6 days agoWashington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby had another poor outing on Monday, allowing goals on all three of the shots he saw from Colorado. Holtby was replaced by Ilya Samsonov after the third goal, but Washington never recovered from the disastrous start. Holtby has a .846 save percentage this season and has allowed at least three goals in four of his five starts. It is worth noting that Holtby had a similarly awful start to last season, save for a shutout win in his first start that year. Fantasy players should become familiar with Samsonov, if they are not already, as Holtby's poor play to start the season has left the door open for him to seize more of the workload.
--Russ Ivanac - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week agoVegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury posted his fifth win of the season on Sunday, leading his team to a 5-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings. The 34-year-old faced a constant barrage of pucks throughout the full 60 minutes in this one, stopping 36 of the 38 shots sent his way. It's been yet another terrific start to the campaign for the three-time Cup winner, carrying a 2.13 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage through his first six starts. Having appeared in all of the Knights' games thus far, Fleury looks primed for a huge workload in 2018-2019 and should continue to rack up wins playing behind a very strong team. He's an undisputed top-five fantasy option in net and will look to keep his momentum going in his team's next tilt versus the Predators on Tuesday.
--Chase Davis - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week agoVegas Golden Knights left-winger Max Pacioretty picked up a goal and added two assists in his team's 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. Skating 17:12 in the contest, the 30-year-old also registered two power-play points, three shots on goal and a block to his ledger. Pacioretty is off to a terrific start in his second season with Vegas - having now posted eight points (two goals, six assists), four power-play points, 21 shots and eight hits through his first six games. Selected on average with the 117th pick in Yahoo! drafts, the Connecticut native is an early candidate for one of the biggest draft-day bargains of the season. Displaying excellent chemistry with winger Mark Stone, Pacioretty looks primed to eclipse the 60-point mark for the first time in three seasons in 2019-2020. He'll take on the Predators on Tuesday.
--Chase Davis - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week agoVegas Golden Knights center Paul Stastny propelled his team to a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings with a four-point performance on Sunday. The 33-year-old recorded three of his points on the man advantage (two goals, one assists), added an assist at even-strength and also registered three shots and three hits while leading all Vegas forwards with 18:06 of ice time. After posting just one goal in his first five games as the team's third-line center, Stastny got moved up to the second line on Sunday - playing alongside forward Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone. Owned in just 26% of Yahoo! leagues, Stastny is a player fantasy owners should monitor moving forward.
--Chase Davis - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week agoSan Jose Sharks forward Tomas Hertl tallied his first points of the season in Sunday's 3-1 win over Calgary, assisting Kevin Labanc on his second goal of the season and scoring a short-handed goal himself to wrap up the scoring. Timo Meier also scored and Logan Couture extended his point streak to four games with two assists. Hertl had a magnificent year last season with 35 goals and 74 points in 77, but he's been slow out of the gate in 2019-20. With that said, the whole team has struggled and there's still plenty of time left to turn things around. The Sharks take on Carolina next against whom Hertl has recorded 10 points in 10 career games.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoSan Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones finally recorded his first win of the season on Sunday, pushing aside 32 of 33 shots in a 3-1 win over Calgary. The 29-year-old goalie had a really tough time in his first three starts of the year, allowing four goals in each of them. Jones' record now stands at 1-3-0 with a 3.58 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage. He's been an unreliable fantasy option so far, but his Sunday's performance could be a sign of him starting to turn things around. Jones gets a huge test next with the 5-1 Hurricanes in town.
--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoPhiladelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny picked up a power-play assist in Saturday's loss to the Canucks, giving him six points in his team's first three games. Despite operating on the second power-play unit, Konecny has notched a power-play point in three straight games now. His lack of shot production (2.33 shots per game) or high usage (16:37 average time on ice) this season suggests that his hot start should taper off soon, making him an ideal sell-high candidate this early in the season. At only 22 years-old, Konecny could have a higher ceiling than the 50 points that he flirted with each of the last two seasons, but until he sees more than the sixth most time on ice among Philadelphia forwards, it will be difficult for him to reach that.
