Ville Husso has yet to win a game but he's been very good in his past two starts and now faces a stiff test against the explosive Avalanche offense.
On every game day this season, THN Fantasy will highlight players and goalies for fantasy managers to stream or roster for the rest of the season. The recommended players and goalies can be used in standard fantasy leagues or for daily fantasy games.
11 games for Saturday, Dec. 6
* = confirmed
Aliaksei Kolosov, PHI* at Jeremy Swayman, BOS* (1 p.m. ET)
Karel Vejmelka, UTA at Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF (1 p.m. ET)
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at Petr Mrazek, CHI (4 p.m. ET)
Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR at Ilya Sorokin, NYI (5 p.m. ET)
Mackenzie Blackwood, SJ* at Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA (6 p.m. ET)
Logan Thompson, WSH at Sam Montembeault, MON* (7 p.m. ET)
Juuse Saros, NSH at Linus Ullmark, OTT* (7 p.m. ET)
Alexandar Georgiev, COL at Ville Husso, DET (7 p.m. ET)
Joseph Woll, TOR at Tristan Jarry, PIT (7 p.m. ET)
Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN at Darcy Kuemper, LA (8 p.m. ET)
Jordan Binnington, STL at Stuart Skinner, EDM (10 p.m. ET)
Goalies
Sam Montembeault, MON vs. WSH (50% rostered)
Perhaps being named to Canada has given Montembeault a confidence boost, but he's been excellent in his past two starts with just one goal allowed. The Caps are a difficult opponent but they're playing the second half of their back-to-back.
Given the way Montembeault's been playing right now, I don't mind starting him in this matchup. He's gaining popularity in most Yahoo leagues again after some tough stretches in November.
Karel Vejmelka, UTA at BUF (22% rostered)
Vejmelka's play has generally been very solid and, clearly, confidence in the Sabres is not very high at the moment following GM Kevyn Adams' most recent comments. The Sabres will be without captain Rasmus Dahlin, which should give Vejmelka a better chance at getting good goal support.
Utah's very inconsistent, and that's the risk with this matchup. There are times where they've been very good at limiting the opposition's shots, and there are times where they look like the league's worst defensive team. Utah has a chance to win, for sure, but I think only managers with tough stomachs (and who wake up early) will be streaming this matinee matchup.
Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN at LA (18% rostered)
This is the Wild's second game of a back-to-back and expected to be a tougher matchup than the Ducks on Friday. While Fleury has been very good this season, note the Kings were a team that he had a lot of trouble with last season, allowing 10 goals on 41 shots (.756 SP) with a 7.02 GAA.
No doubt Fleury will fare much better against the Kings this time, but note Joel Eriksson Ek is knjured, leaving the Wild with far less quality depth down the middle than the Kings. I'm a little wary of this start with a tired team and the Kings coming off a two-day break with a four-game winning streak.
Ville Husso, DET vs. COL (5% rostered)
That's now two strong games for Husso, who's stopped 62 of 67 shots (.925 SP) and expected to start with Alex Lyon and Cam Talbot on the shelf. We may have to wait a little longer before we see Sebastian Cossa, the Wings' top prospect in net. Husso's played well even though the Wings still don't defend particularly well, and he hasn't exactly shown the ability to steal games, which makes me question how long his hot run will last.
This is potentially Husso's toughest test. The Avs offense is terrifying, and the Wings allowed at least 32 shots against the Sens and Bruins. Husso might be under siege here, and I still see him as a risky start despite his strong performances lately.
Tristan Jarry, PIT vs. TOR (14% rostered)
The Pens are playing the second half of a back-to-back and this is the tougher test than Alex Nedeljkovic's matchup against the Rangers on Friday, though the Pens kept it close and they've looked a lot better since October. Jarry has been pretty good and the Pens are winning more games, so that bodes well.
However, the Pens are still allowing a ton of chances - they allowed 41 shots on Jarry in a 5-4 win against the Panthers in his previous start, and were outshot heavily against the Rangers - and that's dangerous against the Leafs offense. It's hard to justify starting Jarry in this matchup as there are still too many negative factors working against him. Jarry has a career .909 SP and 2.86 GAA against the Leafs, and he'll need the Pens to provide good goal support against arguably the best goalie tandem in the league to win.
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