A lighter-than-usual four-game slate for Thursday, but certainly a few interesting options include Carolina's Antti Raanta. Could Vegas' Isaiah Saville make his NHL debut?
Thursday, Dec. 28. Four-game slate.
* = probable or confirmed
Cayden Primeau, MTL* at Antti Raanta, CAR* (7 p.m. ET)
Samuel Ersson, PHI* at Casey DeSmith, VAN* (10 p.m. ET)
Cam Talbot, LA* at Jiri Patera, VEG* (10 p.m. ET)
Stuart Skinner, EDM* at Magnus Chrona, SJ* (10:30 p.m. ET)
Streaming Options
( < 50% rostered in Yahoo leagues, ranked by matchup)
(NEW) Casey DeSmith, VAN vs. PHI (22% rostered)
The Canucks will give Thatcher Demko an extended break despite playing just one game in Week 12. DeSmith takes the net and this is a good matchup for the Canucks, who are excellent at home and facing a team that has trouble scoring at times. DeSmith has allowed just three goals in his past three starts. He's the top streaming option for Thursday.
Antti Raanta, CAR vs. MTL (15% rostered)
It’s easy to hate on Raanta, and for good reason. He was 1-0-1 in his short two-game stint with AHL Chicago, but his .875 SP and 2.90 GAA doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. In both of his starts, Raanta and the Wolves fell behind early and needed exceptional play on the power play to earn points. While this is a risky play considering Raanta’s poor play all season, he has historically been excellent against the Habs in his career with an 8-1-0 record, .927 SP and 2.13 GAA.
Samuel Montembeault, MTL at CAR (25% rostered)
Montembeault’s career record against the Canes is not good: 0-3-1, .897 SP and 3.87 GAA. It’s always tough to gauge how well a team will do after an extended break, and even with the Habs winning three of four prior to the break, they’re definitely the underdogs. You’re hoping for a good save percentage in the worst-case scenario.
Editor's note: The Habs will start Cayden Primeau, the first time he's started consecutive games this season dating back to a 5-2 win against the Hawks just prior to the holiday break. It's still a risky start even though the Canes are playing back-to-back. It will be curious to see what the Habs plan to do with Jake Allen. After splitting starts from October to November, he made just three appearances in December.
(NEW) Samuel Ersson, PHI at VAN (23% rostered)
Maybe we shouldn't read too much into this because the Flyers play Friday night in Seattle, but Ersson will get the first time post-holiday break. It'll be his sixth start in seven games and it's really looking like the Flyers have a timeshare situation here. John Tortorella usually just goes with the hot hand, so things may change, but it's time to consider Ersson as the starter and Carter Hart the backup. If Ersson can post a good save percentage in this matchup regardless of outcome, it's a good result. The Canucks are exceptional at home and entered the holiday break first in the standings.
Mackenzie Blackwood, SJ vs. EDM (11% rostered)
Kaapo Kahkonen started Tuesday in L.A. after the Sharks announced Blackwood was dealing with an illness. This puts Blackwood’s status against the Oilers in doubt and they’ll be playing the second half of a back-to-back. Blackwood has not been piling up the saves like he did earlier in the season, and we’ll have to wait for his next hot streak to realize any fantasy value.
Editor's note: Rookie Magnus Chrona will make his first NHL start and, uh, good luck against Connor McDavid. Blackwood is ill and will not be able to play. Chrona has just one appearance in this season, coming in relief for Blackwood against the Pens on Nov. 4 and allowed four goals on 17 shots. With a very poor record (3-6-2) with AHL San Jose, who sit second-last in the 10-team Pacific Division, this should be an easy win for the Oilers. Chrona is the least desirable option Thursday night.
Isaiah Saville, VEG vs. LA (0% rostered)
We will get more clarity on the Knights’ goaltending situation before the game, but if Logan Thompson is not ready, either the Knights will start Jiri Patera again in the second half of a back-to-back, or call up Saville, who will make his NHL debut. In either case, neither Patera nor Saville are good options against the Kings. This has been a difficult stretch for the Knights, having lost three straight prior to the break and then playing back-to-back right away. This matchup is not advisable.
Editor's note: With Logan Thompson getting the start against the Ducks on Wednesday, it means Patera will likely start against the Kings. Given Patera's lack of experience against a tough opponent and his season stats — .898 SP, 3.98 GAA — he's not a desirable streaming option.
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