The Rise Of Knies

On New Year’s Eve, I watched the Leafs – Islanders game in entirety.  In the midst of a rough stretch, Matthew Knies stood out.  Despite staying off the scoresheet, he was buzzing throughout the game, putting five shots on net in over 20 minutes of ice time.  After being a passive shooter for almost two months, Knies was gunning regularly, which was encouraging.  It felt like a big game was on the horizon, but we didn’t get a big game.  We got a massive game.  Knies had one of the games of the season so far, scoring a hat trick against the Bruins.  That’s not all though.  Knies also had two assists, six shots on goal, two penalty minutes, and had a +6 rating in the 6-4 win.  Wow.  He followed that up with another goal against the Flyers on Sunday.  The return of Matthews can only help Knies.  He’s locked into a large role at even strength, and while he’s not on PP1, Knies has played his way onto the fringe of 12’ers.  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:

Friday’s Games

Jordan Binnington – 20 save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Senators.  The good news is that under Montgomery, Binnington is facing fewer shots on a per game basis.  The bad news is that his numbers are still rough.  He’s probably worth holding as a #3, but keep expectations in check.

Brandon Saad – Hat trick on six shots.  Saad used to carry plenty of fantasy value, but those days are in the past.  He had four goals in his previous 34 games.  Saad is waiver wire fodder.

Mike Matheson – Two assists with eight shots playing over 28 minutes.  Matheson has struggled mightily lately, especially since Hutson took over PP1.  Matheson is on the fringe now depending on team needs and league format (boost for blocks).

Nick Foligno – Two goals on three shots.  Friday was apparently a good day for old veterans.  Foligno has some deep league value for big hits and okay points, but that’s it.

Darnell Nurse – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Nurse is doing enough across the board to be a bottom end hold.  It’s boring, but having no weakness besides PPP is helpful.

Juuse Saros – 27 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Canucks.  The Canucks were missing Hughes and Pettersson, but Saros had to be excellent and he was.  He tends to have monstrous second halves, but he’s currently dependent on the team in front of him.  There’s a ton of variance there.

Gustav Nyquist – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Nyquist missed a couple glorious chances before the empty netter.  He’s a deep league guy at best.

Colton Sissons – Goal and an assist.  Both points were with the goalie pulled.  Sissons has the occasional big game, but there’s nothing to see here.

Saturday’s Games

Dylan Strome – Goal and two assists with four shots.  You have to feel happy for Strome, who completely turned his career around on the Capitals.  He’s played like a superstar all season.

Alex Ovechkin – Goal and an assist with seven shots and two PIM.  It’s a shame Ovie was out for so long because he’s having a remarkable season.  He’s playing at a 68 goal pace over 82 games!

Jakob Chychrun – Two assists with three shots.  Don’t look now, but Chychrun is PP1 time.  He’s been so good that he’s quietly been the #5 overall defenseman so far.  Looks like he just needed to get out of Ottawa.

Jordan Kyrou – Goal and two assists with five shots.  Kyrou is starting to look much better.  He’s always been a hold, but he has top 50 upside if Kyrou plays to the level he’s capable of.

Brayden Schenn – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Four game point streak for Schenn, but he’s still only a middling streamer.

Cam Fowler – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Things realistically couldn’t be going better for Fowler in St. Louis.  He’s an easy hold in all formats now.

Dylan Holloway – Two assists with four shots.  Holloway is a hot schmotato right now, putting him in elite streamer territory.

Sean Monahan – Three assists with a shot.  It’s great to see Monahan healthy and playing at this level again.  Easy hold everywhere.

Ivan Provorov – Three assists with two shots.  There’s a lot of Provorov trade talk, but with Columbus overachieving, maybe he stays?  He’s on the outside looking in for 12’ers, but probably worth holding in anything deeper.

Zach Werenski – Two assists with seven shots.  The shot rate is absolutely bonkers.  Werenski has been the best defenseman in the league for fantasy by a country mile so far.  He’s on pace for 25 goals, 90 points, and he’s averaging four shots on goal per game.  Bonkers.

