Fantasy Hockey Head-to-Head Week 22 Primer

We finally have it, folks -- the first five-game week of the season with the Rangers starting Week 22 with a back-to-back against the Devils and Hurricanes, the Lightning on Thursday, and then a weekend back-to-back against the Penguins and Islanders. There are huge playoff implications save for the Devils and Pens, and it'll be interesting to see how the Rangers will divvy up the workload; no doubt, however, we will be seeing Jonathan Quick at least twice this coming week. 

It is not an easy schedule, but based on the simple difference in points percentage between the Rangers and their opponents, the Rangers have the third-biggest advantage, following the Jets and Bruins. 

The Lightning have the hardest schedule in Week 22, facing the Rangers on Thursday and the league-leading Panthers on Saturday, and for the second week in a row play just two games. If you have some of the Lightning's depth players, including Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul, it'll be difficult to justify rostering them again this week. 

The Blackhawks and Sharks have the easiest schedules -- they play each other on Sunday -- but it's tough to rely on the two teams bereft of any significant fantasy players asides from Connor Bedard. The team to target, actually, are the Jets and Blue Jackets, who face the Ducks and Sharks, respectively, before facing each other on Sunday. 

The Red Wings should be in that group, but without Dylan Larkin and some shoddy defense and goaltending, they're a riskier bet. 

The Jackets don't come to mind often when it comes to streaming options, but their offense isn't actually much worse than the Kings', and they've got plenty of talented young players who are largely ignored in fantasy hockey.

In most leagues, this is the last week before the fantasy playoffs begin. Hopefully, you've locked up a playoff spot already. If not, this primer is here to help. 

We've just passed the trade deadline and a few players have yet to make their debuts with their new team -- Tyler Toffoli among them -- and I will make note of some players in the sections below. You can also click the link below to see my takes on all the players who switched addresses.

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 as of Saturday.

(< 50% rostered on Yahoo, on teams with at least 4 games this week)

Hits/GP

Sammy Blais, LW, STL - 3.51 
Cal Clutterbuck, RW, NYI - 3.39
Will Cuylle, LW, NYR - 3.25
Curtis Lazar, C, NJ - 3.14
Brenden Dillon, D, WPG - 3.07
Kyle Burroughs, D, SJ - 3.07 
Matt Martin, LW, NYI - 2.95
Mathieu Olivier, RW, CLB - 2.89
Beck Malenstyn, LW, WSH - 2.82
Neal Pionk, D, WPG - 2.76

Blocks/GP

Mario Ferraro, D, SJ - 2.80
Ryan Pulock, D, NYI - 2.68 
Colton Parayko, D, STL - 2.66
Jake Walman, D, DET - 2.47
Matt Roy, D, LA - 2.40
Erik Gudbranson, D, CLB - 2.23
Ben Chiarot, D, DET - 2.20
Alexander Romanov, D, NYI - 2.16
Jacob Bernard-Docker, D, OTT - 2.04 
Ryan Graves, D, PIT - 1.98 

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Evgeny Kuznetsov, C, CAR (12% rostered)

I'm incredibly encouraged by Kuznetsov's showing so far for the Canes, though he's yet score a point in two games. I think this is a low-risk, high-upside gamble considering his playmaking ability and the Canes' cadre of top-notch wingers. He's already playing PP1 and has Martin Necas on his wing at even strength. Making Kuznetsov a season-long add is certainly aggressive, and at the very least he's worth stashing. 

As a side note, the trade for Kuznetsov seems to have sparked Jesperi Kotkaniemi; the Finnish center scored a goal in 8:06 of ice time against the Devils and added two helpers in a 7-2 win against the Flames on Sunday. We've seen this short bursts of scoring before from Kotkaniemi, but over the next few weeks I'd still rather gamble on Kuznetsov than Kotkaniemi. 

