A rare cold patch left Sam Reinhart sitting on 39 goals for almost three weeks. On Thursday, he reached the 40 goal mark for the first time in his career, and found another to get back to second in the league in goals. Reinhart scored two goals, one on the power play and one shorthanded, while also adding an assist with five shots in the 4-3 SO win over the Canadiens. Is this season sustainable for Reinhart? Definitely not while he’s shooting over 25%. That said, he’s in the perfect situation to be a point per game player going forward, assuming he stays in Florida. It seems likely he stays in free agency, but you never know if someone takes top dollar. Regardless, Reinhart certainly won’t be in my top 20 next season like he is so far this year, but I expect him to be around 50th overall for me if he stays. He can counteract the crazy shooting percentage a bit by getting back to his usual shot rate, and Reino should remain elite on the power play. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Igor Shesterkin – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 4-1 win over the Blue Jackets. With four straight games allowing one goal, all with 30+ saves, it’s safe to say that Igor is back in full force.
Artemi Panarin – Two goals and an assist with four shots. If he can stay healthy, Panarin will reach the 100 point mark for the first time in his career. The shots are trickling down a bit, but Panarin is still a top 10 forward.
Chris Kreider – Goal and an assist with two shots. Kreider is back to 30 goals, putting him on a 40 goal pace, with three shots per game. The crazy thing is Kreider has 26 assists, which is shockingly a career high already. With his all-around contributions, that makes him a borderline top 50 guy.
Robert Thomas – Goal and an assist. Matchbox Twenty is one of my favorite guys to watch play. Even with his jump to two shots per game, that’s enough to make him a top 50 guy.
Jordan Kyrou – Two assists with three shots. It hasn’t been the best season for Kyrou, but he’s still a clear hold everywhere with a 65 point pace and three shots per game.
Connor McDavid – Goal and two assists with four shots. McDavid has six straight games with two assists, and has 23 points in his last nine games. Seems good.
Zach Hyman – Two goals on six shots. Hyman has been on a huge tear lately, with this game bringing him up to 40 goals already. The assists are way down, but he’s playing on a 60 goal pace with an elite shot rate. That’s a fantasy superstar.
Brady Skjei – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. Skjei has been shockingly good this season. It’s good enough across the board to be a hold in almost all leagues.
Brett Pesce – Two assists with five shots. Pesce’s offense has completely dried up this season. I’m curious to see what happens with him in free agency.
Nick Suzuki – Goal and two assists with five shots. Suzuki is right at a point per game with the shots taking a gradual uptick. He’s established himself as a first liner.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal and two assists with three shots. It hasn’t been his best season, but Barkov’s ceiling is so high that his worst case scenario now is a 90 point pace.
William Nylander – Goal and two assists with three shots. Nine game point streak for Nylander, who started the season on fire and hasn’t slowed down at all.
Matthew Knies – Goal and an assist. Knies rates anywhere from a bottom end streamer to a solid one depending on what line he’s on.
Casey Cizikas – Goal and an assist with two shots. And there’s your annual Cizikas update!
Brock Nelson – Two goals on three shots. Nelson is a great bet for 35+ goals for the third straight season. Not many players in the league can say that, and Nelson normally wouldn’t be mentioned in that elite company. His shot rate has jumped up quite a bit, making this season more sustainable than the ones in the past.
Mathew Barzal – Goal and an assist with two shots. This is easily Barzal’s best season since his Calder winning rookie season. It’s crazy that he’s still only 26, so Barzal should be entering his prime now.
Olli Maatta – Two goals. Nothing to see here for fantasy.
Chandler Stephenson – Goal and an assist with three shots. Stephenson has taken a big step back offensively this season. He’s a middling streamer at best. He’s another extremely interesting free agency case.
Morgan Geekie – Hat trick. He played a bit with David Pastrnak (2A) in this game and went to PP1, but it’s hard to get Geekie past anything more than a middling streamer.
