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I’ll be honest, this time a year ago, I never thought I’d be writing about Alex Stalock again.  After a few years of being the backup in San Jose, Stalock was shipped to Toronto, where he was immediately waived to play in the AHL.  In the summer of 2016, Stalock signed a two-way deal with the Wild but never played in Minnesota, only in Iowa.  After Kuemper’s struggles last year and Stalock recording a .926 sv% in the A, the Wild let Kuemper go and decided to sign Stalock to be their backup this year.  Sadly, Devan Dubnyk was injured on Tuesday and is week-to-week.  We discussed this on yesterday’s podcast, but Stalock becomes a clear must-own until Dubnyk returns.  He made me look good as he shut out the Maple Leafs on Thursday night stopping 28 shots he’s faced.  Grab Stalock now before somebody else.  The Wild are getting healthy and playing great defensive hockey at the moment so for at least the next week, Stalock should provide great value.  Here’s what else happened the last two nights:

Jamie Benn – Goal and two assists.  We’re getting our typical Jamie Benn season in that he’s a clear plus in every category.

Tyler Pitlick – Two goals.  A bunch of Stars players are better streamers now that they balanced out the lines a bit, including Pitlick.  It’s more towards the bottom end but he’s in play.

John Klingberg – Two assists with four shots.  It’s great to see him over two shots per game again after last year’s debacle.  Klingberg is on pace to set a new career high in points as well.

Alexander Radulov – Left the game injured, questionable for Friday.  Doesn’t sound serious so hold on to Radulov despite not being able to IR him.

Kari Lehtonen – 32 saves on 34 shots in the 5-2 win over the Islanders.  I’m trying not to get suckered in but Lehtonen has had five straight solid appearances.  I would stream him Friday night in New Jersey.

Josh Bailey – Two assists with four shots Wednesday, hat trick on Thursday.  Is there anyone else even up for debate for waiver wire pickup of the year?  Sure, it’s normally very assist heavy, but he’s top 10 in the NHL in points!

John Tavares – Two assists with two shots Wednesday, three assists with six shots on Thursday.  What’s the amount of money you think Tavares gets this summer?  I’m setting the over-under at 84 million total.

Anders Lee – Two goals on three shots Wednesday, assist with a shot Thursday.  I aggressively ranked Lee this year and yet he’s still blown away my expectations.

Bobby Ryan – Goal and an assist with two shots.  I remember when Bobby Ryan was good.  It certainly hasn’t been this year.  Only four more years left paying him 7.25 million per Ottawa!

Brad Marchand – Goal and an assist with two shots, assist with two shots and twelve PIM Thursday.  He’s been incredible this year although the shot rate is down a bit.  Regardless, Marchand would be pushing #1 overall forward status if he didn’t miss some time.

Torey Krug – Two assists with three shots and two PIM Wednesday, three shots Thursday.  Naturally Krug is scoring goals this year despite his shot rate dropping dramatically.  Regardless, he’s still a solid #2 in fantasy.

Patrice Bergeron – Three shots and two PIM Wednesday, two goals on four shots with two PIM Thursday.  Great trade target if you could get him.  He’s been a plus everywhere but goals but they are coming with that shot rate.

Pekka Rinne – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 7-1 win over the Canucks.  The Predators are a powerhouse right now and Rinne is the backbone.

Craig Smith – Goal and three assists with seven SOG and two PIM over two games.  He’s on fire right now so I’m holding Smith until he cools off.

Kevin Fiala – Two goals and an assist with six shots over two games.  Same story as Smith.

P.K. Subban – Two goals and an assist with four shots and fourteen penalty minutes.  Subban is giving us the numbers we were accustomed to during his time in Montreal.  That’s a top 5 fantasy defenseman.

Ryan Johansen – Two assists with a shot in his return Wednesday.  Blanks across the board Thursday.  He hasn’t been great this year but Johansen is a clear hold.

Filip Forsberg – Goal and two assists with five shots over two games.  If you had Forsberg over a point per game, raise your hand.  If you had him very close to that, raise your hand <raises hand>.  The important thing is I said he would set new career highs in goals and assists and he’s well on his way.

Kyle Turris – Goal and two assists with four shots and two PIM over two starts.  Turris is rolling right now as he’s at a point per game since being traded to Smashville.

Mattias Ekholm – Three assists with three shots.  As talked about on last week’s podcast, I’d still be looking to sell high on Ekholm.

