line was very good in this one, as Nick Suzuki had two assists with three shots, while Sean Monahan also had a goal and an assist. The first two are clear holds while Monahan is bumped up to a solid streamer.
Matthew Knies – Two goals and an assist with three shots and two PIM. I think Knies has been overrated a bit being Toronto’s best prospect, but he’s a very good prospect, just not truly elite. He’s a middling streamer for now, but eventually should play his way into being a hold. My guess is that happens next season. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
John Tavares – Goal and an assist with seven shots. Tavares has started the season on fire with nine points in five games, plus elite shots. I’m sure he’ll do well, but expect him to finish in the same point per game range he’s been in lately.
Max Domi – Two assists with a shot. Domi is a bottom end streamer at this point. He has less opportunity in Toronto than he did elsewhere last season.
William Nylander – Goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM. Nylander, like Tavares, has nine points in five games, but I have much more confidence in him than J.T.
Nikita Kucherov – Two goals and an assist with six shots. It’s great to see Kucherov over four shots per game in the early going, resulting in six goals in six games. He’s a fantasy superstar, but the question is whether he’s towards the bottom of the top ten or the top half of it.
Elias Pettersson – Goal and an assist with two shots. The shots are down a bit, but there can’t be any complaints with Pettersson having ten points in the first five games.
Andrei Kuzmenko – Goal and an assist. It was always going to be hard for Kuzmenko to repeat last season after shooting 27.3%. My hope was there would be a shot volume bump to compensate, but it hasn’t happened. Kuzmenko is on the fringe.
Sam Reinhart – Two goals on four shots. The top line has been great in the early going, with Aleksander Barkov scoring a goal and an assist, while Evan Rodrigues dished two assists, adding four shots. Hopefully everyone grabbed Rodrigues last week as he’s clearly must own now.
Paul Cotter – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. He’s getting PP2 time, but Cotter is only a bottom end streamer.
Michael Amadio – Two assists with a shot. Same as Cotter, although I prefer Cotter to Amadio.
Travis Konecny – Two goals on four shots. Konecny is picking up right where he left off last season. It’s starting to look more and more like it wasn’t a fluke.
Noah Cates – Two assists with two shots. Cates had no points in his first four games, and only two total shots on goal. That’s simply unusable.
Wyatt Johnston – Goal and two assists with two shots. I love the workload that Johnston is getting so far. He’s an elite streamer with the chance for more.
Jamie Benn – Goal and an assist. They’re keeping Benn’s minutes down so far, and the shots haven’t been there. I’m still holding, but it’s worth monitoring.
Joe Pavelski – Goal and an assist with four shots. As noted in my preseason rankings, I’m done assuming the 39 year old Pavelski will slow down.
Brandon Saad – Two goals on six shots, both assisted by Robert Thomas. With Buch out, Saad has been filling in on the first line. He’s an elite streamer while that’s the case.
Kasperi Kapanen – Two assists with two shots. The minutes have been big for Kapanen, but it took a revenge game for him to get on the board. He’s a middling streamer with a bit of upside from there, but I can’t see him turning into a hold.
Juuse Saros – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 5-1 win over the Sharks. It’s been up and down through six starts, but Saros is sitting at 2.49/.916 which is just fine.
Thomas Novak – Two goals. Novak is going to get the chance to produce for Nashville this season. He’s a solid streamer after four goals in six games.
Luke Evangelista – Goal and an assist with three shots. Slow start for Evangelista has him as a middling streamer, although I do think there’s a bit of upside.
Gustav Nyquist – Two assists with a shot. Nyquist is on PP1 which is enough to consider him for streaming. Not a big fan of his even strength line though.
Kiefer Sherwood – Goal and an assist with a fight. And the Gordie Howe hat trick completes your annual Sherwood update!
Damon Severson – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. No power play time for Severson limits him to a deep league option.
