After an amazing start, Patrick Eaves has slowed down quite a bit lately. Despite being in the league since 2005, Eaves never topped 32 points so it wasn’t a surprise. That said, he’s been given the best opportunity to produce points he’s ever had in his career this season and Eaves has taken advantage on the whole. Eaves had his strongest game in over a month on Tuesday scoring a goal and two assists with three shots. He’s been on the first power play unit all season (his goal was on the PP) and Eaves moved back to the first line during this game. It’s time to stop dropping Eaves and hold him in 12’ers. I’m okay with using him as a streamer if you don’t have the room but Eaves has an outside shot of scoring 30 goals this year. Here’s what else happened around the league on Tuesday night:
Jamie Benn – Goal and two assists with five shots. I hate myself for not taking him in The Three Point Challenge after I talked about it on the podcast.
Cody Eakin – Goal and an assist with two shots and five PIM. With the lines reshuffled, Eakin played with Benn and Eaves combining for two even strength goals. Eakin has been horrible this year but he could return to streamer status.
Radek Faksa – Two assists with a shot. Four game point streak for Faksa who is starting to show some signs. He just 23 so there’s a lot to like in dynasties, especially if he can find a way to boost his shot rate.
Lauri Korpikoski – Two assists with a shot. He’s a nice player in real life for the bottom six but Korpedo hasn’t been fantasy relevant in over 5 years.
Patrick Sharp – Two goals on five shots and two PIM. The points dried up for a bit before last night but the shots have been very strong so I’m still holding in standard leagues.
Henrik Lundqvist – 20 saves on 27 shots in 40 minutes in the 7-6 loss to the Stars. Woof. The King isn’t looking too hot this year and he’s been a dumpster fire in January. I’m more inclined to try and buy low than panic if I owned him.
Pavel Buchnevich – Goal and two assists. The bigger thing here is that the Butcher played 18 minutes. I’ll be streaming him in their next game on Thursday.
Chris Kreider – Goal and an assist with three shots and seven PIM. Kreider is another guy who has been a post-hype breakout. His numbers across the board are spectacular.
Rick Nash – Two assists with two shots. Nash has been terrific, we just need him to stay healthy.
Derek Stepan – Two goals and an assist with eight shots. I was going to write the lede around Stepan but I thought this game changed Eaves more than Stepan. Regardless, Stepan looks like a great bet to top 60 points for the first time in his career.
Mika Zibanejad – Two goals on seven shots in his return from injury. He was awesome before he was injured and Zibanejad looked great with Nash and Buchnevich. If he was cut in your league due to the injury, pick him up immediately.
Mats Zuccarello – Three assists with four shots. Zucc is going to set a new career high in assists by a wide margin. I wouldn’t be surprised if he reaches 50 assists at this rate.
Sebastian Aho – Goal on three shots. A Razzball favorite, Aho remains a top end streamer.
Sergei Bobrovsky – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 4-1 win over the Hurricanes. Random factoid since we know that Bob is a beast: the Blue Jackets started four different goalies in their last four games. I can’t think of a team that ever did that before.
Cam Atkinson – Two assists with four shots. He only played 13:32 but this game was in hand early enough. This gets Atkinson back to a point per game on the season which is simply incredible.
Brandon Dubinsky – Two goals on three shots. At this point, Dubinsky is a bottom end penalty minute streamer.
Boone Jenner – Goal and an assist with two shots. That’s a three game goal streak and four game point streak for Jenner. He was a monster last season so we know the upside that’s here. I’d stream him if you can on Thursday and monitor him over the next couple games.
Ryan Murray – Two assists with three shots. Given how well the team has played, the lack of offense from Murray is frustrating. No goals, seven assists, less than a shot per game.
Brian Gionta – Two assists with two shots. I won’t be looking to stream Gionta but for deeper leagues, there’s some value here. He’s on a 40 point pace.
Evander Kane – Goal on four shots. A focus of Tuesday’s podcast linked above, grab Kane if you haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
Robin Lehner – 13 saves on 16 shots in 30 minutes before being pulled. The second goal was incredibly soft and after being pulled, Lehner lost his mind and started screaming at the bench, presumably at Dan Blysma. I still like him plenty; before this game Lehner was top 15 in the league in save percentage.
Auston Matthews – Goal on five shots. The best thing for Toronto is that Matthews is starting to get a point in nearly every game. Early in the season, there were some massive games but not a consistent stretch. Consistency will go a long way for the Leafs.
Adam Henrique – Goal on four shots. He’s right on the fringe but with the constant shuffling of lines in New Jersey, I’d rather stream him.
Kyle Palmieri – Goal and an assist with three shots. Palmieri is starting to pick things up lately with five points in his last four games. Like his teammate, he’s firmly on the fringe right now.
