Even though the Flames offense has been prospering lately, they’ve done it without their number 1 center producing. Before Wednesday night, Sean Monahan had 3 points in his last 13 games. Well, he broke out of his slump and in a big way with a goal, three assists and three shots in the 4-1 win over the Hurricanes. He now has 15 goals and 18 assists through 49 games, a bit behind last year’s pace. You can attribute directly to special teams points; Monahan had 21 last year while he only has 8 to date this year. If he gets going on the power play, he can push last year’s 62 point total. While he hasn’t taken the next step from last season, he’s still only 21 years old. The sky is the limit for this kid and it would be wise to throw make some offers for him in a dynasty league if his owner isn’t happy. Here’s what else I saw around the league the last two nights:
Alex Galchenyuk – Goal on five shots. He’s been in a bit of a slump and his plus-minus has plummeted because of it. Gally is still a hold in 12’ers though.
Max Pacioretty – Assist on three shots. Patches is stuck with two horrible linemates right now and has to generate everything himself. The shots should be outstanding, even better than normal, while that’s the case.
Ben Bishop – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 3-1 win over the Red Wings. His goals against average is back under 2 with an elite save percentage. The Bolts are starting to play better hockey so the wins should start to increase as well. He’s in the top tier of goalies.
Tyler Johnson – Goal on five shots. He’s arguably been the biggest disappointment in fantasy hockey this season with only 17 points in 37 games. At this point, you have to just ride it out with him; his upside is too high to sell low and this was the first game that we’ve seen signs of a breakout. The next few games will be telling.
Nikita Kucherov – Goal and an assist with two shots. The plus-minus isn’t at last year’s level but everything else is improved. And he’s still only 22.
Elias Lindholm – Goal on four shots. The kid is going to be a stud but he lacks the consistency right now to be a hold in 12’ers. Lindholm is a nice player to target in dynasties because he goes a bit under the radar and he just turned 21.
Karri Ramo – 28 saves on 29 shots in the win. He should get the majority of starts going forward again and should be owned everywhere.
Johnny Gaudreau – Goal and an assist with three shots. Not much else to say about the kid. The shot rate has increased drastically and he’s at a point per game.
Mark Giordano – Goal and an assist with a shot. Absolute heater right now for Gio. Remember when he was horrible to start the year?
Dougie Hamilton – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. I’d grab him in 12’ers everywhere. Things are starting to click and he contributes enough everywhere.
Jiri Hudler – Two assists with a shot. Rumor has it that the Flames are shopping him. Crazy to think he ended in the top 10 in scoring last year. A trade could really hurt his value as he’s barely a hold as is.
Tuukka Rask – 26 saves on 28 shots in the 3-2 shootout win over the Sabres. He still has won less than half of his games and the numbers are below average. Meh.
Brad Marchand – Goal on five shots. It was a brutal goal for Chad Johnson to allow but that’s why you shoot the puck. Still amazing the troll is top ten in the league in goals.
Ryan Spooner – Goal on three shots. If there was any doubt about him being a hold with David Krejci returning, it’s been erased.
Robin Lehner – 33 saves on 35 shots in the 4-2 win over Montreal Wednesday. He’s been outstanding since he returned and should be owned everywhere.
Evander Kane – Goal on fifteen shots with two PIM in two games. This is why you hold him and why the goals are coming. He looked great all night and was unfortunate to only get one goal. If you can buy low, do it.
Ryan O’Reilly – Two assists with three shots. He’s slowed down a bit but still has a good chance to approach 70 points.
Sam Reinhart – Goal on three shots. If you need goals, you can hold Rhino in 12’ers but otherwise, keep using him as a top end stream.
Ryan Suter – Assist with four shots and two PIM. It’s been an amazing bounceback from Suter as he’s putting his massive minutes to good use. Everything is great across the board.
Derick Brassard – Goal and an assist with two shots. Should be another 60+ point season for Brassard while setting a career high in goals.
Ryan McDonagh – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s coming on offensively and should see a minutes boost with the injury to Kevin Klein.
J.T. Miller – Goal and an assist with shots. Everyone on New York is getting a goal, assist and two shots! I’ve talked a ton about Miller so you know by now that I think he’s a clear must-own everywhere.
