NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Expected Starters - Saturday, Dec. 16

Saturday, Dec. 16. 13-game slate.

* = confirmed or probable

Casey DeSmith, VAN* at Filip Gustavsson, MIN* (2 p.m. ET)

Igor Shesterkin, NYR* at Jeremy Swayman, BOS* (7 p.m. ET)

Vitek Vanecek, NJ at Daniil Tarasov, CLB* (7 p.m. ET)

Semyon Varlamov, NYI* at Samuel Montembeault, MTL* (7 p.m. ET)

Alex Lyon, DET* at Samuel Ersson, PHI* (7 p.m. ET)

Tristan Jarry, PIT* at Martin Jones, TOR* (7 p.m. ET)

Ivan Prosvetov, COL* at Connor Hellebuyck, WPG* (7 p.m. ET)

Charlie Lindgren, WSH* at Juuse Saros, NSH* (8 p.m. ET)

Scott Wedgewood, DAL* at Jordan Binnington, STL* (8 p.m. ET)

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF* at Karel Vejmelka, ARI* (9 p.m. ET)

Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB* at Dan Vladar, CGY* (10 p.m. ET)

Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA* at Calvin Pickard, EDM* (10 p.m. ET)

Cam Talbot, LA at Joey Daccord, SEA* (10 p.m. ET)

Streaming Options

( < 50% rostered in Yahoo leagues, ranked by matchup)

Semyon Varlamov, NYI at MTL (44% rostered)

It’s the second half of a back-to-back for the Isles with travel, and Saturday nights in Montreal can be overwhelming for the visiting team. The Habs have beaten the Isles just twice in their past six meetings, and in both games needed extra time. Varlamov hasn’t been sharp but the Isles have provided enough goal support for him to win four straight games.

Alex Lyon, DET at PHI (36% rostered)

Finally, Lyon gets a start but this will be tough. The Flyers play hard and they’re 6-2-2 in their past 10, while the Wings have faltered a little and also without top center Dylan Larkin. Lyon has started only two games since Nov. 30, both of which were pedestrian performances, and it feels like whatever momentum he had has stopped dead. Lyon is worth streaming against an opponent that doesn’t score a ton of goals, but I also don’t expect anything spectacular.

Samuel Ersson, PHI vs. DET (5% rostered)

Carter Hart is ill, which means Ersson gets his third straight start. The Wings will not have Dylan Larkin in the lineup but both Klim Kostin and J.T. Compher are expected to return. That will still pose a challenge for the Flyers, and it would still be unwise to underestimate the Wings’ offense with Patrick Kane in the lineup. The result feels like a coin flip, and you’re hoping for at least save percentage above .900 from Ersson.

(NEW) Martin Jones, TOR vs. PIT (16% rostered)

And there it is. After Ilya Samsonov allowed six goals in a poor performance against the Jackets, and after Jones earned his first win of the season relieving Joseph Woll, Jones will get his first start of the season. Here's the thing with Jones: he'll likely get you a save percentage somewhere around .890, but there's a good chance he gets the win. That's likely the case here with a Pens offense that sometimes sputters, but I'd be wary of Jones and his peripheral stats. 

(NEW) Calvin Pickard, EDM vs. FLA (2% rostered)

To Pickard's credit, he's been very good this season. The Oilers are completing their six-game home stand after their eight-game winning streak was snapped by the Lightning, while the Panthers look exhausted after losing two straight games by identical 4-0 scores in the midst of their five-game road trip. The Oilers' high-powered offense should be able to carry them through to a win.

Karel Vejmelka, ARI vs. BUF (22% rostered)

No travel for the Coyotes even though both teams are playing back-to-back, and he’s been historically very good against the Sabres with a career .935 SP. The Sabres have a huge advantage all-time in this series with a 52-28-7 record, but I don’t think the gap is that wide. This is another matchup that feels like a coin flip, and I’d give the edge to the Coyotes being on home ice.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF at ARI (26% rostered)

This has all the makings of a sloppy slugfest. Both teams are playing the second game of a back-to-back, though the Sabres are at a slight disadvantage due to travel from Vegas. Luukkonen was not good in his previous start, allowing five goals on 29 shots against the Avs. The one edge the Sabres have is more scoring talent, but that has barely manifested on some nights.

(NEW) Ivan Prosvetov, COL at WPG (15% rostered)

With his third start in four games, Prosvetov is really working himself into a timeshare with Alexandar Georgiev struggling. This is not an easy matchup; Gabe Vilardi's return has given the Jets a formidable top line even in Kyle Connor's absence, and the Avs are still counting on their offense to win games. Prosvetov may be worth streaming because the Avs are still favored, but the big picture is in the longer term where Prosvetov will have plenty of fantasy value going forward if the Avs keep benching the struggling Georgiev. 

Scott Wedgewood, DAL at STL (5% rostered)

Normally, I think Wedgewood’s a great streaming option, but the Stars have really fallen off lately and Wedgewood played Friday night in relief for the injured Jake Oettinger. The Stars’ farm team also have a back-to-back Friday and Saturday, and third-string Matt Murray (the other one) started Friday against Grand Rapids, so he’s not really an option to play, and neither is his backup Remi Poirier, who has 27 games of pro experience.

The Blues are 1-0 under new coach Drew Bannister and the coaching bump has held true for multiple teams this season. I’d be a little wary of this matchup, but depending on Oettinger’s injury, Wedgewood might be worth stashing.

Joey Daccord, SEA vs. LA (17% rostered)

The biggest thing going for Daccord right now is his hot streak. The Kraken have been excellent at limiting shots, keeping their opponents to 25 or less in three straight games, and to Daccord’s credit, he’s been making the saves. However, the Kings will be difficult to stop and they average 33.2 shots per game, fourth-best in the league. The Kraken are a big disadvantage.

Samuel Montembeault, MTL vs. NYI (26% rostered)

Montembeault gets his second straight start, the second time that’s happened this month even though the Habs had been working a three-goalie rotation. This is good news for Montembeault’s fantasy value because he’ll get starts and rack up the saves, but the bad news is this is a tough matchup. The Isles aren’t having trouble scoring goals.

Dan Vladar, CGY vs. TB (5% rostered)

Steven Stamko’s four-goal outburst proved the Lightning’s offense is still terrifying, and Nikita Kucherov is the best scorer in the league not named McDavid. To Vladar’s credit, he was very good in his previous game, but his .879 SP on the season remains subpair. No matter if Vladar or Dustin Wolf starts, I’d shy away from this matchup.

Elvis Merzlikins, CLB vs. NJ (35% rostered)

Was Merzlikins’ 43-save performance against the Leafs both encouraging and inspiring? Yes. Is it also a huge concern that the Jackets nearly blew a 5-0 lead and lost Patrik Laine to a broken collarbone? Also yes. Starting any goalie against the Devils’ high-powered offense is not for the faint of heart. 

Editor's note: Daniil Tarasov will draw the start and make his season debut. This is a tough matchup and after finishing 4-11-1 with a .892 SP and 3.91 GAA last season, it's best to wait and see how Tarasov does before he's considered a streaming option.