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If you’re a frequent reader of my articles, then you know the player I streamed the most this year has been Vladislav Namestnikov.  Well, I’m not streaming him anymore because he’s terrible.  Kidding! That’s because he’s a clear hold now.  He’s centering the first line in Tampa (Steven Stamkos is playing RW) and he’s coming off a hat trick on five shots in the 5-4 win over the Penguins Friday night.  He only had one shot in Sunday’s game but still, the role we look to stream him in looks secured now.  Names (I’m sticking with that nickname, thanks commenters!) now has 23 points in 44 games and that’s with being shuffled throughout the lineup and with little PP time (he has 4 PPP).  There’s no guarantee that he lasts in this role all season but now, he’s must own in 12’ers.  Here’s what else I saw around the league this weekend:

Friday’s Games:

Bruins 4, Sabres 1 – This game was tied going into the third period before the Bruins scored three unanswered.  Jonas Gustavsson lived up to his nickname (“The Monster”) and stopped 33 of 34 shots in the win.  His overall numbers are better than Tuukka Rask‘s, albeit in a smaller sample, but he’s worth streaming when he gets a start.  The second line kept rolling for Boston with Matt Beleskey having a goal and an assist with two shots, Loui Eriksson had two assists with two shots while the en fuego Ryan Spooner had a goal, two assists, three shots and two PIM.  For the Sabres, Robin Lehner made his return after being injured in the first game of the season and played fairly well.  He stopped 27 of 30 shots and was in control for most of the game.  If he’s available, he’s probably a better option than the rest of the waiver wire.

Blackhawks 4, Maple Leafs 1 – Surprise, Patrick Kane stole the show scoring his first career hat trick on four shots, adding an assist and two PIM.  It’s not even fair at this point.  His partner in crime, Artemi Panarin, scored a goal with two assists and two shots.  Brent Seabrook had two assists with a shot and two PIM while Scott Darling played great in the spot start stopping 28 of 29 shots.  Morgan Reilly scored the Leafs goal on four shots and is somebody that I’ll be targeting going into next season.

Canucks 3, Hurricanes 2 (OT) – Jacob Markstrom played outstanding stopping 38 of 40 shots.  Ryan Miller has returned from injury but Markstrom has played well enough to get his fair share of starts going forward.  Bo Horvat continued his heater with two goals on three shots.  I’m picking him up in all leagues now after what happened in Sunday’s game (more on that later).  Eddie Lack didn’t get revenge on his old team; he stopped 19 of 22 shots in the loss.  Kris Versteeg stayed hot scoring once on six shots but I’m still only streaming him in good matchups.

Lightning 5, Penguins 4 (OT) – Marc-Andre Fleury had a rare dud stopping only 20 of 25 shots.  Sidney Crosby maintained his fire tallying an assist with three shots.  Patric Hornqvist had a goal and two assists with seven shots playing on the second line with Evgeni Malkin (two assists, three shots) and Phil Kessel (assist and a shot); he’s must-own in all leagues again.  Kris Letang had a goal and an assist with two shots but left the game injured.  Unfortunately, he didn’t play Sunday but he’s questionable for tonight so the injury isn’t serious.  As he did earlier in the year, Olli Maatta stepped into Letang’s role and had an assist with two shots.  He’s a great guy to have when Letang is out, otherwise not so much.  Same apparently goes for Trevor Daley who scored once on four shots and saw an increase in minutes.  As mentioned in the intro, Vladislav Namestnikov had a hat trick in this game.  Andrei Vasilevskiy played great despite allowing four goals making 36 saves.  Valtteri Filppula scored once and added two assists playing almost 22 minutes.  He’s on a great streak right now (more on that later) and is on the first power play unit so he’s right on the fringe of 12’ers. Steven Stamkos‘ turnaround was bolstered by two more assists and a shot.

Jets 1, Wild 0 – This goaltending duel favored the waiver wire goalie of the year over last year’s waiver wire goalie of the year.  Connor Hellebuyck posted another shutout stopping all 24 shots he faced.  The numbers are outstanding and I don’t see why he would lose starts anytime soon, even with Ondrej Pavelec coming back.  Blake Wheeler scored the lone goal on five shots, assisted by Bryan Little.  Devan Dubnyk was the tough luck loser stopping 25 of 26 shots.

