Goals were extremely hard to come by in the NHL on Tuesday night. Four of the eight games finished 2-1, 3 of which were 1-1 through 60 minutes and needed overtime. Surprisingly, the one game that had a lot of goals was in New Jersey where the Flyers exploded in the 3rd period to beat the Devils 6-3. Their best player, Claude Giroux, led the way with three assists and one shot on goal. After a slow start, Giroux is now in the top 20 in the league in points with 49 (16+33) in 56 games. The first line and first power play unit for the Flyers has been completely unstoppable for the last 4-6 weeks and is keeping the Flyers in the playoff race. If you own any of their big four, enjoy the ride. Here’s what else I saw around the league on Tuesday night:
Shayne Gostisbehere – Goal, two shots and two PIM to extend his point streak to 13 games. It’s remarkable how well he’s played since his recall and at 22 years old, the future is extremely bright.
Brayden Schenn – Goal, two assists, four shots, two PIM. He’s on the first power play unit right now, which as mentioned above, is killing it, so grab him where available.
Wayne Simmonds – Goal and an assist with two shots. Ain’t nobody gonna slow Simmonds down right now!
Radko Gudas – Ten penalty minutes after being ejected for another blatant headshot. When the hell is the league going to suspend this clown? It’s embarrassing for the league.
Joseph Blandisi – Two penalty minutes for the worst dive I have ever seen watching hockey (link here). Watch it for a laugh because it’s hilariously bad. He’s still firmly on the streaming radar as long as he’s on the first line.
Kyle Palmieri – Goal on six shots with two PIM. He’s slowed down a bit lately (as expected) but you still have to hold him in 12’ers for the goals and shots.
Anze Kopitar – Shorthanded goal, five shots on goal. Kopitar has been a top 20 skater this year despite being horrible in PIM. It’s nice to see the offense finally breakout.
Philipp Grubauer – 39 saves on 40 shots in the 2-1 win against the Kings. It was interesting to see the Caps rest Braden Holtby in a marquee matchup but the Caps won anyways. Grubauer should be streamed whenever you get the chance.
Andre Burakovsky – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM. This is quite the heater right now; enjoy it while it lasts. He just turned 21 last week so the future is extremely bright with Evgeny Kuznetsov (goal on four shots).
Alex Ovechkin – Ten shots on goal. All your shots are belong to Ovechkin!
Ondrej Pavelec – 27 saves on 29 shots in the 2-1 loss to Carolina. He should be owned everywhere for now as he’s going to start the majority of games going forward, at least until Connor Hellebuyck is recalled.
Blake Wheeler – Goal on five shots. Quietly on pace for 75 points with 3 shots per game and solid PIM. Firmly a top 30 player.
Eddie Lack – 20 saves on 21 shots in the win. While the Hurricanes have been playing well, Lack and Cam Ward are splitting starts and occasionally laying duds. If you’re desperate for starts, you can carry one.
Elias Lindholm – Two assists. This Hurricanes young core is looking really good and Lindholm is at the forefront. The 21 year old is showing signs, now it’s a matter of finding consistency.
Riley Nash – Goal and an assist with a shot. Both were on the power play so in super deep leagues, you can grab Nash if you need power play points. He played less than 10 minutes so there’s nothing here for even 16’ers.
Tuukka Rask – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets. One goal against one day, five goals against the next. Who the hell knows what you’re going to get from Rask this year? The answer is nobody, don’t lie to me!
Patrice Bergeron – Goal on four shots in his return from injury. He’s the number 6 skater in the player rater on the season. It’s remarkable.
Loui Eriksson – Goal on three shots. He’s up to 20+25 on the year now and while he doesn’t contribute in PIM, Eriksson has been an incredible value late in drafts this year.
Robin Lehner – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 2-1 shootout loss to his old team, the Senators. Outside of the one big dud, Lehner has been very good since his return.
Jack Eichel – Assist and two shots. His assist was a thing of beauty with an excellent zone entry and an outstanding feed. It’s only going to get better from here on out and it’s already nice.
Matt Moulson – Goal on two shots. First goal in 45 games! Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Well, maybe not mighty, but very good at least.
Ryan Dzingel – First career goal on his only shot. Congrats to him; he now has 3 points in 7 games so he’s worth monitoring in deep leagues. The minutes aren’t really there right now but if they are, perhaps he’ll be worth considering shortly.
