Ramblings: Panthers Goalies, Oilers D-Men, Lafreniere’s Short- and Long-Term Value (Feb 20)

Ian Gooding

2021-02-20

The Florida Panthers appeared to be in a prime spot to cash in on Friday against Detroit. They didn't disappoint, scoring a converted touchdown against the Red Wings.

This may not be the season to own multiple players from the same team. The two COVID stoppages from the Stars and Hurricanes that forced delays to the Panthers season are a prime example, as I found out in owning both Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau on the same team. Yet when these two have been on, it's been guns a-blazing. Barkov scored one goal and two assists on Friday, giving him two goals and four assists in three games this week. Huberdeau added two assists on Friday, giving him three goals and four assists over those same three games. And they get to do it all over again today (Saturday) against those same Wings.

Patric Hornqvist scored a pair of goals, giving him a three-game point streak. I knew there was some upside if he managed to stay healthy, but did anyone have him as a point-per-game player after 15 games? And eight goals over that span? He's found new life in the Sunshine State.

Anthony Duclair entered this game with just one point in his last eight games. The Red Wings were a welcome slumpbuster, as he added a goal and an assist of his own.

Remember all the fuss about Keith Yandle being a healthy scratch with the Panthers reportedly deciding to move in a different direction? Hopefully you didn't move on from him on your fantasy team. Yandle provided three helpers on Friday, which gives him 12 points in 15 games. Joel Quenneville seems to have forgotten about the whole thing, as Yandle leads the Panthers in power-play time. As a result, nine of those 12 points have been on the man advantage.

Chris Driedger made his third consecutive start and recorded his third consecutive win. He's posted quality starts in seven of his eight games this season with MUCH better numbers than Sergei Bobrovsky dating back to last season. Expect the $70 million goalie to start today (Saturday) as the Panthers and Wings play the second of back-to-backs. Yet this is already getting interesting, veering outside of the "follow the money" theory of projecting goalie starts. Because of that contract, Bob will get his opportunities to get the crease back. But for now, I'm comfortable saying that Driedger should be rostered in all leagues.

Thomas Greiss was given the mercy pull on Friday after the first period. He had allowed four goals on 13 shots. Because he played only one period, he could be back between the pipes again on Saturday. Start at your own risk.

With an assist on Friday, Dylan Larkin was able to break a four-game point drought. However, he has now gone nine games without finding the net.

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Wearing the Hartford Whalers reverse retro jerseys, Nino Niederreiter scored two goals and added an assist to go with a plus-3 to lead the Whalers/Hurricanes to a 5-3 win. Niederreiter is in the running for whatever hockey's version of the Cy Young would be, having scored nine goals to go with just two assists in 15 games. Regardless, his nine goals is just two shy of his total from all of last season. With a 20.9 SH% and a 1051 PDO, yes, the goal scoring should cool off.

I'm really going to regret dropping Vincent Trocheck early in the season in one league when the Canes were on COVID shutdown. Trocheck has now scored goals in back-to-back games and is on a six-game point streak. Niederreiter and Trocheck are making it work on a line with Martin Necas, who scored a goal and added an assist on Friday while taking five shots on goal. Necas also has points in four of his last five games.

Patrick Kane provided the highlight of the night. This was called the Savardian spin-o-rama when I was a kid. Now it's a different Blackhawk.

Despite the loss, Kane himself finished with a goal and two assists with four shots in 24 minutes.

Pius Suter, who has been on Kane's line recently, has now logged at least 20 minutes in back-to-back games.

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There's two points that I would like to make on Lafreniere.

  • First-year players are very difficult to value. You might end up with a difference maker like a Cale Makar or Quinn Hughes from last season, or you may end up with a Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko from last season. I mentioned before the season that I wasn't willing to add Lafreniere to my top 100. Sure enough, his average draft position in Yahoo leagues was 129.5. Lafreniere has scored just one goal and added no assists over his first 15 games, so I'm glad someone else took the risk. I'm okay with suggesting you cut him in single-season leagues if you need to.
  • For those already labeling him a bust or that don't know what's so special about the kid, he's only 19! Give it time. I remember keeper leaguers on the Forum inquiring about cutting Nathan MacKinnon as late as the end of his fourth season, when he was nearly 22. I'm not suggesting Lafreniere is the next MacKinnon, but you don't want to bail too early either. Stash him away and reap the rewards one day. I’m probably Captain Obvious in making this point, but just a reminder that a player’s short- and long-term value can be very different.

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Tyson Barrie recorded an assist on Friday, which puts him tied for second in scoring among defensemen with 15 points. He might have his issues on defense, but that matters to Oilers fans more than that matters to fantasy owners. Barrie is finding much more success in Edmonton than he had in his one season in Toronto, which has a lot to do with the increase in power-play time. Seven of his 15 points have been with the man advantage.

Darnell Nurse also recorded an assist, which gives him 12 points over his last 13 games. There's a ton to like about Nurse in roto leagues, considering that he's also a plus-11, is a top-10 blueliner in shots (45), and is third on the Oilers in hits (49) and second in blocked shots (30). The biggest question seemed to be whether he'd provide enough offense, but his 0.74 PTS/GP represents a career high, even with only second-unit power-play time.

Sean Monahan missed Friday's game with a lower-body injury. That vaulted the speedy Andrew Mangiapane up to the first unit to go with a season-high 21:38 of icetime. He did not record a point, however.

Jusso Valimaki's time on the first-unit power play seemed to be short-lived, as he did not see any power-play time on Friday. Rasmus Andersson led the Flames in power-play time in this game. I still don't get the feeling that Geoff Ward knows which defenseman he wants on PP1.

Matthew Tkachuk has gone into a cold spell with no points in last five games and no goals in his last eight games. The Flames have been inconsistent recently and for much of the season, with rumblings that his behavior is starting to wear on his teammates (for example, the puck-tossing incident with Jake Muzzin). I wouldn't be too worried about him, as he is still at least shooting the puck (16 SOG in his last five games).

The Oilers have their share of scorers who aren't scoring. Practically a point-per-game player in his limited time last season, Kailer Yamamoto has just one point (a goal) over his last seven games.

After being held without a point in seven consecutive games, Kyle Turris was made a healthy scratch on Friday. If it wasn't working for him in Nashville, then he's been irrelevant in Edmonton with just three points in 18 games.

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The Jets shut out the Canucks on Friday. Unfortunately for Connor Hellebuyck owners, it was Laurent Brossoit who stopped all 29 shots he faced. Both of Brossoit's shutouts over his career have been against the Canucks. The start was only Brossoit's fourth of the season, and playing behind workhorse Hellebuyck he probably won't see a ton of them either. In fact, his career high in games played is 21. In spite of the lack of starts, Brossoit seems like a decent option when he does start (2.25 GAA, .935 SV%).

Finally, if you need some end-of-week help in your bangers categories, you may want to consider adding some Canucks and Jets on Sunday. Derek Forbort, anyone?

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For more fantasy hockey discussion, or to reach out to me, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding

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