Pavel Zacha – Goal on three shots. The goal came on the power play which was nice to see. He hasn’t been great but I’m still a huge fan in dynasties.
Mikko Koivu – Two assists with two PIM. The points and plus-minus are too good to leave on the waiver wire; hold him.
Jared Spurgeon – Goal and an assist with three shots. As mentioned a few times recently, the defenseman pool is so poor that Spurgeon is must-own even in 10’ers.
Mike Hoffman – Two goals on five shots. The Hoff is starting to heat up with six points in the last four games. His numbers look like they’re going to increase across the board.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Goal and an assist with two penalty minutes. He’s an okay guy in super deep leagues with the extra categories but otherwise, leave Pageau on the waiver wire.
Tom Pyatt – Two assists with a shot. Nothing to see here.
Mark Stone – Two goals. Could we be seeing one of Stone’s patented massive second halves? He also has six points in his last four games. I’d bet on him topping 64 points to set a new career high.
Kyle Turris – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Turris is one of the most underrated players in hockey. Still frustrating the shots have dried up a bit but Turris is another good bet for 60+ points.
Patrik Berglund – Goal on three shots. He’s rolling right now in the goals department. If you’re in a hits + faceoffs league, I would grab him while he’s producing.
Kevin Shattenkirk – Goal and an assist with two shots. Dollar, dollar, bills, ya’ll. Shattenkirk about to go full Kenny Powers this summer. The plus-minus has been rough but Shattenkirk is a clear #1D right now.
Alex Steen – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Steen just needs to keep the shots up, it’s that simple. Even if he’s at 2 shots per game the rest of the way, he could be a top 100 player. If he stays at 1.5 per or less, it’ll be very fringe.
Vinnie Hinostroza – Two goals on five shots. He’s getting plenty of opportunity but hasn’t done much with it. Hinostroza is a low end streamer at best.
Marian Hossa – Three assists with two shots. He was dropped to the third line for this game but this new line won them the game in the third period. It’s borderline but I’m still holding Hossa.
Tanner Kero – Two goals and an assist with three shots. The third member of this line, Kero is in the same class as Hinostroza.
Nick Schmaltz – Goal and an assist with two shots. There’s long term upside here but not much fantasy relevance for now.
Tyson Barrie – Two assists and a shot. We know the deal with Barrie by now. He’ll finish with about 50 points but bury you in plus-minus. Your choice.
Matt Duchene – Two goals on three shots. Nathan MacKinnon had two assists with three shots. These guys are rolling; adding another top guy to the mix will do them wonders for next season. That is, if Duchene is still on Colorado.
Jared McCann – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. I talked about McCann in the streamer section below; the role boost really helps him out.
Vincent Trocheck – Two goals on three shots. He’s a top 50 player until Sasha returns with his workload.
Mikael Backlund – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Every time this second line slows down, they have a huge game. I’d lean towards holding Backlund in RCL’s but anything with shallower rosters I’d prefer to stream him.
Michael Frolik – Two assists, two shots, two PIM. Same as Backlund but unlike earlier in the year, I’d hold Backlund over Frolik.
Mark Giordano – Goal and two assists. It’s been a disappointing year for Gio who has dropped in all categories but plus-minus and potentially penalty minutes. That said, you’ve still gotten okay value from him given that almost all defenseman are in that boat.
Sean Monahan – Goal and an assist with four shots. Three game goal streak for Monahan. It would take a lot for him to get back to the previous two years but it’s not out of the question.
Matthew Tkachuk – Two assists and a shot. He’s not getting the credit he deserves for an excellent rookie season because of all the outstanding rookies around the league. Tkachuk has been outstanding for the Flames.
Ryan Miller – 30 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Predators. He’s been rolling for the last three weeks so if you need goalie help, Miller could still be on the waiver wire in your league.
Ryan Getzlaf – Goal on four shots playing over 24 minutes. He’s had a point in every game since he returned from injury. I’m encouraged by the shot total in this game and hope it’s a sign of things to come. At least getting back to over two per game would help.
John Gibson – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 2-1 OT win over Tampa. The #1 goalie over the last month is Gibson. He’s finally paying off his early round status.
Wednesday’s Streamers:
Drew Stafford (2.2%) – You can use Perreault or really any Jet going against the Coyotes. Stafford is getting first power play unit time right now putting him in a great spot.
Andreas Athanasiou (6.0%) – Going back to the well while Athanasiou is receiving the minutes. Boston isn’t a great matchup but the Red Wings are at home giving his line a better chance of succeeding.
Jared McCann (0.3%) – This is more of a gamble for deeper leagues but McCann is coming off a two assist game and is receiving a shot playing on the top line tonight. Add in his second power play unit time and I think he gets on the score sheet against the Oilers.
That’s all for now guys. With the smaller slate on Wednesday, I’ll have my next set of daily notes on Friday. As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below. Thanks for reading, take care!
