I’ve run out of superlatives to describe Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. I don’t even like starting posts with them because everyone knows how good they are, but this weekend’s play deserves the big praise. McDavid had two goals and an assist with three shots on Saturday, while Draisaitl had two assists with a shot and two PIM. Those games were horrible compared to their explosion on Sunday. McDavid scored a goal and dished four assists while Draisaitl had six assists! They were already the top two in the league in points before Sunday’s games. Now, they’re lapping the field at the end of January. It’s a treat to watch these guys on a nightly basis, and even better if you have one of them on your fantasy team. With the way the rest of the North division plays, what’s the ceiling for points for these guys? 90? 100? It sounds ridiculous in 56 games, but they’re at another level at the moment and they won’t have a tough defensive team to play in their entire division. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Game:
Joonas Korpisalo – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 win over Chicago. Great start to the season for Korpisalo. Torts seems pretty committed to an even split, but he’s been the better of the CBJ duo so far.
Oliver Bjorkstrand – Goal and an assist with three shots. Very good start from Bjorkstrand. I’m hoping he gets to play with Patrik Laine when he debuts for Columbus, which could be as soon as Tuesday.
Saturday’s Games:
Taylor Hall – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. The minutes are there and the point total is fine, but Hall hasn’t been playing well. In a way, it’s a good sign that Hall and Eichel are piling up assists because it’s only a matter of time until the goals start coming..
Philipp Grubauer – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 5-1 win over the Wild. Life has been easy for Grubauer so far this season and he’s been very good when called upon.
Brandon Saad – Goal and an assist with two shots. Saad is on fire right now. He’s an elite streamer again and I don’t mind holding him when he’s rolling.
Nathan MacKinnon – Two assists with four shots and two PIM. He’s been incredible but sadly, he left the game on Sunday before the third period and did not return. Fingers crossed that it’s nothing serious as the Avalanche are already taking a beating with injuries. It seems like every year that their team is cursed in that regard.
Andre Burakovsky – Two assists. He’s right on the fringe but I lean towards him being a bottom end hold.
Mikko Rantanen – Goal and an assist with three shots. The shot rate is easily the best of Rantanen’s career which is an excellent sign going forward. He could end up a top ten player if he sustains that shot rate.
Samuel Girard – Two assists. After that hot shooting start, Girard has only seven shots in his last seven games. On the other hand, he’s still piling up assists. He’s looking like a pure AAGNOF so his value comes down to your team needs.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal and an assist with five shots. Realistically, we couldn’t ask for a better start from Barkov.
John Tavares – Two assists with a shot. He’s not flashy, but Tavares should end up right around that point per game mark.
Tyson Barrie – Two assists with five shots. Finally! It looks like Barrie is finally settling in and spoiler alert, he’ll be mentioned again later in the post.
Petr Mrazek – Left the game against the Stars three minutes in. We should get an update today or tomorrow, but in the meantime, James Reimer should be the workhorse. He got a very easy win on Saturday and was decent on Sunday.
Elias Lindholm – Two assists with a shot. Lindholm played over 24 minutes in this game as he’s clearly become the #1 forward for Calgary in terms of usage. He goes under the radar, but Lindholm has been excellent.
Jacob Markstrom – 37 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Canadiens. Markstrom has had a couple rough games, but his overall numbers are excellent and should continue to be.
Jake Allen – 31 saves on 32 shots as the tough luck loser. I feel good about streaming Allen in every start he makes with the possible exception of the Maple Leafs.
Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Three assists with two shots and two PIM. Kris Letang left the game with an injury and Joseph stepped up. He even received minutes in overtime, and all of his assists were primary. If you need the help on the blue line, Joseph, a former first round pick, could be a great add.
Kasperi Kapanen – Goal and an assist. I’m liking the usage for Kapanen, but it’s still only at a streamer level, albeit a solid streamer.
