Salary Cap Projections Update For Next Season Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk0NTEwMDUyNjI1NzUzNzEw/usatsi_19590348.jpg] It’s a 13-game Saturday plus five more on Sunday, and if you’re desperate to catch up after falling behind earlier in the week, note the Jets, Rangers, Sens, Hurricanes and Sharks are playing back-to-backs over the weekend. The Sharks will be the most fresh, having played just one game since last Saturday, and five teams entered the weekend with perfect records: Wild, Lightning, Sens, Canes and Pens. Here’s your weekend fantasy rundown. SATURDAY BLUE JACKETS AT BRUINS (1 P.M. ET) These weekend matinee games are always a little funky, but there’s little reason to think the Bruins can finish the job. David Krejci is expected to be back in the lineup, which means he’ll play with David Pastrnak, and Jake DeBrusk will move back up to the top line. This makes Krejci a good short-term hold and/or a streaming option, especially against a Jackets defense that has three rookies: Jake Christiansen, Tim Berni and Marcus Bjork. Linus Ullmark shut out the Jackets in their previous meeting on Oct. 28. Meanwhile, the Jackets are looking to avoid their third straight loss and they’ve scored just one goal in their past two games against the Lightning and Panthers. SENATORS AT RED WINGS (1 P.M. ET) The Wings are looking to avoid their fifth straight loss against the red-hot Sens, but it’s going to be really difficult without top center Dylan Larkin and perhaps top PP QB Filip Hronek, who took a devastating hit from Ryan Reaves in Minnesota and will be a game-time decision due to a concussion. The injuries have forced the Wings to shuffle their lines, and note rookie Jonatan Berggren – featured many times in this space already – is slated to skate on a line with David Perron and Michael Rasmussen, but his ice time will be difficult to predict and it’s more likely the Wings roll all four lines anyway. The Sens are doing fine so far with Shane Pinto as their top center, and Cam Talbot has won three straight starts with only four goals allowed. The Sens should be able to take this game. DUCKS AT OILERS (4 P.M. ET) Do the Ducks even stand a chance? They’re so bad, the Oilers likely won’t have to lean on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as much, but their depth is so bad you wonder where the offense will come from. This is one of the few times where streaming Kailer Yamamoto or even Mattias Janmark is a defensible move. John Gibson is currently injured, so look for Lukas Dostal to get the start. He’s a highly touted goalie, but no goalie on earth can succeed playing behind a team like that. STARS AT HURRICANES (7 P.M. ET) No Sebastian Aho for the entire weekend, which means Paul Stastny is a good streaming option again as their top center, and note that the return of Jesper Fast has put Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas on the top line. The bad news is they’ll be facing Jake Oettinger, and it’s a potential goalie showdown with Pyotr Kochetkov at the other end of the ice. Both teams are pretty good at defending, but I’d give the edge to the Stars because it’s going to be really hard to keep Jason Robertson off the board. On a similar yet opposite note, Teuvo Teravainen has zero goals (!) through 19 games this season. He’s due. RANGERS AT FLYERS (7 P.M. ET) The Flyers haven’t strung two wins together since Nov. 5 to 8, while the Rangers are looking for their sixth straight win. The Flyers’ best fantasy options lately have been James van Riemsdyk (ick) and Morgan Frost (far too inconsistent, like a toilet seat) with a combined nine points in four games, and even if Jaroslav Halak gets the start for the Rangers, I wouldn’t trust them. There is some value in Cam York, however, who is averaging over 20 minutes per game and should continue to get PP time with Tony DeAngelo out of the lineup for personal reasons. The Rangers have won seven of their past 10 meetings. LIGHTNING AT CANADIENS (7 P.M. ET) Tampa’s on a roll, having lost just three times over the past month. Andrei Vasilevskiy is 12-1-2/.938/1.98 all-time against the Habs, who have lost two in a row and five of their past seven. They should come out with a much better effort this game though, having suffered an embarrassing loss to the Ducks, who won just their second game in regulation all season. Scoring depth has been a problem for the