From THN On The 'E': EBUG Story of the Ages, Josh Manisacalco and More. THN.com/podcast Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk0OTg3MDg2ODU4NjkxNzgz/usatsi_19733238.jpg] It’s a busier Sunday than usual with eight games, just one fewer than Saturday’s slate. It’s an interesting time with so many players returning from LTIR and making their season debuts. Max Pacioretty just did it, Ondrej Palat just returned after playing a handful of games at the beginning of the season and we’re eagerly waiting for the debut of Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson. These are key players for their respective teams, which will shake things up regarding their lineup. We’ll take a look at some of them here and break down the rest of the weekend games. SATURDAY RANGERS AT DEVILS (1 P.M. ET) This is the third of four meetings between the two rivals, and the previous two games were close. Both of them were basically decided by one goal since the Devils scored an empty-netter in their first meeting, and the second meeting went to overtime. Vitek Vanecek may get his third straight start against the Rangers, and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares because the Devils are still figuring out their timeshare. Win, and Mackenzie Blackwood takes a backseat. Lose, and Blackwood gets another chance to earn more starts. Of particular note is Ondrej Palat, who will play his second game since returning from an injury. He played 14:24 in just his seventh game of the season on the top line with Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt and posted a 64.29 5v5 CF%, according to naturalstattrick.com. That’s really good, and in a role like that, Palat should easily score at a 60-point pace. He’s at least worth a speculative add. HURRICANES AT BLUE JACKETS (4 P.M. ET) The Hurricanes offense is now turbo-charged with Max Pacioretty in the lineup, and if it wasn’t for Juuse Saros’ heroics, that game against the Preds could’ve been a historic blowout win. That’s terrible news for the Jackets, of course, and the starting goalie will surely be the one who drew the short straw. Interestingly, even with Sebastian Aho and Pacioretty, the Canes have elected to stick Paul Stastny in the second-line center spot even though Martin Necas can play some center, and they have two centers on the fourth line with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Derek Stepan. With some minutes on PP2, Stastny’s a sneaky option in deeper leagues for faceoff wins and assists. That decision has alternatively bumped Teuvo Teravainen to the fourth line and, yeah, scoring three goals in 29 games will do that for ya. It’s been a year to forget for Teravainen with injuries and illness, who scored 65 points last season. With the added depth, it will be hard to earn more playing time. If you’re in a deep keeper league, Kent Johnson will demand more of your attention season after season. The talent is obvious, and his playmaking is best suited to be the pivot between Patrik Laine and Johnny Gaudreau. Jack Roslovic doesn’t have the high-end offense, and Cole Sillinger is now behind Johnson on the depth chart. I think Johnson will be a sleeper pick next season. RED WINGS AT MAPLE LEAFS (7 P.M. ET) Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov are struggling? Absolutely stunned, I tell ya. This wasn’t totally unexpected, but it does mean that the Leafs might end up losing a few games where they should’ve won, if not for bad goaltending. It’s one of those times where fantasy managers just have to bench and hold until they get going again. It is also just poor luck that both are going through tough stretches simultaneously. Robby Fabbri will not play back-to-backs as part of his load management, so Elmer Soderblom will likely draw into the lineup. It shouldn’t change much, but the imminent return of Tyler Bertuzzi might shake up the top six. I like that Jonatan Berggren is on the second line opposite Lucas Raymond, and that’s a lot of slick skill. Berggren scored last night, and he’s starting to play himself into relevance in standard fantasy leagues. I’m already keeping an eye on him as a late-round pick next season in a keeper league. WILD AT SABRES (7 P.M. ET) This should be really fun to see with so much talent on the ice. On the heels of the world juniors, note Czechia star Jiri Kulich is also a Sabres draft pick and already playing in the AHL. It’s ridiculous how much talent is jammed into that Buffalo lineup right now. They will provide many fantasy options for next season, starting with two keeper-level players in Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin. Ryan Hartman was always miscast as a top-line center – as is Sam Steel, for that matter – but both players’ fantasy values are tied to Kirill Kaprizov. Though Hartman provides some value with dual-position eligibility and some peripherals, averaging third-line minutes doesn’t get you a lot of opportunities. He obviously won’t be repeating what he did last season. On the other hand, Frederick Gaudreau has some value in deep leagues and remains underrepresented. KRAKEN AT SENATORS (7 P.M. ET) Your biggest concern at any time with the Kraken is their goaltending, and somehow Martin Jones has regained his form with three straight wins and four goals allowed in three games. This Kraken team has an odd habit of scoring in bunches or not at all, and the Sens have to be prepared to play a full 60 minutes. Otherwise, they’re doomed. The difficulty with the Kraken is that their scoring depth is too balanced, making it tough for fantasy managers to decide who to stream after Matty Beniers. It’s only their third meeting in league history, with the Kraken holding a 1-0-1 edge. Shane Pinto was an interesting player following Josh Norris’ injury, but he’s gone very quiet. He went from scoring seven points in eight games at the beginning of the season to just two assists in his past eight games and two goals in his past 25 games. Pinto’s game is still fine, but the lack of scoring means there’s no fantasy value. BLUES AT CANADIENS (7 P.M. ET) It’s a Blues team in which Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas have full control of the offense against a team that has lost seven in a row and lost arguably their best defenseman due to injury in Kaiden Guhle. There’s little doubt which team I’m backing in this matchup, and it’s