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Oh, the irony of the timing.  Right as Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz, puts out a release saying that he's ready to bring a hockey team to Utah, the Arizona Coyotes go on a 14 game losing streak.  Over the weekend, they managed to right the ship.  The Coyotes snapped their skid on Friday, beating Ottawa 5-3, before defeating the Capitals 5-2 on Sunday.  The featured performance was their former 9th overall pick Dylan Guenther.  Guenther had a goal and an assist with two shots on Friday before scoring a goal and two assists with five shots and two PIM against the Capitals.  Guenther playing over 18 minutes on Sunday was extremely encouraging.  With Clayton Keller out, Guenther moved to the point on the first power play unit, and delivered three PPP over the two games.  I've been a fan of Guenther's as a prospect and it looks like he's finding his game in the NHL.  He's an elite streamer for the time being who you can hold for this week if you'd like.  Arizona has four games, including two against the Blackhawks.  In dynasties, I see a guy that eventually becomes a hold in all formats.  I think he'll be a guy who gets three shots on goal per game on average, resulting in 25ish goals with upside for more with a good shooting percentage.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
A rare cold patch left Sam Reinhart sitting on 39 goals for almost three weeks.  On Thursday, he reached the 40 goal mark for the first time in his career, and found another to get back to second in the league in goals.  Reinhart scored two goals, one on the power play and one shorthanded, while also adding an assist with five shots in the 4-3 SO win over the Canadiens.  Is this season sustainable for Reinhart?  Definitely not while he's shooting over 25%.  That said, he's in the perfect situation to be a point per game player going forward, assuming he stays in Florida.  It seems likely he stays in free agency, but you never know if someone takes top dollar.  Regardless, Reinhart certainly won't be in my top 20 next season like he is so far this year, but I expect him to be around 50th overall for me if he stays.  He can counteract the crazy shooting percentage a bit by getting back to his usual shot rate, and Reino should remain elite on the power play.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
There's nothing else that T.J. Oshie has to prove on the ice.  He's won the Stanley Cup and was one of the best players on his team.  He became an Olympic hero for his performance in 2014.  Oshie is about to play in his 1000th NHL game.  This season has been a struggle for Oshie, but he's really turned it around lately, culminating in his best game of the season.  Against his old team, Oshie scored a hat trick on five shots.  This isn't just a little blip on the radar either.  Oshie has a point in six of his last seven games, and the very encouraging thing is his shot rate has been excellent.  Even at his peak, he was never a plus in shot rate, but in his last nine games, Oshie has 30 SOG.  It's an even better rate if we go to a shorter sample.  He's found chemistry with Patches and Strome, and the Capitals surprisingly continue to hang around the playoff picture.  While he's playing this well, Oshie is in elite streamer territory.  The schedule is about to get very difficult, but they do get another game with St. Louis before that happens.  Let's take a look at what else happened the last two nights:
It's not too often that we get a day in the NHL where all 32 teams play.  On Saturday, we were treated to sixteen games spread out over the entire day and it did not disappoint.  The Oilers set a franchise record with their 10th win in a row, the Avalanche came from 3-0 down to beat Toronto, and the Flyers snapped the Jets point streak, amongst other things.  There were a lot of big performances along the way, but Connor Ingram's 38 save shutout was one of the highlights.  So I was right about a Coyotes goalie being a top 15 goalie, I just failed to pick the backup who showed little in the NHL before this season, whoops!  Arizona continues to stay right around the wild card spots, and Ingram is the biggest reason why.  Don't be surprised if they ride him more in the second half if he can maintain anything close to this .919 sv%, assuming Vejmelka doesn't turn it around.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Before we start, I just wanted to highlight two posts that came out on Monday much later than scheduled because of technical difficulties with the website.  Jules' weekly streaming post can be read here, while I also updated my hold/stream list.  Now back to the scheduled daily notes... It looks worse because of their record, but in reality, Carolina is playing very close to the same level as last season.  The difference is that their goaltending has been dreadful for the better part of three months, and that's from all three goalies.  Thankfully, when they needed it most as Andersen was out with blood clots and Raanta completely lost his game, Pyotr Kochetkov has rounded back into form.  On Tuesday, Kochetkov saved 28 of 29 shots in the Carolina 6-1 win over the Rangers.  Going back to Kochetkov's last ten starts, he's allowed only one goal five times, and has only one game allowing more than three.  Kochetkov has a 2.00 GAA in that stretch so it's no surprise to see Carolina back in second place in the division.  There's a very reasonable chance they finish atop the division again.  Kochetkov is still owned in less than 50% of leagues, and that doesn't make any sense to me.  He's a top five goalie for the last month and should be owned in all leagues.  Let's take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night:
It's safe to say that we've reached the point that nobody doubts Boston anymore.  Their two top centers retired, and yet the team is chugging along at 16-4-3.  Their new captain was the reason they won both games over the weekend.  Brad Marchand scored the overtime winner against the Leafs on Saturday, his eighth shot on goal in the contest.  He followed it up with a natural hat trick, scoring all three goals for the Bruins in their 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets.  That gives Marchand 11+12 in 24 games, almost exactly a point per game.  The big thing is his shot rate is at an all-time high.  In my preseason rankings, I was uncertain on Marchand's ceiling, but speculated his shot rate could improve without Bergeron.  He's at exactly 3.5 per game, and with his elite PIM as always, Marchand is still in the conversation for a top 20 player.  At 35 years old, Marchand is showing no signs of slowing down.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Steve Yzerman can't ask for a better start from his big offseason swing.  After his first game without a point as a Red Wing, Alex DeBrincat followed it up with a hat trick and an assist with five shots in Sunday's win over the Flames.  That brings DeBrincat to a whopping eight goals and four assists in his first six games with Detroit.  He's clicked with Dylan Larkin (two goals and three assists over two games) to give Detroit an elite first line.  We've seen DeBrincat score 41 goals twice before playing with Kane, so it's not like this is completely out of nowhere.  While this shooting percentage won't last, given how much Detroit is rolling the first line, I'm expecting career highs across the board for DeBrincat.  There's a real chance Detroit plays its way into the playoff picture this season if the first line can win its matchups on a regular basis.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
We're keeping things moving in the preseason with goaltending rankings coming today.  All that I factor into rankings goaltenders are wins, GAA, and SV%.  A big factor into determining wins is potential workload, so I give more value to workhorses than players in time shares.   As I always preach in these parts, in head to head leagues, volume is king. In you're in a roto league where starts are capped, then you can give more value to the Gustavsson's of the hockey world.  Let's get to it!
