Well, my bold preseason prediction that Matvei Michkov would score 30+ goals has some hope. Since coming back from the Four Nations break, Michkov has completely torched the Oilers and the Penguins twice. Michkov scored two goals and an assist with four shots on Thursday, giving him eight points in his three games over the past week. Going back to the two games before the break, he also has 24 shots on goal in five games, which is incredibly encouraging going forward. I’m all in on Michkov long term as I’ve noted throughout the season, but his rough patch in January has left him on the waiver wire on around 50% of leagues. Even if he’s just a hot schmotato for now, he’s clearly must own right now because of the undeniable upside. If his shot rate gets up to three per game eventually, he’s going to be a top 20 player for years. Let’s take a look at what else happened on Thursday night:
Mikko Rantanen – Goal and an assist with three shots. It’s been a very slow start for Rantanen in Carolina, but his shot rate is over three per game so it’s only a matter of time for it to turn.
John Klingberg – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Klingberg has been in a sheltered role for Edmonton. He’s looked alright and there’s definitely deep league value, but there’s not enough there for 12’ers yet.
Anton Lundell – Goal and two assists with three shots. If Bennett leaves in free agency, I will be all in on Lundell next year. As is, he’s a middling to solid streamer.
Aaron Ekblad – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. It’s not the most exciting stat line, but it’s enough for Ekblad to be a bottom end hold everywhere.
Connor McMichael – Goal and an assist with two shots. After slowing down, McMichael has nine points in his last nine games. He’s back to being an easy hold.
Brayden Schenn – Two assists. Schenn is playing well with four points in his last three games, but he’s still in the middling streamer range. I don’t see a trade changing that, but perhaps it will.
Pavel Buchnevich – Two assists with four shots and two PIM. It’s been a very disappointing year for Buch, but he does have seven points in four games since the break, and ten in his last eight overall. He’s an elite streamer while he’s playing this well.
Philip Broberg – Two goals. There’s some deep league value, but Broberg isn’t doing quite enough for 12’ers.
Jake Neighbours – Goal and an assist with two shots. Bottom end to middling streamer.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 27 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Flames. After a dreadful 23-24 season, Vasilevskiy is full back this season. He’s been on fire, pushing back to the #2 overall goalie.
Victor Hedman – Two assists with four shots. Another typical Hedman season, no surprise.
Brandon Hagel – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Hagel is really giving me a chance of hitting my 90+ point bold prediction. He’s absolutely killing it across the board, sitting as a top five forward on the season.
Alex Wennberg – Two assists with a shot. Not interested even in deep leagues.
Will Smith – Goal and an assist with four shots. Smith is starting to show off his potential regularly now. Long term, there is fantasy superstar upside. For now, he’s a middling streamer.
Nick Suzuki – Two goals and an assist with three shots. The shot rate is down which is a bit annoying, but Suzuki is sitting right around a point per game. That’s the kind of player he’s established himself as now.
Cole Caufield – Goal and an assist with two shots. Caufield is pushing towards a 40 goal season. He’s not perfect, but Caufield is one of the best snipers in the game.
J.T. Compher – Goal and an assist with two shots. Outside of deep leagues for faceoffs, Compher’s fantasy value is minimal.
Boone Jenner – Three assists with seven shots. It’s great to see Jenner back on the ice. He has five assists in three games since his return. With how well Columbus has played this year, I think Jenner should be owned everywhere.
James van Riemsdyk – Two goals. JVR has done quite well in his sheltered role, but that only goes so far in fantasy. Deep leagues only.
Kent Johnson – Goal and an assist with two shots. I lean towards holding Johnson despite a poor shot rate, as he has 11 points in his last 10 games and the workload is strong.
Ilya Sorokin – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 2-1 win over the Bruins. Sorokin stole two points after four dreadful games in a row. It’s been another disappointing season for Sorokin. The upside is undeniable, but he’ll have to be dropped in my rankings next season as the team around him becomes weaker defensively.
Owen Tippett – Goal and an assist with four shots. Tippett has been thriving with Michkov since the break, with four goals plus an assist and 14 shots in three games. He’s back to elite streamer level while he’s on fire.
Evgeni Malkin – Two goals and two assists with three shots. Malkin is still an elite streamer, but overall, it’s just not enough in pretty much any category besides assists.
Erik Karlsson – Two goals and an assist with four shots. The plus-minus is dreadful, but everything else is still quite good. It makes him better in H2H leagues than roto, but Karlsson is must own regardless.
Juuse Saros – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 2-1 win over the Jets. Really rough year for Saros. He’s kind of in the same boat as Sorokin, where the coaching change and team around him has gotten worse, as has he. Saros is still only 29 so he can definitely bounce back, but he’s not in tier one anymore.
Karel Vejmelka – 15 saves on 16 shots in the 6-1 win over the Wild. Massive heater right now for Vejmelka, who is must own everywhere.
Clayton Keller – Goal and four assists with three shots. Keller has found another level to his game in Utah this season. He’s a top 20 forward on the season now.
Nick Schmaltz – Goal and two assists with four shots. Schmaltz is on the fringe depending on team needs.
Mikhail Sergachev – Two assists with a shot. It’s a bit disappointing from Sergachev, namely the shot rate, but he’s still a solid #3 in 12’ers.
Barrett Hayton – Goal and an assist with three shots. Middling streamer.
Logan Cooley – Goal and an assist. Cooley is probably fringe worthy, but I’ve been holding him throughout the season.
Connor Murphy – Three assists with a shot, three hits and six blocks. There’s deep league value for the secondary numbers, but the offense is bleak despite this game.
Frank Nazar – Two assists with two shots. Nazar should have a pretty big workload down the stretch with Chicago having nothing to play for. He’s a middling streamer. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Ivan Barbashev – Two goals and two assists. It’s been a long time since Barbashev has had an offensive season like this. He’s in elite streamer range despite a dreadful shot rate.
Brett Howden – Three assists with a shot. Howden is on a heater, but he’s super deep league only.
Tomas Hertl – Goal and an assist with two shots. Elite streamer, but Hertl’s even strength struggles keep him from hold consideration.
Noah Hanifin – Two assists with five shots. With Theodore out, Hanifin is probably worth holding again.
Keegan Kolesar – Two goals on five shots. Kolesar is limited to a hits streamer.
Tyler Myers – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. With Hughes back, the little fantasy value Myers has just evaporated.
Ryan Strome – Goal and two assists, as did Troy Terry. Both are getting top line minutes and PP1 time as the Ducks work their way onto the fringe of the playoff picture. Strome is back to a middling streamer, while Terry is on the fringe with a slight lean towards holding.
Isac Lundestrom – Two assists. At one point, there looked like there was some upside from Lundestrom, but it hasn’t panned out at all. Fantasy afterthought.
Mason McTavish – Two assists with a shot. This season has been a disaster overall for McTavish. He’s still only 22 so I’m not giving up long term, but he’s only a middling streamer for now.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
