Games Played This Week By Team
4 Games: CGY, NYI, SJ, STL
3 Games: ANA, ARI, BOS, BUF, CAR, CHI, COL, CBJ, DAL, EDM, FLA, LA, MIN, MTL, NSH, NJ, NYI, NYR, PHI, PIT, TB, TOR, VAN, VGK, WPG, WSH
2 Games: DET
Streaming Selections
After a two-week hiatus, our streaming selections column is back. It appears that there were a lot of goalie injuries while we were gone. Matt Murray, Cam Talbot, Antii Raanta, and Corey Crawford were the big starters that will be out for a bit. Backup goalies are always risky considering you don’t know what you’re going to get. They could have a big night and give the starter a run for their money, or they could falter and provide proof as to why they are a backup. Either way, with all the back-to-backs and scoring being up, having a good backup is really important in this league. As a result, Tristan Jarry, Laurent Brossoit, Scott Wedgewood and Anton Forsberg are goalies to consider if you have a need. If any of them play well enough, they could get more starts even when their starter is healthy.
Tristan Jarry – G – Pittsburgh Penguins
55% Owned on Fantrax
It was announced that Matt Murray will be out for the next two to four weeks due to a lower-body injury. As you can see from this video, it did not look good, so it’s possible he might be out even longer. The good news is that Tristan Jarry has actually been pretty good in his first five games he’s started this year. He has a .937 SV% and a 1.99 GAA. Not to mention he got a shutout against the Sabres on Friday and then allowed only one goal against the same team the next night. He has played well against good teams, too. He made 33 saves and allowed only two goals against the Lightning. He had a similar night against Calgary in which he allowed two goals but made 32 saves.
Jarry had a good season last year in the AHL for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with a 2.15 GAA and .925 SV% in 45 games. It’s no surprise that Jarry is one of the Penguins’ better prospects. When Murray was healthy and with the departure of Marc-Andre Fleury, the Penguins have struggled to find a good backup. It appears Antii Niemi is no Fleury. However, the 22-year-old Jarry has filled that role nicely so far. The Penguins, of course, have the luxury of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel to continually put the puck in the back of the net. But the loss of Matt Murray could have decimated their season if they didn’t have a good backup. Now all the pressure goes to Jarry. Even though Matt Murray has struggled, he should still be the starter when he returns. However, Jarry might get some starts if he plays well in his absence. Jarry is a good add if your team is in desperate need of a goalie, but it’s a short-term addition at the moment. That said, he becomes a must-add if Murray is out for even longer than a month. Steve and I discuss Jarry at the start of our latest episode of Lace ‘Em Up.
Radek Faksa – C – Dallas Stars
31% Owned on Fantrax
During the offseason, Faksa re-signed to a three-year, $6 million contract. This was seen as a nice, cheap deal and so far, Faksa has outplayed his contract. Faksa has 10 goals and six assists in 26 games. Five of those goals came in the last four games, including a hat-trick against the Golden Knights. He also had two assists in those four contests. His highest goal total came last season, when he had 12 goals in 80 games. It’s looking like he’ll beat that this year. It just feels like he is figuring everything out. There are some concerns, just in terms of his deployment. The 23-year-old has about 13 minutes of average ice-time, and he is also on the third line and second powerplay unit. However, he has been given an ice-time increase lately, somewhere in the 15 to 17-minute range. The Stars don’t have a lot of depth forwards other than their core players like Seguin, Radulov, and Benn, so it’s nice to see that Dallas is getting some secondary scoring. I’m not sure if Faksa will continue to be this hot, just based on his deployment. But that’s why he is a good option to stream at the moment.
Alex DeBrincat – LW/RW – Chicago Blackhawks
69% Owned on Fantrax
There is another rookie who is making his mark early in the season. Despite being one of the top scorers in his three seasons playing for the Erie Otters in the OHL, Alex DeBrincat was a 2016 second round pick. It supposedly had a lot to do with his size, as he stands just is 5-foot-7, and scouts believed he benefited from playing with Connor McDavid and Dylan Strome in the OHL. The good news is he was drafted by the Blackhawks. He has 11 goals and eight assists in 27 games this season. He’s really gotten going lately, with four goals and two assists in his last five games. He had a hat trick and an assist in a game just before Thanksgiving. It should be noted that he hasn’t scored in the last two games, but he still has a lot of upside. The impressive thing for DeBrincat is that he has 14 minutes of ice time on average on the third line, but he is on the top power-play unit. The Blackhawks, as a whole, are struggling this season, especially with the recent injury to goaltender Corey Crawford, who has kept them in games. Also, like Faksa, DeBrincat does bring needed depth for their team. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brandon Saad can’t do it all on their own. Since DeBrincat’s deployment isn’t great, he is a bit of a risk to add, but if he can keep it up, coach Quenneville will likely give him more opportunities to shine.
