Conor Garland is now the Canucks' leading scorer with Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson injured, and Quinton Byfield is playing like royalty for the Kings.
The big event in Week 13 will be the annual Winter Classic, except this time it will be held on New Year's Eve rather than on New Year's Day. The outdoor matchup will be one of 13 games on Tuesday's slate, leaving a 3 p.m. local time matinee on Jan. 1 with the Kings hosting the Devils.
Other than the Winter Classic, Week 13 resumes the NHL's usual schedule with Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday being the busiest nights of the week. As the new year approaches, keep in mind that injuries are often more frequent during the winter months; fatigue starts to set in, wear and tear starts to build and we've also seen some players miss games due to illness this season.
We've also seen some significant trades already this season, including the Avalanche clearing out their entire crease for Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood, and the Rangers moving Jacob Trouba and potentially more.
Only two teams play twice in Week 13 - Kings and Senators - and eight teams play four games. The Predators have a pretty unique schedule with two back-to-backs, and despite their recent turnaround (4-2-1 in their past seven), they have the hardest schedule based on the schedule matrix if you disregard quantity of games.
The Jets and Golden Knights have the most envious schedules with plenty of games and easier opponents. The Devils and Blues have the easiest schedules overall, and this might be the week to stream some of their depth players include Stefan Noesen and Paul Cotter of the Devils, and Dylan Holloway for the Blues.
Schedule
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. Points percentages are as of Saturday.
Season-long adds
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Conor Garland, RW, Canucks (41% rostered)
Now's a good time to pull the trigger on Garland. With both Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson out of the lineup for at least a week, Garland is now the team's leading scorer. He's on a three-game goal streak and the Canucks will be counting on him even more now to generate offense. It's rare that Garland plays a game without registered a few shots and a hit or a block.
Karel Vejmelka, G, Utah (41% rostered)
Another week and I think Vejmelka will be rostered in over half of Yahoo leagues, so pick him up now if you need a goalie. It doesn't sound like Connor Ingram will be returning soon, which leaves Vejmelka as Utah's main option even if their confidence in Jaxson Stauber grows with each passing start.
Vejmelka will get the bulk of the starts and while Utah can be a very streaky team, they are very competitive with playoff hopes. Vejmelka can be a solid fantasy goalie and offers all three categories - wins, saves, save percentage - but just not to the same degree as the elite fantasy goalies.
Mid-term holds
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Jonathan Huberdeau, C/LW, Flames (39% rostered)
This is the second straight week Huberdeau has been featured in this column so he's really creeping back into season-long hold status. His ice time has increased - 19:53 in December versus 17:49 in October - and he carried a three-game goal streak into Sunday's game against Vegas. With a homestand coming up that includes the very shorthanded Canucks and porous Preds, it's a good week to roster Huberdeau.
Quinton Byfield, C/LW/RW, Kings (36% rostered)
Maybe... ? Byfield's two-goal effort Saturday against the Oilers gives him five goals in his past six games, and maybe the big power forward is finally warming up. He's been quiet all season, but the potential is massive. With triple-position eligibility, it's easy to find room for him on your fantasy roster just in case this is the start of something really, really good.
Logan Stankoven, C/RW, Stars (23% rostered)
The early word is that Mason Marchment will be out for a while, which opens the door for Stankoven to move up the lineup. He played 17:54 against the Wild after Marchment left the game, and registered four shots and four faceoff wins for the second straight game. We shall see how Peter DeBoer intends to fill that hole, but Stankoven's the obvious candidate to see increased minutes. He has not scored a goal since Nov. 14, but with a 4.6 shooting percentage heading into Sunday's game, he's due.
Cam Fowler, D, Blues (21% rostered)
Fowler has scored five points in seven games entering Sunday's game against the Sabres and he's clearly found a little more jump with his new club. He's no longer tasked to carry an inexperienced blueline but play a supplementary role on a more disciplined and experienced club, playing L1 with Colton Parayko and currently quarterbacking PP2 while Justin Faulk is bumped to PP2.
