Surging Sergachev

Mikhail Sergachev had the game of the weekend, scoring two goals and two assists on three shots in the 6-3 win over the Capitals.  However, I was starting this post with Sergachev after watching the first ten minutes of the game.  Sergachev moved to the first power play unit and immediately delivered, with one goal and one primary assist coming there.  That is a massive boon to his value.  Whether it lasts, who is to say?  I would bet against it staying that way for the whole season, which is why I wouldn’t panic if I owned Victor Hedman.  However, in the short term, this is enough to make Sergachev a #2 defenseman in a 12 man league, with upside to be a #1.  Getting to feed Stamkos and Kucherov for shots over and over again is a godsend to fantasy value.  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:

Friday’s Games

Evgeni Malkin – Goal and an assist with three shots and four PIM.  Geno is crushing across the board as expected.  Just stay healthy!

Darcy Kuemper – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 5-1 win over the Lightning.  The numbers were looking very good for Kuemper until he was lit up on Sunday by the same Tampa Bay team.  Regardless, I feel good about Kuemper being a bottom end #1.

Sonny Milano – Two goals and an assist with four shots.  There’s some upside here, but it would take Milano to get onto the first PP unit for him to be better than a middling streamer.

Anthony Mantha – Goal and an assist with two shots and five PIM.  Mantha used to have a well above average shot rate, but now, it’s well below average.  Hard to be better than an average streamer unless that improves.

Marc-Andre Fleury – 28 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Kraken, making Martin Jones (20/21) the tough luck loser.  After a horrendous start, MAF has him numbers inching closer to respectability.  I still think he ends up a #2, but it might be more towards the bottom end.  Jones has been a huge surprise for the Kraken and is clearly worth owning everywhere, at least for the time being.

Logan Couture – Goal and an assist, as did Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, and Alexander Barabanov.  Couture is moving closer to elite streamer with his recent play, while Hertl is on the fringe.  Barabanov is a solid streamer.

Jamie Benn – Two goals on three shots with five PIM.  Monster heater for Benn who has somehow managed to rejuvenate his career under DeBoer.  He’s an elite streamer bordering on a bottom end hold.

Joe Pavelski – Goal and an assist wiht three shots.  Another year, another dominant Pavelski performance.  And this wasn’t his best game of the weekend (spoiler alert!).

Jason Robertson – Two assists with four shots.  Robertson is making a serious case for being a top 20 player now.

Saturday’s Games

Keith Kinkaid – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 3-1 win over the Sabres.  Kinkaid had quite the horseshoe on Saturday, but he also made some big saves.  He’s barely going to play NHL games, so nothing to really see here.

Patrice Bergeron – Two goals on four shots and two PIM, both goals assisted by Brad Marchand.  Even with the Sabres being a decent possession team this season, they’re no matching for a line like Boston’s.

Cam Talbot – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 4-1 win over the Flyers.  Talbot has been very good in three of his four appearances.  I expect him to get an even split with Forsberg, give or take a couple games either way.  I think it’s enough to hold.

Claude Giroux – Three assists, as did Brady Tkachuk.  Alex DeBrincat scored twice, while Tim Stutzle had a goal and an assist.  As much as Ottawa has struggled as a team, their star players have all been excellent so far.  I see no reason to expect that to change.

Tyson Barrie – Two goals on three shots.  Barrie only played 13 minutes in this game, and he’s barely over 1.5 shots per game.  That said, the points are still excellent for a defenseman because he’s maintained his PP role.  He needs to be held.

Sam Bennett – Two goals on six shots with two PIM, three hits, and two blocks. In hits leagues, he’s an easy hold.  Without them, he’s on the fringe.  I’d lean towards holding because of the elite shots and very good PIM, but it’s not a slam dunk.

Jason Zucker – Three assists with three shots.  Zucker is firmly on the second line, and he’s actually been very good this season with 13 points in 13 games.  The problem is that the minutes aren’t good, and that’s due to lack of quality PP time.  I have him as an above average streamer bordering on elite, but I wouldn’t strongly consider holding him in 12’ers or shallower.

