Games Played This Week By Team
4 Games: ARI, BOS, CBJ, EDM, MIN, NJ, TOR, VAN, WSH
3 Games: ANA, BUF, CAR, CHI, DET, FLA, LA, MTL, NYI, NYR, PIT, SJ, STL, TB, VGK, WPG
2 Games: CGY, COL, DAL, NSH, OTT, PHI
Streaming Selections
Jacob Markstrom – G – Vancouver Canucks
62% Owned on Fantrax
During this offseason, Markstrom was announced as the Canucks’ starting goalie. It was a questionable move considering Markstrom wasn’t that impressive last year with a 2.62 GAA and .910 SV%. However, since the Canucks were in a rebuild, they could afford to make this move. Now Markstrom has a .922 SV% and 2.23 GAA in 10 games. On Saturday, Markstrom impressively made 37 saves against the Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-2 win. He’s become one of the reasons the Canucks are surprisingly doing well this early in the season. Starting goalies aren’t usually on the market in most leagues. However, because it’s the Canucks, there is a chance he is still available in shallow leagues. With four games this week, Markstrom is a good player to own to see if he can stay on a roll.
Tim Heed – D – San Jose Sharks
37% owned on Fantrax
Tim Heed was virtually unheard of a couple of weeks ago, and now he has two goals and five assists in 10 games. He’s had a goal and two assists the last week and is just getting going. At 26 years old, Heed is a late bloomer. However, he had 56 points in 55 games in his only AHL season, including 14 goals, which is very good for a defenseman. He spent a lot of time in the Swedish leagues. The other Sharks defensemen, namely Brent Burns and Marc-Eduard Vlasic, haven’t been playing up to par yet. So it is nice that the Sharks have other defensemen that can help out on the offensive side of things from time to time. Heed’s hot run likely won’t last, just based off of his deployment. He is on the power play, but he has 17 minutes of average ice time on the third defensive pair. He is a good streaming option in all leagues while he is hot.
Yanni Gourde – C/RW – Tampa Bay Lightning
24% Owned on Fantrax
At this point, anyone on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s top two lines is worth owning. Of course, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov are the big guns in Tampa. But Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point, and Vladislav Namestinikov have all had good seasons. However, they are likely already owned in most leagues. All is not lost, however, as it is likely that Yanni Gourde is still available in your league. Gourde has been really hot on Tampa’s second line. Gourde has a three-game point streak where he had three goals and one assist in that span. Gourde has nine points in 15 games this season. The 25-year-old was undrafted and has been in the AHL for six seasons. But he had 198 points in 298 career AHL games. Obviously, just because a player is undrafted doesn’t mean he can’t be good in the NHL. Tim Thomas and Conor Sheary are good examples of that. The Lightning have had success in finding undrafted talent considering both Martin St Louis and Tyler Johnson were both undrafted, as well. Fantasy owners should still be cautious about Gourde’s streak. However, if you do have a spot available and are willing to take the risk, go for it.
Josh Anderson – RW – Columbus Blue Jackets
41% Owned on Fantrax
Last season, Josh Anderson had 17 goals and 12 assists in 79 games with an average ice time of 12 minutes. During the offseason, Anderson was one of the last restricted free agents to sign with their team. But now, he is being given more ice time. With five goals and eight points in 12 games, Anderson is making the most of that opportunity. He had two goals and one assist in three games last week. According to DailyFaceoff, Anderson is on the top line and is even being given some power-play time on the second unit. He now has an average of 16 minutes of ice-time. This is a good sign for Anderson, as the more he can produce now, the more likely he’ll stay on the top line. With Columbus playing four games this week, Anderson is a good streaming option to see what he can do.
Ondrej Kase – LW/RW – Anaheim Ducks
25% Owned on Fantrax
Anyone who has followed the Ducks will know that they’ve had the injury bug to start the season. Ryan Getzlaf, Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, Patrick Eaves, John Gibson, and Sami Vatanen have all missed some time. Not to mention Ryan Kesler hasn’t even played a game yet this season. At 6-6-2, the Ducks aren’t doing terribly considering the aforementioned injury bug. Ondrej Kase is one of those guys that is keeping this team afloat. Kase has eight points in 11 games this season and a goal and an assist in the three games last week. He is doing all of this with about 13 minutes of average ice time. However, he is currently on the top line and first power play. It’s unclear if Kase will continue this run when the Ducks are fully healthy, but he is certainly a player to watch out for and maybe add.
Streaming Check-Up
We take a look at how the players I previously mentioned did this week. Knowing when to drop your streamers is just as important as adding them. It goes without saying, but the following guys should be kept in all keeper and dynasty formats.
Adrian Kempe – Kempe had one assist in three games last week. However, he’s still on the second line and power-play. He is a drop if you need the roster spot.
Sven Baertschi – Baertschi did not look great the first two games this week. However, on Saturday, he had three assists. It appears that Baertschi, Bo Horvat, and Brock Boeser have some chemistry, and Baertschi could be a benefactor when that line is doing well. He’s still a good pick-up, although the one shot on goal is a little concerning.
Jonathan Marchessault – Although the Golden Knights started to show that they are an expansion team, Marchessault was one of the best players in the four games Vegas has played. He had one goal and four assists last week. He might be proving that last season was no fluke. He is 70% owned, so get him while you can.
As for the other Vegas players I mentioned: Alex Tuch had two goals and two assists. Erik Haula had two goals and an assist. Collin Miller had one goal and two assists, and Nate Schmidt had two assists. So besides Nate Schmidt, they all looked decent.
Mathew Barzal – Barzal has been really hot since we talked about him. He had one goal and six assists with eight shots on goal in the three games he played last week. Barzal is on a five-game point streak, including a five-assist night against the Avalanche on Sunday. Keep him on your roster while he is hot. I also mentioned Josh Bailey last week, and he has seven assists in those three games, so he’s a player to add if you’re in need of assists. Bailey had zero shots on goal last week, so keep that in mind if you are thinking of adding him.
Pavel Buchnevich – Buchnevich had a goal and an assist in three games last week. Not terrible, but not great either. He’s droppable.
Other decisions:
Players to Drop: Brandon Montour (Lindholm and Vatanen are officially back on the PP), Anders Bjork, Sven Andrighetto, Kailer Yamamoto
Players to Hold on in Shallow Leagues: Conor Hellebuyck, Will Butcher, Dustin Brown, Mikhail Sergachev
Stash in Deep Leagues: Noah Hanifin, Devin Shore, Kyle Connor, Jesper Bratt