Injuries and trades are affecting the fantasy hockey value of a handful of players in the NHL. Jason Chen previews the week and lists the players to add.
A week following the All-Star Game, the NHL is back to its regular schedule. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday will again be the busiest, but no day this week will have fewer than five games (Monday, Friday). That’s good for fantasy hockey managers because that means there will be no light days this week in case you need to catch up.
Ten teams play four times this week, with only the Flyers and Knights playing two games. Neither of them, however, face easy matchups. The Flyers are playing both of their games on the road on the opposite coast in Seattle and Vancouver, and there’s always a chance their roster will be further depleted if they trade some of their players. The Knights will be without Logan Thompson (more on that later) and host the rival Sharks and the Lightning, who stumbled following the all-star break but made a huge statement in a 5-0 win against the Avs.
Here’s your Week 18 schedule breakdown.
Legend:
P% = season points percentage
Opp. P% = opponents’ season points percentage
Diff. = difference between P% and Opp. P%
Pick players from teams at the top of the schedule matrix to maximize games and matchups. Green is good. Red is bad. All advanced stats courtesy naturalstatrick.com. All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo fantasy.
Top 10 Weekly Bangers (< 50 percent rostered on Yahoo, on teams with four games this week):
Blocked Shots (BkS/GP):
1. Ben Chiarot, D, DET (2.24)
2. Jonas Brodin, D, MIN (2.20)
3. Andrew Peeke, D, CLB (2.18)
4. Connor Murphy, D, CHI (2.16)
5. Jake McCabe, D, CHI (2.13)
6. Ryan McDonagh, D, NSH (2.12)
7. Ryan Graves, D, NJ (1.96)
8. Erik Gudbranson, D, CLB (1.90)
9. Jonas Siegenthaler, D, NJ (1.90)
10. Jacob Middleton, D, MIN (1.82)
Hits (Hits/GP):
1. Parker Kelly, LW/RW, OTT (3.06)
2. Brandon Duhaime, LW/RW, MIN (3.03)
3. Sammy Blais, LW/RW, STL (2.98)
4. Reese Johnson, C/RW, CHI (2.95)
5. Andreas Englund, D, COL (2.93)
6. Robert Hagg, D, DET (2.93)
7. Cole Smith, LW, NSH (2.77)
8. Sean Kuraly, C, CLB (2.67)
9. Ryan Reaves, RW, MIN (2.66)
10. Mathieu Olivier, RW, CLB (2.56)
Goalies:
Adin Hill, Golden Knights
The injury to Thompson means Hill will take over the starter’s crease while Laurent Brossoit, who was competing for the No. 2 job before the season, will be the backup. This is not good for the Knights, who are amid a tight Pacific Division race and cannot afford to lose any more ground. They were 12 points ahead of the Oilers at some point, and now they’re within just one win of each other.
Hill’s worth picking up right away. With Jack Eichel busting his slump (four points in two games), Hill should get goal support. The Knights also make things easy for their goalies, so generally speaking, they can avoid those big blow-up losses. Brossoit is unlikely to threaten Hill’s starting job since Brossoit (8-11-3/.909/2.72) and Jiri Patera (7-12-1/.916/2.62) were only treading water with AHL Henderson. Don’t rule out the Knights going big-name hunting again in net, and they can afford to do so after placing Mark Stone on LTIR.
Joseph Woll, Maple Leafs
Ilya Samsonov will be the starter, but Woll will be an interesting streaming option going forward. The Leafs are an excellent team, and their chances of winning are usually quite high. With three games this week, there will be little pressure to use Woll. Note they have a weekend back-to-back, though it should be wins against the Habs and Hawks. Samsonov’s problem is that he’s extremely streaky, but unless he’s really imploding, the Leafs will likely stick with him through thick and thin. There’s little confidence right now after the Leafs lost to the Jackets last week.
Mads Sogaard, Senators
The Senators have no reason to find additional goaltending help, which means the stater’s crease will likely be Sogaard’s for the rest of the season. The playoffs are out of reach, impending UFA Cam Talbot should be trade bait since he doesn’t figure into the long-term plans, and Anton Forsberg is out for two to three months after tearing his left and right MCL.
The Sens’ AHL affiliate has not been particularly good this season, and none of its other options, including Antoine Bibeau and Kevin Mandolese, who was called up Sunday and will be the backup, are particularly intriguing. Sogaard will help fantasy managers if they’re looking for some starts and saves, but their defense isn’t very good – Jake Sanderson is also injured and will miss at least two weeks – and the only reprieve will be that the Sens' offense can potentially score them out of trouble. The test will come quickly with a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday, and expect to see Sogaard and Mandolese in action.
Short-Term Streamers (< 50 percent rostered on Yahoo):
Nino Niederreiter, LW, Predators
Filip Forsberg is considered day to day with an upper-body injury after he was hit by Rasmus Ristolainen and forced to leave the game. It was a scary moment with Forsberg looking dazed and having a lot of trouble getting off the ice by himself. If Forsberg is to miss additional time, the Preds will have a very interesting decision to make. They’re in the midst of the playoff race, and I wouldn’t rule out outside help, even if it wouldn’t be prudent for them to do so. Niederreiter may be the top choice to take over some of Forsberg’s offensive responsibilities. He’s the most logical player to move up the depth chart, though there’s a trickle-down effect, with perhaps Yakov Trenin playing a bigger role as well. Managers looking for some scoring on the wing should consider Niederreiter, who also provides a fair amount of hits for extra value in banger leagues.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard, LW, Canadiens
Harvey-Pinard is the third seventh-rounder in the 2019 NHL draft to play in a game behind Nashville’s Juuso Parssinen and Pittsburgh’s Valtteri Puustinen. Harvey-Pinard was an undersized but effective scorer with QMJHL Rouyn-Noranda, finishing second in team scoring the year he was drafted and was once a teammate of Isles defenseman Noah Dobson.
With a slew of injuries to their regulars, Harvey-Pinard was called up to provide some offense. He’s done that in spades, scoring six goals in his past seven games playing on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Josh Anderson. The question: is this a sustainable streak? The easy answer is “no,” but two things work in his favour in fantasy: he’s getting a lot of ice time, and his coach would know all about being overlooked as an undersized scorer. He’s also contributed 27 hits and 13 blocks in nine games, making him a solid all-round banger league option. Harvey-Pinard shares a similar profile to the Blues’ Noel Acciari, who ranks seventh and 12th overall in hits and blocked shots, respectively, among the league’s forwards.
Mid-Term Holds (< 50 percent rostered on Yahoo):
Ondrej Palat, LW, Devils
The Devils’ offense will take a huge hit with Jack Hughes injured, but they still provide many good options up front. Palat’s on a three-game point streak and scored 10 points in 14 games upon his return from injury. With 44 hits and 25 blocks in 20 games this season, he’s also a great add in banger leagues. Palat’s as consistent as they come, and in leagues with at least 10 teams, he should be rostered right away.
Anthony Beauvillier, LW/RW, Canucks
When Beauvillier arrived in Vancouver, he had pigeonholed himself as a middle-six winger due to his lack of finishing ability. However, since joining the Canucks, he’s scored a goal in each of his past two games and shown really good chemistry with top center Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser. Pettersson has elevated the play of his linemates this season (see: Kuzmenko, Andrei), and Beauvillier might have just been the biggest winner in that blockbuster trade. He’s averaging over 18 minutes after averaging less than 16 with the Isles.