With Draisaitl out for the regular season, somebody in the Oilers supporting cast had to step up. There’s been a few depth guys that have, but nobody more than Matt Savoie. The former ninth overall pick from the Sabres has started to come into his own. Savoie had a goal on five shots in the 3-1 win over the Blackhawks. This was his fourth game out of five that Savoie scored a goal, but the most important things for projecting going forward were his role. In this game, Savoie played with McDavid and registered over 19 minutes, including on the top power play unit. The Oilers schedule is pretty spread out so I’m not going to say he’s an automatic hold, but Savoie has a Tuesday/Wednesday back to back next week, which is a prime spot to stream him. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Wednesday’s Games:
Anton Forsberg – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Blues. Forsberg’s numbers are actually decent and better than Kuemper’s. That said, I don’t expect Forsberg to get more than two games the rest of the way.
Drew Helleson – Two assists. Helleson provides little offense and one of the worst shot rates I’ve ever seen. Moving on…
Macklin Celebrini – Two goals and two assists with four shots. By points percentage, the Sharks are in the last playoff spot. Massive credit to Celebrini for that, although MVP talk is outlandish for me. Giving him credit for having poor teammates leads to ridiculous Hart winners like Taylor Hall. Celebrini is obviously better than that, but he’s not in the MacKinnon/Kucherov/McDavid tier yet. And that’s fine, he’s 19!
Will Smith – Goal and two assists with two shots. After a rough patch, Smith has nine points in his last six games (counting Thursday). He just turned 21, which is overlooked because of Celebrini. He’s taken a big step forward this season, and should take another next year.
Brock Boeser – Hat trick and an assist with four shots. One of the craziest results in years, Vancouver beat Colorado on Wednesday. Despite a horrendous season for the team, it was nice to see Boeser get his seventh career hat trick.
Marcus Pettersson – Goal and two assists. Good player in real life, but Pettersson has zero offensive value.
Sam Malinski – Two goals and an assist. Easy hold everywhere while Makar was out. Brent Burns had a goal and an assist, while Devon Toews had two assists. All of them get a boost for the time being.
Thursday’s Games
Sergei Bobrovsky – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 2-1 win over the Bruins. It’s been the year from hell for Bob, although the wins are actually still good. I assume he stays in Florida, but we’ll see in free agency.
Yegor Chinakhov – Two goals on four shots. He’s absolutely crushed for the Pens. Massive win for Dubas acquiring him.
Kris Letang – Two assists, as did Samuel Girard. Girard seems to be bringing the best out of Letang lately. Letang is back onto the fringe.
Anthony Cirelli – Hat trick. His defensive play has fallen off drastically, but he’s having the best offensive season of his career. Cirelli is a solid streamer.
Nikita Kucherov – Goal and two assists with four shots. Kucherov is more likely to have a three point game than going pointless. How insane is that? For somebody to potentially lead the league in points three straight years in the McDavid / MacKinnon era, that is insane.
Patrick Kane – Goal and two assists. Alex DeBrincat scored two goals, while Andrew Copp had two assists as the second line won the Red wings the game. The Red Wings have a Saturday / Sunday back to back to close this week, making them an elite streaming candidate.
Linus Ullmark – 21 saves on 22 shots in the 4-1 win over the Sabres. Ullmark wasn’t in control at all. It felt like the pucks were just hitting him and the Sabres couldn’t get to any rebounds. Use Ullmark at your own risk.
Ridly Greig – Goal and an assist. Just an empty netter; nothing to see here.
Cole Caufield – Two goals on seven shots, both assisted by Nick Suzuki. Thanks to Caufield for making me look smart with my bold prediction. Shockingly, he’s only one goal behind MacKinnon now for the Rocket.
Frederik Andersen – 9 saves on 10 shots in the 5-1 win over the Blue Jackets. Boy, has Columbus collapsed down the stretch. I’d start the Carolina goalie in every game no matter the matchup.
Logan Stankoven – Two goals on four shots. I can’t help but think Stankoven’s numbers would be better on another team. As is, he’s a middling streamer.
