Phil Housley’s shakeup of the lines last Saturday has worked extremely well. The Sabres have won three straight and carried the play in all three of those games. One of those moves was putting Jason Pominville on the first line and he’s delivered and then some. Pominville scored two goals on five shots on Thursday, giving him 3+3 in his last three games. Now, I’m not saying he’s going to be a hold all year, it’s 2018, not 2008. However, he’s a hot schmotato right now, and first line plus first power play time is nothing to be ignored. If you need a streamer on Saturday, Pominville is a great option, and if the heater continues, use him next week. The Sabres schedule is pretty soft over the next two weeks. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Aleksander Barkov – Two assists with two shots. Look for Barkov to have his first career point per game season this year after getting so close last season.
Blake Wheeler – Two assists with four shots playing almost 25 minutes. Wheeler has been his usual great self to open the season and there’s no reason to except a change.
Nikolaj Ehlers – Goal on eight shots. I can’t help but think a hot streak is coming soon.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 22 save shutout in the 1-0 win over the Avalanche. Vas showing why he was my #1 goalie going into the season.
Semyon Varlamov – 23 saves on 24 shots getting the tough luck loss. It’s pretty clear that Varlamov is the #1 goalie for now. The leash is short, but keep rolling with him.
Bo Horvat – Two goals on three shots with two PIM. Dr. Bo cutting up the competition! Great start for Horvat with seven goals in his first ten games.
Zdeno Chara – Two goals on five shots with four PIM. I don’t care about Chara outside of the deepest of leagues at this point.
Jaroslav Halak – 26 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Flyers. It’s Halak’s second shutout of the season already. Given Tuukka Rask‘s struggles, Halak could get some extra starts in the short term.
Max Domi – Two goals on three shots. Domi looked damn good in this game. He now has a five game point streak showing the upside we know he has. I wouldn’t be holding him yet, but definitely stream him while he’s hot.
Jeff Skinner – Three assists with two shots. I love it when I’m right! Skinner is rolling ever since I said to buy low.
Jake McCabe – Two assists with three shots. I could see taking a flier in super deep leagues, but that’s about it.
Kyle Turris – Goal and an assist with three shots. If Turris can cut out the zero shot games, I could see him being in the hold discussion. The problem is that those happen too frequently, and he’s not good enough to hold when he’s under two shots per game.
Kyle Palmieri – Three assists with three shots and two PIM. I talked about Palmieri being underrated in the preseason, but he’s gone to another level to open this season. He has 7+4 in 7 games with elite shots and 10 PIM. Playing with the next two guys certainly helps, and while regression is coming, a career high in points is firmly in play.
Taylor Hall – Two assists, two shots, two PIM. Hall has had a point in every game except the season opener. Seems good.
Nico Hischier – Two goals on three shots. It’s going to be elite at some point, be it a year or two from now, but Hischier is still a firm hold for this season barring something unexpected.
Everyone and their brother had multiple points for Columbus and Pittsburgh in their blowout wins. Here are the notables:
Anthony Duclair – Two goals on four shots. Duke is getting PP2 time, and while it seems forever ago, it was only 2015-16 that Duclair scored 20 goals. He’s still only 23 years old, and perhaps he’s finally coming into his own in Columbus. The shot rate is still relatively poor, but he’s moved into the streamer discussion again.
Josh Anderson – Goal and an assist with two shots and four PIM. Anderson is a decent streamer in standard formats, but he’s a great one in hits leagues.
Sidney Crosby – Goal and two assists with two shots. Every other Pens stud had two points so Crosby had to one up them. Feels like Crosby is about to go on one of those 25 points in 16 games type of heaters.
Bryan Rust – Goal and an assist with five shots. He was on Crosby’s line again today making Rust an elite streamer for the time being.
Matt Murray – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 9-1 win over the Flames. That’s two monster starts in the last three for Murray. The upside is through the roof so hopefully he can put it together and more importantly, just stay healthy.
Devan Dubnyk – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 4-1 win over the Kings. Dubnyk has been as good as any goalie in the league in the first three weeks of the season. Everyone who reads me on the regular knows I’m a huge Dubnyk believer and rank him aggressively every season, so hopefully you’re all reaping the early benefits.
Eric Fehr – Goal and an assist. And there’s your annual Eric Fehr update!
Ryan Suter – Two assists with two shots. So steady year in and year out.
Alex DeBrincat – Goal and an assist with three shots. Another preseason favorite, DeBrincat has been spectacular now that Q is giving him the ice time he deserves. In 10 games, DeBrincat has 8+6 with over three shots per.
Corey Crawford – 18 saves on 19 shots in the 4-1 win over the Rangers. Hard to get any easier than that for Crawford.
Ryan Getzlaf – Two goals on four shots. The Ducks are atrocious right now, but Getzlaf still has it,
Jason Dickinson – Two goals and an assist with six shots. The former first round pick hasn’t done much in his NHL career before today’s explosion. It’s going to take a lot more than one game for him to have any fantasy relevance.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Goal and an assist with three shots. RNH keeps rolling as he’s loving life on the wing with McDavid. The amazing thing is that McJesus only had one point when the Oilers scored four goals!
Tobias Rieder – Two assists with two shots. Rieder is a long way from being usable in 12’ers.
Cam Talbot – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 4-1 win over the Capitals. Talbot’s numbers have been rough this season, and it’s hard to expect a change behind that blue line. He’s in the desperate for starts category.
Darcy Kuemper – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 4-1 win over the Canucks. He’s been great with Raanta out due to illness, but I still have next to zero faith in him.
That’s all for now guys. Please keep the comments and questions coming in the section below, I’m loving all of the early season questions from everyone! I’ll be back on Monday recapping all of the weekend’s action. Enjoy your weekend and thanks for reading, take care!
