When we think about Tom Wilson going wild, it usually refers to him doing something dirty and piling up penalty minutes. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still getting penalty minutes, but he’s been fabulous offensively since returning from suspension. Wilson scored two goals and an assist with six shots and two PIM in the 4-1 win over the Islanders on Monday. In his eight games, Wilson has 6+6 with a +6 rating, 11 PIM and 21 SOG. He’s also averaging over 20 minutes per night. There’s no doubt about it, Wilson should be owned in all formats right now. He’s still available in about 1/3rd of leagues, so if you’re lucky enough to be in one of them, pounce immediately. Obviously he’s not going to stay at a point per game, but the offensive will be solid with this workload, and we know the PIM will be glorious. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Nicklas Backstrom – Three assists. Backs has been his usual self all season long.
Braden Holtby – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 4-1 win. Holtby is in form at the moment with six great games out of his past seven. That brings his sv% back to a respectable .917. I think it will get even a bit higher solidifying himself as a middling #1.
Mark Stone – Two goals on four shots with two PIM on Monday, two assists with a shot Tuesday. Stone continues to dominate across the board. I thought a trade would be huge to his value, but at this point I’m rooting for Stone to stay.
Brady Tkachuk – Two assists with a shot and two PIM on Monday, two goals and an assist with six shots Tuesday. If I didn’t have the lede done already, I’d have wrote about Tkachuk. He’s been an absolute monster and has the makings of a fantasy superstar.
Thomas Chabot – Goal and an assist with three shots and four PIM over two games. Chabot has showed no signs of slowing down and I’m loving every minute of it.
Colin White – Three assists with two shots over two games. White has some upside, but for now he’s a bottom end streamer.
Mika Zibanejad – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Revenge game for Zibanejad gets him back on track. The PIM are a fluke, but I also expect the goals to increase at his current shot rate. He’s a clear hold.
David Pastrnak – Two goals, both assisted by Torey Krug and Brad Marchand. The Bruins are decimated by injuries at the moment, so expect these three to carry an even bigger load than normal.
Mitch Marner – Three assists with two shots. Marner is about to get all of the money this offseason. Toronto’s books are about to get messy. My prediction of Marner leading the team in points looks better by the day.
Sami Vatanen – Two assists. I’d rather not hold Vatanen in 12’ers right now, but it’s not completely unreasonable if you need assists.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Goal and two assists with four shots. The loss of Trocheck is going to hurt Huberdeau a bit. Despite the three points, one was on the PP, one was with the goalie pulled, and the other was in OT. This shows you that Huberdeau still has plenty of value, but it’s a fair warning that he does take a hit.
Evgenii Dadonov – Two assists with two shots. On the other hand, Dadonov does not take a hit. Things are great for the top line as they all played over 20 minutes per usual. Led by…
Aleksander Barkov – Goal and an assist with two shots playing over 24 minutes. Such a monster.
Artemi Panarin – Goal and two assists with two shots. Rockin’ and a rollin’.
Pierre-Luc Dubois – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Going into next season, there’s a good chance that he ends up being a top 50 player. Dubois is the truth.
Boone Jenner – Goal and an assist with two PIM. Jenner has worked his way up to a solid streamer.
Ryan Murray – Two assists with a shot. Murray has worked his way into being a steady defenseman, and he’s piled up a ton of assists this season, but it doesn’t appear sustainable. I’d rather keep him on the waiver wire.
Josh Anderson – Goal and an assist with four shots. For those who didn’t see my hold list, you can check it out here, but Anderson is a hold at this point.
Anthony Mantha – Two goals and an assist with ten shots. My man! He had a dreadful start to the season but Mantha has 6+3 in his last eight games with big shots. He’s right on the fringe but I’ll consider him an elite streamer for now. That could change by the weekend though.
Frans Nielsen – Two assists with a shot. He’s a pure AAGNOF right now; 14 assists in 20 games, but 2 PIM and only 28 shots. He’s a guy I won’t use, but you can if you do so desire.
Dennis Cholowski – Goal and an assist with two PIM. Cholowski could end up being a real fantasy asset down the line. For now, he’s too inconsistent and the plus-minus could get really ugly.
Joe Pavelski – Two goals on seven shots. His slow start is a thing of the past. Sure, the assists aren’t there right now, but 15 goals will get it done.
