Flames at Blue Jackets and Devils at Islanders will be your only NHL action for tonight. Here are your fantasy hockey roster notes.
Flames at Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. ET
The Flames are playing the second half of a back-to-back and Jacob Markstrom will be in net after Daniel Vladar started last night. It was a total team win against the Sabres with all but two forwards scoring a point. Jonathan Huberdeau opened the scoring and continues to be on pace for 82 points. He was a popular pick for bounce-back player and, unsurprisingly, increased shot volume and ice time has put him back on track.
Adam Ruzicka (1% rostered) scored a goal and played 15 minutes for the second straight game, with Nazem Kadri (64% rostered) finally getting his point on an assist. Ruzicka’s a great value play for daily fantasy, but his offensive ceiling isn’t high enough to be worth adding. Even as a streamer, it’s tough to say how long Ruzicka’s hot streak will last.
Matt Coronato (7% rostered) scored an assist but his ceiling is capped without top-six minutes. He played 11:09; only Yegor Sharangovich played fewer minutes at even strength, with the remaining minutes coming from PP2. Coronato was a popular dark horse pick, especially after a strong preseason, but he’s still waiver wire fodder right now.
Zach Werenski (50% rostered) is questionable for this matchup, indicating an earlier-than-expected return. Werenski’s all-round, multi-category coverage means he should be rostered in more than half the leagues. His return is undoubtedly good news for the Jackets, but it also means that the Jackets will have to send someone down. That’s going to be a tough call, but it’s likely to be top prospect David Jiricek (3% rostered). Werenski’s return might have an impact on Ivan Provorov (9% rostered) and his PP minutes, so if you added Provorov just for the PP upside, it's going to take a hit now.
The Jackets will basically stay with the same lineup up front, except Justin Danforth (0% rostered) moves the fourth line and swaps places with Emil Bemstrom (0% rostered).
More importantly, Patrik Laine has now gained C eligibility on Yahoo. There’s never been any strict rules about when players qualify to be added new positions, though commissioners can do that manually now. That now gives Laine eligibility at all three forward positions; there’s added flexibility, but in leagues that count faceoffs, Laine will be played on the LW or RW slots almost every time.
Devils at Islanders, 7:30 p.m. ET
All eyes will be on Timo Meier, who was benched along with John Marino in the third period and played just 11:29. Meier started slow with the Devils immediately following the trade last season, though he ultimately found his groove. The panic level is not high, but it did indeed force Lindy Ruff to mix it up with some new lines.
Tyler Toffoli is now up on the first line with Jack Hughes and Meier on the right wing, who had previously played the left side. Jesper Bratt moves down to play with Nico Hischier, which then bumps Dawson Mercer to the left wing on the third line.
On the power play, it looks like the Devils are going to stack their top unit moving Hischier to Jack and Luke Hughes’ unit, bumping Palat down to the second unit with Meier. This is the change that may hurt Meier’s fantasy value the most – and Dougie Hamilton’s, too – because the Hughes, Hischier and Bratt are their best offensive players.
There’s a ton of interchangeable parts because the Devils are so stacked, but the idea is to get some of their players going. Mercer gets the shortest end of the stick in this lineup shuffle, but if this new lineup can get the Devils going, then it benefits everyone. How they respond facing one of the league’s best goalies in Ilya Sorokin will be interesting to see.
For the Isles, Simon Holmstrom (0% rostered) is worth watching, but not yet worth streaming. He’s playing on the top line with Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat, but Holmstrom’s more of a disruptor on this line rather than an offensive playmaker. He’s also just averaging 13:53 per game with no power-play time.
The Isles are a little behind having played just two games, so there’s no panic yet, but they’re once again shaping up to be a low-scoring team. They finished 22nd in goals for per game last season, and their preference for physical, well-rounded players rather than pushing for game-breaking talent in an era that values skill over muscle means their offense will always be capped. They just don’t offer up many good options in fantasy.
That being said, Kyle Palmieri (2% rostered) is a great streaming option on a night with only two games. He’s playing L2 and PP1, and already has scored two points on seven shots with two hits. That second line has been very good, and Palmieri ranks fourth among Isles forwards in shot attempts and third in expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, according to naturalstattrick.com.
