Can the Vancouver Canucks Afford Bo Horvat? Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk0MDcxMzAzMTk0NDIwNzQx/usatsi_19256473.jpg] After a jam-packed schedule last week due to American Thanksgiving, only eight teams are playing four games this week. Meanwhile, the Coyotes and Bruins play just twice. There are no off days this week, but we’re back to our regularly schedule programming with busy nights on Tuesday (nine games), Thursday (11 games) and Saturday (13 games). The Senators and Rangers will be the team to load up on for Wednesday and Friday since they’re the only teams to play on both days with their home-and-home series. Both teams offer up plenty of options. Igor Shesterkin has also not been the wall he was last season, and the Sens offense is talented enough to avoid getting shut out. The Predators play three times, but after two of their games were postponed last week due to a structural issue at Bridgestone Arena, it does cast some doubt about their ability to play their home game on Tuesday against the Ducks. No word yet on when the postponed games will be played. It does, however, provide them with an extended break but look for Juuse Saros and Kevin Lankinen to split the starts on their back-to-back road trip on Thursday and Friday. Legend: P% = season points percentage Opp. P% = opponents’ season points percentage Diff. = difference between P% and Opp. P% Green is good. Red is bad. All advanced stats courtesy naturalstatrick.com [http://www.naturalstattrick.com/]. All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo fantasy. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk0MDcxMTYzNjA3OTgzNjIx/week-8.png] TOP 10 WEEKLY BANGER PICKS (< 50 PERCENT ROSTERED ON YAHOO, ON TEAMS WITH FOUR GAMES THIS WEEK): BLOCKED SHOTS (BKS/GP): 1. Mikhail Sergachev, D, TB (2.45) 2. Mattias Samuelsson, D, BUF (2.38) 3. Erik Cernak, D, TB (2.25) 4. Ben Chiarot, D, DET (2.15) 5. Ian Cole, D, TB (2.12) 6. Dmitry Kulikov, D, ANA (2.05) 7. Mario Ferraro, D, SJ (2.04) 8. Ryan Lindgren, D, NYR (1.90) 9. Radim Simek, D, SJ (1.74) 10. Brett Kulak, D, EDM (1.71) HITS (HITS/GP): 1. Sammy Blais, LW/RW, NYR (3.58) 2. Erik Cernak, D, TB (3.38) 3. Adam Erne, LW/RW, DET (3.15) 4. Robert Hagg, D, DET (2.75) 5. Simon Benoit, D, ANA (2.61) 6. Michael Rasmussen, C/LW, DET (2.56) 7. Mattias Samuelsson, D, BUF (2.50) 8. Joe Veleno, C/LW, DET (2.47) 9. Jesse Puljujarvi, RW, EDM (2.29) 10. Ross Colton, C/LW/RW, TB (2.26) GOALIES: SPENCER MARTIN, CANUCKS The Canucks have basically split the starts in November between Thatcher Demko, who has yet to really improve after a disastrous first month, and Martin, who is really forcing his way into the starter’s spot. Consecutive wins against the Avs and Knights on the road will do that, and when the Canucks offense is rolling, as it is now, allowing a few goals won’t really hurt their chances of winning. It looks like Bruce Boudreau is going with the “win and you’re in” rotation, and it’s a relatively soft schedule coming up with the Sharks (twice), Coyotes and Canadiens. Grab Martin, stash him and enjoy the ride. PYOTR KOCHETKOV, HURRICANES Really interesting that Rod Brind’Amour went with Kochetkov for four straight games before going back to Antti Raanta, who snapped their five-game losing streak. It really wasn’t Kochetkov’s fault, of course – the Canes couldn’t score and their defense was uncharacteristically leaky – so it’s likely we’ll see Kochetkov back in net very soon. The Canes recently signed him to a four-year extension for a very good cap number at $2 million, which ensures that Kochetkov will be a big part of their plans going forward. There’s no return date set for Frederik Andersen. MATT MURRAY AND ILYA SAMSONOV, MAPLE LEAFS Erik Kallgren performed admirably last week with an overtime loss against the Isles and then limiting the Pens to just one goal. But with Samsonov’s imminent return, Kallgren is obviously the odd-man out, and the Leafs will go with a Murray-Samsonov rotation. How that rotation works out is anyone’s guess considering how mercurial both goalies are and Murray’s lengthy injury history, but the Leafs are 13-5-5 despite missing many key players, especially on the blue line. Even without Morgan Rielly, Leafs goalies are worth starting on a nightly basis. UKKO-PEKKA LUUKKONEN, SABRES Craig Anderson’s just too old to play all the time, and he’s split the starts evenly with Luukkonen over the past four games. The Sabres can be a real wild card because they run red-hot and ice-cold depending on how much offense they can get. It’s not an easy schedule coming up with the Avs, Lightning and then a home-and-home against the Pens, but UPL is a name to keep in mind for managers looking for