Welcome back to another extended matchup in fantasy hockey. The all-star break affects Week 17 in a few ways, so Jason Chen explains what to know.
Welcome back to another extended matchup in fantasy hockey. The all-star break affects Week 17 in a few ways, so Jason Chen explains what to know.
With the All-Star Game over the weekend, Week 17 will span two weeks from Jan. 30 to Feb. 12. That’s an extra three days’ worth of games in head-to-head matchups since the break will take place from Thursday to Sunday, but there are only six games combined during those three days.
There will be no additional transaction moves tacked on to your league’s default settings, so the strategy is to use as few as moves as possible – preferably none, actually – during the first three days of the matchup. Even with the extra long week, the maximum number of games per team for Week 17 is four games while seven teams will play just two games. The teams playing four games – Ducks, Oilers, Wild, Islanders, Rangers, Flyers, Kraken, Lightning and Canucks – will not see any action prior to the All-Star Game, giving them quite a condensed schedule, and all of them will play at least one back-to-back.
The Bruins, Sabres, Kings, Sens, Blues and Jets should be avoided since they play one game before the break and only one more game after the break. The Preds also only play twice, but both their games will be after the break. The Kings and Sabres face the toughest opponents this week, and despite their excellent offenses their fantasy upside is already capped with so few games, too. The Jets face the easiest opponents hosting the Blues and Blackhawks at home, but they’ll need to bounce back from a public tongue-lashing by Rick Bowness to take advantage of their good fortune.
Here’s your Week 17 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. Ivan Provorov, D, PHI (2.39)
2. Rasmus Ristolainen, D, PHI (2.23)
3. Scott Mayfield, D, NYI (2.12)
4. Mikhail Sergachev, D, TB (2.11)
5. Adam Larsson, D, SEA (2.04)
6. Jacob Middleton, D, MIN (1.87)
7. Alexander Romanov, D, NYI (1.85)
8. Jamie Oleksiak, D, DAL (1.74)
9. Nick Seeler, D, PHI (1.71)
10. Travis Sanheim, D, PHI (1.69)
Hits (Hits/GP):
1. Nicolas Deslauriers, LW, PHI (3.96)
2. Matt Martin, LW, NYI (3.88)
3. Marcus Foligno, LW/RW, MIN (3.59)
4. Erik Cernak, D, TB (3.18)
5. Brandon Duhaime, LW/RW, MIN (3.04)
6. Patrick Brown, C, PHI (2.88)
7. Klim Kostin, LW/RW, EDM (2.85)
8. Adam Larsson, D, SEA (2.80)
9. Curtis Lazar, C/RW, VAN (2.77)
10. Ryan Reaves, RW, MIN (2.71)
Goalies:
Dan Vladar, Flames
Vladar’s on a personal five-game winning streak, and he’s started three of the past four games. Even if the Flames don’t publicly admit it, Vladar is at least temporarily the No. 1 goalie in Calgary going forward. Even when Jacob Markstrom plays well, he’s not winning games, and in a tight Pacific Division race, the Flames will need the wins any way they can get them. Go ahead and pick up Vladar in your league.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Sabres
It’s going to be really interesting to see what the Sabres do with their rotation because UPL has arrived faster than expected, and he should be their starting goalie as they fight for a roster spot. Eric Comrie beat the Jets in his previous start but faced only 21 shots, and based on performance this season, he should be the No. 3. But the Sabres seem pretty committed to giving Comrie his share of the starts. Regardless, UPL is worth rostering as both a strong mid-tier goalie and a potential keeper. We’re still waiting for that second-half downturn from Craig Anderson, and if that should come, look for UPL to get even more starts.
Alex Lyon, Panthers
Fourth-string Mack Guzda was re-assigned to the AHL on Sunday, but that did not come with any updates to Spencer Knight, who remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. It’s possible that Knight isn’t ready, and Guzda’s re-assignment was just a paper move, which means Lyon will continue to start going forward. The Panthers are 3-2-1 with Lyon in net, and he’s mixed in some strong performances with weak ones. Combined with the Panthers’ own inconsistent play, he's a dicey fantasy play. Aside from the Feb. 9 matchup against San Jose, it’s advisable not to stream Lyon until we receive an update on Knight’s status.