Dmitri Voronkov – Two goals with five shots.  The top line hasn’t slowed down all year, Voronkov included.  He has 14 points in his last ten games and is must own everywhere.

Moritz Seider – Three assists with three shots.  Seider is back on pace for 50 points, which would tie a career high.  The secondary stats are excellent so he’s an easy hold.  Just keep expectations in check for points.

Lucas Raymond – Goal and two assists with three shots.  Raymond has been the main bright spot for Detroit this season, as he pushes past a point per game.

Patrick Kane – Two assists with three shots.  I’m still skeptical of Kane for the rest of the season, but he has started hot under McClellan.

Dylan Larkin – Two goals on six shots.  Larkin’s drop in goals is directly from a drop in shot rate.  In the last five games, he’s averaging five shots per game, which hopefully is a sign of things to come.

David Pastrnak – Two goals on five shots.  Pasta has had poor shooting luck, so I expect him to get on a big goal scoring binge sooner than later to balance things out.

Pavel Zacha – Two assists.  Bottom end streamer at best.

Mitch Marner – Goal and four assists with three shots.  Hopefully with Auston Matthews (1+2) back, they keep Marner together with Matthews and Knies.  Marner is quietly fourth in the league in points now.

Jake McCabe – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Fine player in real life, but nothing here outside of a streamer for hits and blocks late in a week.

Jakub Dobes – 22 saves on 23 shots, beating MacKenzie Blackwood (22/23) and the Avalanche 2-1 in a shootout.  Dobes, a former fifth round pick, has come out of nowhere to shutout Florida and limit Colorado to one goal.  It’s hard to expect much right now as he wasn’t expected to play in the NHL at all this year, but he’s worth monitoring.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!

Filip Gustavsson – 21 save shutout in the 4-0 win over Carolina.  Gustavsson has been the #2 overall goalie in fantasy this season.  It is really hard to explain what the hell happened to him last year.

Marco Rossi – Four assists.  I am still extremely bitter that the Sabres didn’t select Rossi when they took Quinn.  Anyways, Rossi has broken out in a big way, making himself a clear hold everywhere.

Mats Zuccarello – Two goals and an assist with five shots and four PIM.  The new look first line with Kaprizov missing of Rossi, Zucc, and Matt Boldy (1+2) has been fantastic.  Zucc continues to defy age-related regression.  Clear hold everywhere.

Matias Maccelli – Two goals on four shots.  Maccelli was great last season, but has completely fallen off a cliff this year.  We know the upside, but for now, he belongs on the waiver wire.

Matt Duchene – Two assists with a shot.  Duchene found the perfect fit in Dallas.  He’s just below a point per game and while the shooting will regress, he’s definitely a hold everywhere.

Wyatt Johnston – Two assists with three shots.  Six game point streak for Johnston, confirming that Wyatt is rolling.

Darcy Kuemper – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 2-1 win over the Lightning.  The numbers are fantastic for Kuemper.  I will continue to buy the Los Angeles goalie every year in fantasy.

Leon Draisaitl – Goal and an assist with four shots.  All of a sudden, Draisaitl has six more goals than anyone else on the season.  Otherworldly performance.

Viktor Arvidsson – Two assists with two shots.  Arvidsson hasn’t clicked in Edmonton like I hoped.  Keep an eye on him, but he’s a bottom end streamer right now.

Justus Annunen – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 4-1 win over the Flames.  Annunen has been good for the Preds, but he’s only played five games.  Saros gets the majority of starts, so Annunen is only a streamer in good spots.

Ryan O’Reilly – Hat trick on six shots.  RoR has taken a step back this season, dropping into solid streamer territory.

Filip Forsberg – Two assists with three shots.  I’m still expecting a goal scoring heater from Forsberg at some point.  His shooting percentage is around half of his norm.

Fedor Svechkov – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM.  The former first round pick has a limited role right now.  Long term, there’s something here, but I don’t see much for this season.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!