Mats Zuccarello – Two assists with three shots. He’s slowed down quite a bit but Zucc should get things going again.
Josh Bailey – Goal and an assist with two shots. You never know what lineup Bailey is going to be on so he’s best left as a streamer if he’s in the right situation.
Mikhail Grabovski – Goal on his only shot. Still worth stream consideration as long as he’s on the top line.
Braden Holtby – 24 saves on 26 shots in the 3-2 win over the Islanders. He keeps chugging along as the #1 overall goalie and I don’t expect it to change.
Nicklas Backstrom – Two assists. The shots are rough right now but with over a point per game, no reason to complain.
Andre Burakovsky – Goal on his only shot. Own him everywhere.
T.J. Oshie – Goal and an assist with a shot. He is somebody I’m trying to acquire in trades because his opportunity is as good as anybody’s in the league.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal on five shots and two PIM. Despite not being there right now, he’s my #1 player for the rest of the season. I expect him to lead the league in goals and the shots are simply incredible. Add in the plus-minus, power play goals and solid penalty minutes and there’s nobody better.
Cam Talbot – 36 saves on 38 shots in the 7-2 win over the Senators. He’s on fire right now and should be owned everywhere.
Leon Draisaitl – Goal and an assist with a shot. He’s getting closer to a point per game again and Draisaitl doesn’t even have that many power play points. The kid is the real deal.
Jordan Eberle – Two goals and an assist with seven shots. Oh baby. He’s the biggest benefactor of Connor McDavid returning and he’s delivering big time. I mentioned him as a trade target in Wednesday’s article; good luck with that now.
Connor McDavid – Two assists with a shot. Ridiculous how good this kid is. Is it outrageous to think he can lead the league in points next year? I’m starting to think it’s not.
Benoit Pouliot – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Man, he’s making look pretty damn good so far with four points in the last two games. Grab him everywhere.
Mike Hoffman – Goal on three shots. Even though the Sens are a mess, the studs can’t be stopped.
Erik Karlsson – Two assists with four shots. Same as Hoffman.
Mark Stone – Goal on five shots. Same as Hoffman as well.
Dylan Larkin – Two goals on eight shots in two games. Kid is rolling right now and despite having 35 points in 50 games, he only has 3 power play points. He’s nowhere near his ceiling.
Jaromir Jagr – Goal and two assists with two shots and six PIM. Okay Jags, I see you. The shots aren’t good but everything else is amazing. Guy turns 44 in a couple weeks and he can get over 60 points on the season. Unbelievable.
Jussi Jokinen – Two assists with two shots. He’s doing just enough of everything to push being a hold in 12’ers. As you guys know, I like to stream my last few spots in leagues with unlimited moves but if you have a moves cap, I’m holding Jokinen.
Brandon Pirri – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. He’s been scratched recently and only played 11 minutes so he’s best left on the waiver wire until the minutes come back up.
Reilly Smith – Two assists with a shot playing almost 22 minutes. That’s quite the shift Smith put in on Thursday night. He’s in the same boat as Jokinen although if I have to pick one, it’s Jussi.
Vincent Trocheck – Two goals and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Look at all of these Panthers hitting all of the categories! Just like Jokinen and Smith, he’s right on the fringe and depends on league settings.
Martin Jones – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blues. He’s been very solid in his first year as a full time starter. In a dynasty league, I’d consider moving him though. One, he’s 26 years old, older than you think for being a starter for the first time. More importantly, the core of the Sharks is getting pretty old and the young core doesn’t match up with the rest of their division, particularly the teams at the bottom right now.
Joonas Donksoi – Goal on two shots. The shots are the only thing keeping him from a hold and staying as a stream.
Joe Pavelski – Two assists with five shots. He’s putting together another incredible year where he’s plus in all categories and elite in goals, assists, plus-minus and power play points. He’s on pace to do better than 40+40.
Joe Thornton – Goal on three shots. On pace to get 50 assists again while actually getting over 15 goals. Great stuff for where he was drafted.
Steve Mason – 37 saves on 40 shots in the 6-3 win over the Predators. Still not a fan going forward with how poor the Flyers are defensively and Michal Neuvirth pushing for more starts.
Claude Giroux – Two goals and an assist with five shots. The heater is here and here to stay for Giroux. Expect him to be right around or above a point per game the rest of the way.
