There wasn’t a lot of action the last two days after the All-Star Break, but sadly we saw what certainly appeared to be a severe injury. Linus Ullmark has established himself as the clear #1 goalie for the Sabres this season playing at a league average level. He collapsed to the ice on Tuesday against the Senators with what appeared to be a bad leg injury. There hasn’t been an update yet, but I would be surprised to see if he ends up out for the season. So what does that mean for the Sabres and for us fantasy hockey players? Well, the Sabres are far from the best situation, but Ullmark has been serviceable. Carter Hutton has been one of the worst goalies in the league, so unless he has a bunch of good starts in a row, I have no interest in using him. I suspect that Jonas Johansson is called up from Rochester. Johansson is a former third round pick who was an AHL All-Star this season. He’s taken a huge jump forward as he was serviceable in the ECHL last season but that’s about it. However, goalies are strange and perhaps he catches lightning in a bottle. I wouldn’t rush to add him, but he’s a name worth monitoring. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
T.J. Oshie – Two assists with two PIM. Oshie has been his usual steady self. It’s far from exciting, but Oshie rates as a bottom end hold.
Tom Wilson – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. Wilson is on pace to easily set career highs across the board while keeping up the penalty minutes. He’s an easy hold in all formats.
Jakub Vrana – Goal and an assist with three shots. Nine game point streak for Vrana who is having a massive breakout in his third full season. Vrana isn’t far off from a 40 goal pace which is remarkable. He should eventually become a top line winger with Kuznetsov.
Jesper Bratt – Two assists with four shots. Bratt has taken a big step backwards from last season in his third year. He’s still only 21 so there’s still plenty of hope in the long term, but I have no interest in streaming him right now.
Steven Stamkos – Two goals on six shots. It’s been business as usual for Stammer, who has thankfully stayed mostly healthy for the third straight season.
Nikita Kucherov – Two assists with four shots and two PIM. He’s had a step back from last season, but I think Kucherov still gets to 100 points.
Jamie Benn – Two goals on five shots. This has been an awful season from Benn. Eleven assists in 49 games is remarkably bad. He’s a solid streamer still, mostly because it could click and he turns back into a hold, but Benn looks like a shell of himself at 31.
Zach Hyman – Goal and an assist with two shots. Hyman is an elite streamer at the moment, but I wouldn’t blame anyone for holding him.
William Nylander – Goal and an assist with four shots. Nylander already has a career high in goals with a shot rate that’s inching towards elite. It’ll be hard for him to be a top 50 player given the lack of PIM, but the raising shot rate gives him a chance.
Rasmus Sandin – Goal and an assist with three shots. Sandin has been decent in his recall, although the shot rate is rough. The upside is huge, but for now it’s fringe.
Thatcher Demko – 36 saves on 37 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blues. Big fan of Demko going forward, although this season hasn’t gone as I hoped, mostly due to Markstrom’s high level of play. The wins have been great, while the numbers are slightly below average. He’s a decent streamer in most matchups.
Chris Tanev – Two assists with a shot. And there’s your annual Tanev update!
J.T. Miller – Two goals on three shots. Miller has been a revelation in Vancouver as the Canucks currently sit in first place in the Pacific. He’s pushing a point per game, the shot rate is the best of his career by far, and the PIM are strong.
Jake Virtanen – Two assists with two shots. The Cannon has had the best season of his career by a mile. He’s still only 23 so there is still some hope here. I think he’s a middling streamer now.
Patrick Marleau – Two goals on four shots. Marleau isn’t even on my streaming radar at this point in his career.
Stefan Noesen – Two goals on three shots. Nothing at all to see here.
Tyler Ennis – Two goals and an assist with nine shots over two games. Ennis has worked his way back into being a low level streamer.
Drake Batherson – Three assists with three shots over two games. Batherson impressed in his stint last season but hasn’t received much NHL time this season. He’s a decent prospect long term, but nothing to use right now barring a hot streak.
David Perron – Goal and two assists with two shots and four PIM over two games. Perron earned an All-Star bid last weekend, no doubt about it. This is the third straight season from 29-31 that Perron has been a top 100 player, and this season he’s pushing the top 50.
Zach Sanford – Two goals and an assist with six shots and two PIM. Not much to see from Sanford at this point in his career.
Mark Giordano – Two assists with three shots. We knew Giordano was going to regress, but I didn’t see this big of a dropoff coming. He’s probably a bottom end hold since he hits all of the categories but it’s not great.
Johnny Gaudreau – Two assists with three shots. Like most of the Flames, Johnny Hockey has had quite the disappointing season. Gaudreau could go on a massive streak at any time, but I’m not expecting it at this point.
Sean Monahan – Two goals on four shots. Same story as Gaudreau, although even less upside.
Matthew Tkachuk – Goal and an assist with two shots. Tkachuk has taken a small step back, but this is the player that I expected him to become when he was drafted. The PIM are a bit low, but that should bounce back.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. It may take me a little to respond because I have Day 3 of a WPT tomorrow, but I promise that I will get to it when I get a chance. Thanks for reading, take care!
