Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s a pretty popular show on Netflix these days that the kids are losing their ever-loving minds over.
And as much as I was hoping to roll out a bit about Ivan Demi-dov-Gorgon, the Ottawa Senators had other plans (more on that below).
Well, as they say, Stranger Things have happened than writing up a full round-up without a main star’s full stat-sheet to recount. And thankfully, a Motown defenseman gave us a performance to feature in our lede today.
Moritz Seider took a page out of the alternate universe and flipped the Bruins into the upside down last night in Detroit with 1 G (4), 2 A (15), +1, 4 PIM, 1 SOG, 1 PPA, 4 BLK, and 22:55 of ice time.
It was a nice bounce-back of sorts for the big German blueliner, after being held off the scoresheet in his last 3 games. Seider led the charge for the Red Wings in this revenge game after he was beaten (on the scoreboard and in a fight by Mark Kastelic) on Saturday afternoon.
But was that the only player worth highlighting from a Tuesday night 10-game slate?
The greatest goal scorer added himself to another list on Thursday: players who scored a hat trick at age 40 or above. He became the sixth person ever to do that, joining Jagr, Howe, Selanne, Bucyk, and... Lidstrom! You could have given me 100 guesses, and I'm sure I'd have gotten the first three, and probaly Buyck, but never Lidstrom. Anyways, Ovechkin scored only two goals in his first 12 games, but since then, he has seven in the past six. Add in three assists, and we've seen Ovechkin get back on track lately. An ugly start is now a thing of the past, and while I still think a repeat of last season is too farfetched, a monster season is possible again. MarmosDad covered the early part of the week here, so please check that out if you haven't. Now, it's time for me to recap Thursday night after a depressing Bills loss (fire McDermott!):
Not since Bell and Barksdale were running the streets of Baltimore have we seen a group of B's dominate like the current top line for the Blackhawks. Bedard, Burakovsky, and Bertuzzi have recently been put together, and they have been destroying everyone in their path. In the Chicago 4-0 win over the Flames on Friday, Connor Bedard had a goal and three assists, Andre Burakovsky had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice. They followed that up with a 5-1 beatdown of the Red Wings, with Bedard having a goal and two assists, while the other two each had a goal and an assist. Bedard is leading the league in points now, so it's safe to say that sophomore slump is a thing of the past. Bertuzzi is doing enough to be held right now, having six goals in his last three games. Burakovsky is on the fringe while he's a hot schmotato. His shot rate is going to determine how much he can sustain this fantasy value. For the first time in years, things are looking up for the Blackhawks. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Despite seeing nearly a month of games in our NHL schedule, it was a season debut last night that spoiled the Rangers’ modest 3-game winning streak. Pyotr Kochetkov was recalled from the AHL (Chicago) for his first game of the year on Tuesday evening, after getting the green light to return from a lower-body injury. The 4th year backstop made 25 saves on 25 shots and held off the Rangers’ offense for a 3-0 win at NYR. After winning 27 games last year, Kochetkov looked like he hadn’t missed a beat, and is worth an immediate pickup if an impatient manager needed some roster space and cut him loose in a shallow league. Check the FA list as soon as possible, or float out a trade offer before the 26-year-old goes on a run.
We're only about a month into the season, but Pat Verbeek has to be ecstatic by the way the season has started. One of his big swings was acquiring Cutter Gauthier after he demanded a trade for Philly, and the start to the season couldn't be going any better. Gauthier had two assists with six shots on Friday against Detroit before scoring a goal and an assist against the Devils on Sunday. That brings Gauthier to a preposterous 52 shots on goals in eleven games this season, with seven goals and five assists. That screams fantasy superstar right now. I forgot to mention that he's 21 years old as well. I was a big fan of Carlsson going into this season, as well as McTavish, but I'm upset at myself that I wasn't all in on Gauthier. I liked him, but he's the exact player type I always want in fantasy. I'm not sure if he ends as a top 50 fantasy player this season, but it's possible. If not, it's only a matter of time. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
I’m back again this week with another Divisional Preview.
Last week, we checked in on the Atlantic Division. If you missed it, you can open that up here.
This week, we’re headed to the Big City to check out the Metropolitan Division.
Can the Capitals charge their way to another divisional title?