Kevin Shattenkirk – Two assists. Even with Lindholm out, I don’t have much interest in using Shattenkirk, even in deep leagues.
Juuse Saros – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 6-1 win over the Wild. In his past five starts, Saros has allowed seven goals total, with no more than two in a game. You can’t keep an elite goalie down.
Roman Josi – Goal and two assists with two shots. Josi continues to crush all categories. I don’t want to say he’s single-handedly keeping Nashville in the playoff race, but he’s one of the main reasons with Forsberg.
Gustav Nyquist – Two assists. Solid streamer, and an elite one if your league doesn’t have shots as a category.
Colton Sissons – Two assists. Sissons is getting time on the first power play unit, but my interest in only in deep leagues.
Jake Oettinger – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 4-1 win over the Jets. It’s been far from Oettinger’s best, but he’s certainly capable of a huge finish. There’s nothing you can do if you have him but hope for that.
Roope Hintz – Goal and an assist with six shots. Joe Pavelski also had a goal and an assist. Both have been slumping lately, but they’re clear holds.
Justus Annunen – 24 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Blackhawks. This says more about Chicago than Annunen’s play. If you want to stream him when he starts for a likely win, that’s fine, but it’s quite risky.
Zach Parise – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Nice to see Parise still grinding away, but there’s nothing to see here for fantasy.
Philipp Grubauer – 33 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Penguins. Grubauer has been getting most of the starts since returning and has looked pretty good. He’s on the fringe depending on league format.
Alexander Wennberg – Goal and an assist with three shots. I’ve seen him mentioned as a trade candidate, but I can’t imagine any situation where Wennberg carries much fantasy value anymore.
Cam Talbot – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 5-1 win over the Canucks. Talbot has been much better since the All-Star break, but Rittich is still getting a fair split. I’ve been holding Talbot and I still would, but I wish they’d let him roll as the #1 again.
Drew Doughty – Goal and two assists with two shots. Doughty is scoring a lot more goals this season despite his shot rate dropping. 13% shooting is completely unsustainable for a defenseman. Regardless, it’s good enough to be a hold.
Kevin Fiala – Goal and two assists with three shots. This season has been pretty disappointing for Fiala, but he could turn it on. He’s had massive finishes to close seasons before.
Anze Kopitar – Goal and an assist with three shots. Kopitar is below two shots per game which puts him more on the fringe.
Trevor Moore – Goal and an assist. Moore has cooled off quite a bit. He’s a borderline elite streamer because of the shot rate, but I’m not looking to hold him.
Quinton Byfield – Two assists with a shot and two PIM playing over 22 minutes. Safe to say that Hiller has complete faith in Byfield. He’s in a similar spot to Kopitar in that the shot rate drags down his otherwise very good stat line.
Adam Henrique – Goal and two assists with two PIM. Boosting that trade value.
Ryan Strome – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Strome is on a decent run lately, but I can’t get him past a middling streamer at his point.
Alex Killorn – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. He’s getting buried at even strength, so I’m completely out if you have plus-minus. If you don’t, Killorn is a middling streamer.
Jackson LaCombe – Two assists with two shots. Nothing here for fantasy.
Mikael Granlund – Three assists with two shots playing over 25 minutes. With Couture and Hertl out, Granlund is getting all of the minutes he can handle. There’s deep league value, but I see him as a middling streamer in 12’ers. The Sharks sure look like they want to give Granlund any trade value.
Anthony Duclair – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Same goes for Duclair.
Fabian Zetterlund – Two assists with two shots and two PIM playing over 22 minutes. The third member of the first line, Zetterlund has done very little lately before this game. Bottom end streamer, but I can see him going up a few notches.
Mike Hoffman – Goal and an assist with three shots. It feels like forever ago that Hoffman was a fantasy stalwart. Now, he’s near useless in all formats.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the weekend’s action. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
