Ramblings: Roy New Bench Boss for Islanders, Couture Makes Season Debut, Skinner and Oilers on Amazing Run (Jan 21)

Ian Gooding

2024-01-21

The Islanders made a splash on Saturday, firing Lane Lambert and hiring Patrick Roy to be their new head coach. I took care of the Fantasy Take here. We will get to see Coach Roy in action very quickly, as the Isles have a match with the Stars today (Sunday) at 7:30 pm ET.

Roy's former team had a goal explosion in a Saturday day game. Logan O'Connor scored three goals, while Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each scored a pair of goals in their 7-4 win over Philadelphia.

With the hat trick, O'Connor now has six goals and 11 points in his last 10 games. He's used in more of a penalty-kill role than a power-play role, which limits his fantasy upside. That being said, he's generating some chemistry with Ross Colton, who recorded three assists in this game. In the rare shorthanded goals category, O'Connor is among the league's best with 3 SHG.

MacKinnon is simply piling up the points right now. With two goals and two assists, MacKinnon extended his point streak to 11 games where he has posted 21 points. He also now has the NHL scoring lead with 77 points. In the Midseason Guide, we have MacKinnon on pace for 125 points, and that's even with him potentially missing five games. Why that games-missed number? MacKinnon has missed at least 11 games in each of his last two seasons. If he plays a full 82 games, MacKinnon is a strong bet to win the Art Ross Trophy. He has Nikita Kucherov to fend off, and maybe even that Connor McDavid guy too.

A strong case can be made about Rantanen being snubbed as an All-Star. Rantanen is eighth in NHL scoring (60 points) and is in the top 10 with 26 goals. I wouldn't get too worked up about this, Avalanche fans. There's still a chance a player could get injured or even opt out (which results in a one-game suspension), so Rantanen seems like a natural replacement.

Cam Atkinson started the season with 13 points in his first 17 games. Then he was held to just five points (no goals) in his next 24 games, even getting healthy scratched by John Tortorella at one point. Now he's heating up again with four goals and seven points over his last four games, including three points on Saturday. He's also averaging 4.5 shots per game over that four-game stretch. The Flyers power play hasn't been easy to figure out and it certainly hasn't been effective, but Atkinson has received over 50% of available power-play minutes in three of those last four games. Time to add him again?

Owen Tippett left Saturday's game with a lower-body injury after crashing into the boards. The Flyers play again today (Sunday), so his status for that game should be considered questionable.

I went against my Zero G instincts in one draft and picked Connor Hellebuyck in the third round (34th overall). I initially thought I'd regret the decision, but so far it has really paid off. Hellebuyck might be the favorite for the Vezina Trophy right now. He has been on quite a run recently (7 W, 7 QS in last 8 GP).

As a team, the Jets have allowed no more than two goals in 14 consecutive games and no more than three goals in 33 consecutive games. Hellebuyck himself has not allowed more than two goals in a game since December 18, then prior to that November 14. Enter the dates into the Goalie Calculator on Frozen Tools and he has a 1.66 GAA, .944 SV%, and 90.5 QS% since November 17. He has also won 16 times over his last 21 starts. Outstanding.

Clayton Keller scored two goals while taking nine shots on goal on Saturday. He has 10 points in his last seven games, but more impressively he has taken 17 shots over his last two games. Remember when he heated up last season (48 PTS in last 39 GP)? It might be coincidental, but I projected Keller to be a point-per-game player in the second half. The Coyotes are still kind of a grind-it-out team, but Keller has talent that shouldn't be overlooked.

Tyson Barrie returned to the Predators lineup on Saturday after missing nearly a month with an upper-body injury. Barrie is currently on the trade block and has also been a healthy scratch this season, so I'm hesitant about starting him. That being said, he logged second-unit power-play minutes. He can probably still put up points in the right situation, but that doesn't appear to be with Nashville.

If you like goals, one of the 7 pm ET/4 pm PT Hockey Day in Canada games was for you.

In a game when the Bruins celebrated breaking a 45-year playoff drought against the Canadiens, they lit up the Habs for nine goals. In fact, Matt Poitras and Derek Forbort were the only two Boston players not to register a point. Although the Bruins won 9-4, the game was a little closer than it looked with the Bruins holding a narrow 5-4 lead after two periods.

Danton Heinen led the way for the Bruins with a hat trick, a plus-2, and five shots. Heinen had been held without a point in his previous five games. Since Heinen is rostered in fewer than 1% of Yahoo leagues and 5% of Fantrax leagues, this hat trick helped almost no one. No other Bruins skater registered more than two points.