Habs, who have gotten 32 goals from Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki and 32 from the rest of the lineup. Notably, Jake Evans, Joel Armia and Jonathan Drouin have zero goals in 63 combined games. MAPLE LEAFS AT CAPITALS (7 P.M. ET) Having scored his 800th on the road and getting shut out the following game, I suspect Alex Ovechkin will tie or even surpass Gordie Howe on the all-time list on home ice. Ovechkin has scored 41 goals in 54 career games against the Leafs, and I think the Caps are going to keep feeding him the puck and play him as much as they humanly can until Ovechkin gets that record. It’s going to be a huge celebration, so look for the Caps to come out strong against a really tough opponent. This could be a goaltending showdown between Charlie Lindgren, who has won five of his past six starts and emerging as a very strong 1B goalie (he should be rostered in all leagues right now), and the Leafs’ double-headed dragon of Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov. The Leafs should have the advantage with a deeper lineup, and Samsonov, who’s expected to start, will be gunning for his third straight shutout. Timothy Liljegren will likely be a game-time decision, and if he’s not available, look for Jordie Benn to dress. This should not impact Rasmus Sandin’s fantasy value at all, who’s been excellent either paired with Liljegren or Mark Giordano. PANTHERS AT DEVILS (7:30 P.M. ET) This will be an interesting test for the reeling Devils, who are losing the debate as the East’s top team. The Bruins have surely pulled ahead while the Devils are trying to avoid their fifth straight loss. Despite generating tons of shots earlier in the season, the Devils offense has dried up with nine goals in their past four games with Akira Schmid and Vitek Vanecek splitting the starts. No word yet when Mackenzie Blackwood, who is on a conditioning assignment in the minors, will return, but he’s going to have to be really good to unseat Vanecek as the starter. Their job will be very tough now that Spencer Knight is back, and he’s expected to start after backing up Sergei Bobrovsky on Thursday. Knight should be the No. 1 going forward – there shouldn’t be any debate – and his return should stem the loss of Matthew Tkachuk, who is questionable after missing Thursday’s game due to illness. If Tkachuk misses the game, look for Grigori Denisenko to stay in the lineup. Drafted 15th overall in 2018, the shine on Denisenko is gone and he’s not even worth a speculative value play at this point. Zac Dalpe’s your guy playing on a line with Sam Bennett. SABRES AT COYOTES (9 P.M. ET) The Sabres are fun, fun, fun, but so is Karel Vejmelka, who has been excellent. Fantasy managers who like rolling the dice can do so with Vejmelka, but as entertaining as he’s been, the Coyotes still get blown out more often than not. They can be overlooked on offense, however, and Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse and Matias Maccelli should be good options against a banged-up Sabres defense. Owen Power was a late scratch on Thursday, leaving the Sabres to lean heavily on Rasmus Dahlin (definitely a Norris candidate) and the underappreciated Mattias Samuelsson. Look for minor-league journeyman Jeremy Davies to make his season debut. Jeff Skinner is also expected to be in the lineup following his three-game suspension, likely bumping Casey Mittelstadt off the top line and Vinnie Hinostroza from the lineup. PREDATORS AT AVALANCHE (9 P.M. ET) John Hynes can juggle the lines all he wants, but this team just can’t score. They’ve lost five straight with only eight goals scored, and Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene have just one helper each over the past week. Aside from Roman Josi, they’ve (unsurprisingly) been a disappointment this season after career bests from multiple players last season. The player to watch on the Avs is J.T. Compher, a utility-knife player who’s doing it all for the Avs and will likely center Mikko Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen. Alex Newhook got a chance, but he’s still on a steep learning curve and has yet to show the offensive skill that made him a first-round pick in 2019, which means Evan Rodrigues is still the better streaming option. Perhaps next year for Newhook’s breakout. ISLANDERS AT GOLDEN KNIGHTS (10 P.M. ET) Paul Cotter is questionable for this game after leaving