The Sabres may start Devon Levi against the Canucks in the second game of a back-to-back.
Tuesday, March 19. 13-game slate.
* = confirmed
Joonas Korpisalo, OTT* at Linus Ullmark, BOS* (7 p.m. ET)
Daniil Tarasov, CLB* at James Reimer, DET* (7 p.m. ET)
Tristan Jarry, PIT* at Jake Allen, NJ* (7 p.m. ET)
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG* at Igor Shesterkin, NYR* (7 p.m. ET)
Ilya Samsonov, TOR* at Samuel Ersson, PHI* (7 p.m. ET)
Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR at Ilya Sorokin, NYI* (7:30 p.m. ET)
Magnus Chrona, SJ* at Juuse Saros, NSH* (8 p.m. ET)
Justus Annunen, COL* at Jordan Binnington, STL* (8 p.m. ET)
Samuel Montembeault, MTL* at Calvin Pickard, EDM* (9 p.m. ET)
Filip Gustavsson, MIN* at John Gibson, ANA* (10 p.m. ET)
Petr Mrázek, CHI* at Cam Talbot, LA* (10 p.m. ET)
Devon Levi, BUF at Casey DeSmith, VAN* (10 p.m. ET)
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB* at Adin Hill, VEG* (10 p.m. ET)
Streaming Options
(ranked by matchup)
Marc-André Fleury, MIN at ANA (64% rostered)
The Wild play back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday, which means Fleury will get at least this start against the Ducks or the following one against the Kings. Obviously, the Ducks will be the much easier opponent, so you're hoping Fleury draws this start. He posted a 16-save shutout against the Ducks on March 14.
He's basically taken over the No. 1 job lately, but maybe the Wild start Filip Gustavsson in this game to give Fleury a longer break before starting him on Wednesday.
Editor's note: Gustavsson will get the start, meaning Fleury faces the Kings on Wednesday. Gustavsson is a top streaming option against a bottom-tier team that can't score.
Calvin Pickard, EDM at MTL (12% rostered)
Stuart Skinner gets a break coming off a loss to the Avs, and Pickard is coming off a 41-save shutout against the Pens. This is a great matchup for the Oilers even though just managed to squeak by in a 2-1 overtime win in their previous matchup on Jan. 13.
Their games have been surprisingly close in the past, but the Oilers should still be heavy favorites. Pickard is very much worth streaming. The Habs offense has scored three goals or less in five straight games and rank 27th in GF/GP.
Justus Annunen, COL at STL (8% rostered)
This could be a good test for Annunen, who's faced mediocre competition lately. To be fair, he's done really well, including consecutive shutouts against the Hawks, and allowed just two goals on 27 shots (.926 SP) against the Flames. The Avs are going for their seventh straight win. Annunen should be a solid streaming option tonight.
Casey DeSmith, VAN vs. BUF (39% rostered)
The franchise bros couldn't be more alike in some ways, and note their all-time record against each other is 58-59-19 with the Canucks averaging 3.2 goals for per game and the Sabres 3.3. Though the Canucks have won both of their most recent matchups, they were both also one-goal games. It doesn't get any closer than that.
Two things work in DeSmith's favor: The Canucks are clearly the better team, and the Sabres will be playing the second half of a back-to-back with travel and perhaps starting Devon Levi, who has not seen NHL action since Jan. 24 following a re-assignment to the minors. DeSmith has looked fine in Thatcher Demko's absence and he's a worth stream.
Daniil Tarasov, CLB at DET (8% rostered)
Tarasov has been excellent in his past eight appearances, posting a .942 SP and 2.08 GAA. It's likely his turn in net after Elvis Merzlikins lost 6-1 against the Jets, and this will be the first time Tarasov will face the Wings in his career.
Given Tarasov's strong play, I don't mind rolling the dice with this one if you're desperate for a start, and the Wings have been really struggling, going 1-8-0 in their past nine. It's always a little risky to ride the hot hand because you never know when the music might stop, but you're inherently taking a risk by streaming Tarasov, anyway. The upside is potentially very good.
Devon Levi, BUF at VAN (26% rostered)
The Sabres probably wouldn't called up Levi if there wasn't a chance he would play. Eric Comrie (1-7-0, .864 Sv%, 3.91 GAA) has not been playable, even as the backup, which means Levi likely gets the start in the second half of a back-to-back. His last start was on Jan. 24 against the Kings -- a 5-3 with 37 saves -- and it wouldn't be surprising if he stole this game. Levi is that good.
But the odds are still stacked against him, especially since the Canucks are usually very strong at home (3.63 GF/GP at home, 5th) and possess a talented offense (238 GF, 3rd). Levi's a risky stream with potentially big rewards. If he plays well, he might even be worth holding onto for a little longer.
James Reimer, DET at CLB (7% rostered)
My gut tells me the Wings will start Reimer following a strong performance in a win against the Sabres (25 of 26 saves) and Alex Lyon losing to the Pens, 6-3, in his most recent start. The Wings have fallen out of the wild card spot following the Caps' win on Monday, and going with the ice-cold Lyon (he's 0-6-0 in March) would be a stubborn move.
Reimer does not have strong career numbers against the Jackets (5-8-3, .895 Sv%, 3.39 GAA), which certainly gives me some caution, and the Wings haven't really snapped out of their funk. Still, the Wings are likely favorites, but I'm not confident Reimer can post strong enough peripheral numbers to be worth starting even if he manages to win.
Kaapo Kähkönen, NJ vs. PIT (5% rostered)
At some point, Kähkönen has to snap out of his funk, right? He's lost 20 of his past 21 games (!) but, to be fair, he's also only received two goals' worth of support in two games as a Devil. There's a small part of me that thinks this isn't the worst streaming option.
It's worth noting the Devils have won six straight against the Pens, four of which were by margins of at least three goals. That's Kähkönen's best hope of winning -- when the Devils provide enough goal support -- but the Pens still have so much talent (albeit aging) on the ice that this might end up being a high-scoring game. Given Kähkönen's track record this season, he's a really risky start.
Editor's note: Jake Allen will get the start, and he's definitely got the inside track on the starting job now. His two losses weren't exactly his fault -- goal support was a problem -- and I definitely like this matchup slightly more with Allen in net than Kähkönen.