Pierre-Luc Dubois – C/LW – Columbus Blue Jackets
50% Owned on Fantrax
It was somewhat of a shock when the Columbus Blue Jackets decided to draft Dubois third overall in the 2016 draft. However, the Jackets wanted a center, and Dubois was their guy. It appears that now Dubois is the top line center with some power-play time, and he’s making the most of it. Don’t let the 11 points in 27 games this season fool you. He has one goal and five assists in his last four games. He had his highest ice time total of the season with 20 minutes and had two assists as a result. With Artemi Panarin and Josh Anderson as his wing, it looks like the Jackets have their top line for the future. Dubois has kind of gone under the radar for a top line center, and that’s why he’s worth an add. Players on the top line shouldn’t be on the free agent market. Of course, there is a chance that coach John Tortorella could switch things up eventually. He is known to do that. But Dubois is looking pretty good at the moment with not a ton of competition. He’s worth taking a flier on.
Loui Eriksson – LW/RW – Vancouver Canucks
26% Owned on Fantrax
Loui Eriksson had his lowest point total last season, scoring just 24 points in his first year in Vancouver. At 32 years old, this was a sign that Eriksson might not be as good as he once was. But since coming off of injury in the middle of November, Eriksson has proven that he still has some left in the tank. The Swede has five goals and six assists in 15 games this season with 31 shots on goal. This puts him on pace for 23 goals and 51 points in 70 games. However, he is getting 15 minutes of ice time per night on average but not a ton of power-play time. Also, his shooting percentage is slightly high at 16.1. But considering the Canucks weren’t expected to be good, Eriksson doesn’t have a ton of pressure on him. He has the perfect opportunity to bounce back this season. There is a strong likelihood that Eriksson won’t keep up the pace, but he is worth the roster spot if you’re in desperate need of goals.
Streaming Check-Up
This is where we take a look at the performances of the players I mentioned in the last article. Knowing when to drop your streamers is just as important as knowing when to add them. The following guys should be kept in all keeper and dynasty formats unless stated otherwise.
Teuvo Teravainen – Teravainen had three assists in six games in the last two weeks. He also extended his point streak to six games, but then he went pointless for the next three. So he did cool down. However, he also had 15 shots in those two weeks. I’d hold onto him for now because he might heat back up again.
Mattias Ekholm – Ekholm didn’t get any points in the three games this week, but he did get two goals and one assist in the four games the week before. Ekholm is still on the top pairing with Josi. But be aware of Ryan Ellis’ return. Ekholm still should be owned in most leagues for now, although inconsistent play will be a thing.
Michael Ferland – Ferland had three goals in seven games the last two weeks. However, he is still on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. He might be a good sell-high candidate if you own him, considering his history doesn’t show that he is a goal scorer.
Artem Anisimov – Anisimov had two goals and one assist in seven games the past two weeks. He’s been great with Patrick Kane on his line and is the current leader with 12 goals for the Blackhawks this season. He’s a good add for any fantasy team at the moment. Being owned by just 63% of the leagues on Fantrax, he’s surely available.
Danton Heinen – With Brad Marchand, Ryan Spooner, Anders Bjork, and David Backes being healthy, Heinen won’t be relied on as much as he was the last two weeks. He had two assists in five games the last two weeks, but now he is on the third line. Heinen can be dropped.
Other Decisions
Players to Drop: Sven Baertschi, Charlie Lindgren, Christian Dvorak
Players to Hold in Shallow Leagues: Conor Hellebuyck, Kyle Connor, Mathew Barzal, Josh Anderson, Noah Hanifin, Jason Zucker
Stash in Deep Leagues: Pavel Buchnevich, Yanni Gourde, Alex Kerfoot, Esa Lindell
See Who’s Interested: Will Butcher, Jesper Bratt, Mikhail Sergachev, Dustin Brown, Jonathan Marchessault