It wouldn’t be this Buffalo Sabres season if they didn’t blow out an elite team after getting buried by a bottom feeder. The Sabres beat Toronto 9-3 on Thursday, becoming the first team in 40 years to score 9 goals in a game after conceding 9 in their previous game. Does this change my opinion on anyone on the Sabres? No, not really, they’re just going to be an up and down team. The one notable thing is that Jack Quinn scored a goal on three shots with four PIM in his second game of the season. Quinn had a solid rookie season but suffered an Achilles injury in the offseason, setting back his sophomore season. It’s encouraging that even with a fully healthy lineup, Quinn’s line was getting plenty of usage. He’s a middling streamer for now, but there’s upside to an elite streamer this season, while Quinn has clear potential to be a permanent hold for years in dynasties. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Wednesday’s Games
Joey Daccord – 42 saves on 43 shots in the 2-1 win over the Kings. Absolute theft by Daccord winning this game for Seattle. It’s his crease for the time being, so if you need a goalie, Daccord is a solid short term option.
Hendrix Lapierre – Goal and an assist with three shots. There’s long term upside here, but right now, the minutes are too low for Lapierre to make an impact. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Patrick Kane – Goal and an assist. The points and shot rate have been solid for Kane, although he’s getting caved at even strength again. It’s on the fringe for 12’ers, although I lean towards holding.
Gabe Vilardi – Goal and two assists with three shots. My love for Vilardi grows by the day. It’s almost immeasurable now that he’s playing with Nikolaj Ehlers (1+1, 5 SOG). Vilardi is must own in all formats, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s a top 100 player for the rest of the season.
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby – Goal and an assist with four shots. He’s a decent depth player, but there’s no fantasy value here.
Thursday’s Games
John Carlson – Three assists with three shots. While Carlson has been extremely disappointing along with his teammate superstar, I feel strongly that Carlson will be fine going forward.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with seven shots. Finally! If Ovechkin maintains this shot volume, he’ll be just fine. I doubt you can buy low, but I definitely would.
Anthony Mantha – Two goals. Meh, I loved Mantha years ago, but now he’s a bottom end streamer.
Joel Hofer – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 4-1 win over the Panthers. Long term, Hofer could be the Blues goalie of the future. For now, he’s a risky streamer.
Pavel Buchnevich – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Florida couldn’t stop the first line, as Robert Thomas dished three assists, while Jordan Kyrou had a goal and an assist with three shots. Kyrou has been a clear positive regression candidate with his elite shot rate. Buch is smashing across the board. As long as these three are together, there is massive upside.
Brayden McNabb – Two assists with two shots. And there’s your annual McNabb update!
Jonathan Marchessault – Two goals on six shots. With his elite shot rate and goals, Marchessault is a clear hold.
Jack Eichel – Two assists with seven shots. Eichel is giving his 2019-20 season a run for its money for the best of his career. He’s over four shots per game now.
Paul Cotter – Goal and an assist with three shots. Bottom end streamer.
Victor Hedman – Three assists with four shots and two PIM. That brings Hedman to a point per game. Even with a significant drop in shot rate, we can’t complain.
Nikita Kucherov – Goal and two assists with five shots and two PIM. Kuch’s Hart-caliber season continues. He has ten points in his last four games, pushing towards a 140 point pace.
Nick Paul – Goal and two assists. While Paul is with Kucherov and Brayden Point (2+1), he’s an elite streamer.
Alex Nedeljkovic – 23 saves on 24 shots beating Pyotr Kochetkov (24 of 25) in the 2-1 SO win over the Canes. Nedeljokvic is worth streaming in most matchups, while Kochetkov is clearly must own again.
Filip Forsberg – Two assists with five shots and two PIM. Just stay healthy!
Colton Sissons – Two assists with a shot. As long as Sissons is on PP1, he’s a middling streamer.
Philip Tomasino – Two goals. The former first round pick is showing signs, but I can’t get him past a bottom end streamer.
Sam Gagner – Two assists with two shots. There’s some deep league value, but that’s it.
Mattias Ekholm – Two assists with four shots. Ekholm stumbles into enough points playing on Edmonton that he’s on the fringe, but I lean towards passing in 12’ers.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Goal and an assist with five shots, as did Connor McDavid. Twelve points in his last seven games has RNH back above a point per game continuing to dominate on the power play.
Ryan McLeod – Two goals. And there’s your annual McLeod update!
