Pittsburgh is absolutely rolling right now, winning their ninth and tenth straight over the past two nights. The total line has dominated on both nights, being sparked by the return of Bryan Rust. In both games, Rust scored two goals and an assist, bringing his total to 11 points in 3 games since returning from injury. Bonkers. Jake Guentzel had two assists with four shots while Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. All three of these guys are top 50 players rest of season, with Guentzel being a top 20 guy and the other two probably just outside of it. They’re a viable DFS stack every time they play. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an uptick in minutes in the short term with the team heading to the West Coast. If you have any of these guys on your team, you have to be thrilled. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Alex Kerfoot – Goal and an assist. Middling streamer while on the second line, although I wouldn’t be surprised if Ilya Mikheyev (goal on six shots) eventually takes that spot.
William Nylander – Two assists with two shots. Nylander has found another level this season that I didn’t think he had in him. He seemed destined to be a 70ish point guy, but he’s over a point per game now with 3.5 shots per game. Excellent step in the right direction.
Brayden Schenn – Goal and an assist with two shots. With Vladimir Tarasenko going on the COVID list, Schenn gets a short term boost to elite streamer status.
Kris Letang – Five assists with twelve shots over two games. Like the rest of the Penguins star players, Letang is buzzing right now. It should only get better as one goal on 80 shots is due to regress in a positive manner.
Evan Rodrigues – Two goals and two assists with eight shots over two games. Just a ludicrous run from ERod who already has a career high in points. While I’m still holding, I’m curious to see what happens with Malkin comes back. Losing his PP1 spot to Malkin seems like a certainty and that puts a damper on things. I don’t know if you can trade him, but if you can, consider selling high.
Tomas Hertl – Goal and an assist with two shots. Hertl is getting all the minutes he can handle right now with the Sharks shorthanded. He’s a hold either way, but right now is as good as it’s going to get from an opportunity standpoint.
Darcy Kuemper – 34 saves on 35 shots in the 7-1 win over the Jets. After a rough start, Kuemper is starting to round into form. I wouldn’t be surprised if he finishes as a top 5 goalie because the wins are great.
Nathan MacKinnon – Goal and four assists with eight shots. Gabriel Landeskog had a hat trick and an assist with five shots while Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists with three shots. Needless to say, the Jets had no answer for the first line. Props to Eli Man Penguin Boy for getting the Three Point challenge.
Andre Burakovsky – Two assists with four shots. I don’t think Burakovsky is an automatic hold now that he’s off the top power play, but I’d still lean that way.
Erik Johnson – Two assists. He keeps stumbling into points, but I’d still keep Johnson to deeper leagues.
Bowen Byram – Goal and an assist with three shots. Byram is going to be a fantasy star eventually, even if he’s blocked off PP1 from Makar. He’s good enough now to be held in all leagues.
Jonas Brodin – Two assists with a shot. Brodin is on the fringe depending on team needs.
MacKenzie Blackwood – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets. Blackwood has had a very tough go of it so far this year. I don’t expect it to get a lot better. You can hold him for volume if you want, especially with Bernier out, but it’s risky.
Jack Hughes – Goal and two assists with three shots. Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist with three shots, as did Tomas Tatar. The first two are no-brainer holds, while Tatar is an elite streamer on this line. If Tatar stays there, my hope is that he can get back to being a hold like he was in Montreal.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 4-1 win over the Flames. Insert superlative about Vasilevskiy here.
Nikita Kucherov – Two assists with three shots in his return to the ice. Picking up right where he left off.
Ryan McDonagh – Two assists with a shot. McDonagh used to be very good in fantasy, but that time is not now.
Aleksander Barkov – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Even with weaker linemates, Barkov dominates. Over 82 games, Barkov would be playing at a 56+39 pace. Seems decent.
Aaron Ekblad – Three assists with two shots. Ekblad continues to crush across the board. A top five defenseman season is firmly in play.
Patric Hornqvist – Goal and an assist with two shots. ” In the short term, Hornqvist is an elite streamer since he’s getting PP1 time with Bennett and Reinhart out of the lineup.” And that’s me quoting me from two days ago!
Jonathan Huberdeau – Goal and an assist with two shots. Huberdeau is pacing well over 100 points, including 80 assists. Absolutely incredible.
Denis Gurianov – Goal and two assists with three shots. Gurianov hasn’t managed to build off his breakout from two seasons ago, including in the playoffs. For now, he’s a middling streamer at best.
Jamie Benn – Goal and an assist with four shots. Benn is also down to a middling streamer.
John Klingberg – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Five game assist streak for Klingberg. He’s worth holding, but don’t expect too much.
Jonathan Toews – Goal and an assist with two shots. Toews is a middling streamer with some upside depending on who his linemates are.
Johan Larsson – Hat trick with two PIM. Larsson didn’t even have a goal on the season and scores a hat trick. Just absurd. There’s some deep league value, but that’s it.
Travis Boyd – Goal and two assists with three shots. Boyd is shooting almost 30% on the season. The regression fairies are coming.
Phil Kessel – Two assists with three shots. Kessel is on a massive tear right now with twelve points in his last ten games. That puts him in elite streamer territory.
Shayne Gostisbehere – Two assists. His minutes have dropped even with Chychrun remaining out of the lineup. He’s on the fringe for me, but I lean towards passing.
Clayton Keller – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Like Kessel, Keller has twelve points in his last ten games. I’m definitely holding him though as the PIM and shots are quite good.
Igor Shesterkin – On the COVID list. Sigh. Hopefully he’s back sooner rather than later.
Reilly Smith – Two assists, both on Jonathan Marchessault goals. Smith has more points than last season in 17 less games. He’s scoring at his best rate since Vegas’ first season. That’s enough to hold him.
Robin Lehner – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 5-1 win over the Rangers. Nice way for Lehner to get eased back into the lineup. Here’s to hoping he can stay on the ice going forward.
Filip Forsberg – Goal and an assist with two shots. Nobody in the league has more goals than Forsberg over the last six weeks. Just stay healthy!
Roman Josi – Two assists. Career highs for Josi are in play, who has had 65 points before. The shots and PIM are also elite. He’s the #1 defenseman so far and by a decent amount.
Martin Frk – Goal on six shots. Frk looks like a AAAA player, but the Kings put him on the top line right away to take advantage of his great shot. For as long as he’s there, he’s an elite streamer.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