Thursday’s game with an injury, which means the ‘Misfits Line’ will likely be leaned on once again. Given the numerous players the Knights have cycled through, it’s still amazing that this line remains their most reliable and intact. If Cotter is not available, my guess is William Carrier moves up the depth chart, and look for Jonas Rondbjerg to draw into the lineup, though his usage should be very minimal. One of my favourites to watch since last season has been Daniil Miromanov, who has four points in seven games and is a quality streaming option. JETS AT CANUCKS (10 P.M. ET) An optimist will note the Canucks have won five of their past eight, but a pessimist will note that all five wins came in extra time. The story has been the same all season – the Canucks can score, but they can’t keep it out of their net. The bad news for them is Connor Hellebuyck is 11-4-0/.941/1.74 all-time against the Canucks, who also may not have Brock Boeser in the lineup after he was a late scratch on Wednesday. If you’re looking for a good value play in case the Jets blow out the Canucks, look at Morgan Barron, who has three points in four games. SHARKS AT KINGS (10:30 P.M. ET) The Kings return home after a brutal six-game road trip in which they were shut out twice, but the silver lining has been the play of Pheonix Copley, who allowed only two goals against the Bruins. It would not be surprising to see Copley back in net, because the Kings are desperately in need of quality goaltending. It feels like it’s going to be a close match even though it really shouldn’t. Scoring is neither team’s forte, and it’ll likely come down to goaltending. The Sharks may have the edge with James Reimer back in the crease. Given the uncertainty on offense and in net, it’s best that fantasy managers avoid this matchup if they can. SUNDAY SENATORS AT WILD (2 P.M. ET) As I said earlier, weekend matinees should be avoided because funny things tend to happen. Teams are out of rhythm with the early start and the underdogs have been very good this season. The Sens will be playing the second half of a back-to-back with Anton Forsberg likely in the crease, foregoing a revenge game opportunity for Talbot and the Wild likely going with Filip Gustavsson in their rotation. If that’s your goaltending matchup, I expect to see goals. PENGUINS AT HURRICANES (5 P.M. ET) This is a matchup the Canes have dominated in recent seasons, winning six of their past eight meetings. They’ve been either close games or one team has blown out the other, and considering the seven-game heater the Pens are on, I’d be inclined to give them the advantage. The Canes lack depth down the middle, and that’s a problem going up against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, not to mention Tristan Jarry has been low-key excellent all season. RANGERS AT BLACKHAWKS (7:30 P.M. ET) With Petr Mrazek getting the start on Friday, look for Arvid Soderblom to start this game. Neither will be good options, anyway; the Hawks can’t score and can’t defend, and rarely is Soderblom even a good option for streaming. He’s 2-9-2/.904/3.17 this season, and this is a revenge game for the Rangers after losing 5-2 on Dec. 3 with Halak in net. I would bet against the Hawks beating Igor Shesterkin, or even Halak for a second straight time, for obvious reasons. JETS AT KRAKEN (8 P.M. ET) Cracks are showing on the Kraken. Their goaltending is bad once again, they never defended particularly well or consistently and the Jets have been very good at limiting offensive chances under Rick Bowness. Despite the Jets playing the second half of a back-to-back with travel, they should still hold a distinct advantage. The Kraken have never beaten the Jets in their history, though they did come close last game with a 3-2 loss in overtime, but that’s when Martin Jones was actually playing well. FLAMES AT SHARKS (10 P.M. ET) The Flames play two consecutive games in San Jose in a weird schedule quirk, with Dan Vladar likely getting the start after Jacob Markstrom started three straight games and lost all of them. Even though Vladar got the Flames in the win column, it’s in their best interest to keep playing Markstrom in the hopes that he can turn his game around. It doesn’t help that he gets so little goal support, and given the uncertainty behind the Flames’ performances this season, I’m not so confident they can even pull off a win in this matchup.
