At least once a season, Nick Schmaltz has a monster game for the Desert Dogs. One of those games came on Thursday. The Coyotes buried the Blues 5-0, with Schmaltz recording a hat trick and adding a power play assist. The minutes are through the roof right now, playing over 18 minutes in every game in 2023, and averaging over 20 per game. That’s enough to put him in the elite streamer range, if not on the fringe. I can’t quite get to hold with poor PIM/hits and a below average shot rate, but I can see holding him for stretches while he’s playing this well. The first line looks really good for Arizona (more on the other two later) and the Coyotes are actually above real .500 at home, plus their schedule is super home heavy the rest of the way. Schmaltz should at least be near the top of your streaming priority list. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Anton Forsberg – 21 saves on 22 shots in 31:55 of relief of Cam Talbot in the 2-1 win over the Islanders. Talbot suffered a lower body injury and will be out at least through the All-Star break, so Forsberg should get the next three games. Toronto tonight isn’t too appealing, but the other two are against Montreal. Great streaming spot.
Claude Giroux – Goal and an assist. Giroux is firmly on the fringe.
Jake Sanderson – Two assists with a shot. Even though he hasn’t blown up as a rookie, it’s obvious that Sanderson has a ton of offensive ability. He’s deep league only for this year, but I’m a big fan for dynasties.
Ridly Greig – Assist with eight shots in his NHL debut. Greig went right onto PP2 and had a good scoring record in the AHL. The former first round pick will be a nice streaming option against Montreal before the break. With Josh Norris out for the year, there could be some opportunity here. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Filip Chytil – Two goals on four shots with two PIM. Great stretch of hockey from Chytil, who has 11 points in his last 10 games. The problem is PP2 barely gets time and the Kid Line doesn’t get huge minutes either. Elite streamer while he’s hot, but I wouldn’t even temporarily hold him.
Timothy Liljegren – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Better play in real life than fantasy. There’s only deep league value for plus-minus and solid hits and blocks.
Brett Pesce – Two assists with two shots and five PIM. You don’t really stream defensemen, and Pesce is a step off the fringe for me.
Frederik Andersen – 4 saves on 6 shots in the first period before leaving the game injured. Apparently it’s not serious, but if he does miss time, expect Pyotr Kochetkov to be back up.
Martin Jones – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 6-1 win over the Canucks. Jones’ wins are still good that I’m holding as a #3 despite the .895 save percentage.
Jared McCann – Goal and two assists with four shots. Nothing about McCann’s 40 goal pace is sustainable as he’s shooting 25.6%. That said, it takes a long time for percentages to regress so he could keep it up for another month and fall off, or it happens next season. He’s on the fringe.
Jordan Eberle – Two assists with a shot and four PIM. Elite streamer without hesitation.
Adam Larsson – Two assists with five shots. Clear hold if your league has hits and blocks for those with his plus-minus. Without the extra categories, it’s on the fringe.
Oliver Bjorkstrand – Two goals on four shots. I had high hopes for Bjorkstrand in Seattle, but it hasn’t panned out. A shooting percentage half of his norm is the main culprit. Stop hogging the shooting luck McCann! Bjorkstrand is a middling streamer, but he could easily turn it around and become a difference maker down the stretch.
Yanni Gourde – Two assists with a shot. Middling streamer. Gourde is a huge difference maker in real life for the Kraken, but that doesn’t get shown in fantasy.
Vince Dunn – Two assists with three shots. The Dunn breakout that I’ve been waiting on for five years has finally happened! He’s an elite #2 option right now.
Tage Thompson – Goal and an assist with three shots. The man is a unicorn out there, and it’s amazing to watch on a game-by-game basis. The Sabres are in the thick of the playoff race (would be in by percentage points) and Thompson’s emergence is at the forefront of reasons why.
Jeff Skinner – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Skinner is only two assists off his career high, set as a rookie 12 years ago. He has a real chance of being a point per game player for the first time and actually being worth his $9m contract. Clear hold in all formats.
Rasmus Dahlin – Two assists with five shots and three blocks. The Norris discussion for Dahlin is going to start picking up pretty soon. He’s lapping the field in fantasy for #1 overall defenseman.
Blake Wheeler – Two assists. I have Wheeler as an elite streamer, although you can easily argue that he belongs on the fringe. It depends who he’s playing with at the moment.
Moritz Seider – Three assists with a shot. Who knew that all it would take is getting Chiarot away from Seider for Seider to get back on track? Oh, just anybody who pays attention to analytics. Seider is a solid trade target if you think his owner doesn’t pay enough attention to the Red Wings.
Michael Rasmussen – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Deep league only guy.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Michael Pezzetta had a goal and an assist, while Alex Belzile dished two assists. RHP was a seventh round pick, Pezzetta is a 6th round pick, and Belzile is a 31 year old journeyman. I can’t imagine there’s anything fantasy wise here from the current Montreal 4th line. This is an ultra rare triple “Welcome to the Razzball Database!”
Nikita Kucherov – Three assists with a shot. Huge performance from the top line as Brayden Point had a goal and two assists with two shots to beat Boston. These two have been as good as they’ve ever been this season. I’m fascinated to see what Tampa can do on the margins at the trade deadline.
Dougie Hamilton – Three assists with five shots. Hamilton is in the middle of a massive heater. It’s great to see him playing at this level again.
Jack Hughes – Goal and an assist with five shots. Speaking of a massive heater, Mr. Hughes is also on one. He’s every bit of a top 10 forward now (in non-hits leagues).
Matt Duchene – Goal and an assist with five shots. Duchene remains on the fringe depending on team needs.
Colton Sissons – Two assists with a shot. Easy pass outside of deep leagues with all of the categories.
Juuso Parssinen – Two assists with a shot. How does Nashville end up with two players on their team with “uu” in their first name? Crazy talk! Parssinen is a bottom end streamer.
Matt Boldy – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Long term, I’m all in on Boldy. The Wild need to get him a center, whether it’s through development (Rossi) or trade. He’s on the fringe now, although I lean hold while he’s playing well.
Mats Zuccarello – Goal and an assist. Zucc is still chugging along, another season over a point per game.
Jaxson Stauber – 34 saves on 35 shots in the 5-1 win over the Flames. Props to Stauber for winning his first two NHL starts. I still want nothing to do with a Blackhawks goalie. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Boris Katchouk – Goal and an assist. Katchouk has done nothing this season to be fantasy relevant.
Frank Vatrano – Hat trick on eight shots. Like Schmaltz, Vatrano has one or two massive games a year. The difference is that Schmaltz is much better in the other games. The shot rate is nice, but the plus-minus keeps Vatrano from being more than a middling streamer.
Cam Fowler – Two assists with two shots. Fowler has actually been fairly good for the Ducks during their rebuild. It all depends on plus-minus in your league and your team situation.
Mikko Rantanen – Two goals on five shots. I don’t think Rantanen gets enough credit for how good he is. He’s playing at a 59 goal, 105 point pace.
Samuel Girard – Goal and an assist with seven shots. The Deputy (I hope someone gets this joke) used to be a solid offensive provider for the Avs, but that time has passed. It could happen with a trade, but I don’t see that happening with the uncertainty around Byram. The value here is minimal.
Nick Ritchie – Two assists with a shot. Streamer for hits, that’s about it.
Barrett Hayton – Goal on four shots with two PIM. Hayton has looked the part on the first line lately. I’m warming back up to the former 5th overall pick in dynasties.
That’s all for now guys. MarmosDad will be back tomorrow with DFS picks for Saturday so be sure to check that out. You can make Three Point Challenge picks for Saturday on his post. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care