Joel Eriksson Ek – Two assists with four shots and two PIM. JEEK is getting massive minutes so far and despite Boldy’s injury, he has seven points in five games. He’s a clear hold.
Pat Maroon – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. And there’s your monthly Maroon update!
Marcus Johansson – Goal and an assist. He’s on PP1 with Boldy out, but Johansson is only a bottom end streamer. The shot rate is too poor for more.
Dakota Mermis – Goal and an assist. Mermis is a 29 year old with barely any NHL experience. He will be back in the minors soon enough. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Stefan Noesen – Two assists. I don’t really get what Rod the Bod sees in Noesen to keep him on the power play, but that doesn’t matter. Noesen is a bottom end streamer who has more deep league value for some cheap PPP.
Jaccob Slavin – Goal and an assist with four shots. Amazing start from Slavin, but I can’t buy into it without any power play time. He’s a bottom end hold.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Goal and an assist. Solid start from Kotkaniemi, who could potentially be putting it together in his age 23 season. He’s an elite streamer who can play his way into a hold if the shot rate maintains.
Artturi Lehkonen – Goal and three assists with two shots and two PIM. Despite winning every game so far, Bednar has changed the lines, putting Lehkonen with MacKinnon and Big Val. He’s a hold regardless, but this does help his value.
Ryan Johansen – Goal and an assist with three shots. Johansen now gets to play with Rantanen, along with being on PP1. That puts him into solid streamer territory.
Logan O’Connor – Goal and an assist with two shots. That’s goals in three straight for O’Connor. He’s stuck on the fourth line so I don’t see much fantasy value, but I do expect more points than last season’s 26.
Josh Morrissey – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Great start from Morrissey with six points in five games and three shots per game.
Connor McDavid – Two assists with a shot before leaving the game due to injury. McDavid is out for 1-2 weeks now. Tough break for McDavid owners, but the good news is that it’s only short term.
Leon Draisaitl – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. How many minutes is Leon going to average while McDavid is out? 25? It’s going to be insane.
Filip Chytil – Three assists with five shots. The new lines have Chytil playing with Artemi Panarin (2G, 5 SOG), which is great for Chytil’s minutes. He’s a solid streamer with upside to reach the fringe.
K’Andre Miller – Two assists. Miller is on the fringe because of his poor shot rate.
Jonathan Quick – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 4-1 win over the Kraken. The Rangers made it easy for Quick in his debut with the Rangers. I have little interest in streaming him at this point.
Brad Marchand – Two goals and an assist with five shots. He’s had a point in every game so far, and Marchand is sitting at three shots per game. I was bullish on Marchand avoiding a drop off, but this start helps reaffirm that.
David Pastrnak – Goal and two assists with four shots. No surprise that Pasta has 4+ shots in every game and is off to a hot start. Full blown superstar.
Sunday’s Games
Justin Holl – Three assists with a shot, +5. No. Just no.
Lucas Raymond – Three assists with two shots. Despite his linemates blowing up in the early going, this was Raymond’s first big game. He’s an elite streamer, but I’m not rushing to hold.
Linus Ullmark – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 3-1 win over the Ducks. Through three starts, Ullmark hasn’t missed a beat, allowing one goal in each start. While I was higher on Ullmark than consensus, it’s worth noting he’s faced the Blackhawks, Sharks, and Ducks. Keep expectations in check.
Matthew Poitras – Two goals on four shots. The 19 year old second round pick is on the second line and second power play unit for Boston, giving him the chance to make an immediate impact. He’s a bottom end streamer with upside. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Three Point Challenge: We will do Tuesday’s games per usual. For the first few 4-6 weeks of the season, we will use last season’s top 10. That means you can’t select McDavid, Draisaitl, Kucherov, Pastrnak, MacKinnon, Robertson, M. Tkachuk, Rantanen, RNH, or Pettersson. The entire league plays on Tuesday which gives us plenty of options. I’ll go with Marner against the Capitals.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