Matt Murray, Maple Leafs
Murray has an ankle injury, and it should be announced soon how much time he’s expected to miss. He wasn’t available to even dress as the backup, which means Ilya Samsonov gets a huge fantasy boost as the Leafs’ starter going forward with Joseph Woll backing him up. Murray started the season as the 1A option, but his poor play and current injury now put him firmly behind Samsonov. Murray can either be stashed on an IR+ slot until he’s officially placed on the injured reserve. Samsonov has played well, but given both goalies’ past history of being unreliable, there’s always a chance Murray wins back the starting job upon his return.
Jonathan Quick, Kings
Quick still has not won a game since Dec. 1 and allowed five goals on 25 shots against the Lightning in his previous start. It was a tough matchup, but it once again is further proof that his career is quickly drawing to a close and has zero fantasy value. Pheonix Copley is widely available in most Yahoo leagues and will be their starter going forward unless they make a move to bring in someone else.
Short-Term Streamers (< 50 percent rostered on Yahoo):
Aatu Raty, C, Islanders
The Isles re-assigned Raty to the minors, but he could be back after the all-star break. Loaning him to AHL Bridgeport will give Raty some playing time, and if Cal Clutterbuck – the Isles are currently carrying 11 healthy forwards – isn’t ready to return, look for Raty to get re-called. The Finnish forward is one of the Isles’ top prospects, and while he’s getting fourth-line minutes at even strength, he skated a few shifts with Mathew Barzal in his previous game. He’s a high-risk, high-upside option for fantasy managers in a pinch.
Barrett Hayton, C, Coyotes
Hayton’s name has popped up once or twice in this space, and he’s yet on another bender as the Coyotes’ top center. He’s scored three points in three games and provides a steady stream of shots and faceoff wins on a team without a bona fide center. He’s the only one who’s winning at least 50 percent of his faceoffs. He’s got the best finishers on the team on his flanks in Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, and it doesn’t get any better than that in the desert.
Micheal Eyssimont, C/RW, Sharks
The Sharks will likely begin their firesale soon, but Eyssimont already has a step on the internal competition for minutes as their second-line left winger. (That also means Eyssimont will likely be eligible for all three forward positions soon). Eyssimont was a top scorer for St. Cloud State and proved his mettle as a top-six forward in the AHL. Now, he’s translated that into the NHL where he’s scored six points in the past eight games. The upside likely isn’t very high for a career minor leaguer playing on a bad team, but Eyssimont also isn’t afraid to shoot the puck or throw hits, two categories that can really endear himself to managers in banger leagues.
Dakota Joshua, C/LW, Canucks
Joshua’s excelled under Rick Tocchet, and his physical north-south game will endear him to the Canucks’ renewed commitment to playing better defense. His ice time has already gotten a bump, and he’s skating alongside Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser on the second line, scoring three points in three games with 10 hits, 5 shots and a fighting major. The Canucks play four games in Week 17, making Joshua a sneaky streaming play.
Mid-Term Holds (< 50 percent rostered on Yahoo):
Boone Jenner, C, Blue Jackets
It’s always a little perplexing to see Jenner available in so many leagues. The Jackets captain doesn’t put up the points despite getting enough of them centering Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine, but he’s a certified Banger League Beast™ with so many faceoff wins and hits.
J.T. Compher, C/RW, Avalanche
In a similar vein, Compher’s a valuable all-around forward in leagues that count the peripheral stats. He’s skating as the second-line center with Mikko Rantanen on his wing and is already three points shy of tying his career high. On the high-scoring Avs, Compher will have plenty of chances to score points, and his role will not change unless the Avs trade for another top-six player, at which point Jared Bednar will certainly mix up his lines again.
Kirby Dach, C/RW, Canadiens
The Habs have so many regulars on injured reserve – count ‘em: Monahan, Evans, Drouin, Slafkovsky, Armia, Gallagher and Caufield will likely join them soon – that they’re really relying on a select few players. One of those is Dach, who’s skated over 22 minutes in four straight games even though he averaged a little over 18 per game for the season. The extra playing time has afforded him more opportunities to pad his stats. Dach should be a valuable all-around depth forward for contributions in points, shots and faceoffs.