Ducks 4, Stars 2 – Jamie Benn snapped his mini-skid scoring once on four shots.  Mattias Janmark scored the other Stars goal but he’s back to a streamer now that Benn and Tyler Seguin (five shots) are reunited again.  For the Ducks, Ryan Getzlaf had another assist and Corey Perry scored a goal on four shots as they look to have a big second half.  Jakob Silfverberg had another two point games and has as many points in the last four games (six) as he did in the first 39.  In deep leagues, I’m definitely grabbing him.  In 12’ers, I’ll look to stream again and hold if he has another solid game.

Saturday’s Games:

Rangers 3, Flyers 2 (SO) – Henrik Lundqvist had a second consecutive great start stopping 34 of 36 shots.  Chris Kreider scored once on four shots starting off his weekend well (it got better!). Rick Nash had an assist with six shots snapping a brief three game point drought.  The third member of that line, Derek Stepan, had an assist with two shots and four PIM.  I think Stepan is a great buy low target.  The shots are there, he has quality wingers to take advantage of his passing and his 4 STP is surely going to increase. J.T. Miller scored a goal on two shots and has stuck on the first line for a few weeks now.  He’s a top end streamer at the moment.  Sean Couturier had another assist with two shots pushing closer to a hold.  Claude Giroux had an assist with three shots and is another player I expect to have a monster second half.  Shayne Gostisbehere made his return and show no ill-effects playing 21 minutes and taking six shots.  Wayne Simmonds is still loving life on the first line scoring once on four shots while Jakub Voracek‘s resurgence continued with an assist, five shots and four PIM.

Devils 2, Coyotes 0 – Cory Schneider stole the show again stopping all 38 Coyotes shots.  There are so many goalies this year having amazing seasons but Schneider keeping the Devils in contention is arguably the most impressive.  Kyle Palmieri‘s insane breakout hasn’t stopped yet; he scored again on three shots and added four PIM.

Senators 5, Kings 3 – The second line led the way for the Sens as they scored 4 times in the final 12 minutes to erase a 3-1 deficit.  Bobby Ryan keeps overcoming having two first names scoring a goal and an assist with three shots.  Mike Zibanejad also had a goal and an assist and is someone that I’d hold in 12’ers.  Jonathan Quick had a brutal game allowing four goals on 22 shots.  Jeff Carter scored a goal and an assist with three shots as he starts to get back in the groove after missing some time due to injury.  Tyler Toffoli‘s hot streak won’t stop as he scored a goal with an assist and three shots.  He’s loving life with Anze Kopitar (assist and two shots).

Bruins 3, Leafs 2 – This game would have been more lopsided if not for Jonathan Bernier making 42 saves.  I’m still avoiding him altogether.  Nazem Kadri had an assist and four shots maintaining his quality play while Uncle Leo Komarov scored again on five shots.  If you had Uncle Leo in the All-Star game this year, raise your hand!  I see someone’s pants on fire in the distance…Patrice Bergeron scored twice on five shots as his offensive breakout sees no end.  Zdeno Chara had an assist to go with three shots and two PIM.  Brad Marchand scored once on six shots and added four PIM as the troll looks to stay on track for a 30 goal, 100 PIM season.

Sabres 4, Capitals 1 – That’s what I’m talking about! Chad Johnson played great again stopping 33 of 34 shots.  It will be interesting to see how often he plays with Robin Lehner back.  Zach Bogosian had two assists with two PIM and in deep leagues that count hits and blocks, there’s some value here.  Evander Kane had a goal and an assist with five shots and looks poised for a big second half.  Ryan O’Reilly, Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen all had an assist.  Braden Holtby had a horrible game stopping 13 of 16 shots before getting pulled in the second period.

Blue Jackets 2, Avalanche 1 – Joonas Korpisalo stopped 29 of 30 shots in the victory.  He’s safe to drop now because Sergei Bobrovsky is back; he was healthy enough to backup and should start Tuesday.  Brandon Dubinsky scored once on two shots as his role approaching 20 minutes a game looks secure.  Seth Jones had an assist with three shots and is must-own with his role increase.  Brandon Saad had an assist with six shots and continues to be one of the few bright spots in Columbus.