--Russ Ivanac - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week ago
Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom turned away two of the three shots he faced in the shootout to secure his second win of the season on Saturday night. Markstrom saw 32 shots through regulation and overtime, allowing only two goals on his way to a .938 save percentage. Through four starts, Markstrom has now posted a save percentage above .930 percent in all but one game. In the only two years that Markstrom has received the starter's share of the workload, he held identical .912 save percentage rates and has a career save percentage of only .909 percent. Whether this is simply a temporary hot streak or not, Markstrom is only owned in 69 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and as the unquestioned starter playing well, that number should be higher.
--Russ Ivanac - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week agoVegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone and William Carrier each tallied a goal and an assist in a 6-2 victory over the Calgary Flames. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, it was a balanced attack for Vegas, with 12 of the 18 dressed skaters getting points. Marc-Andre Fleury had a solid game for the Knights, stopping 33 of 35 shots.
--Nate Duffett - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week agoBoston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask posted a 31 save shutout in the home opener, to earn a 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Rask now has a 3-0 record for the season with a 1.33 GAA and .957 save percentage. If he continues this stellar play then it could change, but Rask and Jaroslav Halak have been going game-for-game for the starting role, which will hurt Rask's fantasy value. However, Rask has shown to be a much better goalie with tons of rest, so his production could falter if thrown into a bigger role.
--Nate Duffett - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week agoBoston Bruins forward Brad Marchand was a force in the Bruins 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils, tallying a goal and an assist. Marchand has increased his point totals every season since 2014, and if he keeps this form all season there is no reason to believe he wouldn't eclipse the 100-point plateau once again this season. Joakim Nordstrom and Patrice Bergeron rounded out the scoring for the Bruins in their home-opening win.
--Nate Duffett - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week agoOttawa Senators forward Vladislav Namestinkov buried two goals and added an assist to lead the Senators to a 4-2 win over his former team the Tampa Bay Lightning. Namestinkov scored the winner with three minutes remaining before adding an empty netter to put the game away. While it was a big night for Namestinkov, he has been traded twice in the past three seasons for a reason and his inconsistencies will continue to be a problem. Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Colin White were the other goal scorers for the Senators, with Craig Anderson stopping 19 of 21 shots for the win.
--Nate Duffett - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week agoEdmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl tallied three points in the third period of a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon. The dynamic duo of Draisaitl and Connor McDavid continues to carry the Oilers to their 5-0 record, as McDavid also chipped in two points. When line stacking the Oilers, be careful including Zack Kassian who is the right-winger on the top line, as he may offer some salary relief, but there will also be games like Saturday where he records zero points in a game that his line had three goals. Oscar Klefbom was the other goal scorer, tallying his first of the season.
--Nate Duffett - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week agoNew York Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko scored the lone goal for the Rangers in a 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon. It was Kakko's first career goal after being drafted second overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Playing on the second line with Ryan Strome and Chris Kreider, Kakko isn't in the best position to succeed, especially as he sits on the second powerplay line with below-average talent. It will be interesting to see if Kakko can get a shot playing with the top players, as that will maximize his fantasy potential. Henrik Lundqvist had a day to forget between the pipes, allowing three goals on just 26 shots.
--Nate Duffett - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
1 week agoCarolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov converted on a third period shot to pick up his first goal of the season during Friday's win over the Islanders. It took five games for Svechnikov to find the back of the net, but he has earned his way on to the scoresheet plenty in Carolina's first five games by registering four consecutive games with at least two points. With eight points and six penalty minutes so far this season, Svechnikov has made his mark on fantasy rosters already and will only make a bigger impact when the goals start to come. A 20-goal scorer last year, it is a safe assumption that he will at least approach that number this year as he remains one of the most popular breakout candidates.
--Russ Ivanac - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com
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