A hat trick on Sunday gives Alex Ovechkin 29 goals through 41 appearances this season. Double those numbers and you'll see he'd be on pace for 58 over 82 games. At the age of 39! Simply outstanding. Although he's seeing less ice time than last year (from 19:13 to 17:37), he's managed more shots per game (from 3.4 to 3.8). More efficient minutes are thanks to the wisdom that comes with age I suppose. Ovi was particularly busy Sunday as he racked up nine shots through 16 and a half minutes of action.
Like Ovi, Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas also picked up three points apiece against the Oilers. Protas ranks eighth in the league for even-strength points – just one behind Mikko Rantanen and two ahead of Mitch Marner. The 24-year-old forward his having a spectacular breakout campaign for the Capitals.
Jakob Chychrun added another page to his excellent season with a goal and assist against Edmonton, putting him on pace for 62 points this year. He hasn't been afraid to shoot lately, recording at least five shots in each of his last three outings. I'm a little wary that his power-play opportunity has diminished in recent games because 14 of his 39 points this season have come on the man advantage.
With two helpers on Sunday, John Carlson extended his point streak to nine games. He's rebounding nicely from a mediocre middle stretch of the campaign.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins led the way for Edmonton on Sunday, posting a goal and assist. His overall numbers are weighed down by a poor start to the season, but he has 17 points in his last 20 games.
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Evgeni Malkin returned to the lineup this weekend after sitting out most of the calendar year due to injuries. His minutes were restricted but his production wasn't as he tallied three points, including a goal and assist on Sunday. I imagine he was dropped in numerous leagues due to his recent absences and lack of production, because he's currently rostered in just 42% of Yahoo formats. It seems like the Four Nations break gave him a chance to get healthy again, so he could be a sneaky addition to your fantasy roster down the stretch.
Igor Shesterkin was integral to the Rangers winning a game in which they were outshout 39 to 16. He posted a .923 SV% on Sunday, marking the first time in his last seven outings he's registered a save percentage above .885.
Mika Zibanejad stayed hot with another assist, giving him 10 points in his last seven appearances. He's spent most of his minutes beside Artemi Panarin and J.T. Miller during this stretch, although he ended up beside Will Cuylle and Reilly Smith in the second half of Sunday's game, so we'll have to pay attention to line combinations in New York for the next little while.
Adam Fox also stayed hot, tallying a goal and assist to achieve a six-game point streak.
It's been all-or-nothing so far for J.T. Miller in his second stint with the Rangers. Through seven appearances with the team, he has four two-point showings and three scoreless affairs. He's been a physical force consistently though, racking up at least three hits in six of those seven games.
Chris Kreider missed Sunday's game with an upper-body injury and is officially day-to-day.
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Jordan Binnington brought confidence from his recent Four Nations Championship into Sunday's game against the high-octane Avalanche, stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced. Binnington's numbers this season are worse than last year, but let's see if he can ride momentum from the Four Nations Final down the stretch.
Robert Thomas extended his point streak to six games with an assist against the Avs. He's having another strong season and is shooting the puck more than years past, but his power play production has been lacklustre. The team's best players were stacked on one top unit last year, and Thomas was the straw that stirred the drink, registering a point on 79% of PP goals scored while he was on the ice. With two balanced units being used this year, Thomas hasn't played the same key role in St. Louis' PP offense, posting a point on just 61% of goals scored while he's on the ice with the man advantage. To make matters worse, the Blues rank dead last in power-play opportunities per game (2.28).
No points for Martin Necas on Sunday but he led Avs' forwards in ice time again. He's seeing 23 minutes a night so far in his tenure with Colorado – a sizable jump from the 18 minutes he was averaging in Carolina.
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Andrei Vasilevskiy led Tampa to a 4-1 victory over Seattle Sunday, stopping 36 of the 37 shots he faced. Since December 5th, Vasilevskiy leads the league with an impressive .929 SV% (min. 12 games played).
Nikita Kucherov, who missed Tampa's final game before the Four Nations break with an upper-body injury, returned to the lineup Sunday and scored a goal on three shots through 18 minutes of action.
Fresh off some long overdue recognition in the Four Nations Face Off, Brandon Hagel went right back to work for Tampa, tallying a goal and assist on Sunday. He has 13 points in his last seven appearances with the Lightning.
In his NHL debut, 28-year-old Ales Stezka allowed three goals on 22 shots. I'd want to see more from him before making any judgments because he was up against a tough Tampa team on Sunday. Regardless, Joey Daccord has been excellent in Seattle and isn't under any threat of losing the starting gig.
Kaapo Kakko hasn't been as productive lately as he was when he first joined the Kraken, but he continues to see increased opportunity. He skated a near season-high 21:43 Sunday and racked up a season-high six shots on net.
Is Shane Wright on the world's quietest heater? He leads the Kraken in scoring over the past three months, boasting 32 points in his last 38 games. He's outscored big names like Sam Reinhart and Martin Necas during this stretch. Ice time has been an issue, but the offensive output and power-play production has certainly been there. He's still available in 93% of Yahoo Leagues as I write this…
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In his second start of the season, 24-year-old Nico Daws stepped in and stopped 29 shots for his first NHL shutout. Unfortunately, with Jacob Markstrom nearing a return from injury, Daws is probably headed back to the AHL soon. After falling victim to some awful netminding last year, the Devils have been spoiled with great goaltending this season.
Dougie Hamilton was a godsend in multicategory leagues Sunday as he racked up a goal, assist, two blocks, five shots, and six hits.
With an assist against Nashville, Jack Hughes now has points in nine of his last 10 games. He didn't score on Sunday, but it wasn't for lack of trying as he put a game-high eight shots on net.
Nico Hischier missed New Jersey's final six games before the break due to an oblique injury, so this weekend was his first game action in about a month. He's shaken off the rust quickly, posting three assists on Sunday.
Justus Annunen showed some promise in his first few games with Nashville, but that's becoming a distant memory as he's allowed four or more goals in each of his last four starts.
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Two goals on Sunday gives Cutter Gauthier 11 goals through 56 appearances this season. The 21-year-old's goal-scoring prowess hasn't translated to the NHL as quickly as some hoped, but considering six of his goals came in his last 14 appearances, things may be starting to click.
Speaking of young Ducks playing well lately, 20-year-old Leo Carlsson has six points in his last five outings.
Not to be outdone by his younger competition, Patrick Kane led the way with a game-high three points on Sunday, including the overtime winner. His production on the season may seem underwhelming, but Kane's been in good from lately with 21 points in his last 17 appearances.
The Red Wings' red-hot power-play was key to defeating the Ducks as three of Detroit's goals were scored with the man advantage. Detroit has the league's best power play over the past two months, clicking at 38.9%.
Moritz Seider was all over the scoresheet Sunday, racking up an assist, two shots, four blocks and seven hits. He has points in four of his last five games and has bounced back to a 50-point pace this season after returning to top-unit power-play duties. He's already matched last year's PP point total despite playing 25 fewer games.
Continuing the theme of multicategory magic, Marco Kasper tallied a goal, assist, block, three shots, and five hits on Sunday. Early in the season, Kasper was skating 14 minutes a night and had just seven points in his first 35 appearances. Since joining forces with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond on Detroit's top line, Kasper has 15 points in 17 games while averaging 16 minutes a night. He's also putting up roughly two shots and two hits per game during this period. Currently rostered in just 8% of Yahoo Leagues, Kasper could be a steal down the stretch.
Kasper's star linemates stayed hot on Sunday as Raymond tallied two assists to reach a five-game point streak, while Larkin registered an assist of his own. How about that line's work on this goal here:
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With two goals on Sunday, Nick Robertson broke a nine-game scoreless streak. He's scoring at a 16-goal pace despite seeing just 12 minutes of action a night. A change of scenery and increased opportunity are likely necessary to see his true potential.
This game was also a slump buster for Tyler Bertuzzi who had some extra fire against his former team, posting two assists against Toronto to snap a seven-game point drought.
A number of Blackhawks found the scoresheet on Sunday to extend their hot streaks.
Frank Nazar's assist gives him four points in his last four games.
Teuvo Teravainen's goal brings him to seven points in his last five.
Ryan Donato's power-play helper gives him 14 points in his last 12 appearances. During this stretch, he's averaging nearly 17 minutes a night and enjoying a 65% share of power-play time. Prior to this stretch, he was skating less that 15 minutes a night and saw 43% of Chicago's total power-play time. Although Donato has been skating with Connor Bedard lately, that gig might not last long term.
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Marc Gatcomb, whose value is primarily in banger leagues as he's averaging 4.15 hits per game, quietly has four points in his last seven outings. He's not getting the deployment to be an offensive producer long term, but it's a nice bonus to the hits you rely on him for.
On the heels of an impressive stretch that saw him limit opponents to two goals or fewer in six-straight games, Ilya Sorokin has now allowed four goals in three-straight starts.
Seeing Ovi tally three goals on nine shots earlier in the day, Jason Robertson decided to take it a step further with three goals in nine minutes Sunday night. Since December 29th, Robertson ranks second in goals and third in points across the league. What an incredible bounce back after his slow start to the campaign.
Sunday marked Matt Duchene's fourth-straight multipoint outing. Since January 14th, he ranks third in league scoring with 21 points in 15 games. Just incredible stuff from the 34-year-old this season.
22-year-old Logan Stankoven, who entered Sunday with just two points in his last 13 appearances, ended up being a healthy scratch against the Islanders. He was incredible during the opening weeks of the campaign but has been very quiet over the last three months.
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A low-scoring affair between Utah and Vancouver featured a listless Canucks team that got outshout 32-15. It's hard to be too critical of Vancouver considering they're missing one of the league's best players in Quinn Hughes, who remains sidelined with an oblique injury. They're also missing top netminder Thatcher Demko, who got injured just as he was starting to find his game. Goaltending wasn't an issue Sunday though as young Arturs Silovs stood tall in his first NHL game in almost three months. A showing like this could earn him more trust down the stretch, lessening Kevin Lankinen's workload while Demko is sidelined.
Jake DeBrusk has been a streaky goal scorer this season but seems to be in the middle of a hot streak as Sunday's goal gives him four tallies in his last seven appearances.
Clayton Keller factored in on both of Utah's goals Sunday, putting him on pace for 91 points over 82 games, which would be a career high.
Logan Cooley had been injured prior to the Four Nations break, so Sunday was his first game in almost a month. He was eased into action with less than 14 minutes of ice time – well shy of the 20 minutes he flirted with prior to injury – but still managed to score. Given his excellent play this season, Cooley should be rostered in more than just 45% of Yahoo Leagues.
Speaking of amazing young talent in Utah, Dylan Guenther's game-winning goal on Sunday gives him five goals and four assists amidst a six-game point streak. He's also achieved the much more difficult feat of a four-game power-play point streak.
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Nazem Kadri was key to Calgary's victory over San Jose, registering a goal and an assist. He's currently riding a six-game point streak.
Kadri isn't the only Flame on fire as Jonathan Huberdeau's helper on Sunday extended his point streak to five games.
Like Kadri, Tyler Toffoli is also up to a six-game point streak after tallying a goal and assist on Sunday. He's having a solid first year with the Sharks, scoring at a 30-goal pace.
Rookie Macklin Celebrini had another strong performance with a goal, hit, two blocks, six shots, and seven faceoff wins through 20 minutes of action. It's hard to imagine that he's 18 years old and scoring at a 73-point pace in the NHL.
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Thanks for reading! Hope you have an awesome week ahead!