Wayne Simmonds – Two goals and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Nobody is hotter around the league right now than Simmonds. What took the Flyers so long to give him a chance on the first line?
Jakub Voracek – Two assists with two shots. Remember when Voracek was brutal the first two months and was on the fourth line for a stretch? Too funny. Everything is coming around swimmingly right now as the top line is the best line in hockey for the last month.
Pekka Rinne – 13 saves on 19 shots. Puke. Another contender for worst start of the year. I’ve been telling to avoid Rinne lately but this is even worse than I expected. He’s single-handedly keeping the Predators out of a playoff spot.
Ryan Johansen – Goal and an assist with two shots. Nice to see him respond to the trade and be the stud we know since he got to Smashville.
Roman Josi – Two assists with two shots. His plus-minus fell off this year but he’s elite in every other category for a defenseman.
Shea Weber – Goal and an assist with two shots. Same as Josi except you’re getting a few less points (but more goals) and a drop in penalty minutes. Where the hell did the penalty minutes go? He only has 10 to this point in the season. Strange.
John Klingberg – Goal on four shots. He’s been hot the last few weeks and is back to being a stud in all categories.
Blake Comeau – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. There’s some value here in deep leagues with the big minutes he’s getting but he doesn’t do enough with them to be valuable in 12’ers
Erik Johnson – Two assists with two shots. He’s right on the fringe of 12’ers and does enough if you need a PIM boost.
Carl Soderberg – Goal and an assist with a shot. Still a clear hold right now.
Marian Hossa -Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. This year has been a big disappointment so far but Hossa is taking over three shots per game and the plus-minus boost makes him a hold still.
Artemi Panarin – Three assists with five shots. He hasn’t slowed down one bit and keeps this Calder Trophy race battle at a dead heat.
Jonathan Toews – Two goals on four shots. Toews has been coming on for over a month now and the only thing holding him back from crushing all of the categories is only having 5 power play points. One power play assist seems impossible but that’s all he has to this point. Assume that turns around.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Goal, two assists, six shots, twelve PIM. That might be the best line from a defenseman all season. His numbers are incredible across the board sans plus-minus now and is making the case to be a top 3 defenseman going forward in dynasty formats.
Joonas Korpisalo – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 2-1 shootout win over the Canucks. He’s played much better of late and Sergei Bobrovsky isn’t close to returning so if you’re desperate for starts, Korpisalo should get the majority going forward.
Sven Baertschi – Assist with two shots and two PIM. The only thing holding him back from being a potential hold in 12’ers is the lack of shots. If he starts to shoot more, good things will come. I’m still looking at him next year as a sleeper.
Bo Horvat – Assist with two shots. I like Horvat even more than Sven. His plus-minus is an absurd -24 but with the way he plays at 20 years old, I expect it to be an anomaly.
Ryan Getzlaf – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Good start to a potential second half surge by Getzlaf.
David Perron – Goal and two assists with two shots. He’s been thriving on the first line and is right on the edge of 12’ers. See more below.
Anze Kopitar – Two assists. Another player on a heater, Kopitar is in the midst of one of his best ever months offensively in his career.
Friday Streamers: There’s only a four game slate tonight so it’s a primetime to stream. As a heads up, Sunday is only a 3 game slate with the Super Bowl so make sure to get ahead of the 8 ball tonight and then target what you need in those games on Sunday. Here are my top 3 streams tonight:
David Perron (22.7%) – When I wrote this before Thursday night’s game, Perron was at 19.8% but now he’s over my normal 20% threshold. Nevertheless, I’m leaving him here because his matchup with the Coyotes is amazing (they’ve given up 5 goals in back to back games) and Perron is killing it with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Perron is arguably a hold right now so grab him for tonight and see how the game goes before making that decision.
Elias Lindholm (12.7%) – Talked about him above; the Jets have been
hit or miss this year and Lindholm is getting big minutes in all situations.
Michael Frolik (1.4%) – I used him the other day and while he didn’t score, he had five shots on goal. Now he gets the best matchup possible right now, the Blue Jackets at home.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the weekend. As always, feel free to ask any questions or post any comments below. Enjoy some hockey and enjoy the Super Bowl; take care everyone!