Michael McLeod – Two assists with a shot. Another McLeod! Bottom end streamer.
Dawson Mercer – Goal and an assist. After a solid start, Mercer has really fallen off. The upside is undeniable, but for now, he’s a middling streamer at best.
Kirill Kaprizov – Goal and two assists with two shots. I should have followed my prediction from my last post and picked Kaprizov for three points. Damn it.
Marco Rossi – Goal and two assists with three shots and seventeen PIM. I loved Rossi in his draft season and was sad when the Sabres passed on him. We’re starting to see why on the NHL level. Rossi is an elite streamer.
Brock Faber – Goal and an assist with two shots. Okay, it’s time to talk about Faber. He’s played over 30 minutes in four straight games. Faber has played elite defense, not even for a rookie, for anyone in the league. It’s fringy for now because the shot rate is poor, but I expect the points to be decent enough with this workload.
David Savard – Goal and an assist with two PIM. Nothing here besides some blocks for deep leagues.
Michael Matheson – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Worth owning everywhere. I assume Matheson won’t get traded, but if he does, it would be devastating to his value.
Nick Suzuki – Goal and an assist with six shots. Suzuki has been in a nice run of form. It’s on the fringe, but I lean towards holding.
Juraj Slafkovsky – Goal and an assist with two shots. The workload is at a good level now, but I still don’t see Slafkovsky as more than a bottom end streamer.
Teddy Blueger – Two assists with a shot. The third line went off as Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland each had a goal and an assist. I don’t want anything to do with any of them.
Matt Duchene – Goal and an assist with three shots. Must own everywhere again.
Jason Robertson – Two assists with nine shots. The shots and points are starting to come back which is encouraging. I’d rather buy low than sell him off.
Miro Heiskanen – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. He’s been disappointing, just like Robertson, but I’d rather buy low on Heiskanen as well.
Thomas Harley – Goal and an assist. That’s a four game point streak for Harley, a former first round pick. He’s worth owning in 14’ers and deeper with his PP2 time. Anything shallower and I probably pass, but it’s debatable for 12’ers.
Drake Batherson – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. After disappointing last season, Bstherson has played his way into being a bottom end hold.
Nathan MacKinnon – Four goals and an assist with nine shots. Okay then. There’s nobody playing better than MacKinnon right now. All of the studs for Colorado went off as Valeri Nichushkin had three assists, Mikko Rantanen had two goals on six shots, while Cale Makar returned to dish two assists, adding five shots. Too bad I called Big Val for three points last week as I would have nailed it tonight (good catch by goodfold2). If Colorado can add a depth piece or two, they’re the clear Cup favorites in my opinion.
Jacob Markstrom – 25 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Ducks. The Ducks looked a team playing their first game at home after an East Coast trip. We know how big the range of outcomes are for Markstrom. If I drafted him, I would be stubborn for the full season and hold him.
Elias Lindholm – Goal and two assists with four shots. Lindholm is on the fringe, although I still lean towards holding.
Alex Kerfoot – Goal and two assists with three shots. Kerfoot is back on track and getting plenty of minutes. That said, I still have Kerfoot as a bottom end streamer.
Clayton Keller – Goal and two assists with three shots. He’s doing worse at even strength, but Keller is right around a point per game and over three shots per game. Clear hold.
Nick Schmaltz – Goal and an assist with three shots. Schmaltz has been ice cold, keeping him in a solid streamer range.
Sean Durzi – Two assists with four shots. Durzi missed a couple weeks before tonight, but returned with a bang. I’d hold him everywhere without hesitation.
Timothy Liljegren – Two assists with three shots. He’s struggled offensively so there’s nothing here for fantasy. That said, I’m still a huge fan of Liljegren in real life.
Alex Tuch – Four assists with a shot and two PIM. While I won’t go through the whole Sabres team after nine goals, it was worth mentioning that the first line from last season was reunited. Jeff Skinner had two goals and an assist with five shots in his return from injury, while Tage Thompson had a goal and two assists with five shots. Here’s to hoping that Granato leaves them together and they get back to last season’s form.
That’s all for now guys. If you need help for your weekend streaming, be sure to check out Jules’ and JKJ’s posts. With the Christmas break upcoming, I will be back on Thursday, the 28th, recapping the action from the 27th and any other big news that’s worth discussing. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Happy Holidays to everybody, take care!
Edit: Change of plans, I will be back on Friday. Jules and JKJ will both have posts coming out on Thursday.
