After missing the playoffs for fourteen straight seasons, I keep waiting for the Sabres to slump, but instead, they keep getting better. On Friday, they had a big 3-2 regulation win in Florida. If that wasn’t enough, on the second of a back to back, they absolutely destroyed Tampa 6-2, including a 5-0 lead less than two minutes into the second period. Only the Colorado Avalanche have more regulation wins this season than the Sabres. What’s been different this week is that Josh Norris has actually been in the lineup. Norris had an assist with three shots against the Panthers, before scoring two goals against the Lightning. As has been the case for Norris for four straight seasons, he’s been hampered with injuries. The good news is that he’s dominated when he’s played this season, sitting with 8+12 in 22 games. The shot rate is poor so I wouldn’t necessarily hold, but he’s an elite streamer who probably belongs on the fringe. Ride the production while you can. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games
Alex Tuch – Goal and an assist with six shots. It’s clear at this point that the Sabres are too good to trade Tuch. He’s a clear hold in all formats as he paces for 30+40.
Sam Bennett – Goal and an assist with two shots. After a rough start, Bennett has been great for months. Easy hold everywhere.
Pierre-Luc Dubois – Two goals and an assist with six shots. Dubois has five points in four games since return from injury. For now, he’s an elite streamer, but there’s no denying the upside.
Rasmus Sandin – Two assists with two shots. Perhaps Sandin has super deep league value because he’s just slightly below average at everything. That does nothing for shallower leagues though.
Aliaksei Protas – Two assists with two shots. Elite streamer.
Matt Boldy – Goal and an assist with seven shots. Boldy is a top ten forward on the season now. I don’t quite see him at that level long term, but he’s definitely a second round pick in drafts next season.
Lawson Crouse – Two goals on five shots. Crouse is loving life on the first line with Clayton Keller (1+2) and Nick Schmaltz (two assists with three shots and two PIM). Crouse is a solid to elite streamer depending on whether or not your league has hits.
Mikhail Sergachev – Two assists with five shots. Solid #2 in 12’ers.
Jack McBain – Two assists with a shot. Great streamer in deep leageus as McBaiin is piling up insane hit totals with very good PIM and some faceoff wins. The points are lacking though.
Kyle Connor – Goal and an assist with three shots playing over 26 minutes. The Jets still think they can get into the playoffs, so expect insane minutes totals for their top guys.
Logan Stanley – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. With Morrissey and Pionk out, Stanley played over 28 minutes in this game. If you need short term help, he’s a great option.
Alex Iafallo – Goal and an assist. Nice depth player, but not much for fantasy.
Cole Perfetti – Two assists with four shots. I’m still a sucker for Perfetti’s talent. He does have six points in his last five games, and he has at least three shots in six straight games. I’m bumping Perfetti up to solid streamer.
Beckett Sennecke – Three assists with three shots. Man, Sennecke looks fantastic. I would already hold him, but he looks like a future fantasy superstar.
Pavel Mintyukov – Goal and an assist with two PIM. Mintyukov hasn’t taken a step forward offensively, and I’m not convinced it’s going to get better long term. He’ll be good for the Ducks in real life, but I don’t see it for fantasy.
Saturday’s Games:
Dan Vladar – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 3-1 win over the Bruins. Vladar has been shockingly good this season despite the team being poor. At this point, he needs to be held everywhere.
Travis Konecny – Goal and an assist with four shots. Konecny is a clear hold everywhere and at this point, he’s the only clear hold for Flyers skaters.
Christian Dvorak – Two assists with a shot. Dvorak has revitalized his career, but he’s still only a bottom end to middling streamer.
Jamie Drysdale – Goal and an assist. Drysdale is still on the first power play unit, but he just isn’t performing that well. He’s nowhere near good enough for 12’ers.
Connor McDavid – Three assists with three shots. Evan Bouchard had a goal and two assists with three shots, but it wasn’t enough against the Sharks. Bouchard is giving it a real run for being the #1 overall defenseman on the season. With Edmonton’s playoff picture getting murky, I’d expect these two to continue to get massive minutes.
