Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire – Friday, Oct. 27

It’s a six-game Friday slate and a good opportunity to gain some points as we head to a more quiet weekend with 13 games. The Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday means more teams are taking a break.

Friday will feature four teams playing the second half of a back-to-back – Wild, Sharks, Blues, Hurricanes – so expect some backups in action.

All players listed are rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Casey DeSmith, VAN vs. STL (7% rostered)

The Canucks play a back-to-back Friday and Saturday, which means DeSmith is the expected starter with Thatcher Demko facing the Rangers tomorrow. It should be a favorable matchup for the Canucks, who are at home and the Blues are playing the second half of their back-to-back with travel after facing the Flames on Thursday.

DeSmith was very shaky for the Pens last season (15-16-4, .905 SP, 3.17 GAA) but he’s been very good for the Canucks this season with a 37-save win against the Oilers in his first start and 33 saves against the Panthers. Both teams have more offensive firepower than the Blues.

Tom Wilson, RW, WSH vs. MIN (45% rostered)

Wilson collected an assist against the Devils, his third point in four games, and played a season-high 20:17. He still doesn’t shoot the puck very often and his hit rate has gone down a little, but for banger leagues there’s still not many who can provide what Wilson does.

Nick Schmaltz, C/RW, ARI vs. LA (36% rostered)

Not sure how Schmaltz keeps flying under the radar, but he’s scored seven points in six games and 124 points in his past 132 games since the 2012-22 season. For the record, that’s 0.94 P/GP, tied-51st in the league with Mark Scheifele… and yet Schmaltz is not rostered in two-thirds of Yahoo leagues.

Dylan Strome, C, WSH vs. MIN (27% rostered)

On the back of a two-goal game against the Devils, Strome’s percentage rostered has increased five percentage points. His 21:12 TOI is easily a season-high and a huge jump from 14:53 in the season opener when he was curiously playing on the third line. Spencer Carbery is quickly realizing that Strome should be his top center, and the Wild may be a tired bunch playing the second half of a back-to-back.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C, CAR vs. SJ (24% rostered)

KK’s goal and an assist Thursday against the Kraken was his third multi-point game of the season and now gives him nine points in eight games. He’s becoming a very hot commodity in fantasy and this is another plus matchup. Though the Canes are playing back-to-back, so are the Sharks, who are coming off a 6-0 loss to the Lightning and the Canes do not have to travel.

Casey Mittelstadt, C, BUF at NJ (19% rostered)

Good thing Mittelstadt’s not a goalie. With his second two-assist effort in three games, Mittelstadt now has six points in seven games centering the red-hot Jeff Skinner (4 goals in 3 games) and Alex Tuch. Don Granato says he has two top lines now, which is potentially great news for Mittelstadt’s playing time. The Devils offense is scary, but their goaltending is scary for the opposite reason.

Trevor Moore, LW, LA at ARI (11% rostered)

Moore’s off to an excellent start with five goals in six games. He’s like a Western Conference Brandon Hagel, a strong, fearless winger who can play up the lineup because his hands are good enough to score. Moore gets plenty of shots on net and also fills the hits column pretty consistently, albeit at a low volume.

Paul Cotter, C, VEG vs. CHI (7% rostered)

Cotter is quickly getting attention in fantasy circles and the most popular highlight reel on X, formerly known as Twitter, when he folded Egor Zamula to tie the game. That was his fifth point in five games and along with a healthy dose of hits (25), he’s become a banger league beast. Playing L2 and PP2, this column has been a big fan of Cotter and he should be a very good streaming option against a weak opponent.

Ilya Mikheyev, LW/RW, VAN vs. STL (6% rostered)

Playing on the top line with Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko, Mikheyev has scored a point in two straight games since returning from a knee injury. He definitely has the lowest offensive upside on that line, but what’s most surprising is his shot volume; he’s put four shots on goal in each of his past two games despite being known as a puck chaser and averaging only 2.3 shots per game in his career. Perhaps Mikheyev realizes that Pettersson is an elite playmaker and needs to shoot more for their line to be effective.

Marcus Johansson, LW, MIN at WSH (5% rostered)

An assist in a 6-2 blowout loss to the Flyers extended Johansson’s point streak to four games, one of the few bright spots in a trying season for the Wild so far. His minutes have increased with the injury to Matt Boldy, and though the Wild are playing the second half of a back-to-back, the Caps are allowing the fifth-most goals against per game (3.83).

Matias Maccelli, LW, ARI vs. LA (5% rostered)

Don’t look for Maccelli to get you anything but assists, and he’s definitely doing that now with four helpers in three games. This is the second game of a home-and-home series against the Kings, whom Maccelli has been particularly successful against with five points in four career games.

Filip Hronek, VAN vs. STL (47% rostered)

This might be your last chance to roster Hronek because he’ll disappear from this column once his rostered percentage goes past 50 percent. The Canucks’ top pair with Hronek and Quinn Hughes continues to dominate, and Hronek skated a season-high 27:33 with an assist, block and a hit. The stats are modest, but over the course of a long season, it all adds up.

Mikey Anderson, LA at ARI (4% rostered)

It’s a bit thin for streaming defensemen but Drew Doughty’s defensive partner has been very productive to start the season with four helpers in six games. Anderson doesn’t skate a lot of minutes – fourth in even strength and PK among Kings ‘D’ and virtually no PP – but he fills a lot of categories, including hits (14) and blocks (6).