Is Jet Greaves going to leave Elvis Merzlikins “All Shook Up” in the Blue Jackets’ crease?
What the heck are we supposed to call Sid “The Kid” Crosby now that he’s 38 years old?!
I might not answer all of these burning questions today, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be checking out the goods in...
We're onto the last position in my rankings, the netminders. Goalies make a huge difference in fantasy hockey, but they also have the most variability from year to year. There's only a handful of goalies that we can consistently count on every season to finish in the top ten, and that floor is why they are ranked as high as they are. Because of their unpredictability, I'm very unlikely to take a goalie in the first four rounds, especially in head to head leagues. Even if your league reaches for goalies early, don't panic. Last season, I was extremely high on Kuemper and was able to get him as my G3 everywhere. He finished as the #3 goalie overall. I liked the Leafs platoon for roto leagues, and Stolarz finished as G4. Meanwhile, top ranked goalies such as Shesterkin and Saros disappointed, and they were far from the only ones. Patience is key for drafting goalies. I'm going to separate all of the goalies into tiers, so let's get to it!
The trade deadline is this Friday, but we saw a couple trades on Saturday, one of which carries some big fantasy ramifications. The Panthers made their annual big swing, acquiring Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Spencer Knight and a first round pick, almost certainly in 2026. Even with Chicago retaining salary, Jones will cost the Panthers seven million a year for the next five years. Long time Razzballers know that I have never been a fan of Jones in real life compared to his reputation. I wouldn't want to commit to him for the next five years for free, let alone giving up a first round pick and Knight. That said, it will certainly help him stepping onto the defending Cup champions. So what can we expect for fantasy?
Well, my bold preseason prediction that Matvei Michkov would score 30+ goals has some hope. Since coming back from the Four Nations break, Michkov has completely torched the Oilers and the Penguins twice. Michkov scored two goals and an assist with four shots on Thursday, giving him eight points in his three games over the past week. Going back to the two games before the break, he also has 24 shots on goal in five games, which is incredibly encouraging going forward. I'm all in on Michkov long term as I've noted throughout the season, but his rough patch in January has left him on the waiver wire on around 50% of leagues. Even if he's just a hot schmotato for now, he's clearly must own right now because of the undeniable upside. If his shot rate gets up to three per game eventually, he's going to be a top 20 player for years. Let's take a look at what else happened on Thursday night:
All of the loyal Razzballers know my infatuation with Dylan Guenther in fantasy. It's been a tough month with him on the injured list, but he came back in a big, big way. Guenther tied the game against the Flyers on Tuesday before scoring with one second left in overtime to win the game. He finished with two goals and an assist with six shots and more importantly, 22:37 of ice time. It was great to see him handle that kind of workload right away. Utah still has three games before the Four Nations break, so if you're in one of those leagues without IR spots and Guenther is available, grab him immediately. There's easily top 100 upside here for the rest of the way. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
It's not too often that you see a team up 5-1 halfway through the game and they don't even get a point. In fact, they lost by multiple goals. The Sharks were taking it to the Predators on Tuesday before the firepower we expected from Smashville going into the season showed up, making a 7-5 comeback. They were led by one of their big free agent signings, Jonathan Marchessault, who had a goal and three assists with four shots. It was a brutal start to the season for Marchessault (like everyone on the Preds), but Marchessault is in the midst of a nine game point streak right now. The shot is fantastic, so he's played his way back onto the fringe with a lean towards holding, especially on this hot streak. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
I was originally going to take Sidney Crosby for three points but realized I took him within the last two weeks. Then, I was going to take Bryan Rust, but thought it was too bold, so went with Matchbox Twenty. Of course Thomas had two points (more on him later), but the other two both had three points. The top line for Pitt was fantastic, with Crosby and Rust each having a goal and two assists in the 5-3 win over the Oilers. Their plus-minuses are quite ugly, but Crosby and Rust have been fantastic for fantasy purposes. Rust doesn't get the credit he deserves for playing like a star. Crosby moved into 9th on the all-time points list and is starting to make a case for being on the hockey Mount Rushmore. He's probably just outside it, but regardless, we can never take Crosby for granted. Both should be top 50 players for the rest of the season, with Crosby having a good chance to get inside the top 25. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