Michael Misa – Goal and an assist with three shots. Misa is starting to flash on a regular basis. He has eight points in his last ten games despite low playing time. He’s a bottom end streamer for now, but Misa has superstar upside.
Jacob Markstrom – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blues. The only goal Markstrom allowed was because he tried to score a goal with the Blues goalie pulled, but he shot it right into Buch. This says more about the Blues than the Devils or Markstrom. He’s in the desperation tier.
Scott Mayfield – Goal and an assist with four shots. And there’s your annual Mayfield update!
Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Goal and an assist with two shots. Bottom end streamer.
Mathew Barzal – Two assists with a shot. Barzal has been crushing for a while going back to before the break. The shots are down quite a bit, but the points are good enough that he’s an easy hold.
Zach Werenski – Two assists with five shots. Nine game point streak for Werenski, who is somehow having a better season than last year. He’s a clear top five defenseman.
MacKenzie Blackwood -14 saves on 15 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blackhawks. Doesn’t get much easier than that. He’s a top five goalie for the rest of the season.
Cale Makar – Two goals on three shots. Both goals were assisted by Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. Business as usual for the Colorado studs.
Dylan Cozens – Two goals and an assist with four shots and two PIM. Cozens is firmly on the fringe now with a lean towards holding. He’s been too good on the power play and at even strength with Drake Batherson (two goals on five shots).
Thomas Chabot – Goal and an assist with three shots. It’s not flashy, but Chabot still leans towards a bottom end hold. It’s pretty much on the fringe though.
Rasmus Dahlin – Goal and two assists with two shots and two PIM. I know Dahlin hasn’t played in any big games for the Sabres in his career, but he feels like a guy who can elevate his game. He’s been fantastic the past few months and should continue thriving.
Zach Metsa – Goal and an assist with three shots. Metsa usually plays a sheltered 6-7 minutes per game, but the blowout allowed him to play 13. He scored a great goal, but he’s only playing out of necessity. He’s likely to lose his spot in the lineup after the trade deadline. A very good AHL player and depth for an organization.
Alex Ovechkin – Two goals on six shots. The shot rate hasn’t been at his usual insane level, but Ovechkin is still doing plenty to be a hold. Another 30+ goal season is very likely.
Anthony Beauvillier – Two assists. He was on the first line in this game, but Beauvillier has zero consistency. At best, he’s a super deep league streamer when he’s with Ovechkin.
Nick Suzuki – Goal adn two assists with two shots. Cole Caufield had two goals on five shots. They’re not the deadliest duo in the league, but they’re working their way towards the top of the list. Both have been top 20 forwards this season.
Anton Forsberg – 29 save shutout in the 2-0 win over Dustin Wolf (35/36) and the Flames. This after Forsberg was shelled by the Henderson Golden Knights (none of the five Vegas players that were in the gold medal game played against the Kings). I think this says more about the Flames offense, but Forsberg does have upside if you want to gamble.
Shayne Gostisbehere – Goal and two assists with two shots. This was Gostisbehere’s fifth three point game in 42 games this year. This is his best season since his breakout sophomore campaign in 2017-18.
Taylor Hall – Goal and two assists with two shots. The second line is putting together some decent games, as Jackson Blake scored a goal and an assist with five shots. It’s an easy hole that Carolina needs to fill at the deadline to better their lineup. For now, Blake is a middling to solid streamer, while Hall is a small step behind Blake.
Luke Evangelista – Two assists. Elite streamer if you’re looking for assists. Evangelista is quietly performing at a 50 assist pace.
Jason Robertson – Goal and an assist with two shots. Wyatt Johnston also had a goal and an assist but with five shots. With Rantanen and Hintz out, Robertson and Johnston are paired together. Expect massive minutes and both to continue to score plenty of goals.
