Nobody was expecting much from the Ducks this season, but they’re currently on a five game winning streak to get them to a 6-4 record. On Wednesday, their best player (for now) carried them, as Troy Terry scored a hat trick and an assist with six shots in the 4-3 OT win. That brings Terry to 5+4 in ten games, averaging exactly three shots per game. Terry is one of those guys who is always close to the fringe one way or the other. Right now, I have him as a bottom end hold, but I don’t expect that to hold for the rest of the season. However, unlike the past few seasons, the talent around him is at such a higher level that he has more upside than usual. While it probably won’t last, you can see the core coming together for the Ducks, and it’s only a matter of time until they become a force again. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Wednesday’s Games
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – 38 saves on 40 shots in the 5-2 win over the Flyers. As a Sabres fan, it’s nice for the Sabres to goalie a team for once. UPL is on fire, and if he starts tonight, definitely stream him. I don’t know if I have the heart to stream him if Levi gets tonight and he gets Saturday against the Leafs, however.
Tage Thompson – Goal and two assists. TAGE has been buzzing all season, and he’s finally getting the production. He’s just fine.
Alex Tuch – Two assists with a shot. He’s been nowhere near last season’s level, but I’m still holding Tuch without hesitation. I’m extremely patient for the first 4-6 weeks.
Casey Mittelstadt – Goal and an assist. He’s an elite playmaker, point blank period. In standard leagues, he’s an elite streamer, but Casey is a clear hold in any deep league.
Brandon Biro – Two goals. Biro’s second career game couldn’t have gone any better. He’s more of a depth guy than anything, so don’t expect much. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Travis Sanheim – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. With PP1 time, Sanheim is must own everywhere.
Jamie Benn – Goal and an assist with three shots. Benn has done enough to get him to a bottom end hold off the fringe.
Roope Hintz – Two assists with three shots. And it wasn’t his best game of the two days, spoiler alert! Turns out that Hintz is just fine.
Nazem Kadri – Two assists with six shots. It’s been a rough start, but like Tuch, I’m giving Kadri the benefit of the doubt.
Elias Lindholm – Two assists with four shots. I’d like to see the shots uptick again, but even still, Lindholm is a bottom end hold.
Ivan Prosvetov – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 4-1 win over the Blues. Bednar is rolling Georgiev hard, but I would stream Prosvetov in all of the hardest matchups. I trust Colorado defensively that much. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Mikko Rantanen – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar each had two assists. Nothing to see here, the superstars will be superstars.
Lawson Crouse – Two goals on three shots. He’s a decent streamer for hits because he’s not a blank offensively, but I wouldn’t expect much.
J.J. Moser – Two assists with two shots. Hard pass.
Sergei Bobrovsky – 22 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Red Wings. A rare defensive masterclass from the Panthers. It’s bottom end, but Bob still needs to be held.
Igor Shesterkin – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 2-1 win over the Hurricanes. The Rangers are a bore to watch, but Igor’s GAA is going to be pristine. The save percentage variance will be increased because the shot volume is so low with their 1-3-1 trap.
Adrian Kempe – Two assists with seven shots. Kempe is over a point per game pushing four shots per game. That’s elite territory. The lesson on Kempe is that it can take 4-5 years for guys to break out, even first round picks, so don’t panic if it takes time for your prospects to develop.
Brock Nelson – Goal and an assist with two shots. The assists haven’t been there, but Nelson has been controlling play, so it’s only a matter of time.
Semyon Varlamov – 32 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Capitals. That’s back to back shutouts, solidifying what I said in my Monday daily notes that Varlamov should be streamed every time out. Sorokin is such a workhorse that I can’t see holding Varly.
Steven Stamkos – Goal and an assist with six shots. When he plays, he’s a monster, full stop.
Boone Jenner – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Jenner’s shot rate is fantastic, and if your league has all the categories, he’s a no brainer hold. If you have the point-based categories and little less, I lean more towards elite streamer.
Auston Matthews – Goal and an assist with five shots and five blocks. Wasn’t his best game, but Matthews had a ten minute stretch where he was dominant. He’s been excellent as expected.
Jesper Bratt – Goal and three assists with two shots. The monster start for Bratt continues. For once, I ranked a player lower even though I really liked him because I was skeptical of his other contributions. Never again, because the points are immaculate.
Jack Hughes – Two assists with three shots. All the Hughes points!
Matt Boldy – Goal and an assist with two PIM playing over 21 minutes in his return from injury. Get Boldy back in your lineup immediately.
Marco Rossi – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM playing over 20 minutes. I was extremely bullish on Rossi going into his draft season. It’s great to see him contributing after a battle with COVID and then myocarditits. I still love him in dynasties, and in redrafts he’s a middling streamer.
Roope Hintz – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Joe Pavelski had a goal and two assists with three shots. Nice to see the top line get rolling. Props to Fungazi 2.0 for picking Hintz in the three point challenge!
Sam Gagner – Two goals on five shots. Wow. Gagner’s first game and he goes off. I need to see more before I consider him, but good for Gagner to carve out this long of a career.
Evander Kane – Goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM playing over 22 minutes. Kane has seemingly turned the corner. This is why you don’t panic.
Brendan Gallagher – Goal and an assist with four shots. A Razzball favorite aka a favorite of yours truly at one point, that’s a long time ago. He’s a cheap source of shots for deep leagues, but that’s it.
Nick Schmaltz – Two goals on five shots. It’s a bottom end hold, but still definitely a hold.
Kyle Connor – Goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM. Hasn’t been Connor’s best start, especially at even strength, but he’s well over four shots per game so it’s hard to complain.
Alex Iafallo – Goal and an assist. He’s on the first line and PP1 right now, so Iafallo is an elite streamer.
Jonathan Marchessault – Hat trick on six shots with four PIM. Marchessault is on the fringe, but I lean towards hold because of the shot rate.
Alex Pietrangelo – Two assists with two shots. I don’t have any Pietrangelo this season, but he should be a solid hold throughout with upside to being a good #2.
William Karlsson – Goal and an assist. I want to be skeptical, but Karlsson has an eight game point streak and is well over a point per game now. For the time being, he needs to be held.
Ivan Barbashev – Goal and an assist with three shots. Barbashev hasn’t done much to this point. Bottom end streamer at best.
Jared McCann – Goal and an assist with two shots. McCann has caught fire as of late. He’s a hold without hesitation.
Justin Schultz – Two assists with three blocks. Schultz is a cheap source of PPP for deep leagues, but he doesn’t provide much else.
Quinn Hughes – Goal and four assists with two shots and six PIM. All your points are belong to the Hughes brothers! Props to Surfer Dude for picking Hughes for three points!
J.T. Miller – Goal and two assists with four shots. I’m not going to go through all the Canucks, as they scored 10 goals on the dreadful Sharks. However, I have to give props to Hepcats13 and for yours truly for picking Miller for three points! And with that, six people are on the board in the Three Point Challenge.
Thatcher Demko -30 saves on 31 shots in the 10-1 win over the Sharks. Start every goalie against the Sharks without hesitiation.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday with my first hold/stream post of the season. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. If you need specific streaming help for the weekend, check out Jules’ Monday post on the full week of streaming, plus JKJ’s post on Thursday with a focus on Friday/Sunday streamers. Thanks for reading, take care!