K’Andre Miller – Two assists with a shot. Miller looks better than I expected in his rookie season. With Tony DeAngelo on the verge of being out of the league (I think it’s safe to cut him at this point), Miller could end being a decent option as soon as this season in 12’ers. He’s worth monitoring over the next week to see what his workload looks like. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Scott Laughton – Goal and an assist with two shots. With no power play time, Laughton should be left for deep leagues.
Filip Forsberg – Two assists with six shots. Forsberg has been solid in the early going, especially with his shot rate. He hasn’t even played Detroit yet either which is a nice boost coming in February.
Victor Hedman – Goal and an assist with five shots. Great start for Hedman across the board.
Brayden Point – Two assists with three shots. Point has been very consistent so far and he’ll also get the bonus of playing Detroit twice this week.
Anthony Cirelli – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Cirelli is right on the fringe for me. As good as he is in real life, I don’t think he’s an automatic hold.
Mikhail Sergachev – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Slow start from Sergachev, but I have very little concern.
Patrice Bergeron – Three assists with three shots. Bergeron has been a top 10 player so far, and while I don’t expect that to continue, I don’t expect a lot of regression now that David Pastrnak (assist, 5 SOG) has returned.
Charlie McAvoy – Goal and an assist with three shots. After a slow start, McAvoy has seven points in his last four games. The overall shot rate is stopping him from pushing towards the elite tier.
Nicklas Backstrom – Goal and two assists with a shot. Life under Laviolette has been amazing for Backstrom. He’s only had a shot rate this high once in the last decade so I’m assuming it won’t continue, but if it does, Backstrom could have his best season of the last five or more.
Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with three shots in his return from the COVID list. The minutes were down, but I expect them to go back to normal next game.
Jordan Kyrou – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Kyrou has been fantastic and is an elite streamer right now. The only reason I’m not looking to hold him is the minutes aren’t where they need to be for consistent production.
David Perron – Goal and an assist with five shots. After a slow start, Perron has a point in five straight.
Brayden Point – Two assists with a shot. Schenn is piling up the points lately as the Blues get on a roll. At this point, we know what we’re getting from Schenn.
Jordan Binnington – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 6-1 win over the Ducks. He’s had a couple rough games, but overall, Binnington has been a plus in every category, especially wins.
Brock Boeser – Two goals on seven shots. It’s Boeser’s fourth two-goal game already which puts him at the top of the NHL with eight goals. Given the way of the Canadian division, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Boeser score at a career rate.
Thatcher Demko – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 4-1 win over the Jets. Three straight one goal games for Demko which is great to see. The next five for the Canucks are at Montreal and Toronto so it’ll be worth seeing how Demkos and the team in general hold up against the top two teams in the division.
Sunday’s Games:
Miles Wood – Two goals and an assist with seven shots. Wood is right on the fringe for me. Given the rest of the Devils lineup, I don’t get why he isn’t playing more minutes.
Michael McLeod – Two goals. The former lottery pick has shown some life lately. I’m not streaming him yet, but he’s worth monitoring going forward.
Rasmus Ristolainen – Goal and an assist with four shots. I’m not convinced it’s going to continue, but Risto is playing the best hockey of his career so far this season. Easy hold everywhere.
Victor Olofsson – Two assists with two shots. He has eight PPP already which is obviously outstanding. The bad news is the Sabres are really struggling at even strength to score. The good news is that they’ve been very good possession wise so I assume the goals should come. Olofsson could be looking at a great sophomore season.
Jack Eichel – Two assists with seven shots. Eichel has been extremely disappointing so far in terms of converting scoring opportunities, yet he still has 11 points in 10 games with close to four shots per game. It feels like it’s only a matter of time for Eichel to explode.
Victor Rask – Two goals. It’ll take more than one good game for Rask to get back on the fantasy radar.
Joel Eriksson Ek – Two assists with a shot. You love to see Eriksson Ek finally putting it together offensively. I think you can make a realistic case for holding him right now, but at the least, he’s moved to elite streamer status.