Joey Daccord – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 5-1 win over the Canucks. Daccord has been marginally worse than last season, and Grubauer’s emergence has cut into his volume. Daccord is probably a bottom end hold as a .903 sv% is currently above league average.
Jordan Eberle – Two goals and an assist with three shots. The consistency isn’t there anymore, but Eberle has already scored the most goals he has in a season for the Kraken. He even has an outside chance at 30 goals for the first time in 14 years! He’s a solid streamer because the assists are way down.
Chandler Stephenson – Goal and two assists with two shots. Stephenson has been getting a lot of assists lately, but I still have very little interest in using a guy who is regularly getting caved. Bottom end streamer.
Sunday’s Games:
Arturs Silovs – 22 save shutout in the 5-0 win over Vegas. Pitt is on such a roll that Silovs does get some consideration, but I’m still skeptical.
Erik Karlsson – Two assists with a shot. He’s far away from whn he was a fantasy superstar, but Karlsson is holding his own. Solid #3 everywhere.
Bryan Rust – Goal and an assist with two shots. Rust is on the fringe, but I lean towards holding him, even with Crosby out.
Justin Brazeau – Goal and an assist. After a hot start, Brazeau has dropped off, to no surprise. Great story, but he’s only a bottom end to middling streamer.
Ben Kindel – Goal and an assist with three shots. Kindel is making me a big fan for the long term. For now, he’s in the middling streamer range.
Mark Stone – Left the game injured. Even with the LTIR rules finally changed, Stone couldn’t help but get hurt right before the trade deadline. I kid. Hopefully it’s nothing serious.
Arvid Soderblom – 22 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Mammoth. Soderblom was sitting at a 3.89/.874 before today. In other words, don’t even think about it.
Teuvo Teravainen – Two goals on four shots. Nice run from Teravainen, but his numbers are down a lot this year, especially assists. He’s a bottom end streamer with his shot rate well below 1.5 per game.
Alex Nedeljkovic – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Jets. Nedeljkovic has been an average starter over his 21 games. I’m not rushing to stream him, but I would do it against the bottom feeders of the west.
Joel Hofer – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 3-1 win over the Wild. That’s two good starts in a row, but I’m still not buying it. I fully expect the Blues to get a lot worse come the deadline too.
Pavel Buchnevich – Goal and an assist with two shots. Buchnevich has really turned it around, with four points in three games since the break, and ten points in his last seven games. For the time being, I’m bumping him to elite streamer.
Robert Thomas – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Nice return for Thomas, playing his first game in almost two months. He’s well behind last season’s pace, but he’s still an easy hold everywhere. He could be the best player moved at the deadline.
Matthew Tkachuk – Three assists with three shots. Despite the Panthers really falling out of the playoff picture, Tkachuk has been great since returning.
Aaron Ekblad – Two assists with a shot. Ekblad has fallen off a cliff. I’d only use him in deep leagues.
Sam Bennett – Two goals on four shots. His atrocious start is a thing of the past. Bennett has been great for months and should continue to play well.
Matthew Schaefer – Two goals and an assist with five shots and two PIM. Insert superlatives here. We’ve never seen a rookie season like this from a defenseman.
Tony DeAngelo – Two assists with a shot. He’s just on the outside looking in for 12’ers, although it is close. Anything deeper, Tony Dawgs is a hold.
Cutter Gauthier – Two goals on nine shots. Having watched the game, it felt like even more than nine shots on goal. It’s been a remarkable leap from Gauthier this season, especially with the shot rate. He’s going to be a fringe top 25 player going into next season.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Tuesday’s games per usual. You can’t select McDavid, MacKinnon, Kucherov, Celebrini, Pastrnak, Draisaitl, Kaprizov, Scheifele, Boldy, Rantanen, or Bouchard. I’ll go with Necas against the Ducks.
That’s all for now guys. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggetions below. MarmosDad will be back on Wednesday, while I will be back on Friday in the late morning or early afternoon live blogging the trade deadline, giving instant analysis on all moves. Thanks for reading, take care!