Blues 4, Canadiens 3 (OT) – Mike Condon was dreadful allowing 4 goals on 22 shots.  Again, I want nothing to do with Montreal goalies right now.  Brendan Gallagher had an assist, seven shots and two PIM and looks like he didn’t miss any time.  Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM while Tomas Plekanec had a goal and an assist with nine shots and four PIM.  That’s 22 shots from one line, that’s absolutely incredible.  That’s as many as the Blues had in the entire game as a team!  P.K. Subban had a goal on seven shots which, if my prediction over the last few weeks is correct, should start a hot streak for him.  Brian Elliott stole the game for the Blues making 46 saves.  David Backes had an assist with a shot and four PIM doing what his owners hope for.  Patrik Berglund had two assists with two PIM and is right on the fringe of 12’ers.  We’ve seen him play well in stretches in the past and with all of the injuries to the Blues forwards right now, Berglund is getting the best opportunity he has in years.  Robby Fabbri scored a goal and an assist with two shots and is still a top end streamer while he’s on the first line.  Same goes with Jori Lehtera who scored the game winner on his only shot and added an assist.  Vladimir Tarasenko stayed right around a point per game with an assist and three shots while Kevin Shattenkirk owners got a nice bonus as he had 14 PIM.

Predators 3, Wild 0 – Devan Dubnyk was the tough luck loser again stopping 22 of 24 shots as his team was shut out for the second straight game.  Carter Hutton made 29 saves to record the shutout and is an interesting speculative add in 12’ers.  Pekka Rinne has been horrendous this year (.902 sv%) and with the Predators trying to win games, they can’t stick with him playing at his current level.  The big guns all were on the scoresheet for Nashville; Filip Forsberg scored a goal on two shots and added two PIM, Ryan Johansen had an assist with two shots and James Neal had an assist with a shot.  On the backline, Roman Josi had a goal on two shots while Shea Weber tallied two assists with two shots.

Oilers 2, Flames 1 (SO) – Jonas Hiller played well for the second straight game stopping 36 of 37 shots in the loss.  Sam Bennett scored a goal on four shots and is showing why I ranked him so high in the preseason.  Cam Talbot played great again stopping 31 of 32 shots in the victory.  Taylor Hall snapped his drought by getting an assist with three shots.

Sharks 4, Stars 3 (OT) – The big guns broke out of their slumps for the Stars.  Jamie Benn had two assists, five shots and two PIM, Tyler Seguin had a goal and an assist with three shots while Jason Spezza scored once on three shots.  Mattias Janmark tallied an assist with three shots in a prime matchup strengthening his top streamer status.  Tomas Hertl scored the game winner on his fourth shot and added an assist; he’s must own everywhere right now on the top line.  Marc-Edouard Vlasic had two goals and an assist on five shots in what was surely his best offensive game of his career.  Pickles is about as steady as they come; if you want someone generic at the bottom of your roster, Vlasic is a great choice.  He’s average to slightly above average in all categories.

Sunday’s Games:

Penguins 5, Hurricanes 0 – Marc-Andre Fleury bounced back from his dud stopping all 22 shots he faced.  Sidney Crosby scored twice on three shots; he has 17 points in his last 13 games after he had 19 in the first 30.  Yep, that hot streak I’ve been talking about for all the Pens is here.  Trevor Daley scored a goal again on two shots; his value is completely dependent on Kris Letang‘s availability.  Same goes for Olli Maatta who also scored on two shots.  If I had to pick one, I’m picking up Maatta.  Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin all had two assists and look at that, they’re all picking it up as expected.

Canucks 2, Islanders 1 (SO) – Ryan Miller was incredible stopping 47 of 48 shots for the Canucks.  He was less than a minute away from a shutout; we used to joke in Buffalo that a Ryan Miller shutout was when you lose a shutout in the last 5 minutes of a game.  Regardless, that’s one way to make sure to get more starts going forward.  Honestly, I have no idea who will get more starts between him and Jacob Markstrom the rest of the season.  Henrik Sedin left the injured after a brutal hit from Mikhail Grabovski.  If Sedin is out for any length of time, then the biggest beneficiaries look to be Jared McCann and Bo Horvat.  McCann got first crack on the first line in the last two periods and had an assist, four shots and four PIM.  The 19 year old showed flashes this year while on the fourth line.  He’ll be on my streamer list for Tuesday and I wouldn’t blame you if you took the gamble and added him now.  Horvat played the most minutes of all Canucks forwards in Sedin’s absence.  He’s been on an offensive tear lately and this should only help things.  Jaroslav Halak took a tough loss stopping 25 of 26 shots.  Ryan Strome scored the Islanders goal and added four shots and four PIM.  He’s been a big disappointment this year after a great season last year; I’m streaming him for now but he could be a hold soon if he solidifies his role.