Jordan Greenway – Goal and an assist with three shots. Greenway has been at a point per game and played incredibly well given that it’s all been at even strength. Maybe the Wild start giving him power play time? I prefer Eriksson Ek to Greenway for that reason, but Greenway is a solid streamer now.
Keith Yandle – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. The minutes are starting to come back down as he takes some dumb penalties, but as long as Yandle keeps putting up points, he’ll be sticking in the lineup and will be worth holding.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two assists with two shots. The shot rate has been quite poor so far, but I’m expecting it to turn sooner than later. The assists are piling up at least.
Jamie Benn – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. It was only Benn’s second game of the season, but he looked great in his return. I still don’t love the Stars offensively this season, but they have looked much better than I anticipated.
Jordan Staal – Goal and an assist with three shots. Surprisingly, Staal was on the top PP unit on Sunday. I’m not looking to stream him yet, but that could change if he maintains that role.
Kevin Lankinen – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets. Lankinen has been a massive surprise for Chicago. He’s easily been their best goalie and Colliton seems to be rolling with him at the moment. I’d put him a tier above desperation right now and more than likely should be held for the time being.
Patrick Kane – Goal and an assist with three shots. Kane is right at a point per game which isn’t a surprise.
Philipp Kurashev – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s playing with Kane at the moment which by itself makes Kurashev a middling streamer. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Josh Bailey – Goal and an assist with six shots. Six shots! What got into Bailey? He had one point in eight games before Sunday so I’m not looking to stream him right now.
Mathew Barzal – Goal and an assist with four shots and four PIM playing over 23 minutes. Barzal is playing at a level even higher than his Calder winning season. It’s nice to see Trotz give him the big minutes that Barzal deserves.
James van Riemsdyk – Four assists. JVR hasn’t played at this level in years. The minutes are a little worrisome, but he needs to be owned everywhere right now.
Joel Farabee – Hat trick on four shots. After his four points on opening night, Farabee had one point in the next eight games before exploding again on Sunday. He’s a solid streamer and a nice GPP DFS option, but I’m not looking to hold him until he puts up consistent production.
Brayden Schenn – Two goals on six shots with two PIM. Seven game point streak from Schenn who is really finding his form in the early going.
Ville Husso – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 4-1 win over the Ducks. I’m not looking to stream him yet but that could change over the course of the season with the easy matchups the Blues will have.
Colin White – Goal and an assist with three shots. Not interested in streaming White right now.
Brady Tkachuk – Goal and an assist with eight shots and two PIM. The plus-minus might be rough, but Tkachuk should crush the rest of the categories.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Goal and two assists with seven shots. The shot rate has been spectacular. There’s a real chance RNH pushes towards a top 20 fantasy season this year.
James Neal – Two goals on three shots. Neal has his spot on the top PP back which gives him a bit of value in select formats.
Tyson Barrie – Goal and an assist with three shots. Finally! Two straight two point games from Barrie, who was a bit unlucky to only end up with two points as he crushed a post and had teammates miss some glorious chances. At least there’s hope now for the big season I was predicting.
If you have any specific questions on streamers, please ask below. For now, I’m going to simply list guys.
Monday Streamers:
Kapanen, Copp, Danault. You get Kapanen and Danault for Tuesday as well.
Tuesday Streamers:
Neal, Necas, Sanford
Three Point Challenge: We will do the Three Point Challenge for Tuesday’s games. It can’t be anyone in the Top 10 in points. From now, we will use last season’s top 10, so that means no Draisaitl, McDavid, Panarin, Pastrnak, MacKinnon, Marchand, Kucherov, P. Kane, Matthews, Huberdeau, or Eichel. I’ll take Johnny Gaudreau against the Jets.
That’s all for now guys. This is quite the monster post for during the season so I hope it helps. I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