The Oilers are peaking at the right time, as they've gone from battling for a playoff spot to battling for the Pacific Division.  It started with a 5-4 win over the Coyotes on Monday, before a dominating 7-4 win over the Golden Knights on Tuesday.  The man leading the way was Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who continued his career season.  RNH had a goal and an assist on Monday, before following that up with a goal and four assists with two shots against Vegas.  That brings RNH up to a whopping 96 points (35+61), blowing away his previous career high of 69 points.  96, much nicer than 69.  McDavid and Draisaitl justifiably get most of the attention surrounding the Oilers, but the impact that RNH has made this season can't be understated. Adding a third 100+ point player to the mix is insane, and Edmonton has as good of a set of forwards as there is in the league.  They're a bit light on games the rest of the way, but their schedule is among the softest in the league, so look for the studs to continue to crush.  As for where RNH will rank next season, that's an extremely difficult question to answer.  I have to expect some regression, but how much?  Given the mediocre shot rate, I assume I'll have RNH towards the bottom of the top 50?  If he's only a PPG guy, there's plenty of value but it would be a bit underwhelming compared to other guys in his range i.e. his floor is lower.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
This year couldn't be going any worse for the Columbus Blue Jackets.  A horrible record, terrible injuries to key players, and dreadful goaltending have sunk them from the beginning.  Now that they're in the Bedard race, their fans probably aren't even happy that they won on Tuesday night.  Their prize free agent signing, Johnny Gaudreau, dominated the game with two goals and three assists, plus six shots on goal.  That brings him up to 62 points in 64 games, a far cry from last season, but not a complete disaster.  The question isn't about what to expect from Gaudreau for the rest of this season, but going forward.  He turns 30 in the summer, but I'm not expecting drop off in the short term.  Can he approach 100 points again?  I have my doubts, but if Columbus is lucky enough to get Bedard, it can't be ruled out.  Bedard would be the perfect compliment, and Fantilli wouldn't be a bad consolation prize.  I was lower on Gaudreau than consensus so I don't have any of him this year, but there's always a chance that with his talent, he makes a huge difference over the last month.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
While the NFL steals the spotlight during Championship Week, the Rangers started the weekend blowing out two top teams in Seattle and Carolina.  They scored six goals in both games to bring their winning streak up to five.  While it was a group effort on Friday, Artemi Panarin stole the show on Saturday.  The Breadman scored four goals and an assist with five shots and two PIM against Carolina, after dishing an assist against the Kraken.  Gallant shuffled the lines after Tarasenko's arrival, with Vincent Trocheck and Jimmy Vesey playing with Panarin again, setting up two of his goals.  It was Panarin's third three-point game in his last eight, as he starts to heat up.  While he hasn't approached his point production of his first three seasons in New York, Panarin is still on pace for 90+ points.  That shows what kind of floor he has and why he's worthy of an early draft pick every year.  Despite lower shots and PIM/hits, even his below average year (by his standards) is a top 50 player.  Who knows, Panarin could finish the season on a massive heater and finally get to 100 points.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
It has been a terrible year for Kris Letang on and off the ice, but mostly off.  He suffered a stroke and his father passed away shortly after.  After almost a month away from the team, Letang returned on Tuesday and carried the Penguins to victory.  Letang had a vintage performance, scoring two goals and two assists with six shots, four hits, and two blocks in the 7-6 OT win over the Panthers.  I'm not going to say Letang will have a monster second half based on one game in his age 35 season.  The good news is that there's a lot of games left for him to make an impact, and we know how big the upside is.  If I said Letang was a top five defenseman the rest of the way, would you be shocked?  I wouldn't.  Now, the floor is much lower in the past, even assuming he can stay healthy.  However, Pitt is starting to round into form, offensively at least, and the opportunity is there for a big finish.  If your team is in position where you need to take a gamble, I would float some offers to the Letang owner.  If I had him and was patient through the first three months, fingers crossed that he can salvage the season.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights: