A quiet Halloween night – spooky – in the NHL with only two games on tap: Kings at Leafs and Preds at Canucks.
It’s a light two-game slate for Halloween, which isn’t ideal for those of us who are stuck at home handing out candy. What should we do in between doorbells?
At least the two games aren’t starting at the same time; it’s Kings at Leafs at 8 p.m. ET and Predators at Canucks at 10 p.m. ET.
All positions and rostered percentages courtesy of Yahoo Fantasy.
Expected Starters
Unless the Predators elect to start Kevin Lankinen, there are no goalies under 50 percent rostered to stream. We should, however, take a few quick notes.
Joseph Woll is already the confirmed starter for the Leafs, and it’s his fifth start in seven games. He’s clearly wrestled the No. 1 job away from Ilya Samsonov, even if temporarily, giving him immense value as the starter on a very good team. To Woll’s credit, he’s already ranked second in total goals saved above average, per naturalstattrick.com. If you read this space, Woll was a recommended pickup weeks ago; you might still have a chance if your league is a little lazy.
The Kings will likely go with Cam Talbot, who’s become the No. 1 by virtue of Pheonix Copley’s poor play (.788 SP). If he starts, it’ll be Talbot’s third straight and his sixth in seven games. The Kings had a tough schedule and Talbot, who’s rostered in 51 percent of Yahoo leagues, and he’s potential add and hold, or buy low candidate right now.
Juuse Saros vs. Thatcher Demko should be an excellent goaltending matchup. Their career save percentages against each other aren’t great but, historically speaking, Preds vs. Canucks are generally close, low-scoring matchups. Dating back to 2021, five of their past seven matchups have been decided by just one goal, three of them in a shootout.
Forwards (Add/Hold)
Ryan O’Reilly, C, NSH at VAN (24% rostered)
Fantasy managers still seem to be skeptical about O’Reilly, who scored two goals against the Leafs last game and continues to stuff the score sheet with shots, hits, blocks and faceoff wins. In leagues that count faceoffs, O’Reilly remains elite in that category.
Forwards (Stream)
Trevor Moore, LW, LA at TOR (14% rostered)
The former Leaf is one of the most underrated role players in the league. He brings very good shot volume averaging a little over three shots per game with some potential for hits. Though his two-game point streak was snapped against Vegas last game, he finished with a team-high six shots on goal, tied with linemate Phillip Danault.
Ilya Mikheyev, LW/RW, VAN vs. NSH (9% rostered)
Mikheyev’s scored three points in four games since returning from a knee injury and acts as a puck retriever on a high-upside offensive line with Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko. Goals will be tough to come by against Saros, but Mikheyev has been productive against the Preds in his career with two goals and 12 shots in three games.
Tommy Novak, C, NSH at VAN (7% rostered)
The Canucks defense is vastly improved, but one thing they’ve always struggled defending against is forwards with speed. Novak definitely has the wheels, and he’s currently on a three-game point streak and continuing where he left off with six points in eight games. You wish Novak would shoot a little more, but if the Canucks’ top pair of Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek is matched against O’Reilly’s line, it opens up scoring opportunities for both Novak and linemate Luke Evangelista, who’s scored five points in four games and also worth streaming.
Defensemen (Add/Hold)
Filip Hronek, VAN vs. NSH (52% rostered)
Hronek is now rostered in more than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues – good job, readers – and graduates from this list. However, there’s still time. He has seven helpers in eight games playing top-pairing minutes alongside Hughes and mopping up any power-play minutes Hughes leaves behind.
Defensemen (Stream)
Mikey Anderson, LA at TOR (18% rostered)
Quiet but effective. That sums up Anderson’s game in a nutshell, who appears in this space for the second straight game. He's scored a point in three straight games (again) to bring his total to seven points in eight games this season. Drew Doughty’s primary defensive partner doesn’t usually skate a lot of minutes because he doesn’t play a lot of special teams, but it’s not hurting his production at all, and even when Anderson doesn’t score, he can provide a steady diet of hits and blocks.