about the Habs playing poorly as it is about them not having many NHL-caliber players. If you’re looking for a sneaky streamer while Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko are out, check out Jake Neighbours, who is one of the Blues’ best prospects and reminds me a little of Jake DeBrusk. Both can be physical wingers and possess good finishing abilities. KINGS AT GOLDEN KNIGHTS (10 P.M. ET) It took the league-leading Bruins to expose Pheonix Copley, and it’ll be interesting to see how he responds in his next start. The Knights have the advantage in this matchup in any regard, and Michael Amadio is playing so well that the Knights have opted to keep him on the top line, even though Jack Eichel has returned. Chandler Stephenson remains the top center, and William Karlsson is bumped to the third line as the ‘Misfits Line’ is broken up again. Amadio’s fantasy value continues to rise, and it might even give Phil Kessel a slight bump playing with Karlsson. The Kings have Quinton Byfield on the top line, but I’m not sure how long he’ll last there. His minutes went up to a season-high 17:33, but he also finished with minus-2, and there’s always a chance he gets replaced by Kevin Fiala and Gabe Vilardi for a few shifts. The top two picks in the 2020 draft, Alexis Lafreniere and Byfield, aren’t even close to being in the top 10 players in their own draft class. AVALANCHE AT OILERS (10 P.M. ET) The Avs are looking to avoid their longest losing streak of the season. They were undisciplined and unlucky to lose to the Canucks in their previous game, and though Nathan MacKinnon has returned to the lineup, they’ve scored only two goals in each of their past three games. The Avs’ insistence on playing MacKinnon with Mikko Rantanen also meant J.T. Compher remains a top-six forward, and he continues to play a ton of minutes due to his versatility. However, he has nobody on the wings who can finish, playing with Denis Malgin, who is possibly injured, and Alex Newhook, who has yet to live up to his lofty potential. BRUINS AT SHARKS (10:30 P.M. ET) The Bruins have won nine straight against the Sharks dating back to 2017. The most interesting thing about this matchup is that Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have been operating a 50/50 timeshare over the past three weeks. That’s great for the Bruins and bad for fantasy managers who may have only one of them on their roster. Ullmark went from a No. 1 starter with a big workload to a No. 1 starter who may not play more than 45 games, and the lack of playing time will hurt his fantasy value. You also wonder if the lack of games also hurts Ullmark’s bid for the Vezina. SUNDAY CANUCKS AT JETS (3 P.M. ET) The Canucks almost never play well in Winnipeg, and the Jets are basically at full strength with Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler back in the lineup. It’s pretty interesting that Pierre-Luc Dubois has really taken over the No. 1 center with Ehlers and Kyle Connor on his wing, and he’d be the center to grab over Mark Scheifele. If you’re in a league that emphasizes scoring, Andrei Kuzmenko has really been a great find for the Canucks. He’s on pace for a 30-goal, 30-assist season despite not shooting a lot or playing many minutes. For that reason, he can be boom or bust, but most importantly, he’s shown good chemistry with Elias Pettersson, which might be their best pairing going forward. PANTHERS AT STARS (3:30 P.M. ET) The Stars suddenly can’t score with two straight losses and just two goals scored. That should change against the Panthers, but they’re also coming off a low-scoring win, with Sergei Bobrovsky allowing just two goals. Since Spencer Knight is failing to take a firm hold on the No. 1 job again, look for Bobrovsky as their default starter. BLUE JACKETS AT CAPITALS (5 P.M. ET) The Jackets get a chance to avenge their loss last Thursday, having allowed six goals, but they’re playing the second half of a back-to-back, and scoring continues to be a problem. This is the game that may see the return of both Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson. PENGUINS AT COYOTES (7 P.M. ET) It’s at Mullet Arena, so I’d be fearful of the Pens. The Coyotes are very good at home in front of an intimate crowd, while the Pens are reeling with their sixth straight loss. Casey DeSmith is a very average backup, having allowed 12 goals in his past three starts, while the Pens have had trouble scoring, with only five goals in their past three games. The Pens, however, are quite a resilient club and have managed to avoid getting swept during their road trips this season. FLAMES AT BLACKHAWKS (7 P.M. ET) You can kinda sense the Flames turning it around because they’re winning close games. During their seven-game and five-game losing streaks, eight of the 12 losses were by just one goal, and five were in overtime or shootout. Jacob Markstrom has not allowed more than three goals in seven straight starts, and he looks like he’s back on track to becoming one of the better fantasy goalies this season. BLUES AT WILD (7 P.M. ET) Both teams are playing the second half of a back-to-back. This will be the fourth and last game for St. Louis on a road trip. If they beat the Habs on Saturday, they’re looking for the sweep here. They went 3-0-0 on their road trip between Nov. 12 and 16. The Blues have been very good on the road this season, going 12-9-1 entering Saturday’s games, tied for the second-most road wins in the West. MAPLE LEAFS AT FLYERS (7 P.M. ET) The Flyers are looking to win their fifth straight thanks to some timely offense and strong performances from Carter Hart and Samuel Ersson. Felix Sandstrom was sent to the AHL on a conditioning stint. But based on performance alone, Ersson should be the backup, which may be the plan from now on. Hart remains their only goalie with any real fantasy value because of the number of starts he gets. BRUINS AT DUCKS (8:30 P.M. ET) The Ducks are playing the ultimate spoiler, winning games against some very good teams in the Hurricanes, Stars and Golden Knights. Their last meeting was closer than it should’ve been – a 2-1 win for the Bruins in a shootout – and note the Ducks won both of their previous matches in 2022. These early start times are usually better for Eastern teams because it’ll be 5:30 p.m. local time for puck drop, two hours earlier than many of the Ducks’ games at home.