Sebastian Aho – Two assists with a shot. Mr. Consistency still sitting around a point per game per usual.
Taylor Hall – Two assists with a shot. Same tier as Stankoven, although I have a slight preference to Stankoven.
Tom Wilson – Goal and an assist with three shots. Wilson is having the best season of his career despite Washington falling off a cliff. He’s still only 32, so he should be able to have a couple more good seasons.
Pierre-Luc Dubois – Goal and an assist with four shots. Dubois being injured was a big factor in Washington’s disappointment. He’s a solid streamer the rest of the way.
Jesper Bratt – Goal and four assists with two shots. Jack Hughes had two goals and three assists with five shots. Safe to say the Caps didn’t have an answer for these two. As I’ve said repeatedly, they’ll be ranked next season right back to where they were going into this season.
Matt Boldy – Two goals and an assist with six shots. The first 40 goal season of Boldy’s career, he’s become a clear top 20 fantasy player.
Ryan Hartman – Two goals on five shots. As long as he’s on the first line with Kirill Kaprizov (1+1) and Mats Zuccarello (2A), Hartman is an elite streamer.
Jake Oettinger – 22 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Jets. It’s been a bit disappointing overall for Oettinger, but his floor is why he’s ranked as a top 5ish goalie for years. Even if he hasn’t had the incredible Vezina season yet, he’s one of the only safe guys we got.
Adam Erne – Goal and an assist, as did Arttu Hyry. Erne has bounced around for years. He’s not playing every game, but credit to him for still grinding. Hyry has produced at an okay level in the AHL, but I don’t see any fantasy value in his current role. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Tristan Jarry – 17 saves on 18 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blackhawks. This says way more about the Blackhawks than Jarry. He’s been awful on the whole.
Dylan Guenther – Goal and two assists with three shots. Guenther has an outside shot of getting to 40 goals. He’s just turned 23 in a week, so the best is yet to come for Guenther. I ranked him top 50 going into the season and it will be higher next year.
Logan Cooley – Two goals and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Very bizarre season from Cooley, who has a ton of goals but the assists have fallen off. Regardless, I’m still extremely bullish on Cooley going forward.
Nick Schmaltz – Goal and an assist with four shots. Schmaltz has taken another step forward this season, making a huge difference for the Mammoth. His extension scares me long term, but he’s going to carry plenty of fantasy value for the next couple years.
Kailer Yamamoto – Two assists with two PIM. He has the occasional big game, but Yamamoto’s role is too small for regular contributions.
Blake Coleman – Two goals on three shots. I’d have liked to see what Coleman could do with a contender this season. Middling streamer if Calgary plays on a light day.
Mitch Marner – Hat trick and two assists with six shots. The early return from Torts is that he’s making Vegas Marner’s team over Eichel’s. I’m fascinated to see how Marner performs in the playoffs, especially if they draw Edmonton.
Ivan Barbashev – Goal and two assists. Nice run from Barbashev, who is an elite streamer.
Shea Theodore – Two assists with two shots. I’m still holding Theodore, but it’s not the most exciting stat line.
Alex Nedeljkovic – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs. The Sharks have the most games left in the league, so Ned should get 3-4 games still. I’d use him in the good matchups and pass in the high scoring ones.
William Eklund – Goal and an assist with two shots. It’s been a disappointing season from Eklund, but I’m not giving up long term. It wouldn’t surprise me if Eklund gets moved for a defenseman in the offseason.
Zack Ostapchuk – Goal and an assist. And there’s your annual Ostapchuk update!
Jonathan Marchessault – Goal and an assist with four shots. He’s had a late surge with nine points in his last nine games, but Marchessault is still just a middling streamer.
Joel Armia – Goal and an assist with four shots. And there’s your biannual Armia update!
Adrian Kempe – Two goals on four shots. Another 30 goal season for Kempe, despite his shot rate dropping. With the Kings going all out to make the playoffs, look for Kempe to get all of the minutes he can handle. He should be a huge difference maker in the final two weeks.
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. Thanks for reading, take care!