Jack Roslovic, C/RW, NYR (6% rostered)

Roslovic has yet to score his first point with the Rangers, but like Kuznetsov, the deployment has been very encouraging. Roslovic has a history of producing when he's playing in the top-six; he just doesn't do it consistently enough to stay there. With the Rangers, he's getting a crack at it playing on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, with some PP2 to boot. Maybe Kaapo Kakko can move up and displace Roslovic, but it doesn't seem likely at the moment. 

Tommy Novak, C, NSH (5% rostered)

Novak's put together a three-game assist streak as his red-hot second half continues. The Preds bolstered their depth on the wings acquiring Jason Zucker and Anthony Beauvillier, so there's a lot of moving pieces and potential players they can pair with Novak. Even if Zucker and Beauvillier disappoint, Novak's play alone makes him worth rostering.

Nils Hoglander, LW, VAN (3% rostered)

That's now four consecutive games with a point for Hoglander, who has drawn praise from Rick Tocchet and finds himself anchored to Elias Pettersson's wing. The feisty Swede has managed to score 20 goals already this season and found some consistency in the second half of the season. The only drawback for Hoglander is the lack of power-play ice time, but it hasn't really mattered; all 20 of his goals this season have come at even strength. 

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

J.T. Compher, LW/RW, DET (16% rostered)

If you need some multi-category coverage and you're not too concerned about points, Compher's still a great option with Dylan Larkin out of the lineup. He's centering Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat on their most potent scoring line and occasionally gets a shift or two on the power play. 

Mikael Granlund, C/RW, SJ (15% rostered)

I still think Granlund can provide tons of fantasy value. He played 23:39 against the Sens, notching two assists, both on the power play, and finishing with an additional two shots, four blocks and seven faceoff wins. He'll have more stat lines like that for the rest of the season since on one else can challenge him for the No. 1 center role. 

Jonathan Drouin, LW, COL (14% rostered)

Drouin skated with Valeri Nichushkin and Casey Mittelstadt on the Avs' second line, but I'm not sure that will stick. It might take a few games for the Avs to decide where Mittelstadt fits best, and that could mean Drouin moves back to Nathan MacKinnon's line. Drouin's floor is very low, but it's been a resurgent season of sorts for Drouin. The best part is he's still a regularly on PP1. 

Anthony Duclair, LW, TB (7% rostered)

Duclair was very good in his Lightning debut, scoring a goal and an assist though he played just 13:56. The Lightning's very thin top-six ensures Duclair will be playing on a scoring line, likely with Steven Stamkos. Duclair can be a streaky scorer and he doesn't shoot a lot, but he's in a far better situation now than before with the Sharks. 

Morgan Geekie, C/RW, BOS (7% rostered)

That's now five goals and six points in the past six games for Geekie, including back-to-back games where he's registered a power-play point. He's not usually considered a scoring threat, but Trent Fredric and James van Riemsdyk have been quietly productive this season, and what I like most about Geekie's fantasy value are his PP2 minutes with Jake DeBrusk and Pavel Zacha. He's got the Blues, Habs and Flyers coming up, none of whom should be difficult to score on. 

Alex Nylander, LW/RW, CLB (3% rostered)

Nylander's on a roll with five goals and seven points in his past six games with plenty of shots to go with it. His line with Alex Texier and Cole Sillinger has been rolling, and Nylander's been Pascal Vincent's top choice to play with Boone Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau on the power play following the departure of Jack Roslovic. The former eighth overall pick is a proven scorer in the AHL with plenty of NHL bloodlines, and it looks like he's finally putting it together and getting his top-six chances now. 

Jake Allen, G, NJ (13% rostered)

It's tough to say if Allen or Kaapo Kahkonen will be the Devils' starter going forward, but Allen certainly has the better track record this season and more experience. I'm not sure if the numbers will improve -- the Devils aren't very good defensively -- but the goal support should be far better than what Allen received in Montreal. If you need volume starts, Allen's got potential. 

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Dylan Guenther, LW, ARI (11% rostered)

Guenther's one of my top streamers because he gets good deployment with PP1 minutes and shoots the puck a lot. He scored a goal on five shots Sunday against the Hawks and he's got some defensively porous teams coming up, including the Wings and Devils in Week 22.