Martin Jones – 28 saves on 30 shots in the 4-2 win over the Lightning. He’s not the most exciting goalie to own but sometimes boring is a nice thing. Jones keeps chugging along and is solidly a top end #2 fantasy goalie.
Brent Burns – 9 shots on goal. All your shots are belong to Burns also!
Tomas Hertl – Assist and four shots on goal. I’m still holding him in 12’ers and was very encouraged that he played almost 19 minutes on Tuesday night.
Matt Nieto – Goal and an assist with two shots. He has some future upside but the opportunity just isn’t there right now.
Joe Pavelski – Goal on four shots. He’s been outstanding as noted being #7 on the player rater for forwards.
Joe Thornton – Two assists with a shot. Jumbo Joe is now tied for 5th in the league in assists. Can’t slow down the big man. He’s in the top 20 forwards despite being horrible in shots on goal. It shows how well he’s crushing four categories and is still respectable in goals.
Joel Ward – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. His great first month seems like an eternity ago; he doesn’t do quite enough to be hold in 12’ers for me but I’d definitely look to stream him.
Mattias Janmark – Goal on his only shot. He should clearly be owned in anything with 16 or more teams and in dynasties, there’s some upside here for shallower leagues. Janmark is only a streamer in standard redrafts though.
Brian Elliott – 17 saves on 18 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Stars. He’s been incredible as the workhorse and if you owned both Blues goalies, they combine to easily be the #1 fantasy goalie.
Colton Parayko – Assist and three shots. He’s been grabbed up almost everywhere now so hopefully you already did so. If you do own him, be prepared to try and sell him right before Alex Pietrangelo returns.
Jaden Schwartz – Goal on his only shot. Excellent assist from referee Kelly Sutherland who kicked the puck right in front of the net on a Parayko dump-in to give Schwartz a tap in. It’s a big discouraging that he played less than 12 minutes but that should surely go up sooner than later.
Kevin Shattenkirk – Game winning goal on his fourth shot. Like many other top defensemen this year, the plus-minus is rough but the shots and power play points are outstanding.
Ryan Getzlaf – Assist and a shot. Hotter than a pistol right now.
Hampus Lindholm – Goal on two shots. I love his kid in real life and see a ton of upside. He’s someone in deep leagues that I think would be a great dynasty target. Depending on what the Ducks do in the offseason with their defense, I could see a sleeper post in his future.
Corey Perry – Goal on two shots with two PIM. Also hotter than a pistol.
Sami Vatanen – Assist and three shots. He hasn’t had any big games but Vatanen is quietly going about his business. He hasn’t been as good as I hoped but with a 40 point pace, above average STP and decent shots and PIM, he’s still a hold in 12’ers.
Leon Draisaitl – Goal on two shots. He slowed down quite a bit after his ridiculously hot start but the German still has 41 points in 48 games. And he’s 20 years old. So many incredible young talents around the league right now.
Taylor Hall – Goal on three shots. It snapped a five game pointless streak but I have no worries about Hall going forward.
Benoit Pouliot – Goal on two shots with four PIM. Pick him up! Now!
Wednesday Streamers – There are only three games on the slate tonight so if you don’t have any limit on moves, be sure to stream some guys tonight. Here are my top 3 options:
Charlie Coyle (4.8%) – Going back to the well here. He played almost 20 minutes in interim coach John Torchetti’s debut and scored a goal. Coyle’s role is at an all-time high right now and the 23 year old should continue to deliver on the first line.
Andrew Shaw (6.1%) – It’s not a great spot against the Rangers but options are thin tonight. He has points in three straight, is coming off a 3 point game and is still getting prime opportunity.
Blake Comeau (11.6%) – He has 7 points in the last 8 games, he’s playing big minutes and Comeau gets to go against Montreal who is getting horrendous goaltending.
That’s all for now guys. With only three games tonight, there won’t be daily notes on Thursday so I will be back on Friday recapping the action from Wednesday and Thursday. Matt’s next article in his series will be out on Thursday so be sure to check that out. As always, feel free to ask any questions and leave any comments below; I’ll be available all day to answer questions. Also, if you’re interested in me doing a live trade deadline blog, please leave a comment saying that. I mentioned it before and a few people expressed interest so if you’d follow along here, let me know. Thanks a lot everyone; take care!
