Most of Buffalo’s forwards have started slowly, but their second line has been fantastic. That continued on Thursday, with the majority of the second line out there for four goals, leading the Sabres to a 5-4 OT victory over their rivals in Toronto. For fantasy purposes, it certainly starts with Jack Quinn. Quinn stuffed the stat sheet, scoring two goals, dishing two assists, put four shots on goal, was +4, and got in a fight! That brings him to 4+4 in eight games while pushing close to three shots per game. It’s clear how much Ruff trusts this line right now, with Quinn playing over 18 minutes, while Noah Ostlund and Zach Benson each had two assists while playing over 21 minutes. I’ve been holding Quinn in a 10 man league since the draft, which goes to show you that I think he’s a hold in 12’ers. Ostlund has been unbelievable in real life, but I see more middling to solid streamer. Benson falls into the elite streamer category right now. The schedule is pretty light for the Sabres next week with only two games, so I wouldn’t prioritize Benson or Ostlund right now, but despite the schedule easing up for a bit, Quinn is standing out enough on a regular basis that I’d be holding him. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Josh Anderson – Two goalsa on three shots, both assisted by Alex Newhook. Very good start from Anderson, who is back as a solid streamer. Newhook is more bottom end because his shot rate is horrendous.
Lane Hutson – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Hutson being over two shots per game is going to give him a chance at pushing the top five defensemen. I don’t think he’ll quite get there, but it’s in play a lot more than I thought two weeks ago.
Alex Tuch – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Very good start to Tuch’s Washington career with five goals in his first seven games.
Jordan Kyrou – Goal and an assist with three shots. It’s been somewhat of a rocky start for Kyrou, so it was nice to see him have a fairly big night. He’s on the fringe for me now.
Ilya Protas – Two assists. There’s quite a bit of long term upside, but the younger Protas is only a bottom end streamer for now. With five shots in seven games, it can’t be more. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Nazem Kadri – Two assists with two shots. Kadri has had a slow start, but I’m not too concerned. He played over 24 minutes in this game and the shots are there. If anything, I’d target him in a trade.
Brady Tkachuk – Hat trick on six shots. So much for that slow start. Back to back natural hat tricks makes Brady the first player to do that in 40 years. This is a prime example of why you don’t panic after two weeks.
Seth Jones – Two assists with five shots. This is the best that Jones has looked offensively in more than five years. I’m buying him as a solid #2.
Mattias Samuelsson – Goal and an assist with three shots. I’m still dumbfounded by Sammy turning his career around, especially offensively. He’s on the fringe of 12’ers despite no power play time.
Kirill Marchenko – Hat trick. It sure seems like all of these guys who were traded are getting ripped in the media, only to have a massive game. I have zero concern with Marchenko.
John Tavares – Two assists. Tavares left the game due to a lower body injury, so we’re going to have to keep an eye on that one.
Brandon Hagel – Two goals on six shots. Absolutely love the way that Hagel is playing. I had him in the top 20 overall and most people didn’t have him in the Top 40. I have so many shares so please keep it up! Should have got me one more point though.
Linus Ullmark – 20 saves on 21 shots in the 2-1 SO win over Semyon Varlamov (18/19) and the Islanders. I’m fully buying Ullmark again. Ottawa is clearly a defensive juggernaut, so there’s top five upside here, and I don’t see much downside. That said, they aren’t scoring much, so I’d stream most guys (like Varly) against them.
Nico Daws – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 7-1 win over the Rangers. The Rangers have started out extremely well, but they just no showed this one. The first two games for Daws were rough, so I want to see him put a few good starts together before I stream him outside of the best of matchups.
Dougie Hamilton – Two assists with a shot. Even with Luke Hughes (two goals on five shots with two PIM) taking PP1, I’m definitely holding Hamilton. The shots are fantastic and he’ll still stumble into 40-50 points.
Daniil Tarasov – 17 saves on 18 shots in the 2-1 win over the Flyers. How awful are the Flyers? Eleven goals in nine games. Good thing Michkov played 13:40 despite scoring, and Martone only played 12:29! More brilliance from Tocchet. Tarasov has been fantastic in his three appearances, but I’d still only want to use him in plus matchups.
Cam Fowler – Three assists with three shots. What, nobody took him for three points!? I don’t think Fowler is doing enough for 12’ers, but he’s approaching the fringe just for assists.
Robert Thomas – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Slow start, but zero concern.
Matt Boldy – Hat trick and an assist with eight shots. Insane performance from the Wild stars, with Kirill Kaprizov putting up a goal and an assist with five shots, Joel Eriksson Ek with two assists, and Quinn Hughes with two assists and five shots. That’s the problem that the Blues run into. Outside of the bottom feeders, they’re going to be at a star deficit. After a slow start, Boldy has caught fire. The real winner right now is JEEK, who is a clear must own while playing with Kaprizov and Boldy.
Neal Pionk – Goal and two assists with four shots. With Josh Morrissey downgraded to week to week, Pionk becomes must own everywhere.
Connor Bedard – Goal and an assist with three shots. Bedard looks like himself in his first two games, which is all we want to see.
Patrick Kane – Two assists with two shots. It’s nice to see Kane in a Blackhawks jersey again, as much as I hate that team. It just looks correct, unlike when he was on Detroit or the Rangers. Kane is on the fringe.
Nick Schmaltz – Two assists with a shot. Incredible start from Schmaltz, who has somehow been even better than last season. It looks like I sold him short.
Clayton Keller – Two goals on four shots. Eleven points in eight games for Keller, as the Mammoth are firing on all cylinders right now.
Logan Cooley – Goal and an assist with three shots. The shot rate has been brutal, and that will have to turn, but Cooley is sitting at a point per game in the early going.
Mark Stone – Hat trick. I had this game on in the background while I started writing, and the hat trick caught me completely off guard, as he didn’t score in the first two periods. Just a matter of health for Stone.
Ivan Barbashev – Three assists with four shots. Barbashev is piling up assists, but providing nothing else. Middling streamer.
Jack Eichel – Goal and two assists with four shots. Other worldly start from Eichel, who has sixteen points in nine games.
Mitch Marner – Two assists with a shot. It’s gone under the radar because of Eichel, but Marner is doing his usual, sitting at a point per game.
That’s all for now guys. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. As a reminder, I’ll be going to Vegas this weekend for the Bills game, so MarmosDad will be filling in for me for Monday’s post. I’ll still have time to get to your questions, especially on Friday while I’m flying, so don’t hesitate to ask. Thanks for reading, take care!