Scott Laughton – Two assists with a shot. Irrelevant.
Ivan Provorov – Two assists with two shots. It’s been a really rough start for Provorov, and if you’re out of patience, I understand it. I’m giving him a little bit more time.
Curtis McElhinney – 48 saves on 49 shots in the 2-1 win over Montreal. I wrote this on Monday: “At this point, I have no faith in Scott Darling and I’d rather the Canes use Curtis McElhinney. I’d stream McElhinney in most matchups.” Yeah, streaming him worked out well. I feel even stronger about that now.
Pontus Aberg – Two assists with four shots. I always thought Aberg was underutilized, and I was hoping that would change after his good start in Anaheim. However, he’s back down to 11 minutes in this game. That leaves him as a bottom end streamer at best.
Nick Ritchie – Goal and an assist. Ritchie has six points in his last six games but I’m not using him yet. It’ll take more minutes for him to be considered.
Ryan Miller – 34 saves on 35 shots in the 3-1 win over Tampa. I’d use Miller in most matchups. The Ducks have been so damn lucky that Gibson and Miller have been incredible this season.
Dylan Strome – Goal and an assist with three shots. The Blackhawks were destroyed but Strome had a strong first game. If he sticks with DeBrincat and Kane, he’s going to push towards being a hold sooner than later. Keep an eye on him.
Deryk Engelland – Three assists with three shots. Vegas scored eight goals, so I’m not going to break down every player, but there’s your annual Engelland update!
Cody Eakin – Two goals and an assist. He’s found success with Stastny down playing with Alex Tuch (1+1) and Max Pacioretty (2A). The wingers are clear holds while Eakin is a solid streamer.
Shea Theodore – Two goals and an assist with three shots and two PIM. I wrote in the hold post Monday that Theodore does just enough to remain a hold. A game like this solidifies things.
Nathan MacKinnon – Two goals on seven shots, both assisted by Mikko Rantanen and Samuel Girard. Tyson Barrie was out. It doesn’t sound serious but it’s unclear. If he stays out, Girard gets a big boost to the fringe. I’d gamble on him if need be. I’ve said enough about MacKinnon and Rantanen at this point, they’re on a unparalleled tear together with the Kog.
Derek Grant – Goal and an assist. And there’s your annual Grant update!
Mark Scheifele – Two goals, both from Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers. We know what to do with Wheeler and Scheifele. I said the other day that Ehlers was right on the fringe and that it should be a matter of time until he clicks and remains a hold for the rest of the season. I think it happens sooner than later.
Josh Archibald – Two goals and an assist. He had zero points this season before this game. Moving on..
Lawson Crouse – Goal and an assist. I hated Crouse going 11th overall, and he’s shown nothing to this point to prove that he was worth it. He’s still only 21 years old so perhaps it happens eventually, but I’m not holding my breath.
Jared Spurgeon – Three assists with two shots. I said Spurgeon does just enough to sneak in as a hold on Monday. Spurgeon has enough decent games that he’s worth it.
Anton Khudobin – 30 saves on 31 shots as the tough luck loser in the 1-0 OT loss to Edmonton. Ben Bishop remains out making Khudobin a decent streamer.
Mikko Koskinen – 28 save shutout. He’s clearly the #1 right now, and while I don’t love him, he probably should be held.
Dustin Brown – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s played well enough to be hold again. And again, I don’t trust it to keep up, but it probably will because Brown’s career path has defied logic.
Anze Koptiar – Two assists with a shot. Even though the team sucks and he’s started off poorly, I still expect Kopitar to be okay.
Cal Petersen – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Canucks. Petersen has been very good, but Jonathan Quick is coming back this week. That means you can safely cut bait now and leave Petersen to streaming.
Wednesday Streamers:
Zach Sanford (0.0%) – He’s playing on the first line right now with RoR and Tarasenko. Sanford also gets a nice matchup with the Blues. What’s not to like? Elizabeth! I’m comin’ to join ya!
Sam Bennett (0.8%) – Bennett is up to the second line and PP2. The penalty minutes are huge, the offense is coming around, and the Stars will be on the second of a back to back.
Tanner Pearson (2.8%) – Pearson is still playing with Malkin and Kessel, so on a small slate, that’s reason enough to use him.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping all of the action from tonight and Thursday. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or make any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