Lightning 3, Panthers 1 – Roberto Luongo stopped 29 of 31 shots maintaining his quality numbers on the season.  Nick Bjugstad scored a goal on five shots.  He’s been a disappointment after he looked poised for a breakout after last season.  That said, the role is still there for him to have a big second half.  Ben Bishop made 26 saves in the win getting his goals against average under 2 on the season.  Where would the Lightning be without Bishop this year?  Valtteri Filppula had another assist with two shots and four PIM.  Nikita Kucherov scored twice on four shots and is back on pace for a 30+35 season.

Capitals 5, Rangers 2 – Chris Kreider scored twice on three shots in the loss.  If he’s available in your league, be sure to grab him.  Rick Nash had another assist with five shots continuing his strong play with his new linemates.  Braden Holtby stopped 20 of 22 shots before leaving the game due to dehydration.  It doesn’t look to be anything serious but Holtby owners can cover themselves by adding Philipp Grubauer (11 saves on 11 shots) just in case. Justin Williams had his first hat trick in 9 years, scoring three times on five shots with two PIM.  I can’t imagine he’s available anywhere but he’s clearly must-own; he has been for a month or more.  Andre Burakovsky had two assists but only played 11 minutes and didn’t record a shot proving why he’s only a streamer.  Evgeny Kuznetsov can’t be slowed down as he had three assists with two PIM.  Alex Ovechkin is now one goal back of the league lead as he tallied his 27th of the season.

Blackhawks 5, Canadiens 2 – Despite the blowout, the big guns got on the board for Montreal.  Max Pacioretty scored once on four shots, P.K. Subban had an assist and two PIM and Brendan Gallagher tallied an assist with four shots.  Again, goaltending did Montreal in.  Marian Hossa scored a goal and added two assists with two shots and has put his first half slump in the rearview mirror.  Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist with seven shots which is pretty much expected at this point.  Andrew Shaw had two assists with two shots and despite being pretty bad offensively, has some value right now on the first line.  I’m only streaming him because I don’t expect him to stick long term.  Jonathan Toews officially has the blue fire in NBA Jam now scoring two more goals on four shots with two PIM.

Flyers 2, Red Wings 1 (SO) – Michal Neuvirth stopped 29 of 30 shots in the win and continues to play better than his teammate Steve Mason.  The first line did the damage again for Philly with Claude Giroux scoring from Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek.  Giroux also added the shootout winner.  Petr Mrazek played great in the loss making 30 saves.  Pavel Datsyuk stayed hot posting an assist and four shots.

Kings 3, Ducks 2 – Jonathan Quick bounced back from his poor performance Saturday to stop 30 of 32 shots.  Anze Kopitar scored a goal and an assist with three shots and can’t be stopped right now.  Same goes for Tyler Toffoli who scored again and now has 22 goals on the season. Vincent Lecavalier scored a goal on four shots.  He had been downright dreadful in Philly and looked completely shot for the last couple seasons.  He scored in two straight for the Kings but I’m not touching him yet outside of the deepest of leagues.  David Perron, who the Ducks just acquired from Pittsburgh for Carl Hagelin, scored a goal on three shots.  He was skating with Ryan Getzlaf (assist) and Corey Perry at the end of the game but I’m not rushing to grab Perron.  He played with great teammates in Pittsburgh and flopped so it’s hard to expect a different outcome now.  Shea Theodore had an assist in 20 minutes giving him points in three straight.  I love his upside so I’d look to add him in 12’ers as your last defenseman.

Monday Streamers – There are five games on Monday night making tonight a big streaming night per usual.  Here are my top three options:

Tomas Hertl (8.1%) – I talked about him above; I think Hertl is must-own while he’s on the first line.  Now he gets a matchup against the Senators who give up the most shots in the league.  Perfect storm for a big game.

Sam Reinhart (2.5%) – He’s still on the first line playing big minutes and gets a great matchup against the Coyotes.  I’ve been holding him in some 12’ers and don’t understand why he’s only owned in 1 out of 40 leagues.

Carl Hagelin (4.4%) – As mentioned above, he was traded to Pittsburgh over the weekend.  Yesterday, he played with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel getting four shots on goal and adding two PIM.  His speed brings a nice dimension to their line and this is the best opportunity he will ever get to produce offensively.

That’s all for now guys; I hope this lengthy recap will help everyone out.  I’ll be back tomorrow recapping Monday night’s action.  As always, feel free to ask any questions and leave comments below.  Take care everyone!