LOGIN
It's not every day that we see a hat trick from a defenseman, but we got one on Tuesday night.  The Kraken destroyed the Canadiens from the get go, and Brandon Montour really dug their grave.  Seattle's big free agent acquisition had a natural hat trick on four shots, adding an assist and two PIM in the 8-2 beatdown.  I was fairly bullish on Montour going into the season, and he's delivered nine points in ten games so far, with over three shots per game.  The main reason I wasn't all in on Montour, as you can see in my preseason rankings, is that I was unsure on how Disco Dan would set everything up for Seattle.  Well, Dunn ended up getting hurt right away and ended up on LTIR, alleviating any concerns.  Montour should be an elite #2 in 12'ers for the time being, with the upside of being a #1.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the two nights:
Tuesday was a rare day in the NHL where every team plays  Thankfully, they stagger all of the game times, marketing it as "Frozen Frenzy."  Arguably the marquee matchup of the night was Tampa Bay at New Jersey, and it certainly was the craziest game.  The Lightning fell behind 2-1 before scoring five goals within ten minutes in the second period.  In that stretch, Brandon Hagel had a natural hat trick, finishing the game with an assist as well.  And yet, that still hasn't put him on the first power play unit .  Regardless, Hagel is off to a fantastic start.  I wasn't as far ahead of ADP on him as Guenther, but I was very bullish on Hagel.  I'm not sure he'll get to the 90 points I attempted to wish into existence with my bold predictions post, but it's in play if he gets that top power play time eventually.  Come on Cooper, do it already!  Let's take a look at what else happened in the one Monday game and Tuesday night.
Opening night in Salt Lake City couldn't have gone any better for Utah HC.  Dylan Guenther will go down in history after their first goal scorer, and he also sealed the game with an empty netter.  Guenther picked up right where he left off last season with those two goals on five shots, playing over 16 minutes.  To say I'm all in on Guenther is an understatement.  Guenther's ADP was outside of the Top 200 while I had him ranked 96th overall.  I'm a huge believer in his talent, and with Logan Cooley (2A, 3 SOG) as his centerman, I think we see fantastic seasons that elevate Utah into the playoffs.  Let's take a look at what happened over the last three nights:
Today, we're moving up to the blue line.  I'm going to cover the top 20 defensemen today, the top 40 later in the week, with the plan of putting out my Top 150 or Top 200 on Friday.  I'm on the fence between 150 and 200 just because of how much team needs come into play later in drafts.  If I do the Top 150, my plan is to have a separate post early next week about players I'm targeting later in drafts.  Anyways, let's get to the kings of the blue line!
It's coming down to the wire with two weeks left in the regular season.  I'll give a quick rundown of things happening around the league that can help you on the margins.  As a reminder, check out the Playoff Manifesto for all of your streaming planning.  Additionally, for those of you in head to head leagues, remember that volume is key.  You should be maximizing all of your moves / starts every week to get as many games played as possible from your skaters.  If you plan right and get 5+ extra starts than your opponent does, it's much easier to overcome one of your guys getting cold, or one of your opponents' players getting hot.  Let's get to it!
