Montreal Canadiens season snapshot fantasy honors

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.
Today, a fantasy recap of the Montreal Canadiens at the pause:
NOTE: Rank for fantasy most valuable player is based on standard-category production to date.

MORE FANTASY COVERAGE:
Top 250 at pause
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Season snapshots
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Injury tracker
Fantasy MVP: Tomas Tatar, LW/RW (rank: 59) -- He leads the Montreal Canadiens with an NHL career-high 61 points (22 goals, 39 assists) in 68 games. Tatar is covering categories with a plus-5, 14 power-play points (tied with Nick Suzuki for the Montreal lead), 162 shots on goal and 79 hits mostly skating in a top-line and power-play role. Tatar has been valuable with injuries to forwards Jonathan Drouin and Brendan Gallagher and has 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in his past 24 games. It's worth noting Tatar missed Montreal's three games before the NHL's pause with an upper-body injury.
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Biggest surprise: Joel Armia, RW -- He was among the best fantasy waiver wire pickups prior to injuring his hand on Dec. 23. Armia had 21 points (12 goals, nine assists), a plus-6, four power-play points, 110 SOG and 92 hits in his first 35 games and was a top 100 overall fantasy player at the time. His 16 goals, 30 points and 155 SOG are NHL career highs, and he's one of 11 NHL players with at least 15 goals and 140 hits.
Unsung hero: Jeff Petry, D -- He leads Canadiens defensemen in points (40) and power-play points (12), impressive considering No. 1 option Shea Weber (36 points, eight PPP) has played only six fewer games. It's Petry's third consecutive season with at least 11 goals, 29 assists and 40 points, indicating he's been a valuable fantasy defenseman even when Weber is healthy. Petry has provided strong hits coverage with 177, which leads the Canadiens and ranks 21st in the NHL.

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