At the time of his injury, Victor Olofsson was leading rookies in points. That’s not to say that he was the Calder favorite because he certainly was not, but he was in the race, albeit in the third spot. Sadly he missed 15 games, but he picked up right where he left off. Olofsson scored two goals on Thursday, including the game winner, in the 4-3 OT win over the Blue Jackets. That gives him 18+19 in 43 games, a great season from my favorite preseason target for my last pick in drafts. Sure, the PIM are non-existent and the shot rate is slightly below average, but Olofsson has lived up to expectations. He’s an old rookie at 24, but he should get a bit better going forward. His role as a PP1 sniper and top six winger is locked in going forward and his chemistry with Eichel is outstanding. If he was dropped in your league, grab him immediately. Let’s take a look at what else happened on Thursday:
Jack Eichel – Goal and two assists with five shots. Eichel is giving himself a great chance to reach 100 points this season. The shot rate has come down a bit lately, but either way he’s got a great chance to finish as a top 10 player.
Rasmus Dahlin – Two assists. Really disappointed in the drop in shot rate which is hurting his overall value quite a bit. That said, he’s still playing at over a 50 assist pace despite not getting a lot of minutes. The big breakout could easily be on the horizon for next season.
Lars Eller – Two assists with four PIM. Nice season by Eller’s standards as he should set a career high in points with relative ease. He’s moved towards a solid streamer with the improved PIM and shot rate.
John Carlson – Two assists with two shots. Can’t stop, won’t stop.
Nathan MacKinnon – Two assists with nine shots. He’s starting to roll again which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody.
Andre Burakovsky – Goal and an assist with two PIM. He’s back on the top line again for the time being which makes Burakovsky an easy hold in all formats.
MacKenzie Blackwood – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 4-1 win over the Red Wings. He gave up a goal, what a bum! The schedule gets rough for the next week before it gets easy again, so I’d probably hold tight even if he struggles in the short term.
Wayne Simmonds – Two goals on four shots. I’ve been off the Simmonds wagon for three years now and now he’s completely shot. Easy pass outside of deep leagues for hits and PIM.
Damon Severson – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. He somehow has a point in eight straight games. I don’t see it as sustainable, but if you want to grab Severson as a hot schmotato, go ahead.
Pavel Zacha – Two assists with three shots. It’s a new career high in points for Zacha, but that’s not really saying much. He’s still only 22, but it’s not looking promising for him to become the offensive dynamo that I expected in his draft year.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 3-1 win over the Oilers. He is rocking and a rolling at the moment and I see no reason why it should end.
James van Riemsdyk – Goal and two assists with three shots and two PIM. He’s taking it up lately bumping up Charlie Conway to elite streamer status.
Justin Braun – Three assists with two PIM. And there’s your annual Braun update!
Matt Niskanen – Two assists with a shot. Niskanen is as bottom end hold as bottom end holds go. He’s just remarkably average at everything, so if you want that from your last spot, go ahead and hold him.
Michael Raffl – Two assists with three shots. Raffl had a time of being fantasy relevant, but that is not now.
Juuse Saros – 31 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Islanders. The save percentage is gradually improving to respectability. I’ve been stubborn with Saros, but he probably should be a streaming in most situations.
Craig Smith – Hat trick. Smith isn’t receiving his usual minutes this season which makes him a bottom end streamer. The shot rate is still decent enough and the plus-minus is strong to keep him relevant.
Rocco Grimaldi – Goal and an assist with two shots. The lesser version of Smith to put it in simplest terms.
Artemi Panarin – Goal and an assist with three shots. The Bread Man has found another gear in New York that I wasn’t sure that he had in him. He’s looking like a top 10 player now, or at least top 15.
Jonas Brodin – Goal and an assist with four shots. Big fan of Brodin as a player, but he doesn’t do much for fantasy. That said, he’s an interesting name to watch at the deadline to see if the Wild move him or not.
Jordan Greenway – Goal and an assist with two shots. Maybe he’ll get more of a chance down the stretch, but Greenway is waiver wire fodder for now.
Cam Talbot – 44 save shutout in the 6-0 win over the Ducks. Talbot has been extremely good in Calgary, unlike most goalies who have played there lately. Rittich has been playing better so maybe the volume won’t go up, but Talbot is worth streaming in most matchups.
Mikael Backlund – Two goals on four shots. He’s really picked it up lately with eight points in his last five games and a big jump in shot rate. He’s back up to a bottom end streamer with a temporary higher level since he’s a hot schmotato.
T.J. Brodie – Two assists. I never liked Brodie for fantasy and he’s an even easier pass now, even with Giordano out.
Mark Jankowski – Two goals on three shots. He has 30 shots in 45 games. That said enough.
Andrew Mangiapane – Two assists with a shot. Mangiapane is getting a chance on the second line right now with Tkachuk and Backlund. I still wouldn’t stream him, but it’s viable in deep leagues.
Zach Sanford – Four goals on six shots. Hot damn, that’s one for Fred, Lamont, Elizabeth, and Aunt Esther! The lack of power play time is generally what’s keeping Sanford down. Despite playing with RoR and Perron, I think he’s still a bottom end streamer.
Alex Pietrangelo – Two assists with a shot. Monster season from Pietrangelo who is looking to set career highs across the board.
Ryan O’Reilly – Two assists. Still befuddled by the shot rate, still have to hold him.
Vince Dunn – Two assists with a shot. His role has taken quite the drop this season leaving Dunn as a waiver wire player.
Mark Stone – Four assists with five shots. I said a month ago that Stone would push past a point per game and he’s inching closer by the game.
Max Pacioretty – Two goals and an assist with eight shots. Patches having the best season of his career is not something that I expected to happen. Sure, Stone is a truly elite forward, but even still, props to Patches for bouncing back in a huge way.
William Karlsson – Two assists with two shots in his second game back. Bump Paul Stastny back down to a top end streamer.
Jonathan Marchessault – Two goals on eleven shots with two PIM. It hasn’t been the best season for Marchessault, but it certainly hasn’t been bad. The shot rate keeps him as an easy hold.
Shea Theodore – Two assists with two shots. The breakout is in full force for Theodore who is looking like a solid #3.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday recapping all of the action from this weekend. As always, feel free to ask questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