With plenty of minutes and solid deployment, Fowler has regained some fantasy value. It remains to be seen if he will remain PP1 QB, however, since Faulk is a threat and the Blues have thrown Parayko on there before.
Yaroslav Askarov, G, Sharks (13% rostered)
Vitek Vanecek has a fractured cheekbone and he's going to be out for a while. The Sharks have not been shy about starting Askarov, and two things he can add to any fantasy team are a high volume of saves and a good save percentage. The wins will be hard to come by, especially since the Sharks are mired in a seven-game losing streak - four one-goal losses, though - but they're a much better team than last season so it's not like streaming a Sharks goalie is a complete lost cause.
Short-term streamers
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Jonathan Drouin, LW, Avalanche (19% rostered)
As of Sunday evening, Drouin remains on IR but he's expected to play as early as Tuesday against the Jets. With four points in five games, Drouin has been productive even though he's barely played this season. His fantasy value will be mostly derived from playing with Nathan MacKinnon or on PP1, and it'll be interesting to see if the Avs play him there. Right now, it's unlikely because Drouin was spotted skating with L4 at practice, and the Avs seem pretty set with their current top six. Drouin may be worth a speculative add on a high-powered Avs offense. This is a contract year for Drouin, who has rebuilt his career in Denver but needs to keep the positive momentum going.
Erik Brannstrom, D, Canucks (0% rostered)
With Hughes expected to miss multiple weeks - major ouch for the Canucks - Brannstrom was tabbed to replace him on the PP. Those are big shoes to fill; not only was Brannstrom a healthy scratch prior to the holiday break, the Canucks are also missing one of their top players in Elias Pettersson. Brannstrom played nearly 20 minutes Saturday against the Kraken, registering three shots but zero points. The Canucks have the option of using Tyler Myers, but for now it's Brannstrom's spot to lose. The fantasy upside isn't very high - it's points or nothing for Brannstrom - but at its best, the Canucks power play can be very good.
Ty Smith, D, Hurricanes (0% rostered)
With Shayne Gostisbehere a late scratch against the Devils, Smith leapfrogged Brent Burns and ended up quarterbacking PP1. The 17th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Smith made an excellent first impression as a rookie with 23 points in 48 games but saw his production and play dive off so much he's been in the AHL for most of the past two seasons.
Smith possesses excellent skill, and his lack of defensive acumen can be shielded by the Canes' tight structure and depth, giving Rod Brind'Amour the green light to use Smith on the power play. I'm not sure how long Smith will last in this spot - Gostisbehere is not expected to be out long-term - but it's noteworthy because Burns has almost no fantasy value if he's not going to get power play time even in the event of an injury.
Alex Lyon, G, Red Wings (11% rostered)
Things can change in a second, but it looks like Lyon might have the inside edge on the starting job in Detroit. Lyon came in relief for Cam Talbot against the Leafs and he was excellent against the Caps (2 GA, .926 SP) as the Wings snapped their four-game losing streak and earned their first victory under Todd McLellan. We shall see how the rotation shakes out but there's two intriguing matchups coming up on Dec. 31 versus the Pens and Jan. 2 in Columbus.
Justus Annunen, G, Predators (7% rostered)
With two back-to-backs coming up, we can expect Annunen to possibly get two starts in Week 13, especially after Juuse Saros was pulled in St. Louis. Annunen should be avoided for the upcoming Winnipeg-Minnesota back-to-back, but might have some value with the following back-to-back with Vancouver-Calgary.
Honorable mention:
Patrick Kane, RW, Red Wings (44% rostered)
Tyler Toffoli, LW/RW, Sharks (43% rostered)
Pierre-Luc Dubois, C/LW, Capitals (28% rostered)
Kent Johnson, C/LW/RW, Blue Jackets (22% rostered)
Viktor Arvidsson, LW/RW, Oilers (17% rostered)
Warren Foegele, LW/RW, Kings (9% rostered)
Remember to bookmark The Hockey News Fantasy site for stats, news, analysis, rankings, projections and more, including the Sleepers and Keepers fantasy hockey podcast!