I’m a big fan of the revenge game and Semyon Varlamov had one on Monday night against his old team in Colorado. Varlamov had a 32 save shutout to earn the 1-0 victory. I have a few points on Varly. One, he’s proving to be the #1 goalie we hoped he would be when he went to the Islanders. Barry Trotz has the best defensive system in the league. Two, how the hell wasn’t he an All-Star? He’s clearly had the best season for goalies in his division. I get having Korpisalo because the Jackets need a representative, but Holtby? Come on, Varly has been much better. Anyways, keep rolling the Isles goalies. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Pavel Francouz – 32 saves on 33 shots as the tough luck loser noted above. Francouz has been great and I would stream him in every start, but I don’t see a situation where he takes more playing time from Grubauer. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Nikolaj Ehlers – Goal and an assist with five shots. He’s almost surpassed last season’s point total. The bounce back is real.
Blake Wheeler – Two assists with a shot. My love for Wheeler has minimal boundaries. What he’s doing for this Jets team is remarkable.
Tomas Tatar – Two assists with five shots and two PIM over two games. He’s played his way into being an easy hold in all formats.
Ben Chiarot – Two goals on four shots over two games. Nothing to see here.
Ilya Kovalchuk – Three assists with five shots over two games. He’s getting big minutes right away which puts Kovy back on our radar. He’s a middling streamer with upside from there.
Nick Suzuki – Goal and an assist with five shots over two games. Love the long term upside. For now, middling streamer.
Connor McDavid – Goal and three assists with eight shots. If there was any doubt who the best player in the world was, watch this game. McDavid dominated from start to finish and scored one of the best goals you’ll ever see.
Alex Chiasson – Goal and an assist with three shots. He didn’t have a point in the previous seven games. Chiasson is a fantasy afterthought for now.
Leon Draisaitl – Goal and an assist playing over 24 minutes. Only one shot? What a bum!
Kasperi Kapanen – Two assists with two shots. His role is constantly changing so you have to pay close attention to determine what level streamer Kapanen is.
Pierre Engvall – Goal and an assist with three shots. Engvall has been a nice find for the Leafs. He’s a bottom end streamer for now but there is a bit of upside. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Gustav Nyquist – Goal and two assists with three shots over two games. Nyquist is right on the fringe depending on team needs.
Pierre-Luc Dubois – Five assists over two games. He’s on a roll in terms of points, but Dubois hasn’t registered a shot on goal over the last three games. He’s an easy hold regardless, but for Dubois to reach his top 50 upside that I believe he has, he needs to start shooting.
Zach Werenski – Two goals and an assist with seven shots over two games. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a defenseman go on a goal scoring run like Werenski is on. Nine goals in the last ten games is outstanding.
Sean Walker – Two assists with five shots. They’re painful to watch, but when I do watch the Kings, Walker has been a pleasant surprise. There’s nothing right now, but if the team improves over the next couple years, I can see Walker working his way onto the fringe or better.
J.T. Compher – Two goals on four shots, both assisted by Andre Burakovsky. The new third line seemed to work on Tuesday, although little else did. Compher is a bottom end streamer while Burakovsky is a top end streamer.
Jesper Fast – Three assists with a shot. Fast is a nice player in real life but doesn’t do much for fantasy. He would be a nice trade target for teams as we approach the deadline.
Artemi Panarin – Goal and an assist with eight shots. The Breadman has reached another level in New York. 100 points isn’t out of the question.
Tony DeAngelo – Two assists with two shots. My guy Tony Dogs already has a career high in points. Easy hold in all formats as a top end D3 who can easily end up as a top 20 D overall.
Igor Shesterkin – 29 saves on 32 shots earning the win in his NHL debut. Shesterkin is arguably the best goaltending prospect in the world and has massive upside long term. Plan accordingly in dynasties. Another new Razzball Database member!
Dougie Hamilton – Goal and an assist with two shots. Dougie firmly belongs in the Norris conversation, plain and simple.
Jake Gardiner – Goal and an assist with four shots. He’s started off incredibly slow in Carolina, but he could turn it around down the stretch. I’m passing for now, but keep monitoring the Gardiner Expressway.
Kyle Palmieri – Goal and an assist with two shots. Props to Palmieri for continually putting up points despite the changing linemates and going against top competition every night.
Nico Hischier – Goal and an assist with five shots. Great run from Hischier who has ten points in his last ten games. I’m holding while he’s playing this well.
Carter Verhaeghe – Hat trick on seven shots as the Lightning went “nine ball, corner pocket” against the Canucks. Honestly, nothing to see here given how low on the depth chart he is.
Brayden Point – Goal and three assists. Steven Stamkos had three points while Nikita Kucherov also had two. The Lightning are on fire and I don’t expect it to slow down any time soon.
Ilya Samsonov – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 6-1 win over the Senators. Samsonov has been crushing it and should be streamed in all starts going forward.
Alex Ovechkin – Two goals on six shots as he ties Selanne for 11th all-time in goals. Hopefully he sticks it out in the USA and scores the most goals in NHL history. Regardless, best goal scorer ever.
T.J. Oshie – Two goals on five shots. Oshie has been his usual strong self.
John Carlson – Two assists with four shots. Carlson just keeps cruising.
Tom Wilson – Two assists with two shots. Wilson needs to be held for the PIM given the respectable points and shot rate.
Phil Kessel – Three assists with a shot. He only played 13:56 which is a bit frustrating. That said, he was out there at the end for defense with Florida having pulled the goalie. It feels like Kessel has a run in him, but only time will tell.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Goal and two assists with four shots. OEL is right on the fringe depending on if you want a decent balanced stat-line or not.
Taylor Hall – Goal and an assist with eight shots. Hall’s numbers in Arizona have been as good as expected.
Frans Nielsen – Two goals on three shots. At this point in his career, this is Nielsen’s annual update.
Erik Karlsson – Goal and an assist with three shots. Karlsson has been disappointing this season like most of the Sharks. I’m not expecting a big bounce back, but you can’t rule it out given Karlsson’s talent and that he’s only 29 years old.
Charlie Coyle – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Disappointing offensive season for Coyle this season. Bottom end streamer at best right now.
FIlip Forsberg – Goal and an assist with two shots. The Predators fired Laviolette and replaced him with John Hynes. We need a few games to see how the minutes are distributed now, but I’m expecting Forsberg to get a boost.
Elias Lindholm – Two goals, both assisted by Matthew Tkachuk. The change in lines has helped recently. Regardless, both of these guys are easy holds.
Cam Talbot – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 win over Chicago. Talbot has played pretty well this season, albeit in only 12 games. I’d stream Talbot in quality matchups.
Ryan Getzlaf – Goal and an assist with five shots. Getzlaf is right on the fringe depending on what you’re looking for at the bottom of your roster.
Ondrej Kase – Two goals on six shots and two PIM. My sleeper finally showing life! Please keep giving Kase time with Getzlaf. Kase played over 20 minutes in this game which if that holds, Kase should play his way into being a hold.
Kris Letang – Two assists. Just stay healthy!
Dominik Kahun – Goal and an assist with two shots. He played with Malkin and Rust in this game which makes Kahun a top end streamer for the time being.
You can make Three Point Challenge picks for Thursday. I will add mine into this post later.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action of the last two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
