NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Expected Starters - Tuesday, Jan. 16

Tuesday, Jan. 16. Eight-game slate.

* = confirmed or probable

Chris Driedger, SEA at Igor Shesterkin, NYR* (7 p.m. ET)

Ivan Prosvetov, COL at Mads Sogaard, OTT* (7 p.m. ET)

Lukas Dostal, ANA at Darcy Kuemper, WSH* (7 p.m. ET)

Cam Talbot, LA at Jake Oettinger, DAL (8 p.m. ET)

Ilya Sorokin, NYI at Connor Hellebuyck, WPG* (8 p.m. ET)

Mackenzie Blackwood, SJ* at Petr Mrazek, CHI* (8:30 p.m. ET)

Connor Ingram, ARI* at Dan Vladar, CGY* (9 p.m. ET)

Martin Jones, TOR at Stuart Skinner, EDM* (9 p.m. ET)

Streaming Options

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

Charlie Lindgren, WSH vs. ANA (41% rostered)

After consecutive strong performances in back-to-back games against the Rangers where he allowed just four goals on 58 shots (.931 SP), the Caps should be giving the net to Lindgren full-time. He's been far better than Darcy Kuemper even though Kuemper has more wins. 

The worry is the Caps might give Kuemper this start thinking it could boost his confidence; but, even if that's the case, this is a matchup where the Caps should come out victorious no matter who's in net. Lindgren's a top option for Tuesday's slate and worth rostering for the rest of the season. 

Editor's note: Kuemper draws the start. I think this is meant to be a confidence booster as much as it is to give Lindgren a small break before their home-and-home series against the Blues. I don't expect Kuemper and Lindgren to split those starts.

Ivan Prosvetov, COL at OTT (3% rostered)

Prosvetov plays sparingly but he should draw the start in the second half of a back-to-back with travel for the Avs. He hasn't been nearly as good as he should be for a backup on a very strong team. 

Although the Avs will be missing Valeri Nichushkin, who entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Monday, they should have a significant advantage over a discombobulated Sens squad that's also missing a key player in Josh Norris. The Avs have won six of their past seven matchups and scored at least five goals in five of those games. 

(NEW) Dan Vladar, CGY vs. ARI (5% rostered)

Vladar gets the start with Jacob Markstrom day-to-day with an injury, and top prospect Dustin Wolf has been re-called to back up Vladar. We shall see how well Vladar fares; he hasn't been very good this season (.883 SP) and Wolf certainly has more upside. I wouldn't trust Vladar to get a good save percentage against the underrated Yotes, but I do think he has a good chance to earn the win.

Depending on the extent of Markstrom's injury, I would not be surprised if Wolf and Vladar split the starts going forward. 

Chris Driedger, SEA at NYR (1% rostered)

This will just be Driedger's second start of the season following a 2-1 win against the Flames on Dec. 27. It's been a month since the Kraken have lost consecutive games, but this is a tough matchup and the Rangers will likely be starting Igor Shesterkin. The Kraken are 1-4-0 all-time against the Rangers even though they've outshot them four times. 

This could be a close match, but I'm unsure about Driedger's play and would rather shy away. This is the Kraken's third game in four nights on the road before they head back west to finish their road trip in Edmonton.

Petr Mrazek, CHI vs. SJ (27% rostered)
Mackenzie Blackwood, SJ at CHI (9% rostered)

Neither goalie should be a top option, but if you have to make a call, the Hawks should have the edge as the home team, and the Sharks just had one of their worst efforts of the season in a 3-0 loss to the Sabres on Monday. 

For his part, Mrazek has been sharp; despite losing three straight, he's allowed just two goals in each of those games, arguably his best stretch of play this season. This is the first meeting of the season between the Sharks and Hawks and they've split their past seven matchups with the Hawks having the slight edge (4-3-0). 

(NEW) Mads Sogaard, OTT vs. COL (1% rostered)

This will be Sogaard's first appearance of the season and his first start since April 13 of the previous season. The tall Dane had been quite good in the AHL this season with a .920 SP, but this is such a tough matchup. The Avs are playing the second half of a back-to-back and short on quality forwards, but given how much Nathan MacKinnon's line plays, they might as well be worth two first lines. 

I'm not convinced Sogaard has much of a chance, especially considering his past appearances. There's a chance of an upset, sure, but there's very little reason to think it might happen. Leave Sogaard on the wire; if he plays well, we can consider him in his next start.