It was ridiculous enough that Tom Wilson set career high in both goals and assists in his 12th season in the NHL, especially after coming off a horrible 2023-24. So of course, Wilson is blowing last season out of the water so far in his age 32 season. Wilson had a goal and an assist with two shots on Friday against Toronto, before scoring two goals and an assist with three shots and two PIM against the Isles on Sunday. Wilson is somehow sitting with 15 goals already, adding 14 assists, in only 26 games. Add in 54 PIM and 69 hits already and Wilson is having a top five fantasy season for a forward as we enter December. Am I buying this? Definitely not. Guys just don’t go from a 40-50 point player to 65 and then blow that 65 out of the water at age 32. However, I also wouldn’t be looking to move him without getting an insane return. The PIM and hits are locks to be elite and he has turned into a good play driver. With where you drafted Wilson, you’re already playing with house money, so let it ride! Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games:
Jake Allen – 42 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Sabres. The Sabres doubled up the Devils in shot attempts, but Allen wasn’t having any of it. He’s been very good overall and is must-own everywhere.
Arseny Gritsyuk – Two goals on six shots with two PIM. He looks decent as an older rookie. Gritsyuk is a middling streamer at the moment.
Brenden Dillon – Goal and an assist with two shots. Very good hits and blocks so far, which gives Dillon some nice deep league value. That’s the extent of it.
Darren Raddysh – Goal and two assists with four shots. Raddysh is on a massive tear and is must own everywhere. Spoiler alert, more on him shortly.
Nikita Kucherov – Two assists with four shots. Kucherov had an even better game on Saturday. Safe to say he’s kicking into full gear.
Jake Guentzel – Goal and an assist. Guentzel is right back at the same level as last season, which is a top 25 player.
Yanni Gourde – Two goals on four shots with two PIM. Gourde stood out regularly in this game, which is good to see. His role keeps him as as deep league guy, but Gourde has revived a bit of value.
J.T. Compher – Goal and an assist with three shots, as did Michael Rasmussen. Both are bottom end streamers.
Artemi Panarin – Goal and three assists with two shots. Panarin has been at such a level for years that being at a point per game feels disappointing. He’s still a top 50 player with upside to get back into the top 25.
Adam Fox – Three assists but out week to week. It’s very hard to say who replaces Fox on PP1, which is the only D that will be relevant. It could end up being none and they go five forwards. I’ll be monitoring it closely.
Mika Zibanejad – Two goals on seven shots. Zibanejad feels like a clear hold, but it’s boring.
Vincent Trocheck – Two assists with three shots. Same deal as Zibanejad.
Elias Lindholm – Two assists with two shots. The points are surprisingly decent so far with Lindholm. The shots remain brutal, so he’s more middling streamer than anything else.
Nathan MacKinnon – Goal and an assist with four shots. We’re looking at a potential Richard and Hart campaign for MacKinnon. Clearly the #1 player at the moment.
Kirill Kaprizov – Two goals on three shots. Kaprizov is a clear as day top 10 player. It’s only a matter of health.
Samuel Montembeault – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 4-1 win over the Golden Knights. Impressive game from Montembeault, who has been horrendous this season. The upside is there, but for now, I’m mostly streaming.
Cole Caufield – Goal and an assist with two shots. His point streak is up to seven games. The shot rate is down a bit, which has me slightly concerned for Caufield’s ceiling, but I still think a 40 goal season is within reason.
Zachary Bolduc – Goal and an assist with three shots. Bolduc moved onto a line with Caufield and Suzuki, along with PP1. That puts him in elite streamer range.
Juraj Slafkovsky – Goal and an assist. I’ve always been much lower than consensus on Slafkovsky, not even having him in my top 200 this season. Now that he’s off the top line, he’s only in middling streamer territory.
Nazem Kadri – Goal and two assists with eight shots. It’s not flashy, but Kadri has been very good overall on a dreadful team. He’s also having horrible shooting luck, so if anything, I’d be targeting him in a trade.
Rasmus Andersson – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. This Andersson surge really came out of nowhere. He’s a clear hold again.
Joel Farabee – Goal and an assist with two shots. Bottom end streamer.
Sam Reinhart – Two assists with two shots. Reinhart going about his business like always. Right around a 40 goal pace with a point per game.
Brandt Clarke – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. With Doughty out, Clarke is worth owning again. The minutes are fairly stable finally, for now at least.
Trevor Moore – Two assists. Moore has fallen off a cliff this season. I’m passing for now.
Brian Dumoulin – Two assists with a shot. And there’s your annual Dumoulin update!
Leo Carlsson – Goal and two assists with two shots. What a meteoric rise for Carlsson. There’s a really good chance he ends up with more points by New Year’s than he did all of last season.
Mason McTavish – Two assists with two shots. McTavish cooled off after a hot start, but he’s hot again with seven points in his last six games. He’s a bottom end hold with big upside.
Macklin Celebrini – Two assists with a shot and four PIM. He’ll be a top 20 fantasy player for a decade, and there’s a good chance that it’s top 10 the entire time.