Jeff Petry – Goal and an assist with two shots.  In hits and blocks leagues, Petry is an easy hold.  He’s on the fringe otherwise.

Rickard Rakell – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Rakell is in the same boat as Zucker, although with his shot rate, I’m more in the elite streamer range.  He’s also the first guy to bump up to PP1 if needed.

Nick Suzuki – Goal and an assist with four shots.  I like Suzuki, but I did not see a start like this coming.  He’s certainly going to regress because nobody shoots 27%, but I don’t see a massive drop off coming.  In other words, I don’t think he’s an automatic sell high candidate.

Kirby Dach – Two assists.  He’s fit in excellently on the first line.  That puts him in the elite streamer category, but I can’t go hold until the shot rate goes up.

Tomas Tatar – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Solid streamer as long as he’s on Hischier’s wing.

Jake Bean – Two assists with three shots and two PIM playing over 21 minutes.  With Zach Werenski out for the season, if you need help on the blue line, Bean is a great spec add since he went right onto PP1.

Gustav Nyquist – Two assists.  Bottom end streamer at this point of his career.

Emil Bemstrom – Goal and an assist with three shots.  I like Bemstrom’s game, and he’s actually getting an opportunity in the top six for the first time in his career.  I’m not streaming yet, but I’m definitely watching him for deeper leagues.

Brock Nelson – Two goals on ten shots.  Brock!  After a slow start, he’s been an absolute monster.  I’m kind of expecting him to repeat last season’s 37 goals, but with a lot more assists.

Scott Mayfield – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Nice player in real life, but Mayfield should be utilized only in deep leagues.

Sebastian Aho – Two assists with two shots.  Aho looks like he’s finally getting comfortable in the NHL.  That said, he had more points in this game than his first 11, so nothing for the time being.

Juuse Saros – 34 saves on 35 shots in the 2-1 win over the Rangers.  Finally!  Saros is in debate for the LVP of fantasy hockey to this point.  I would still love to buy low because he has too much talent to struggle for long.

Pavel Francouz – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.  Unfortunately, Georgiev has ran away with the #1 job.  I’d stream Francouz every time he starts though.

Mikko Rantanen – Goal and three assists.  Rantanen has an absurd 14 points in his last five games.  Absolute monster.

Nathan MacKinnon – Goal and an assist with three shots.  MacKinnon has been extremely unlucky and has 23 points in 13 games.  Is that good?  He’s over five shots per game and crushing every single category.

Cale Makar – Two goals and two PIM.  It’s only a matter of time until the goals start going in regularly for Makar, who is averaging one assist per game.

Josh Morrissey – Two assists with a shot.  Morrissey is thriving in the new system.   The shot rate keeps him more in the bottom end #2 / top end #3, but it’s still quite valuable.

Neal Pionk – Goal and an assist.  Pionk’s PIM have disappeared, but he’s still on the fringe of standard leagues with his shot rate up.  With hits and/or blocks, he’s a no brainer.

Elias Lindholm – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Lindholm is finally starting to get going.  The shot rate remains down, but I do expect it to creep back up.  He’s a reasonable buy low candidate.

Rasmus Andersson – Two assists with a shot.  All your assists are belong to Andersson!

Adam Ruzicka – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Ruzicka played on the first line in this game, but I’m not expecting it to last.  He’s a bottom end streamer while he is, as his minutes are much lower than his linemates.

Jarred Tinordi – Two goals.  Tinordi is a monster with hits making him a great streamer when necessary, but the offense is non-existent on a regular basis.

Patrick Kane – Two assists with four shots.  Rough start for Kane, but his shooting percentage should improve.  I don’t own him anywhere, but would kind of be in a holding pattern if I did.

Max Domi – Two assists with two shots.  Domi is locked onto the top line making him a solid streamer.

Troy Terry – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Fantastic start from Terry, who looks even better than he did last season.  His shooting percentage is at a normal level, and he’s sitting at 6+13 in 15 games.

Ryan O’Reilly – Goal and an assist.  RoR has been one of the unluckiest players in the league in terms of expected goals, but he’s still in the middling streamer range.  One assist in 13 games is just brutal.

