Saturday Sit/Start/Stash/Stream Late Edition (Oct. 13)

Got a handle on the Eastern time zone games? Here are the five remaining games for Saturday’s slate, including the Ducks’ season opener.

It’s going to be a big problem if the Kraken can’t score. They’ve scored only one goal in two games after boasting six 20-goal scorers last season, and they’re not winning the possession battle like they did last season. This was always the fear with the Kraken offense that doesn’t boast any elite forwards, and it negatively affects Vince Dunn’s value, too.

They mustered just 23 shots against the Preds and now 0-for-6 on the power play on the season. I’m fading every Kraken until their home opener on Tuesday, which will be a tough one against the Avs.

This is a Freaky Friday experience where the Kraken aren’t getting much from anybody despite a deep lineup – I do think Tye Kartye deserves more minutes – and Philipp Grubauer has been shockingly good.

This might end up being a goaltending battle between Grubauer and Jordan Binnington, which means I’m staying as far away from this one as I can. I literally don’t know what’s going to happen in this game, whether it’ll be a low-scoring snooze, a faulty high-scoring game or if Binnington will start a brawl. Actually, that last one has a good chance of happening.

After singing his praises during the preseason, Jakub Vrana played just 11:23. He did score an assist, but also attempted just one shot. The league is rife with talented players who can’t put it all together, and Vrana is one of them.

After an 8-1 shellacking on Wednesday, this is a revenge game for the Oilers. Thatcher Demko’s status is uncertain due to a bout with the flu; it was so bad he puked in his mask and Rick Tocchet had to pull him. He’s the biggest difference maker between two very good offensive teams. Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner were equally bad having allowed four goals apiece, and it’s still not clear who will have more fantasy value. In a potentially high-scoring game, just sit all goalies involved.

This should be a more evenly matched game because both teams are expected to ice a full lineup after playing a forward short. Adam Erne just signed with the Oilers, and Jack Studnicka was called up on an emergency basis.

Start all the top players on each team without prejudice. It’s worth noting, though, that Quinn Hughes is going to reach elite fantasy status with his current pace of 246 shots and 574 attempts. This is a new wrinkle in his game, and it’ll put him well ahead of Adam Fox in fantasy rankings because both were known for racking up the assists but not providing much else.

I wouldn’t read much into Conor Garland’s team-low 9:52 TOI. He was productive anyway with a goal and three shot attempts, and still worth streaming playing right wing on the top line, even if it’s just to showcase him for a potential trade. Phil Di Giuseppe (1 assist, 1 shot, 2 hits, 16:00 TOI), I must stress, has really fit in well on the second line and worth streaming in a pinch.

This matchup is really lopsided. Jonathan Drouin (30% rostered) has a good chance to establish a point streak and he’s worth stashing in points leagues. The Avs are going to lean on their top guys a lot, especially if they play 11 forwards.

Ryan Johansen (14% rostered) didn’t score a point but I thought he was really involved and just needs a little more time to gel. He finished with zero points but provided three shot attempts, 12 faceoff wins and some nice passing. Start, stash or stream… any of those options should be worthwhile for both Drouin and Johansen.

Mikael Granlund lasted one game and before being placed on IR. That leaves the Sharks one center short when they’re already short on centers, and Kevin Labanc likely draws in unless they call someone up from the AHL.

Anyway, that’s not the point. The point – literally – is that this gives a chance for rookie Henry Thrun (1% rostered) to quarterback PP1. The Harvard alum was a point-per-game machine in his sophomore and junior seasons. He spurned the Ducks to sign with the Sharks because he wanted to play, and he’ll get his chance. I like Thrun’s skillset and the Sharks’ five-forward unit wasn’t doing much anyway. It’s always tough to find a defenseman to stream, but now you’ve got one really good option. The Avs PK ranked 17th last season.

If you’re on the William Eklund or Thomas Bordeleau watch – it’s going to be lonely up in that tower. This offense has very little upside.

No Leo Carlsson for this one since he’s injured. There will be, however, three other rookies: center Benoit-Olivier Groulx and defensemen Jackson LaCombe and Pavel Mintyukov. Good luck against the deepest team in the league!

In all seriousness, top prospect Mason McTavish (20% rostered) is worth stashing for multi-category coverage from the C and LW slots. The power play runs through him as the primary shooter, and I think by the end of the season, McTavish will likely take over Trevor Zegras as the top center. Zegras missed camp and I can’t imagine the more demanding Greg Cronin will give Zegras as long a leash as Dallas Eakins did.

The Knights may be without Alex Pietrangelo, which opens up space for Shea Theodore, who often shares PP duties with him. The suspension to Brett Howden means Jonas Røndbjerg and Pavel Dorofeyev stay in the lineup, and both scored a point in their season debuts. Paul Cotter moves up to the second line and he’s a wonderful banger league option for hits, averaging about three per game in his career. Did I mention the Knights are deep?

Both teams like to grind their opponents, so I’m not convinced this will be a high-scoring game. The Canes have won seven straight meetings and five of those games were decided by two goals or less. With both teams favoring a tandem, look for Antti Raanta and Pheonix Copley to make their season debuts, and I give Raanta the edge.

I would be remiss if I didn’t begin by gushing over Seth Jarvis, who played a team-high 21:49 with first line and PP1 minutes, and finished with 1 assist, 4 shots, 6 shot attempts, and 7 (!) hits. He’s rostered in only 37 percent of leagues. Go roster him now and never look back. Jarvis was my No. 1 ranked breakout player.

Teuvo Teravainen (1 goal, 1 shot, 2 hits, 13:09 TOI) played up the lineup since Andrei Svechnikov is hurt but I’m still not convinced he’s worth rostering just based on his usage. Only Jack Drury and Stefan Noesen played fewer minutes.

It was so good to see Quinton Byfield (4% rostered) score a goal. It took him 16 games to score his first last season, and he’s already shooting the puck more with six attempts and getting more ice time. At this rate, he’s at least worth a stash in a potential breakout season.

Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence’s assignments to the AHL assured Drew Doughty remains the PP1 QB, but Spence has since been called up. He’s still not a threat to Doughty’s role, but this is a chance for Spence to stick with the team with Tobias Björnfot likely sitting out as the healthy scratch. Don’t need to stash Spence; just keep an eye on him for now.