Adin Hill – 23 saves on 24 shots in the 3-1 win over the Sabres.  Easy game for Hill.  He’s a solid #2 despite a below average sv% because of elite wins.

Jack Eichel – Goal and an assist with seven shots.  This is the least I expected from Eichel against the Sabres.

Tanner Pearson – Two assists with two shots.  He moved onto the top line, but only because Olofsson missed the game with an illness.  If he sticks for any length of time, Pearson is a solid streamer.  When Olofsson gets back, Pearson has next to no value.

Sunday’s Games

Filip Chytil – Two goals on three shots.  Laviolette’s player usage has been horrific lately.  Chytil has been their best forward on a regular basis, but again, his workload was way too light, playing under 14 minutes in this game.  He’s a solid streamer right now, with upside from there if Laviolette can stop depending on his washed up veterans.

Ryan Lindgren – Two assists with a shot.  And there’s your annual Lindgren update!

Adam Fox – Two assists with a shot.  Fox is a fine #2 in 12’ers for huge assists and PPP, but he has massive warts in the goals/shots department.  Also, he usually crushes his even strength minutes, but he’s sitting at a -1 right now.  Hugely disappointing.

Brett Berard – Two assists with three shots.  Bedard has looked decent, but he’s only a deep league option.  Like Chytil, the minutes just aren’t there.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!

Erik Karlsson – Goal and an assist with two shots.  The totals aren’t gaudy, but Karlsson has actually looked decent by my eye test.  Regardless, he’s an easy hold.

Sebastian Aho – Goal and two assists with three shots.  And just like that, Aho is back above a point per game.  Given that he usually shoots around 16%, he should see some positive regression as well.

Seth Jarvis – Two goals and an assist with three shots.  Jarvis has gone under the radar until he surprisingly made Team Canada for the Four Nations Tournament.  He’s done enough to be a hold everywhere.

Ryan Pulock – Goal and two assists with two shots.  Five years ago, it looked like Pulock was on a nice trajectory offensively, but it just never happened.  He’s a deep league only option.

Anders Lee – Two goals on seven shots.  It’s been a big resurgence for Lee, despite the Isles being quite bad.  He’s on the fringe depending on team needs.

Bo Horvat – Two goals on three shots.  It hasn’t been the best season for Horvat, but he’s also on the fringe.  The upside is higher than Lee’s, so I do prefer Horvat if you’re stuck between the two.

David Pastrnak – Two goals on five shots.  The positive regression is coming fast.

Rasmus Ristolainen – Two assists with five shots.  Risto used to be a hold on some terrible Sabres teams, but now, he’s lucky to get 20 points in a season.  Hard pass.

Auston Matthews – Two assists with three shots.  Well, there’s definitely no rust on Matthews right now.

John Gibson – 36 saves on 37 shots in the 4-1 win over the Lightning.  It is shocking how good both goalies have been for the Ducks this year.  Could this be the time Gibson is finally traded?  Gibson is worth streaming in most matchups right now, although I’d probably limit it to the best only.  I can’t help but think some regression is coming.

Frank Vatrano – Two goals and an assist with two PIM.  It’s been a rough year for Vatrano, although he was rewarded with an extension before this game.  He’s a solid streamer for the shot rate.  As an aside, it is absolutely ridiculous that his cap hit is lower because of deferred money.  Pay him however you want, but the cap hit should still be 6m per season.  NHL and MLB need to fix this as soon as possible.

Ryan Strome – Two assists with five shots.  Strome is on a five game point streak, but I can’t get him past a middling streamer, even while he’s hot.

Troy Terry – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Terry is back onto the fringe.  It feels like he hasn’t done much, but he’s sitting here pushing towards a 70 point pace.

Three Point Challenge:  We will do Tuesday’s games per usual.  You can’t select MacKinnon, Draisaitl, Rantanen, Marner, Kucherov, McDavid, Eichel, Connor, Kaprizov, or Makar.  I’ll go with Stutzle against the Red Wings.

That’s all for now guys.  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!