Matthew Schaefer – Goal and an assist. When the Islanders fall behind in a game, the minutes are massive. He saw almost 29 minutes in this one. I sold him short for redrafts, and I believe that he’ll be a top five overall defenseman in a couple years. Full blown superstardom is on the horizon.
Connor McMichael – Goal and an assist with five shots. We’re starting to see some signs from McMichael getting back to how he was most of last season. He’s in middling streamer range.
Brandon Bussi – 12 saves on 13 shots in the 5-1 win over the Jets. Bussi is 6-1 despite a .899 sv%. That .899 comes with a 2.43 GAA, which shows how dominant the Canes have been defensively in front of him. He doesn’t play much, but Bussi is worth streaming every time.
Seth Jarvis – Hat trick on eight shots. The assists have dropped off, but Jarvis has turned them into goals. He’s playing at a 50 goal pace over 24 games. Don’t think anyone can have complaints.
Shayne Gostisbehere – Two assists with a shot. The return of Miller hasn’t hurt him at all. Gostisbehere has been incredible.
Andrei Svechnikov – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Svech is back on the fringe. The points aren’t consistent yet, but the shot rate is back on track.
Sidney Crosby – Two goals on three shots. I expect him to slow down a bit, but it would be amazing if Crosby takes a run at 50 goals.
Kris Letang – Goal and an assist with three shots. I’d lean towards leaving Letang on the waiver wire, but it is fringy.
Tommy Novak – Two assists with a shot. Novak hasn’t done much in Pittsburgh. Nothing to see here.
Zach Werenski – Goal and an assist with two shots. Werenski pushing four shots per game is incredible. He’s become the #2 defenseman in fantasy and there isn’t much debate.
John Marino – Two assists with a shot. Marino is stumbling into a bunch of assists. There’s real value in deeper leagues, but I’m not interested in 12’ers because he’s not helping anyhwere else besides plus-minus. AAGNOF!
Mikko Rantanen – Two assists with three shots. Quietly, Rantanen is a top five forward on the season now in PIM leagues. Scumming two people helps, on top of 10+20 in 24 games. It is mind blowing that he wasn’t suspended for the boarding against Romanov.
Miro Heiskanen – Two assists with three shots. Heiskanen has bounced back in full to bottom end #1 status, if not better. The injury to Harley has only increased Heiskanen’s value.
Steven Stamkos – Goal and an assist, as did Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Evangelista. I guess I would rank them in the reverse order that they’re written here, but RoR and Evangelista are solid streamers. Stammer is down to a bottom end to middling one now.
Saturday’s Games
Jonas Johansson – 12 saves on 13 shots in the 4-1 win over the Rangers. Man, the Rangers are awful at home. Johansson is an okay streamer solely for wins, but man, he is not good.
Brandon Hagel – Two goals on five shots. Hagel has eight goals and four assists in his past five games. Beyond on fire.
Darren Raddysh – Three assists, as did Nikita Kucherov. Hotter than a pistol! Covered above.
Brock Nelson – Two goals and two assists with three shots and two PIM. This points eruption came pretty much out of nowhere. Middling to solid streamer.
Gabriel Landeskog – Two goals and an assist with five shots. It’s nice to see Kog get on a role. He’s on PP1 at the moment, which puits him into elite streamer range.
Nathan MacKinnon – Goal and two assists with five shots. Martin Necas dished three assists with three shots and two PIM, while Artturi Lehkonen had two assists. This line is the best in hockey right now, full stop. Necas is a top ten forward right now, while Lehkonen is creeping up towards top 50 overall range. Man, this team is a wagon.
Stuart Skinner – 26 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Kraken. This after allowing four goals on eight shots in the first period in his previous game. What a clownshow the Oilers net is right now. Skinner is on the fringe solely because the wins are fine.
Connor McDavid – Goal and an assist, as did Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Hyman has had a decent start since returning from injury, and is clearly a hold. RNH’s return puts him right back on the fringe depending on team needs.
Dylan Samberg – Three assists with two PIM. Nice player in real life, but these were his first points this season. Easy pass.
Nino Niederreiter – Two goals on four shots. Middling to solid streamer. It could be better on a different team, but he’s stuck in this role for the Jets.
Luke Schenn – Two assists with a shot. And there’s your annual Schenn update!
Erik Haula – Two assists with a shot. The minutes are pretty big right now, putting Haula into middling streamer territory.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Goal and an assist with two shots. He left the game early on Saturday, which is a damn shame. OEL is in the midst of a nine game point streak. Just an incredible resurgence on a struggling team.
Morgan Rielly – Two assists. The Leafs managted to score seven goals in this game, and it didn’t really change my opinion on the forwards. I just wanted to know that Rielly is into the top 10 in scoring for defensemen. Very nice bounceback.
Owen Tippett – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Eleven points in the last eight games for Tippett is a great surge. His minutes aren’t great and the shot rate isn’t where we’d like, so I see him as more of an elite streamer.
Travis Konecny – Two assists with two shots. Konecny’s shot rate has also cratered, which is tough for his overall value. He’s still a clear hold, but Konecny needs that shot rate to go back up to become a top 50 player again.