Out of the top ranked goalies in the preseason, only Hellebuyck has played at an elite level.  This is a big reason why I don't take goalies in the first two rounds, if not longer, because the variance is too high.  My #1 goalie going into the season was Jake Oettinger.  He didn't play well in the first half and also missed time due to injury.  The All-Star break proved to be a good reset, as Oettinger was out of his mind on Tuesday.  Oettinger made 47 saves in the 2-1 win over the Sabres, stealing the game for the Stars.  After tomorrow, there's only two back-to-backs in the next four weeks for the Stars.  We should see Oettinger get plenty of action, and I'd bet on him finishing the season strong.  I don't do midseason rankings because I don't see a lot of value for the time it takes.  You have the team you have, and if you are making trades, you need to target your weaknesses to improve.  That said, if I was ranking for the rest of the season, Oettinger would still be a top five goalie.  I'm not betting against him.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
We're very close to the All-Star break with most teams starting their extended break on Sunday.  If you look at defensemen production, specifically in goals, you see notable names at the top.  Dahlin leads defensemen in goals, and then there's a four way tie behind him with notables like Makar and Hughes.  None of that is a surprise.  Weegar is one of those tied with Makar and Hughes, which is very surprising, but he went into the season locked into a big role, so let's assume he had some good fortune.  But Thomas Harley?  He's a player I really liked in dynasties, but to be one goal off the league lead for defensemen?  Not even close to my radar.  Harley scored two goals on Saturday, including the overtime winner for a second straight game, in the 5-4 win over the Capitals.  That gives Harley a whopping 12 goals in 46 games.  "Even with Heiskanen back, Harley was a factor.  I’m still holding Harley even though I wasn’t expecting to when Heiskanen came back.  He’s been that good for the Stars."  And that's me quoting me from three days ago copying what Grey does!  Somehow, Harley is still available in almost two-thirds of fantasy leagues.  With the pool of defensemen dropping off hard at the bottom, Harley should be owned in all formats.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Last season, Alex Lyon saved Florida by getting them into the playoffs until Bob returned from injury.  While I'm not predicting a Stanley Cup run from the Red Wings, Lyon has saved somebody for the second straight season.  The Red Wings were in a massive downward spiral, and Lyon has stepped in to get them back into the playoff picture.  Lyon had a 30 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Flyers on Thursday.  He's won 12 of his 19 starts, and is currently sitting at a .920 save percentage.  So why is he available in 70% of leagues?  He's clearly a #2 goalie in 12'ers at the very least, and I'd argue that he's near the top end of #2's right now.  If you need goaltending help and Lyon is available, consider it your lucky day and pick him up.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
For most of last season, Zach Hyman led the league in expected goals.  By the end of the season, he had a career high with 36 goals, but didn't even sniff the league lead.  This season, he's starting to finish at an elite level, resulting in him pushing towards the league lead in goals.  Hyman had a hat trick on eight shots on Saturday, carrying the Oilers to a 3-1 win over the Senators.  That gives Hyman 25 goals on the season to go along with 15 assists, a +13 rating, 32 PIM, and almost four shots on goal per game.  He's been a top ten forward so far, and while I expect a bit of a drop off in the second half, I don't see much of one coming.  That's how good Hyman has been.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
It's been a painful 13 years as a Sabres fan, but Tuesday's game might have been the worst.  There were tanking years, there were disappointing years, but for as bad as it's been, there can't be a worse loss than giving up nine goals at home to one of the worst teams in the league missing two of their best players.  "Kirill Marchenko is a lone bright spot lately.  I’m not holding, but the minutes are going up, the goals and shots are decent enough, and he currently is a key figure on their PP.  He’s a solid streamer."  And that's me quoting me from yesterday!  Well, it's time to give Marchenko a boost.  Marchenko had a natural hat trick in this game.  One of his goals was on the power play, he put four shots on goal, and he played 15 minutes despite the game being a blow out.  Marchenko is now an elite streamer.  Let's take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night:
Nothing like a hat trick to regain the NHL lead in goals.  Especially in what was a timed game.  Brock Boeser finished Tuesday with a natural hat trick, securing a 4-1 win over the Lightning.  That brings him to a whopping 21 goals, well on his way to obliterating his previous career high.  They aren't the same type of player, but it reminds of Kreider's 50 goal year.  A solid player who has everything go right for a year.  Now, it's still early that Boeser is far from a lock for 50, but if he stays healthy, 40 is close to a lock.  It's far from sustainable going to the next few seasons, but the important thing is Boeser is back on his A game ignoring the good fortune.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Towards the 2020 NHL trade deadline, the Maple Leafs acquired Campbell and Clifford for the Kings for two draft picks and a former undrafted player who looked like a AAAA player.  He was coming off a big season for the Marlies, but was struggling at the NHL level.  That player was Trevor Moore.  Now, he's a top six player on one of the best teams in the league.  Moore scored two goals on five shots against the Coyotes on Monday.  That brings him up to 9+6 on the season with a shot rate pushing towards three per game.  Moore is certainly on the fringe, but right now, I'm leaning towards holding.  The big reason is that Kevin Fiala moved onto a line with Moore and Phillip Danault (1+1).  Moore and Danault are both good play drivers, but Fiala is right there with them with an elite skill set.  Albeit in a short sample, this line is generating opportunities at a rate as high as any in the league.  They also get the bonus of going against weaker competition because of the Kopitar line.  While this start looks like an outlier based on Moore's previous stats, the underlying numbers suggest that he should continue to produce.  Let's take a look at what else happened Monday night: