Friday’s schedule featured only one game while Saturday has 14 games, which is my way of saying tomorrow’s Ramblings will probably be quite a bit longer than today’s. Friday provided a few topics for discussion, though.
The only game on the schedule saw the Blue Jackets defeat the Blackhawks in Chicago by a score of 4-2. Charlie Coyle was in on all four Jackets’ goals, scoring three of them himself while also assisting on Mathieu Olivier‘s goal. Coyle also took six shots and won 13 of his 20 faceoffs. Coyle, who recently played his 1000th game, is scorching hot with eight points and a plus-7 over his last three games. In addition, he has at least one goal and two points in each of those three games. He has also been thriving on the Jackets’ top power play with four power-play points over his last nine games. Coyle, who is in his first season with Columbus, is worth adding in most leagues (27% Yahoo, 35% Fantrax) while he is on a bender.
Coyle’s hat trick is the 31st hat trick of January. That is the highest hat trick total in any one month in NHL history.
Olivier has back-to-back games with two points with his value being boosted by playing on a line with Coyle. Because he also averages over 3.5 hits per game, Olivier is flexing his muscles in multicategory leagues.
With two assists, Zach Werenski has seven points over his last four games. Werenski is currently tied for the league lead in scoring among defensemen, as both he and Evan Bouchard have 59 points. Werenski’s total is in six fewer games than Bouchard, which makes him the highest per-game scoring defenseman (1.20 PTS/GP).
The new coach bounce is definitely happening in Columbus. Since Rick Bowness took over from Dean Evason, the Blue Jackets have a record of 7-1-0. Despite the recent run, the Jackets are still six points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi each had two points in the loss. Bedard has four points over his last three games.
The Blackhawks recalled Sam Rinzel on Friday and immediately installed him onto the top power play. Although he was held without a point in this game, Rinzel took three shots and blocked four shots in 22 minutes of icetime. Rinzel was drafted in many leagues because he was projected to be on the Hawks’ top power play, but he was demoted to the AHL in early December after recording just eight points and no power-play points in 28 games. Rinzel recorded 10 points in 19 games with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.
To make room for Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov was healthy scratched for this game. Levshunov has no points over his last nine games and is a minus-27 for the season, including a minus-5 in Thursday’s 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh. The Blackhawks have only two more games before the Olympic break, and it’s possible that Levshunov could be scratched for those games as well. Levshunov had been on the top power play until Friday, and he is currently the Hawks’ top-scoring defenseman with 21 points in 52 games, including 11 power-play points. Once he returns to the lineup, he still seems likely to return to PP1 given his success there.
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According to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast, Artemi Panarin is seeking a total value of $50 million on a new contract. A Panarin trade may not be imminent because he is reportedly trying to agree on an extension with an acquiring team. Panarin continues to be out of the Rangers’ lineup while they attempt to work out a trade. All of this means that Panarin’s next game could be after the Olympic break.
To summarize the list of potential destinations that Friedman listed, it seems like an acquiring team would need the cap space for his current contract (minus possible retention), as well as future cap space. That might rule out capped-out current contenders (eg. Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Vegas) while opening the door for up-and-coming teams with more cap flexibility (eg. San Jose, Utah, Detroit, Anaheim – just listing examples off the top of my head – not intended to be a full list).
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Were you one of the few daring souls that started Nikita Tolopilo on Thursday night? Tolopilo stopped all 32 shots he faced against Anaheim, but he was not credited with the shutout. Why? Tolopilo missed the first two minutes of the second period because he was being evaluated for a concussion during the first intermission. Kevin Lankinen covered the net for those two minutes, so the Canucks received a team shutout instead in their 2-0 win over Anaheim. Any Canucks goalie is risky given their place at the bottom of the standings, but Tolopilo might receive some run during the Canucks’ remaining games now that Thatcher Demko is out for the season and Lankinen struggling to handle his new workload.
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Let’s get you set up for the weekend. Be sure to check your scoring period, as it may be extended until Thursday, which is the last day of NHL games before the Olympic break.
Teams with games on both Saturday and Sunday: Carolina, Los Angeles, Vegas
LA’s five-game week turned into a four-game week, thanks to the game cancelled on Monday because of the winter storm in Columbus. The Kings were likely happy about receiving the extra rest day on an already tight schedule, but they still have to play back-to-backs on Saturday and Sunday. Anton Forsberg is likely to start one of those two games, for those of you looking for a streamer in net.
Last weekend I mentioned Alex Laferriere as a player to target based on the Kings’ five-game week. Checking in on him, Laferriere has one assist in two games this week while playing on Adrian Kempe‘s line. He is still a good player to add for the weekend.
Checking in on Drew Doughty: no points in 14 games. Over his past three games, Doughty has one shot, two hits, and three blocks. Doughty was replaced by Brandt Clarke on the top power play on Thursday, although the Kings received only 2:11 of power-play time in that game. If things don’t turn around for Doughty this weekend, I could be talked into dropping him outright.
Jackson Blake is another potential add for the weekend. Just 10% rostered in Yahoo, Blake has points in each of his last three games and eight points in his last 10 games. Blake is not on the top line or the top power play, but the Canes have won five of their last six games, so he has been getting in on the spoils anyway.
Frederik Andersen is the likely starter today (Saturday) against the Capitals, according to GoaliePost. Andersen has four quality starts compared to eight really bad starts this season, so he is an empty calorie option in net where he could boost your team with a win but risk inflating your ratios in the process.
Teams with games on neither Saturday nor Sunday: Chicago
The Blackhawks have plenty of cold players that could be dropped, including the aforementioned Levshunov. The only Hawks that are rostered in at least 50% of Yahoo leagues are Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi, while Frank Nazar is the only other Chicago player that is rostered in at least 20% of Yahoo leagues. Much of the Blackhawks’ young roster is better suited for keeper leagues than single-season leagues anyway.
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