Who had Noel Acciari scoring seven goals in one week this season? Alright, who had Acciari scoring more than seven goals this season? After Acciari scored a hat trick last Monday against the Senators, Acciari managed to follow it up with another hat trick plus an assist against the Stars on Friday. Acciari scored again on Saturday against Carolina completing one of the craziest weeks we’ve ever seen from a depth hockey player. So should we care? Probably, yes. He’s playing with Jonathan Huberdeau who is piling up assists looking to feed Acciari at the moment. The problem is that Acciari isn’t getting power play time yet, but he could get PP2 time sooner than later. However, he still played over 17 minutes last game without the power play time which is enough to have value. He’s the epitome of a hot schmotato so I would look to stream him against Tampa on Monday and carrying that into Saturday’s game against Detroit. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games
Nicklas Backstrom – Two goals and two assists with three shots. The penalty minutes have dried up but he’s still pushing a point per game and the PPP are elite per usual.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with four shots, +3, as did John Carlson. Neither of these guys have shown any signs of slowing down. Unbelievable stuff.
Tom Wilson – Two assists with a shot. Wilson has been fantastic as he’s on pace to easily set career highs in goals and assists.
Nikita Gusev – Two assists with two shots. I was much lower on Gusev than consensus going into the season and I don’t see any reason to change my mind. This stat line is right in line with expectations.
William Nylander – Two goals and an assist with three shots. He’s bounced back from last season’s disaster to be right around the pace from his previous two seasons. It’s not exciting, but he’s an easy hold.
Mitch Marner – Two goals on six shots. On a per-game basis, Marner is doing almost the same exact thing as last season.
Ilya Mikheyev – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s on the third line right now so Mikheyev is dropping to a middling to solid streamer. However, he can go right back to elite streamer with a simple line change.
Pavel Buchnevich – Goal and an assist with three shots. Buch had been ice cold before this game going pointless in eight straight games. He’s also down to a middling streamer.
Tyler Seguin – Two goals on four shots. We are starting to see signs of a Seguin breakout. His shooting percentage is at a career low right now so I’m buying Seguin the rest of the way.
Corey Perry – Two assists with a shot and four PIM. Hard to care about Perry at this point in his career.
Vincent Trocheck – Goal and two assists with two shots. He’s the third wheel right now with Huberdeau and Acciari. I’ve been a big Trocheck fan for a while so I’m expecting him to pick it up.
Marcus Pettersson – Two assists with a shot. And there’s your bi-annual Pettersson update!
Zach Aston-Reese – Two assists. There’s some talent here, but his role is too small to care for fantasy.
Saturday’s Games
Sam Reinhart – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. I wish the shot rate would go back up, but I’m not expecting it given how much Eichel and Olofsson shoot. That said, it makes me less scared about regression from the 16.7% shooting. Gun to head, I would bet on Reinhart topping last season’s 60 points.
Jonathan Toews – Goal and two assists. Toews has bounced back after a slow start with 13 points in his last 10 games. I’m back to holding Toews, but it’s a tenuous hold.
Patrick Kane – Goal and an assist with two shots. Kane doing what Kane does.
Dominik Kubalik – Goal and an assist with three shots. I’d like to see Kubalik get a chance in the top six. I don’t particularly enjoy watching the Blackhawks, but Kubalik seems to stand out when I do watch them. He’s a bottom end streamer for now, but there could be more here.
Matt Calvert – Two goals on five shots. Don’t really care about Calvert unless he randomly ends up back on MacKinnon’s line.
Ryan Graves – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Graves has worked his way into a nice player in deeper leagues with hits and blocks. Too bad he doesn’t get PP time.
Tyson Jost – Two assists with a shot. Jost is still 21 years old so I’m not giving up on him yet. There’s still plenty of upside here if Jost eventually gets more minutes.
Hampus Lindholm – Two assists with a shot. Lindholm is looking like a bottom end hold again.
Nick Leddy – Goal and two assists with two shots. I’m passing on Leddy but he’s making a case to be an AAGNOF again. Everyone who is good on the Islanders had two points in this game so let’s just assume a fantasy relevant guy had two points and that it doesn’t really change their values.
Connor Hellebuyck – 31 save shutout in the 6-0 win over the Wild. After a few rough games, Hellboy got back on track. It would be nice to see the Jets acquire a defenseman as they continue to overachieve, mostly because of Hellebuyck.
Blake Wheeler – Goal and an assist. Congrats to Wheeler on becoming the all-time leader in points for the Thrashers/Jets franchise.
Josh Morrissey – Three assists with four shots. Morrissey as a breakout was one of my best predictions. He’s playing at over a 50 assist pace while being decent enough in the other categories.
Patrik Laine – Two goals on six shots. Laine is at a point per game as he’s really adding assists to his game. If anything, his 12.5% shooting is low given his elite shot. Nice to see the bounceback from Laine after a rough 2018-19.
Roman Josi – Two goals on six shots. It’s going under the radar because of Carlson and Dougie, but Josi has been fantastic.
Ryan Johansen – Three assists with a shot. Nice little run from RyJo. He’s a player that I never own in fantasy because of the shot rate, but there is some value here despite that. He’s right on the fringe for me; his value comes down solely to team needs.
Patrice Bergeron – Two goals on six shots. He’s been outstanding on a per-game basis being a huge plus in every category. Just a matter of staying healthy.
Torey Krug – Two assists with two shots. Krug going from a guy taking three shots per game to barely over two is quite strange. Regardless, he may be the king of AAGNOF now.
Jeff Petry – Goal and an assist with seven shots. Petry is right on the fringe. I think I lean towards hold for now but it’s super close.
