Sabres Shower Swayman With Hats… Twice!

During Claude Julien’s tenure, his #1 goalie, usually Tuukka Rask, never played against the Sabres.  My hometown team has been so bad for so long that we would get Halak, Khudobin, or whatever backup.  Even with a new coach, we haven’t seen Swayman once, but he had a rough outing on Tuesday night.  In fact, we had a first of the season.  Tage Thompson and J.J. Peterka each had a hat trick and an assist, with the duo becoming the first teammates this season to both have a hat trick in the same game.  They really seem to be clicking since Jiri Kulich (assist, shot) moved onto their line at center.  Thompson and Peterka each finished +6 which is remarkable.  Thompson looks to be getting healthier and back to his normal self.  I saw Peterka on the fringe but this heater is enough to get him back as a bottom end hold.  Kulich looks like a huge dynasty value and is a solid streamer for redrafts.  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:

Monday’s Games

Scott Laughton – Goal and an assist with three shots.  I’ve lost count of how many years Laughton has been “available” in a trade.  He’s a bottom end streamer who has more deep league value than anything else.

Rasmus Ristolainen – Two assists with four PIM.  It’s been a better season than usual for Risto, but his days of real fantasy value are long over.

Travis Konecny – Two assists with two shots.  Previous career highs are getting blown out of the water.

Lucas Raymond – Goal and three assists with four shots.  The top line destroyed the Kings with Marco Kasper scoring two goals and an assist with four shots, while Dylan Larkin dished two assists, adding five shots.  Kasper has moved into elite streamer territory since McLellan arrived with eleven points in his last ten games.  We’re getting peak performance from the other two.

Tyler Myers – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM.  There’s been a decent amount of offense from Myers in January, but I’m not really buying it.  His value still mostly comes from blocks.

Conor Garland – Two goals on six shots with two PIM.  He’s dropped off quite a bit lately so Garland is more in the elite streamer range than the fringe or hold now.

Pius Suter – Goal and an assist.  Fine depth player but no 12’er value, just some deep league.

Quinn Hughes – Two assists with three shots.  Somehow, Hughes is doing even better than his Norris season last year.  Absolute monster.

Mattias Ekholm – Goal and an assist with six shots.  Ekholm is probably a bottom end hold, although it is a bit fringy.

Yaroslav Askarov – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 2-1 win over the Penguins.  Askarov has done well overall, especially considering the team in front of him.  He’s the top goalie prospect making him an elite dynasty option.

Tuesday’s Games

Dylan Cozens – Two assists with five shots and two PIM.  I have no idea what happened to the player from two seasons ago, but it’s been a dreadful 1.5 seasons from Cozens.  He’s a middling streamer who probably need a change of scenery trade to turn his career around.

Arvid Soderblom – 34 saves on 35 shots in the 4-1 win over the Lightning.  His save percentage is respectable, but I still have no interest.

Seth Jones – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  Jones has a six game point streak and his numbers are solid across the board… except his plus-minus.  It’s dreadful once again so whether or not you can stomach it determines how much value Jones provides.

Frederik Andersen – 22 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Rangers.  Just stay healthy!

Andrei Svechnikov – Two goals and an assist with four shots.  It’s been a disappointing season for Svech, so it was nice to see a big game.  I’m probably still holding for the upside, but he’s worked his way onto the fringe.

Connor Hellebuyck – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 4-1 win over the Canadiens.  Business as usual.

Kyle Connor – Two goals on three shots, both assisted by Gabriel Vilardi.  The top ten season for Connor continues.

Martin Necas – Two assists with two shots.  The minutes are through the roof as expected.  I went into the trade in full detail on Monday here.

Simon Holmstrom – Two goals and an assist with three shots.  The former first round pick has taken a step forward this season, but only to the point of a middling streamer.  The shot rate is comically bad.

J.G. Pageau – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  Bottom end streamer.

Anders Lee – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM.  I never saw this resurgence from Lee coming.  He’s on the fringe with a lean towards a hold actually.

Logan Thompson – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 3-1 win over the Flames.  Congrats to Thompson for getting a big extension from the Caps.  He was the perfect buy low trade target and they took advantage of it.  He’s been the #2 overall goalie for fantasy and none of it looks fluky.

Brandon Montour – Two assists with four shots.  I was expecting a lot better from Montour this season, although he’s been good enough across the board to be a bottom end hold.

Ryan Strome – Two assists with two PIM.  Also a bottom end hold.

Robby Fabbri – Goal and an assist.  Fabbri has fallen off in Anaheim quite a bit.  No fantasy value here anymore.

Frank Vatrano – Goal and an assist with five shots.  Vatrano provides elite shots but the points are down significantly.  He’s a middling to elite streamer depending on team needs.

Mason McTavish – Goal and an assist with two PIM.  Now McTavish decides to go on a heater after he was atrocious the first half of the season.  I’m still a firm believer in the talent (he turns only 22 tomorrow) and wouldn’t panic in dynasties.  In redrafts, he’s a middling streamer with huge upside.

Jackson LaCombe – Goal and an assist with two shots and six PIM.  LaCombe is on the fringe with a lean towards bottom end hold.

Wyatt Johnston – Hat trick on five shots, all assisted by Roope Hintz.  I said repeatedly that I expect Johnston to turn it around, and he has in a big way with twelve points in his last eight games.  DeBoer is trusting him with a big workload for one of his teams.  Hintz probably deserves to be on the fringe, but I’ve been stubborn and holding him without much thought.

Mark Stone – Two assists with four shots and two PIM.  He also injured Miro Heiskanen in this one.  It didn’t look good for Miro so we’ll have to keep an eye out for an update.  As far as Stone goes, he just needs to stay healthy.

Jack Eichel – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Seven game point streak for Eichel, who hasn’t slowed down all year.

Pavel Dorofeyev – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Elite streamer.

Three Point Challenge:  We will do Thursday’s games per usual.  You can’t select MacKinnon, Draisaitl, Rantanen, Marner, Kucherov, McDavid, Eichel, Connor, Pastrnak or Necas.  I’ll go with Hyman against the Oilers.