If you just looked at the boxscore from Wednesday night, you’d see Jesse Puljujarvi scored a goal. Nothing exciting there. However, the big news is that he spent the entire game on the first power play unit. The person in that spot has changed throughout the season. Neal, Chiasson, Yamamoto, and now Puljujarvi have all had the opportunity. It’s also notable that with 3 minutes left, the Oilers went on the power play up one. Nurse was out there to be safe having two defensemen out there, but it wasn’t Puljujarvi who lost his spot, it was RNH. With Puljujarvi locked into that spot for the time being, he gets bumped up to elite streamer status. With five points in the past six games, things are starting to look up for the former fourth overall pick. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Ilya Sorokin – 20 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Sabres. The first win for Sorokin came in style, although it was an easy night. Varly will clearly get the majority of starts so Sorokin is only a streamer in quality matchups right now.
Anders Lee – Two goals on three shots. Lee has by far the best shot rate of his career as he’s pushing towards 3.5 per game. Easy hold in all formats.
Josh Bailey – Two assists with a shot. He’s a decent streamer if you need assists, but that’s it.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Goal and an assist with two shots. It was interesting to see that Anthony Beauvillier went onto Pageau’s line instead of Nelson’s. Pageau has a goal in four straight games and the minutes are starting to tick up. I’m not holding, but he’s worth streaming while he’s a hot schmotato.
Joonas Donskoi – Two assists with a shot. Donskoi played on the second line in this game, but it sounds like the Kog will be back sooner than later, possibly in their next game. Donskoi is a bottom end streamer.
Brandon Saad – Goal and an assist with three shots. After a slow start, Saad is really coming into his own in Colorado. That’s nine points in the last seven games. He’s back to elite streamer status.
William Karlsson – Two assists with two shots. Karlsson is right on the fringe. I lean towards not holding because the shot rate is poor now, but you can go either way.
Vitek Vanecek – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 3-1 win over the Pens. Vanecek played well in this game, but he’s a desperation option most nights. However, if he starts tonight against the Sabres, he’s an elite streamer.
Richard Panik – Two assists with a shot. It’ll take an injury or two for Panik to get back on the fantasy radar.
Janne Kuokkanen – Three assists with a shot. After having no points in the first 17 games of his career, Kuokkanen has six in his past five games. He’s an easy pass for now, but worth monitoring.
Nick Merkley – Goal and an assist with four shots. I’m intrigued by Merkley, but I need to see him play for an extended time before I jump to any conclusions.
Jonathan Quick – 28 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Wild. No, just no. Even with this game, Quick is at 3.42/.887.
Jaret Anderson-Dolan – Goal and an assist with two shots. The former second round pick has five points in the last four games and is getting power play time. He’s a decent deep league option at the moment, although there’s not a lot of long term upside here.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Despite the decrease in minutes, Huberdeau has 20 points in 14 games. The shot rate is very disappointing, but it’s hard to complain with that kind of production.
Jake Muzzin – Two assists with two shots. Muzzin has sustained being a bottom end hold simply by playing on a team as good as Toronto.
Frederik Andersen – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 2-1 win over Ottawa. Nice bounce back from Andersen after the collapse on Monday.
Kevin Lankinen – 29 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Red Wings. Besides the one dud against the Blue Jackets, Lankinen has been other worldly.
Jonathan Bernier – 24 saves on 25 shots as the tough luck loser. Bernier is a decent goalie, but the team in front of him is far from decent. He’s a desperation play.
Braden Holtby – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 5-1 win over the Flames. All it took was me betting on Calgary for Holtby to play his first good game of the season that wasn’t against Ottawa. I have no interest right now.
Brock Boeser – Goal and two assists with three shots. Despite the team struggling on the whole, Boeser already has 12 goals on the season and is over a point per game. It looks a bit fluky in terms of shooting percentage, but it’s not that crazy.
J.T. Miller – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. It seems like Miller isn’t playing well, but he still has 16 points in 17 games. The shot rate dropping back to where it was before last season is a bit concerning though.
Bo Horvat – Goal and an assist with three shots. Nice to see Dr. Bo get back on track.
Nils Hoglander – Two assists with three shots. Right now, Hoglander is a decent streamer. The shot rate is nice for a rookie and he’s locked into the top six. Long term, I’m a really big fan and see a ton of upside.
Josh Morrissey – Two assists with three shots. That’s four straight games with an assist for Morrissey and the shots are starting to come in a bit more consistently. It’s bottom end, but I’m still holding.
Leon Draisaitl – Two goals on five shots. Nice to see the big shot total as Draisaitl’s shots have been lacking this season. He’s been great all season once again with 28 points in 18 games.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Two assists with five shots and four PIM. After never topping three shots per game, RNH is over 3.5 per game this season. His shooting percentage is well within his norms so he’s looking at a career season.
Connor McDavid – Two assists with five shots. That puts McDavid over 500 points in his career already. We’ll close with this incredible stat:
Here’s a look at @cmcdavid97 increase in points per game pace:
First 100pts- McDavid averaged 1.09 pts/game
Next 100pts- averaged 1.18 pts/game
Next 100pts – averaged 1.49 pts/game
Next 100 pts- averaged 1.52 pts/game
Next 100pts – averaged 1.59 pts/game#McDavid #TSNHockey https://t.co/4nUjDkcUy1— Gino Reda (@GinoRedaTSN) February 18, 2021
Three Point Challenge: We will do the Three Point Challenge for Thursday’s games. It can’t be anyone in the Top 10 in points. From now, we will use last season’s top 10, so that means no Draisaitl, McDavid, Panarin, Pastrnak, MacKinnon, Marchand, Kucherov, P. Kane, Matthews, Huberdeau, or Eichel. Eli Man Penguin Boy has tied me on top of the standings with one a piece. I’ll go with Patrice Bergeron against the Devils.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action from tonight. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