Trevor Zegras – Goal and an assist with two shots. Excellent resurgence for Zegras, who is sitting at a point per game on the season. Love to see it.
Matvei Michkov – Two goals on six shots with two PIM. I’ve been extremely stubborn with Michkov, so I’ve been holding all along. Hopefully this five points in five game stretch is a sign of things to come. In reality, he’s on the fringe.
Jesper Bratt – Two assists with two shots. Bratt is doing what we’re used to, although the goals have really dried up
Dawson Mercer – Goal and an assist with five shots. Mercer has played his way back onto the fringe, as he’s finally back towards the trajectory we were expecting after a big sophomore season.
Dylan Larkin – Two assists with a shot. Larkin is pushing towards being a top 20 player, which is a level I didn’t think he could approach. It’s fantastic across the board.
Morgan Geekie – Two goals on three shots. It is incredible that he’s tied for the league lead in goals. Geekie having 20 goals with 6 assists is hilarious. I still refuse to buy Geekie and his 28.6% shooting, but I can’t imagine you can get much for the value he’s giving, so you probably should just ride with it.
Elias Lindholm – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Nothing changed from above.
Joel Hofer – 18 save shutout in the 1-0 win over Karel Vejmelka (18/19) and the Mammoth. What a brutal game to watch with neither team getting 20 shots on goal. I have no interest in Hofer right now, but it is worth noting that the Mammoth are struggling right now. I wouldn’t be scared rolling goalies against them at the moment.
Will Smith – Two goals on four shots. Smith has playued his way into being a hold, and it’s only going to get better in the long term.
Tomas Hertl – Two goals on three shots. He’s down on the third line right now, but Hertl is still PP1, so he’s worth holding.
Mitch Marner – Goal and an assist with two shots. The shot rate is really bad for Marner now. Under two per game for a guy who used to be around three per game is rough. He’s sitting at a point per game, but it’s going to be hard for Marner to get more than 20 goals with this shot rate. 20+65ish is plenty good, but it is below what I expected.
Carter Hart – Already recalled on the first day possible. Do I like the situation where Hart is playing already? Absolutely not. That said, the reality is that he’s playing, so he should be owned everywhere.
Adrian Kempe – Goal and an assist with three shots. If you can buy low on Kempe, I would do it. He’s still over three shots per game so the goals should start coming in more regularly.
Anton Forsberg – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Canucks. I streamed Forsberg in this spot because the Canucks are a mess. I’d only use Forsberg in good matchups as he’s had some really bad games against good teams, but he’s had some very good ones against the bottom feeders, or at least bad offenses.
Sunday’s Games
Logan Thompson – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 4-1 win over the Islanders. Thompson is the #2 goalie on the season now, proving last season wasn’t a fluke. He clearly should be on Team Canada, but who knows with the politicking.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with two shots. Thirteen points in the last nine for Ovechkin has him back near a point per game. I’d like to see the shot rate surge back up though.
Troy Terry – Two assists with two shots. Seven game point streak for Terry, who is having the best season in his career, and that’s from someone who previously scored 37 goals.
Cutter Gauthier – Goal and an assist with eight shots. I was a big fan of Gauthier in dynasties, but I did not see this level jump coming in year two. The shot rate being over four per game has him as a bonafide fantasy superstar for the years to come.
Connor Bedard – Two goals and two assists with five shots. Speaking of superstars, the Blackhawks were down 3-0 in this game and Bedard carried them back. He’s a top ten fantasy player now.
Brandon Bussi – 15 save shutout in the 1-0 OT win over Devin Cooley (16/17) and the Flames. How the hell did Carolina only have 17 SOG against the Flames? My mind is blown. Anyways, I covered Bussi under Friday’s games.
Casey DeSmith – 16 saves on 17 shots in the 6-1 win over the Sens. Complete domination from Dallas. DeSmith is worth streaming in almost all matchups.
Wyatt Johnston – Three goals and an assist with four shots. Wyatt, is in fact, rolling. I don’t think he’ll make it, and I know that Canada is loaded, but I think Johnston deserves to be on Team Canada.
Mikko Rantanen – Three assists with three shots. Jason Robertson had a goal and two assists, while Roope Hintz dished two assists, adding two shots and two PIM. The Stars power play is a force to be reckoned with at the moment, not that it’s much easier to deal with at even strength.
Three Point Challenge: We’re going to do something similar to last week. We will make a pick for Tuesday’s games on this post, and then make a pick for Thursday’s games on MarmosDad’s post that comes out on Wednesday. For Tuesday, you can’t pick MacKinnon, Bedard, Celebrini, McDavid, Robertson, Carlsson, Rantanen, Necas, Kucherov, Nylander, Eichel, or Makar (damn ties!). I’ll go with Kaprizov while I can against the Oilers.
And with that, I’m wrapping up a 3,000 word post. I certainly wasn’t expecting this on December 1st, but it was an action packed weekend of games because of Thanksgiving. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. I’ll be back on Friday either with more notes or something else. Be sure to check out MarmosDad’s post on Wednesday. Thanks for reading, take care!