Juuse Saros – 46 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Oilers.  My man!  One of my two favorite goaltending prospects from my beginning at Razzball (with Hellebuyck), I still love Saros long term.  I’d stream him every time he starts.

Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Remember when major outlets ranked him outside of the first round?  Good times.

Matt Niskanen – Two assists with a shot.  Very yawnstipating but worth owning given the cesspool that is defensemen in fantasy hockey.

Alex Chiasson – Two goals on three shots.  He’s an okay streamer in deep leagues while he’s on the second line.  This is very short term though as Oshie’s return seems imminent and Chiasson is almost certainly going to lose his spot.

Ryan O’Reilly – Goal on four shots.  He’s looked much better since the Sabres changed their lines.  I wouldn’t quite hold him in a 12’er yet but I would definitely stream him tonight if he was available.  I also think RoR will get back to being a hold at some point this season.

Brian Elliott – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 2-1 win over the Sabres.  He’s put together a nice little five game stretch here but I still have little faith in Elliott going forward.

Oliver Bjorkstrand – Three assists with two shots and two PIM.  Another one of my personal favorites in dynasties, Bjorkstrand is really heating up right now.  Stream him Saturday against Carolina if you need a guy.

Alexander Wennberg – Two assists with a shot.  Extremely disappointing year to date for Wennberg as he’s failed to take a step forward in any category and also dealt with injury.  I think he’s on the fringe at this point in 12’ers.

Artemi Panarin – Two assists with four shots.  It’s more assist heavy than during his time in Chicago but part of that is because his shooting percentage has drastically dropped.  Regardless, Panarin has been great so far.

Zach Werenski – Goal and an assist with five shots.  The assists have really dropped off but I don’t think anyone is complaining with Werenski.  He’s on a 25-30 goal pace and three shots per game.

Carey Price – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Devils.  You almost expect this kind of night from Price against a Devils team missing their best player.  The Devils going on a downswing is firmly in play here.

John Gibson – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blues.  On last week’s podcast, I mentioned Gibson as my favorite buy low target, or simply goalie to target in a trade if you needed one.  I suspect he’s going to go on a great run sooner than later.

Kevin Roy – Two goals.  While he’s fills in on the top line, Roy is a fine streamer.

Nick Schmaltz – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM.  Solid streamer as long as he’s with Kane.

Patrick Kane – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Right on a point per game pace which is almost expected at this point.

Corey Crawford – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 5-1 win over the Jets.  Crawford is firmly in the Vezina race and is the main reason why the Blackhawks have stayed afloat.

Joonas Donskoi – Goal and an assist with three shots.  This line looked excellent as Chris Tierney and Timo Meier also had 1+1.  Donskoi is a middling streamer while the other two are bottom end.  I still like Meier a lot in dynasties though.

Aaron Dell – 32 saves on 34 shots in the 3-2 win over the Flames.  He’s on top of the NHL in GAA and sv%, and while it’s a small sample, it’s clear Dell is a must-stream every time he starts.

James Reimer – 28 saves on 30 shots in the 2-1 loss to the Avalanche.  Reimer is going to get all the starts he can handle but I still have little faith in the team in front of him, at least defensively.  Firmly in the “desperate for starts” category.

Nathan MacKinnon – Two goals on four shots.  He’s taken his game to the next level so we’ve been waiting for.  Straight up beast.

Semyon Varlamov – 32 saves on 33 shots earning the win.  Like Reimer, I have very little faith here.  Varlamov has over a 3 GAA and save percentage is below .910.  Desperate, indeed.

Andrei Vasilevskiy – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 4-1 win over the Coyotes.  #1 goalie overall and it’s not even close anymore.

Tyler Johnson – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Good for Johnson to finally get back on track.  I’d hold him while he’s on fire.

Nikita Kucherov – Goal and an assist with four shots.  He seems good at the game we call hockey.

Brayden Point – Goal and an assist with five PIM.  The rare Gordie Howe hat trick!

Marc-Andre Fleury – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 2-1 win over the Penguins.  A nice, sweet revenge game for MAF.  I still have my doubts about whether or not it will last, but considering how late you were able to draft him, just roll him and enjoy the ride.

Friday Streamers:

Lackeydrinksonme planned out the full week for streamers here so use that to help you out.  As mentioned above, Lehtonen is in a nice spot tonight.  As far as forwards go, I’d look at Stars players, Benoit PouliotElias Lindholm and other Carolina players, and some Sharks.

That’s all for now guys.  As always, feel free to ask any questions and leave any comments below.  I’ll be back on Monday recapping all of the weekend’s action.  Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!