In a Pacific Division battle on Thursday, Stuart Skinner stole the show. Against the Kings, Skinner saved all 43 shots he faced in the 2-0 win. We all know about the firepower the Oilers possess, but they made the conference finals last season in large part because of Mike Smith getting hot as he was known to do. The Oilers replaced him with Campbell, but that has been an epic disaster. Skinner has established himself as the clear #1 and will be going into the playoffs. His numbers are that of a #2 in fantasy, and while I do like the 24 year old long term, I don’t really see upside past that unless the Oilers completely revamp their defense. That said, for the Oilers to get on a run, they’ll need solid goaltending, and Skinner has shown that he’s capable of that. He’s the goalie of the future and more importantly, the present. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Sam Reinhart – Goal and three assists with four shots over two games. Even in a disappointing season for Reinhart, he should get to 30 goals. He’s finishing strong and should continue to do so.
Brandon Montour – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM over two games. I never saw a season like this from Montour as a realistic possibility. He could double his previous career high in points!
Matthew Tkachuk – Hat trick and an assist with four shots Thursday. And with that, Tkachuk tops 100 points again.
Anton Lundell – Three goals and an assist with nine shots over two games. With Bennett still out of the lineup, Lundell is back in the top six and thriving. He’s a viable option down the stretch.
Ilya Sorokin – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 2-1 SO win over the Capitals, making Darcy Kuemper (28/29) the tough luck loser. It annoys me that Sorokin will probably drag this team into the playoffs. That said, he’s truly elite and a clear top 5 option now and in dynasties.
Frederick Gaudreau – Two shorthanded goals. One was an empty netter though. Decent season from Gadreau, but he’s only a bottom end streamer in fantasy.
Linus Ullmark – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Blue Jackets. Business as usual for the #1 goalie in fantasy.
Vitek Vanecek – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 2-1 win over the Rangers. Big win for the Devils in their battle for home ice in the first round. Vanecek has been solid for the Devils and should get most of the starts down the stretch.
Tony DeAngelo – Goal and an assist. TDA has been around what was expected of him, except that the plus-minus is even worse. It’s tough to hold him in roto because of that.
Cam York – Goal and an assist. York is showing some signs for why he was a lottery pick in 2019. He’s still only 22, so there could be plenty long term, but he’s a pass for now.
Tim Stutzle – Goal and an assist with three shots. The Stutzle breakout continues. He’s ascended to superstar level and Stutzle should be a borderline top 25 player next season depending on if his shot rate can take another jump up.
Tristan Jarry – 28 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Predators. This was a dominating performance by the Pens. It’s hard to predict what to expect from the Penguins goalies the rest of the way. Considering they are battling for the playoffs, I’d roll Jarry, but it’s a bit scary.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 5-1 win over the Capitals. He’s starting to peak at the right time for Tampa and the right time for fantasy owners.
Pat Maroon – Two goals. And there’s your annual Maroon update!
Steven Stamkos – Goal and an assist. Another year of Stammer topping a point per game.
Alex Killorn – Goal and an assist. He’s still on the first unit as the man in front which gives Killorn some extra value for deeper leagues.
Anthony Cirelli – Two assists with three shots. The offense really hasn’t ben there for Cirelli this year. He’s a deep league only option.
Jaccob Slavin – Goal and an assist with two shots. Slavin’s offense has completely dried up. No thanks.
David Perron – Two assists with two shots. Perron is on fire to finish up the season. He has some decent options for streaming next week.
Justin Faulk – Two assists with three shots. Four straight multi-point games for Faulk down the stretch. It’s a tough schedule the rest of the way, but I’m probably holding Faulk while he’s this hot.
Brandon Saad – Goal and an assist with two shots. Deep league only guy now.
Tyler Johnson – Goal and an assist with four shots. Johnson has done fairly well on a terrible team, but I have no interest in using a Blackhawk right now. Same story for Taylor Raddysh (2A, 3 SOG).
Martin Jones – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 4-1 win over the Ducks. Doesn’t get easier than that. Start everyone against the Ducks the rest of the way.
Jaden Schwartz – Goal and an assist with four shots. Bottom end streamer.
Matty Beniers – Goal and an assist with two shots. Beniers has been fine this year, but he hasn’t exactly set the world on fire either. That said, he’s still only 20 and should only get better. We’ll need that shot rate to go up for him to be a hold everywhere next season.
Ben Hutton – Two assists. And there’s your annual Hutton update!
Mario Ferraro – Goal and an assist with two shots. Ferraro provides next to no offense on an annual basis. It is stunning that he actually had two points in a game.
Henry Thrun – Two assists in his NHL debut. Thrun was a former Ducks pick who refused to sign there and ended up with the Sharks. The defensemen looks like a #4/5 in real life long term, who is decent at everything but not great at anything. I’m not sure I see a ton of fantasy value here long term unless he ends up on a stacked team and his distribution leads to more assists.
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. Best of luck down the stretch, thanks for reading, take care!
