Remember how poor Max Pacioretty was playing the first six weeks of the season? Despite the incredible start from the Canadiens, Patches was struggling to find the back of the net, mostly due to his shot rate falling off a cliff. While he’s not at his normal levels, he’s back over three shots per game and on Tuesday, Patches had a huge night. He scored on all three of his shots leading the way in Montreal’s destruction of the Sabres. All of a sudden, Pacioretty is tied for second in the league in goals (at the time of this writing) being a plus contributor in all categories. While he’s not in the top 25 like he was a couple years ago, Patches is firmly in the top 50 going forward. Here’s what else I saw around the league on a massive Tuesday slate:
Brayden Schenn – Goal on two shots. He’s become an elite power play scorer but man, the plus-minus is getting out of control (-15).
Sebastian Aho – Three goals and an assist with four shots. Superman that Aho! He’s pushing closer to a hold and with the Hurricanes playoff schedule (details here), I’m fine with holding now if you wanted to set up for your fantasy playoffs.
Elias Lindholm – Two assists with three shots. I’m not saying the young Hurricanes forwards are going to break out like Winnipeg’s have this year but I see a mini-version with a pile of holds. We’re finally seeing the signs from Lindholm.
Teuvo Teravainen – Two assists. Another guy in the same boat, Teravainen just needs to boost his shot rate.
Cam Ward – 15 saves on 16 shots in the 5-1 win over Philly. Talk about a dominating performance from Carolina. Ward’s volume is outstanding but his numbers are mediocre.
Evgeny Kuznetsov – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s been on an absolute tear for the last month plus rewarding everyone who was patient with him. There’s still a chance he pushes towards the top 10 in points by the end of the season.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal on four shots. Still a good bet to lead the league in goals.
Thomas Greiss – 28 saves on 30 shots in the 3-2 win over the Capitals. If he’s still available in your league, shame on you. It’s okay though, you can make up for it by grabbing him now.
Seth Jones – Two goals on four shots. The points are coming in bunches lately with seven points in his last five. I was never a huge fan but there’s a chance we see a full breakout next season.
Brandon Saad – Goal and an assist. Saad is crushing everything but penalty minutes. He should finish as a top 50 player or very close to it.
Alexander Wennberg – Goal and two assists with two shots. He’s already surpassed last season’s totals in goals and assists in game 49. Wennberg is a good bet to finish with 50 assists and while the other categories are average or worse, there’s a ton of value in those assists.
Zach Werenski – Two assists. He’s been one of the waiver wire claims of the season. The shot rate is falling off a bit and the penalty minutes aren’t there but Werenski is still a bottom end #1D with the lack of alternatives around the league.
Chris Kreider – Goal on five shots with two PIM. True six category contributor; he’s proven me wrong finally finding consistency.
Calle Jarnkrok – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. He surprisingly has five points in his last three games. Jarnkrok is back on the streaming radar but he doesn’t do enough to come close to holding.
Colin Wilson – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. He’s a bottom end streamer at best.
Patric Hornqvist – Two goals on four shots. Hornqvist has been outstanding all season with solid contributions everywhere plus an elite shot rate.
Scott Wilson – Two assists with three shots. There’s a bit of long term upside but not much in the short term. He’d need to move up in the lineup.
Matt Murray – 37 saves on 39 shots in the 4-2 win over the Predators. If Murray stayed healthy, he’d probably be a top 5 goalie this season. I suspect you’ll have to draft him as a top 5 goalie next season to get him.
Kyle Palmieri – Two goals on four shots with two penalty minutes. I picked a good time to call him a hold on the podcast! It’s not great anywhere but it’s decent enough everywhere that Palmieri belongs on rosters in 12’ers.
Pavel Zacha – Assist with two shots and two PIM. We are seeing some signs with a point in three of his last four games. Maybe he doesn’t fully breakout next season but it could happen; the upside is undeniable.
Henrik Zetterberg – Goal and an assist with four shots. He’s been much better than I expected this season. The guys, notably Anthony Mantha (assist, two shots), seem to have brought some life back into his game.
Evander Kane – Assist with three shots. I’ve talked a ton about Kane over the last month so I’ll just say that he’s a top 10 forward in the last month.
Phillip Danault – Two assists with a shot. Reid thinks he should be held right now, I’d rather stream him. The assists are nice but that’s about it. Assists ain’t got no face!
Alexander Radulov – Two assists with a shot. The shot rate is falling but nobody can complain about the overall production.
Carey Price – 37 saves on 39 shots in the 5-2 win over Buffalo. Having watched this whole game, it seemed incredibly easy for Price all night. He looks to be back on track.
David Krejci – Goal and an assist with two shots. I want to get Reid’s take on Krejci on the next podcast because he’s right on the fringe for me.
Brad Marchand – Two assists with two shots and another scummy play.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/826621463239155713
What the hell is it going to take for him to get suspended? He’s been incredible in fantasy but this is why he’s hated around the league. The troll can’t help himself. Marchand is a good bet to finish as a top 10 forward again which is remarkable.
Colin Miller – Two assists with a shot. And there’s your annual Colin Miller update!
Victor Hedman – Three assists. So damn good.
Tyler Johnson – Two assists. He’s getting hot again making lean towards holding but Johnson isn’t a firm hold anymore…
Alex Killorn – Two goals and a fight. Killorn can be a hold; it all depends on team needs.
Ryan Dzingel – Two goals on three shots. He’s a solid streamer at the moment.
Erik Karlsson – Goal and an assist with eight shots. The shots are up a ton lately with 21 total over the past 5 games. That’s what I’m talking about!
Bobby Ryan – Two assists with a shot. He’s at .5 points per game and under two shots per. Hard pass.
