I celebrated the end of 2025 in the best way imaginable: watching hockey for the entire day. There were a lot of highlights, starting with my Sabres winning their tenth game in a row. Yes, Billy Bob, 10! More on that later. The most incredible performance though was another Avalanche beatdown. Not that it was surprising at all against the Blues, but that they scored four goals (and have a fifth disallowed) before the Blues even had a shot on goal! What a powerhouse. Nathan MacKinnon had his usual 2+2 with seven shots, but the notable performance for a non-superstar was Valeri Nichushkin. Big Val had a hat trick on six shots in the 6-1 win. He now has 11+15 in 31 games with a very good shot rate. He's still available in almost two-thirds of leagues, and that simply needs to change. Nichushkin is back on PP1 so if there was any doubt, he's must own everywhere. Sure, he could get injured again, but you have to ride him until that happens. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
I liked the acquisition of Mason Marchment by the Kraken in the summer, but for whatever reason, it just wasn't working out. They shipped him to Columbus, and Marchment looks like the player we are used to from his time with Dallas. Marchment scored two power play goals on Monday, putting four shots on goal. He has three goals in two games with Columbus now, and he's gone right onto the top line with Fantilli and Marchenko. I don't expect him to get to hold status, but Marchment is an elite streamer while he's on fire. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights. Also, apologies for not having my usual Monday post, but I am back home now and will be on my usual schedule going forward.
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It’s been a bit of a wild ride for Morgan Geekie (2 G, +1, 3 SOG, 1 PPG, GWG).
The Geekie Squad was the 67th overall pick in the 2017 draft and wasn’t considered much of a prospect after a 25-point season (in 66 games) for the 2015-2016 Tri-City Americans of the WHL.
It was the following year’s breakout that put Geekie on the map (72 GP, 35 G, 90 PTS), and convinced the Carolina Hurricanes that he was worth a gamble in the third round of the NHL Entry Draft.
It's not too often that we see 23 year old goalies in the NHL. It happens more often now than in the past, but letting them develop in the minors after junior hockey is a must. Jesper Wallstedt just turned 23 on Friday so he's been in while he was even younger, but this season he has cemented himself as an NHL'er. He is an elite prospect, and the time might already be now. Wallstedt had his second consecutive shutout on Saturday, stopping all 28 shots from the high powered Ducks. Wallstedt has started six games and is 4-0-2 with a 2.10/.924. There are a couple major things working in Wallstedt's favor. One, the Wild are playing much better hockey as they get healthier. Two, despite a win on Sunday, Gustavsson has really struggled. It's far from a guarantee that Wallstedt turns into something this season, but if you're hurting in goaltending like a lot of people are, a speculation add of Wallstedt could pay dividends.
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
With today’s post, we’ve officially come to the end of our Divisional Previews for the 2025-2026 season!
If you’re looking for the other Divisions, you can click here to check them out.
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:
It's been a long road to recovery for Artturi Lehkonen. With Big Val in the player assistance program, it couldn't have happened at a better time. After being eased back into the lineup, Lehkonen moved onto the top line the game before Tuesday night. While he went to the second line to open the game, Lehkonen blew up against the Capitals, scoring two goals and adding two assists putting five shots on goal in the 6-3 win. There's a few encouraging things here. One, Lehkonen was on the first power play unit. That alone is massive for his value. Additionally, it was Lehkonen, not Drouin, closing the game for the Avs, as Lehkonen scored an empty netter with a minute left from MacKinnon and Rantanen. Even in this role, Lehkonen received 18 minutes, which is plenty to succeed. This puts him right back on the fringe. Gun to head, I lean towards holding, but his schedule in the near term is heavy on busy days, so I see the case for leaving him as an elite streamer. Let's take a look at what else happened the last two nights:
The Leafs were coming off a dominant victory over the Rangers heading into a home game against Columbus. They managed to go down 5-0 in the second, and it was that way heading into the third period. Then, as we've seen in the past, Toronto made a massive rally, tying the game with 45 seconds left to earn a point. Then, like usual, they managed to lose anyways. The 6-5 OT win for Columbus is one of the craziest games you'll ever seen. Auston Matthews led the comeback with two goals and an assist with nine shots. Patrik Laine scored an early goal before leaving the game injured, while Kent Johnson was the hero. The former fifth overall pick had two goals and an assist, including the game winner. It's undeniably been a slow start to Johnson's career. However, for most players, it takes time, and we're starting to see the signs. Johnson now has six points in his last four games, and if Laine is down for a while, we could see Johnson becoming a fantasy factor. For now, I'm bumping him up to middling streamer, but he's definitely worth monitoring. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Hello everyone. Welcome to the first edition of JOT This Down!
For those who do not know me, my name is Julian Tarevski (Jules) and I am a fantasy sports content contributor from London, Ontario. (I may be an Ontarian but please do not assume I am a Maple Leafs fan.) I will be here every week with a newsletter, think of it like a message to start your Monday and help you prepare for your weekly matchup. I will cover notable line changes, guys who jumped up on the top powerplay unit, category fillers to watch, and sleepers to stream with favorable schedules.
If you didn’t see Part One, you can check it out here. My big takeaway from doing these rankings is that goaltending gets ugly fairly quickly. It’s going to be difficult to get a #2 that you feel safe with unless you reach for goalies early. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Two teams that have had massive up and downs clinched a playoff berth on Tuesday. The Jets did it by themselves, beating the Wild 3-1 on the back of Connor Hellebuyck. The Panthers clinched because the Penguins had the worst loss of my time at Razzball, losing to the tanking Chicago Blackhawks. Petr Mrazek made 38 saves in a game that made the fans of both teams furious, and a bunch of other fans happy. Now, the Penguins need the Islanders to lose to Montreal tomorrow to make the playoffs. It would be crazy for Washington and Pittsburgh's playoff streaks to end in the same year. Here's a quick rundown of what happened over the last two nights:
The Devils have built arguably the best young core in the league. There's a lot of talk about Hughes and Hischier leading the way now, with Nemec and L. Hughes on the way. There's Meier and Bratt also playing a huge role. However, there's another former first round pick making a huge charge in his sophomore season. Dawson Mercer scored a hat trick on Tuesday in the 5-1 win over the Penguins. I had to do a double check because I did not realize this, but Mercer now has 27 goals on the season. I knew he was having a good year, but man, that's a huge jump for the 21 year old. Mercer is a natural center, but with the two former #1 picks in the fold, there's no reason to put Mercer on the third line right now. He's thriving on Hischier's wing, and is definitely worth a middle to late round pick in drafts next season. I'm not sure how much better it will get other than a potential increase in ice time because his skating is below NHL average, but his playmaking in traffic is so good and his compete level is so high that incremental increases help a lot to get into the 70 point range. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