David Perron – Two assists with a shot.  Perron has slowed down after a very good start in Detroit.  I have him firmly on the fringe.

Dominik Kubalik – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Kubalik is playing the best hockey of his career, even considering scoring 30 goals in 68 games as a rookie.  Even when Bertuzzi comes back, I think Kubalik can remain a hold.

Filip Hronek – Goal and an assist with three shots playing over 27 minutes.  Hronek has played to a bottom end hold level.  He’s hitting all of the categories well besides goals, and one goal would change that.

Sean Durzi – Two goals on three shots.  Durzi is also on the fringe, although I lean towards him being on the outside looking in.

Phillip Danault – Two assists. Danault is a solid streamer and I don’t see much of a debate.

Arthur Kaliyev – Two assists with two shots.  I’ve love to see what Kaliyev would do getting 16 minutes a night, even on a bad team.  He’s carrying the second power play unit, but stuck on the fourth line.  He’s a middling streamer in 12’ers in his current role.

Sunday’s Games

Jake Oettinger – 37 saves on 38 shots in the 5-1 win over the Flyers.  After a dreadful return, it was nice to see Oettinger get back to his dominant self.

Joe Pavelski – Goal and two assists with three shots.  Spoiler confirmed!  Still out there playing his best hockey at 38.

Esa Lindell – Goal and two assists.  Lindell has done very little offensively and doesn’t get PP time anymore.  He should only be used in the deepest of leagues.

Hampus Lindholm – Three assists with six shots and two PIM.  One of Lindholm’s assists was on the first PP, which is very interesting.  McAvoy had one later in the game, but regardless, Lindholm has been a monster for the Bruins.  He’s already approaching a career high in points in mid November, and his defensive game is back to the level it was 3-4 years ago.

Connor Clifton – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Clifton doesn’t do enough for shallow leagues, but he’s great in deep leagues due to elite hits and solid contributions everywhere.

David Pastrnak – Two assists with six shots and two PIM.  Pasta has played as well as any forward in the league.  It’s great to see him in a more open system than Cassidy’s.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Two assists with two shots.  And there’s your annual Pickles update!

Igor Shesterkin – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 4-1 win over the Coyotes.  The Rangers were actually getting caved early in this game, but Igor was superb until the Rangers found their game.  I highly doubt he gets back to last season’s absurd level, but there’s no doubt Igor will be right there for the top fantasy goalie come the end of the season.

Adam Fox – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Fox has been fantastic across the board, per usual.

Steven Stamkos – Two assists with two shots.  Shockingly, Stamkos doesn’t have a goal in ten straight games, but the shots are still coming in at an elite rate.  It’s only a matter of time before he goes on another scoring binge.

Nikita Kucherov – Goal and an assist with three shots and four PIM.  Kucherov has somehow started better than in his 128 point MVP season.  Here’s to hoping he can stay healthy.

Alex Killorn – Two assists with two shots.  He’s lost his spot on PP1 to Hagel, making Killorn a bottom end streamer.

Nick Perbix – Goal and an assist.  Perbix has a goal in three of the past four games, but I’m still not looking to use Perbix even in the deepest of leagues.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!

Mark Scheifele – Two goals on five shots.  Huge win for the Jets who tie it with 5 seconds left before Scheifele won it in overtime.  He somehow has only two assists, but with ten goals in 14 games, I don’t see how anyone can complain.

Kyle Connor – Two assists with four shots.  Connor is right near the top of the unluckiest players list.  He’s going to catch fire and score a ton of goals sooner than later.

Three Point Challenge: Props to Jeff for picking Connor on Tuesday, and Fungazi for picking Eichel on Thursday night!  There’s a massive tie for 10th in points, so the list of players you can’t pick is extensive.  You can’t select McDavid, Draisaitl, Pastrnak, Rantanen, MacKinnon, Robertson, E. Karlsson, Robertson, Kucherov, Panarin, B. Tkachuk, Necas, Suzuki, Thompson, Bratt, Terry, Hintz, and Eichel.  I’ll go with Gaudreau against the Flyers.