Mark Stone – Assist with three shots and two PIM. Stone is an interesting case because this is the third straight season he’s had an incredibly high shooting percentage. His assist total is slightly behind last season’s pace but Stone could set a new career high in goals.
Jason Demers – Goal and an assist with four shots. He has the occasional big game but Demers should be on waivers outside of the deepest of leagues.
Michael Matheson – Two goals on seven shots with two PIM. I think he’s a year or two away from having a consistent impact but there’s nice upside here for dynasties.
Michael Sgarbossa – Two assists with a shot. Nothing to see here.
Mark Scheifele – Goal and two assists with two shots. He’s back over a point per game on the season exceeding even my high expectations.
Blake Wheeler – Goal and two assists with three shots. Another year, another excellent overall statline from Wheeler. He’s a superstar caliber player who doesn’t receive the notoriety he deserves.
Jacob Trouba – Goal on five shots. He’s becoming the kingpin defenseman everyone envisioned when he was drafted. Trouba is going to be a favorite of mine in drafts next season and could be a top 25 defenseman the rest of the way.
Alex Pietrangelo – Goal and two assists with two shots. His stability is his biggest value in fantasy. He’s been over-drafted based on name value for a few years now but I can see Pietrangelo being a value next season if Kevin Shattenkirk (assist) leaves St. Louis.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Goal and an assist with six shots. In a matchup he should dominate, Tarasenko did just that. With the Blues faltering, look for them to ride him back into the playoffs.
Mitch Marner – Goal and an assist with six shots. This kid is so damn good already and it’s only going to get better. He’ll be borderline top 50 going into next season already.
Frederik Andersen – 5 saves on 8 shots in 11:12 before getting pulled in the 6-3 loss to Dallas. His defense didn’t give him much help at all. Andersen has been outstanding since November so we can let a dud slide.
Dan Hamhuis – Two assists with a shot. His days of fantasy relevance are well in the past at this point.
Brett Ritchie – Goal and an assist with two shots. Ritchie has plenty of upside but it’ll take a bigger role next year for him to push 12’er value.
Tyler Seguin – Two assists with two shots. Four game point streak for Seguin who has been his usual self outside of a terrible plus-minus.
Devin Shore – Goal and an assist with two shots. I put Ritchie and Shore on the same boat. Get it? Ritchie’s boat is on the Shore! Yeah, that’s not even streamable comedy right there.
Darcy Kuemper – 41 saves on 43 shots in the 5-2 win over the Oilers. He’s avoided any huge duds when starting this year but it’s been consistently below average before this game. Kuemper is an okay streamer for wins but that’s it.
Tyler Graovac – Two goals. Nice for him to have an impact on the fourth line lately but I don’t see any long term upside here.
Jason Zucker – Goal and an assist with two shots. I’ve moved to Reid’s side, Zucker is a clear hold in all leagues now.
Adam Larsson – Goal on five shots with two PIM. The Adam Larsson Fan Club could be growing!
Leon Draisaitl – Goal on two shots. Seven game point streak for the German who triggered a bonus in his contract scoring goal #20. He’s been spectacular.
Anze Kopitar – Goal and two assists with four shots. Okay, maybe Kopitar is back like the rest of the struggling centers.
Peter Budaj – 30 saves on 32 shots in the 3-2 win over the Coyotes. Budaj is another candidate for waiver claim of the season. Too bad he probably won’t have an impact in the fantasy playoffs. He’s honestly been Jonathan Quick‘s best case this year which just makes you question how good Quick really is. P.S. he’s not that good.
Lawson Crouse – Two assists with two shots. I’m not a big fan of Crouse but there is a ton of upside here. He’s your classic boom bust prospect. Crouse could be Zach Kassian, he could be a Milan Lucic type of statline. Decide for yourself if you want to gamble.
John Gibson – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 5-1 win over the Avalanche. Gibson has been great for over a month outside of the Edmonton game last week. Nice to see him take care of business against a team they should take care of business against.
Mikko Rantanen – Goal on two shots. In a season lacking bright spots for Colorado, Rantanen has been one of them. Rantanen looks like a nice long term piece.
Nick Ritchie – Two assists with two shots. He’s had a nice season for people in deep dynasties that count hits. Ritchie is barely 21 so there’s plenty of long term upside here to be a 25-30 goal, 75 PIM guy with upside from there.
Jakob Silfverberg – Two goals and an assist. Silfverberg has been a guy for years who always showed signs and left me wanting more. It’s nice to see we’re finally seeing that guy on a regular basis. Clear as day must own.
Martin Jones – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blackhawks. Jones will continue to be a #1 going forward for the rest of the season and years to come.
Brent Burns – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. Brent Burns doing Brent Burns things!
Tomas Hertl – Goal on four shots. Hertl is healthy and back on the first line. I’d get ahead of the curve and own him everywhere.
Joe Pavelski – Goal and two assists with three shots. How can you not like Pavelski? Dude just goes about his business putting up monster season after monster season.
Wednesday Streamers:
Marian Gaborik (5.3%) – Gabby is on a three game point streak and gets to play at home against Colorado. Enough said. Streaming a pile of Kings can’t be a bad idea and if Budaj gets the nice off, Colorado guys could be sneaky DFS options.
Jason Pominville (17.1%) – Pominville has a six game point streak and ten points in his last ten games. That’s plenty good enough on a three game slate. The minutes have been creeping up a bit as well.
Frank Vatrano (6.1%) – He’s still in the top six and scored a goal on five shots last night. The Capitals aren’t the best matchup but top six options are few and far between tonight.
That’s all for now guys. With only three games tonight, my next set of daily notes won’t be out until Friday. A podcast will be posted on either Thursday or Friday so be on the lookout for that. As always, feel free to leave any comments or questions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