a streaming start. DAN VLADAR, FLAMES Darryl Sutter said at the beginning of the season that he planned to play Vladar once a week, and he hasn’t really stuck to that plan. Vladar went two weeks without playing before starting two of their past three games, both of which were one-goal losses. Jacob Markstrom has struggled this season amidst high expectations after GM Brad Treliving swung for the fences, and while Markstrom’s usually not this bad for this long, there have been seasons in the past where he’s been underwhelming. The Flames also aren’t providing enough goal support to overcome their goaltending, and it’ll be interesting to see if the Flames start to give Vladar a little more playing time to provide a spark. JEREMY SWAYMAN, BRUINS Linus Ullmark left Friday’s game against the Canes with an apparent arm injury, which thrusts Swayman into the spotlight. Ullmark and Swayman were expected to be in a timeshare this season, but Ullmark ran away with the starting job. The Bruins are a very good team, which means Swayman should be good for some wins even if his peripheral stats won’t be good. Note the Bruins play only twice this week, giving Ullmark plenty of time to rest. SHORT-TERM STREAMERS (< 50 PERCENT ROSTERED ON YAHOO): DAWSON MERCER, C/RW, DEVILS Just because you’re winning a lot doesn’t mean you can’t mix it up. Lindy Ruff has mixed up his lines a little bit recently, and Mercer now finds himself on Jack Hughes’ line even though he’s spent most of the season attached at the hip with Yegor Sharangovich. Mercer is an excellent streaming play next to Hughes until Ruff switches it up again. NICHOLAS PAUL, C/LW, LIGHTNING Paul can be a frustrating player in fantasy hockey because he can be so streaky, and he often depends on his linemates to get on the scoresheet. Playing with Steven Stamkos helps immensely, and Paul has now scored two points in three of his past five games. Paul has extra value in roto leagues because he can get faceoff wins from a LW slot. JACK QUINN, LW/RW, SABRES The Sabres have a rotation to ensure all of their young players get some playing time, but it’s going to be hard to take Quinn out of the lineup when he’s scored four points in four games. The addition of Tyson Jost complicates things, but his experience alone may not keep him in the lineup considering his career so far has been very underwhelming. T.J. OSHIE, C/RW, CAPITALS Oshie has always been a much better player in real hockey than fantasy because he’s so clutch. No doubt his return is one reason why the Caps have won two of their past three games, but note that his physical play seems to have been taken up a notch this season. With PP1 opportunities and an above-average pace for hits, Oshie is an under-the-radar stash just in case he continues his hot streak. MID-TERM HOLDS (< 50 PERCENT ROSTERED ON YAHOO): DAVID KREJCI, C, BRUINS As long as Krejci gets to play alongside David Pastrnak, the points will continue to come in. Jim Montgomery has deployed Krejci’s line overwhelmingly in the offensive zone, starting Krejci in the offensive zone close to 70 percent of the time at 5-on-5, according to naturalstattrick.com. Naysayers will comment on Krejci’s sky-high and unsustainable 30.8 shooting percentage, but note that Krejci’s fantasy value will mostly be derived from setting up Pastrnak and making plays for PP2. KEVIN HAYES, C, FLYERS Sometimes, to score at a point-per-game pace, all you need is opportunities. Hayes is getting that in Philadelphia where there’s a real scarcity of scoring talent, and his 82-point pace is the best of his career. His talent alone doesn’t justify his current pace, but who else is going to take the offensive-zone chances and power-play time in Philly? You live with the bad plus-minus, but Hayes has been very good across the board in fantasy hockey this season. J.T. COMPHER, C/RW, AVALANCHE With news that Evan Rodrigues is week-to-week with an injury, look for Compher to move into that second-line center spot for the next little while. His offensive upside is really limited, but Compher can be a disruptive force on the forecheck and create his offensive opportunities that way. If he can capitalize on his opportunities with PP1, Compher definitely has some fantasy upside. ANDREI KUZMENKO, LW, CANUCKS Kuzmenko extended his point streak to five games against the Sharks, and he’s the real deal when it comes to offense. Brock Boeser took his spot on PP1, which is a bit of a bummer, but Kuzmenko and Elias Pettersson have shown fantastic chemistry at 5-on-5. Kuzmenko doesn’t offer much in other categories, but as long as he’s scoring – and the Canucks are very good at doing that – he’ll have value in most standard fantasy leagues.