Leon Draisaitl – Goal and an assist, as did Connor McDavid. Nothing new here.
Nino Niederretier – Goal and an assist with four shots. He’s back with Aho and Teravainen, but it’s not on every shift and Nino is still on PP2. He’s back up to a strong streamer but he’s still not worth holding.
James van Riemsdyk – Two goals on four shots. JVR has six goals in the last five games after six goals in the last 31 games. I’d stream him while he’s hot, but I’m not expecting him to become a hold again. However, I’m not ruling it out given the injuries on Philly putting JVR in the top six.
Jakub Voracek – Goal and an assist with two shots. The shot rate has plummeted for Voracek to under two per game which is a big hit to his value. He’s on the fringe now like Johansen.
Tyler Ennis – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Decent season from Ennis putting him on the streaming radar, albeit on the bottom end.
Mark Borowiecki – Goal and an assist with four shots, four hits, six blocks. He’s a fine streamer in deep leagues for hits/blocks/PIM.
Anthony Duclair – Goal and an assist with two shots. I predicted this breakout! Too bad it was four years ago. Easy hold now.
Michael Hutchinson – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 4-1 win over Detroit. Easy pass, even against Detroit or Ottawa.
Auston Matthews – Two goals and an assist with four shots. You expect this type of performance when Matthews goes against a bottom feeder.
Zach Hyman – Two goals and an assist. Hyman remains a solid streamer as long as he’s playing with Matthews.
Dmitry Orlov – Goal and an assist. I thought Orlov’s offense was going to take a step forward last season, but it did not happen. Leave him on the waiver wire.
Braden Holtby – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 3-1 win over the Lightning. Interesting to see that Holtby and the team aren’t talking about an extension until after the season. He’s the clear workhorse and while the numbers aren’t great, the wins are going to be.
Oliver Bjorkstrand – Two goals on five shots before getting injured. Bjorkstrand is going to miss the next 4-6 weeks which makes me so sad. He’s been one of my best calls of the season as he had five goals in the last four games while taking a ton of shots. Here’s to hoping he comes back at the end of January and gets right back on track.
Joonas Korpisalo – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 5-1 win over the Devils. Korpisalo is up to a bottom end #2 with a 2.56 GAA and 16 wins in 28 games. Much better than I expected.
Seth Jones – Two assists with two shots. Jones is starting to heat up in terms of assists with the workload increasing with Werenski down.
Jacob Markstrom – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 4-1 win over the Penguins. Markstrom has been a bit unlucky in terms of wins given his .916 sv%. He’s a middling to bottom end #2.
Elias Pettersson – Goal and an assist as did J.T. Miller. They’ve slowed down a bit but the first line in Vancouver remains among the league’s best. If anything, I’d expect them to get rolling again given how good their PP is.
Jaden Schwartz – Goal and two assists with four shots. I see Schwartz as a bottom end hold right now as he’s playing well lately.
Alex Pietrangelo – Two goals on three shots. No Stanley Cup hangover for Pietrangelo as he’s got a real chance to set a new career high in points.
Brayden Schenn – Two assists. The shot rate has dropped which gives me concern about his scoring. Nobody can shoot 20% forever. However, even with some regression, Schenn will remain a hold.
Brent Burns – Goal and an assist with three shots. The plus-minus is just getting ridiculous at this point. That said, the shot rate is starting to increase again so I’m not quitting on Burns yet.
Sunday’s Games
Henrik Lundqvist – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 5-1 win over the Ducks. Easy game for The King. He’s a nice streamer in good matchups but even with a .912, he’s above a 3 GAA. He’s facing such absurd shot volume that he simply can’t be held.
Chris Kreider – Two goals on seven shots. The Rangers are in a great position after the Hall trade. Kreider is easily the best UFA available for trade. He’s such a perfect fit on a bunch of teams, Colorado being at the forefront. I lean towards bottom end hold for Kreider but it’s very close.
Mika Zibanejad – Goal and an assist with seven shots. Just stay healthy!
Darcy Kuemper – Week to week. Brutal blow for Kuemper as he’s been among the best goalies in the league. Antti Raanta is a must-own in all formats now.
Clayton Keller – Two goals and an assist with six shots and two PIM. The post-Hall breakout for Keller is happening as predicted on this website by yours truly. I’m all in on Keller for the rest of the season and going forward.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Three assists with two shots. OEL simply hasn’t put it all together as everyone expected. I’m leaving him on the waiver wire, although it is somewhat close.
Nick Schmaltz – Two assists with a shot. Schmaltz is another pure AAGNOF so hold or stream him when needed.
David Rittich – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 5-1 win over the Stars. Rittich remains a decent #2.
Elias Lindholm – Three assists with two shots. The assists have really dropped off from last season, but the goals are strong. Lindholm looks like a bottom end hold.
Matthew Tkachuk – Goal and two assists with four shots. Tkachuk has taken a small step back this season just like the rest of the guys on the Flames, but he’s been better than everyone else on the team.
Malcolm Subban – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 3-1 win over the Sharks. He’s been a bit better lately, but I’m still not looking to use Subban even in the best of matchups.
William Karlsson – Two assists with a shot. Nice bounceback from Karlsson who looks to be setting a new career high in assists with relative ease.
That’s all for now guys. With no games from the 24th-26th, I won’t have a post until the 27th. Odds are that it will be an updated hold/stream list, but if you have any other suggestions, feel free to put them in the comments section below. I hope that everyone enjoys the holidays this week. I’m extremely thankful for all of the regular readers who make writing worth my time. Thanks for reading, take care!