In allowing eight goals in nearly two and a half periods, Sam Montembeault's string of five consecutive quality starts came to an end. Lucky for me, I dropped Montembeault before this game figuring that I'd be fine in net with Linus Ullmark and Hellebuyck. Montembeault has faced a minimum of 30 shots in each of his last six games, while the Habs are a bottom-5 team in shots allowed (33.7 SA/GP). Even if Montembeault plays well, that's a risky situation to be in.

Sean Monahan assisted on three goals, giving him seven points (all assists) over his last four games.

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In Vancouver, Conor Garland and Nils Hoglander each scored a pair of goals to lead the Canucks to a 6-4 win over the Maple Leafs. Garland also finished the game with an assist and three shots. Neither Garland nor Hoglander should be rostered in most fantasy leagues, but they are two of the forwards that are providing the Canucks with the best secondary scoring that they've had in years.

For the Leafs, William Nylander broke a six-game goal drought by scoring a pair of second-period goals.

Leafs fans, are you sure you can trust Martin Jones? Maybe if he's the best you've got right now. Jones allowed six goals on just 21 shots on Saturday, which calculates to a really bad start. Jones has just one win and no quality starts over his last five games after racking up five consecutive quality starts. Rookie Joseph Woll can't return soon enough. At least he's on the road trip, although a return might not be imminent. In the meantime, it's most likely cross your fingers with Ilya Samsonov in Seattle tonight. The Sheldon Keefe watch intensifies.  

The Oilers win streak is at now at 13 games, which is the longest win streak of any Canadian-based team in NHL history. After that bloody awful start to the season, they are now 21-3 in their last 24 games. Maybe we shouldn't put too much stock into a poor start. Within that team win streak, Stuart Skinner has 10 consecutive wins and 10 consecutive quality starts. Over those 10 games he has a 1.54 GAA and .946 SV%. If you dropped him when the Oilers hit rock bottom, you're probably kicking yourself right now.

The Oilers have Columbus, Chicago, and Nashville as their next three opponents, so the win streak could very well remain intact at the All-Star break. If that doesn't seem like many games because the All-Star Game is in two weeks, it's because the Oilers have their "bye week" before the All-Star break. I won't deep dive into the off week and how it affects the schedule here, but just a heads up that you might have to think about that soon.

Despite the win, neither Connor McDavid nor Leon Draisaitl registered a point. McDavid's 12-game point streak came to an end.

Something I've noticed while watching the Flames: Mackenzie Weegar is eating into the power-play time of Rasmus Andersson. Over the past seven games, Weegar has been on the ice for 55.4% of the Flames' available power-play minutes, while Andersson has been on for 46.6% of the power-play minutes. The slight reduction in power-play time hasn't affected Andersson, who has eight points over his last 10 games. Weegar scored the Flames' only goal and registered six shots while logging over 25 minutes, so he is also playing well at the moment.

Alex Killorn is expected to miss the next four to six weeks, as he will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery next week. Killorn, who signed a four-year contract worth $6.25 million during the offseason, also missed the first few weeks of the season with a fractured finger. The Ducks are also without Trevor Zegras and Pavel Mintyukov, and they are barely staying above the Chicago Blackhawks in the standings. In addition, look for UFA-to-be Adam Henrique to be traded by the deadline.

The San Jose Sharks haven't had much to get excited about this season, so Logan Couture making his season debut might qualify. Couture assisted on a Marc-Edouard Vlasic goal while playing on a line with Alexander Barabanov and William Eklund, and he also played on the Sharks' first-unit power play. Couture, who had missed the first half of the season with a hip/groin ailment, could be a sneaky waiver-wire add for the second half of the season. He could also give the Sharks a boost to push them ahead of the Blackhawks… and maybe also the Ducks?

I wrote about Kings goaltending yesterday, so just an update: David Rittich picked up his second consecutive start and made the most of it, saving 20 of 21 shots in a 2-1 win over the Rangers. Big Save Dave now has three consecutive quality starts, and at the very least seems to be playing well enough to give Cam Talbot a rest. Rittich is rostered in 6% of Yahoo leagues and 12% of Fantrax leagues, so he's readily available if you need a goalie.

Jonathan Quick played his first game in Los Angeles since the Kings traded him last season. Although he stopped 24 of 26 shots for a quality start, he could not secure a win against his old team. He's been a backup for Igor Shesterkin, but the quality start was his first in over a month – since December 15. He has also not won since then, having gone five games without a win.

Don't forget to purchase your Midseason Guide, if you haven't already! Second-half projections, sleepers, advanced stats, historical trends, prospects you need to know, and much more.

Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Threads.

One Comment

  1. dippiscott 2024-01-21 at 09:17

    Couture was on my IR for so long, I had to wipe the cobwebs off him before sending him out there last night…

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