When we think about Tom Wilson going wild, it usually refers to him doing something dirty and piling up penalty minutes. Don't get me wrong, he's still getting penalty minutes, but he's been fabulous offensively since returning from suspension. Wilson scored two goals and an assist with six shots and two PIM in the 4-1 win over the Islanders on Monday. In his eight games, Wilson has 6+6 with a +6 rating, 11 PIM and 21 SOG. He's also averaging over 20 minutes per night. There's no doubt about it, Wilson should be owned in all formats right now. He's still available in about 1/3rd of leagues, so if you're lucky enough to be in one of them, pounce immediately. Obviously he's not going to stay at a point per game, but the offensive will be solid with this workload, and we know the PIM will be glorious. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Add another goalie to the list of guys who struggled in the opening month only to turn it around. Braden Holtby, the consensus #1 goaltender going into the season, showed us why this weekend with two big performances. Holtby saved 27 shots in Friday's 4-1 win over the Penguins and followed it up with 29 saves in the 2-1 SO win over the Oilers. Just like that, his save percentage is back to its normal level. Sure, the goals against average is still a little high, but goals are up around the league and it's not out of the realm of possibility it goes back down. With the massive win total as well, expect Holtby to get back to the #1 goalie by season's end. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Dating all the way back to the preseason, I called Pekka Rinne the biggest wild card of the fantasy hockey season. In some seasons, he plays like the #1 goalie. In other seasons, he's been a detriment to fantasy rosters. This year, he's settled more in the middle but closer to the good side. We saw that top end ability once again on Thursday night when Rinne posted a 31 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Oilers. So what do we do with him going forward? Honestly, nothing really changes. One, Peter Laviolette has already said that he wants to play Juuse Saros more down the stretch. Two, his variance is so high that any game or even any month doesn't change his long term prognosis. Basically, if you want to gamble, Rinne is someone worth the shot based on the high upside. If you want stability, stay the hell away. In dynasties, I'm down on him only because I'm a huge believer in Saros but for the rest of the season, I'm more on the side of Rinne being a top 10 goalie the rest of the way. Here's what else happened around the league the last two nights:
On the most recent podcast, I talked about how the Stars were going to start riding Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn for big minutes with their depleted depth. I stated that it was only a matter of time until they broke out and despite the tough matchup against St. Louis, they were elite options in the Three Point Challenge. Well, I wish I went with my first thought because Seguin got there and then some while Benn reached it with an empty net point. Seguin finished with 4 assists, 4 SOG and +3 while Benn had 3 assists, 6 PIM, +4 and a shot. Obviously this doesn't come as a shock, both were top 10 players with ease the last two seasons and should continue to say so barring health issues. Look for them to carry the Stars in the next week or so as they have 6 games in 9 nights starting Saturday. Next week, they get Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. As someone who has both of those guys in multiple leagues, I'm licking my lips thinking about what they can do. Let's take a look at what else happened the last two nights around the league.
I said on Friday that I don't like leading off with the same person back to back, let alone the same month. Well, Devan Dubnyk deserves to be the lede again with his third consecutive shutout on Saturday stopping all 29 shots against the Stars. For those of you who own Dubnyk in weekly head to head leagues, congrats on winning the goaltending categories this week! Three starts, three shutouts for my most frequently owned goaltender, go me! In the big picture, this doesn't really change things for me; Dubnyk is a #1 goalie and will continue to be so. While it matters less in fantasy hockey (it still has an impact for streaming and matchups), this shows me that the Wild are for real this season. I harped on it in the preseason and on the podcasts (mostly the over-under) but Bruce Boudreau does amazing things for hockey teams. I'm sure we'll be talking about it on Tuesday's podcast. Anyways, let's take a look at everything that happened around the league this weekend.
Remember like 18 hours ago when the Toronto Maple Leaf fans were annointing the team Eastern Conference Champs? And Phil Kessel was going to win the MVP? Yeah well the Bruins showed them just how far they still have to go… “Yes but it’s early! Please, blog, may I have some more?
