Fantasy Hockey Head-to-Head Week 15 Primer

With Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, the NHL is off to an early start with the first games slated to begin at noon Eastern Time. 

They're not quite staggered starts, but it's a full day of action with the latest game starting at 8 p.m. ET, meaning it's a very early and finish for those on the West Coast. 

With 20 teams in action Monday, that means 13 teams will be playing four games in Week 15. With six games on Sunday, I wouldn't be worried about falling behind early in the week, but obviously having a lead early in the week is better than trailing. 

A reminder that Hockey Day in Canada is Saturday, Jan. 20. All the Canadian teams will be in action that day.

Goaltending continues to be a mess. There have been plenty of strong performances, but last week's heroes may be this week's duds. A few incumbent starters, including Nashville's Juuse Saros (Kevin Lankinen), Washington's Darcy Kuemper (Charlie Lindgren), Philadelphia's Carter Hart (Samuel Ersson) and Pittsburgh's Tristan Jarry (Alex Nedeljkovic), are ceding more and more time to their backups/1B's. 

Then there's the returns of Carolina's Antti Raanta following an injury to Pyotr Kochetkov (concussion) and Toronto's Ilya Samsonov following his brief demotion to the AHL. Meanwhile, Edmonton's Jack Campbell has fallen so deep into the abyss that he might as well be on the other side of Earth.

The easiest schedule of Week 15 belongs to the Sharks, but it being the Sharks, I'm not sure there's a huge advantage to rostering any of their players. Instead, I'd look to the Sabres, who play all three games at home and face the Sharks, Hawks and Lightning. This is a chance for borderline fantasy players such as Devon Levi, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Zach Benson to take advantage, especially with the void left by Jeff Skinner's injury.

If we skip the Jackets, who have the toughest schedule but play just twice (Canucks and Devils), you wonder when the Kings' eight-game slide will end. It's really tough; they have a back-to-back Monday and Tuesday in Carolina (playing well) and Dallas (Jake Oettinger is back), and then face the Predators and Rangers at home, where they've been worse than expected. 

Cam Talbot is the one to watch; if he keeps struggling, we'll see more Dave Rittich, and perhaps see them make a move for a goalie on the trade block, which may include the Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins. The Kings and Jackets struck a trade last season for Joonas Korpisalo; maybe they'll go that route again. 

Pick players from teams at the top of the schedule matrix to maximize games and matchups. Green is good. Red is bad. All advanced stats courtesy naturalstatrick.com. All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo Fantasy. Points percentages as of Saturday.

(< 50% rostered on Yahoo, on teams with 4 games this week)

Hits/GP

Michael Pezzetta, LW, MTL - 3.55 
Cal Clutterbuck, RW, NYI - 2.81 
Matt Martin, LW, NYI - 2.76
Marcus Foligno, LW, MIN - 2.74 
Will Cuylle, LW, NYR - 2.61 
Nicolas Deslauriers, LW, PHI - 2.54
Garnet Hathaway, RW, PHI - 2.44 
Jani Hakanpää, D, DAL - 2.43 
Josh Manson, D, COL - 2.32 
Will Borgen, D, SEA - 2.24 

Blocks/GP

David Savard, D, MTL - 3.15 
Kaiden Guhle, D, MTL - 2.95 
Scott Mayfield, D, NYI - 2.63
Nick Seeler, D, PHI - 2.60 
Ilya Lyubushkin, D, ANA - 2.55
Jamie Oleksiak, D, SEA - 2.40 
Alexander Romanov, D, NYI - 2.33
Matt Roy, D, LA - 2.31
Jacob Bernard-Docker, D, OTT - 2.29
Jake Middleton, D, MIN - 2.26 

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Ryan Hartman, C/RW, Wild (24% rostered)

No matter who's behind the bench, at some point or another, the Wild keep defaulting to Hartman on the top line. He's skating between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello again, where he's been a staple for the past few seasons. He's scored five points in his past six games, wins faceoffs and isn't afraid to shoot the puck. 

Mikael Granlund, C/RW, Sharks (24% rostered)

I begrudgingly admit Granlund has been far more productive than I thought he'd be even after his incredible hot streak. If you need points, Granlund's a safe bet because his usage is through the roof with the Sharks. He's on a four-game points streak. 

Phillip Danault, C, Kings (18% rostered)

Am I done with Pierre-Luc Dubois? Yes, I am. That means Danault's my choice and he's flanked by Kevin Fiala and Trevor Moore on a scoring line. The offense will go through peaks and valleys, but Danault has higher peaks and lower valleys than Dubois, and he's scored a point in each of his past four games. 

Jaden Schwartz, C/LW, Kraken (15% rostered)

Schwartz is back, both literally and figuratively. He's returned from a lower-body injury that limited him to 23 games at the halfway mark, but after re-joining the lineup has scored four points in three games. Top-six minutes and PP1 makes him very worthwhile and the best option among the season-long adds. 

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G, Sabres (16% rostered)

I do not think the gap between Luukkonen and Devon Levi is big. While the Sabres aren't without their problems, they've split their goalie duties and they have arguably the easiest schedule in Week 15 with the Sharks on Monday and Hawks on Wednesday; both are off-days to take advantage.

Adam Henrique, C/LW, Ducks (13% rostered)

Henrique skated 20:41 against the Lightning with Leo Carlsson and Trevor Zegras injured, leaving gaping holes in the Ducks' top six. As a trusted veteran, Henrique will continue to skate plenty of minutes. A possible trade could also boost his fantasy value. Henrique's scored three points in his past four games. 

Erik Haula, LW, Devils (9% rostered)

Coaches love Haula. He's reliable and versatile, and with so many Devils out of the lineup, Haula finds himself on L1 with Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer. He'll stay in that role until Jack Hughes or Timo Meier returns. In the meantime, he's scored six points in five games and averaging 20 minutes per game. 

Lukas Dostal, G, Ducks (9% rostered)

If you need saves, target Dostal. John Gibson is inconsistent and also frequently injured. They're both expected to start twice in Week 15 with two sets of back-to-backs on Monday-Tuesday and Saturday-Sunday. 

Nico Daws, G, Devils (8% rostered)

I'd like to see more from Daws before I commit long-term, but a 36-save, 4-1 win against the Panthers was incredibly promising and encouraging. The Devils cannot keep relying on Vitek Vanecek, which means Daws should get more playing time by necessity. Of the four goalies on this list, Daws is the most promising and offers the most long-term upside, both this season and beyond. 

David Rittich, G, Kings (3% rostered)

The Kings' goaltending situation needs to be addressed. Even with essentially a healthy lineup, they're mired in a losing streak and Cam Talbot's performances are fading. Rittich is 2-0 so far this season and has earned more playing time. Unless the Kings make a trade, I expect Rittich to get more playing time going forward. 

Dylan Guenther, LW, Coyotes (3% rostered)

Guenther is boom-or-bust but has immense upside. He's playing middle-six minutes but provides added value on PP1, and fires plenty of shots on goal. If you're looking for some offense with some keeper-league potential, Guenther is a good option as a goal-scoring winger. 

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Nicolas Roy, C/RW, Golden Knights (2% rostered)

The Knights are down three centers — Jack Eichel, William Karlsson and Chandler Stephenson — to various ailments, which means Roy gets pushed way up the depth chart. Stephenson will likely be the first to return, but that still leaves Roy in the top six. Vegas has a favorable schedule with three home dates including a two-day break before hosting the Rangers and Pens. 

Jack McBain, C, Coyotes (1% rostered)

With Logan Cooley moving to the wing, it's left the Yotes short on centers. In steps McBain, big, burly physical centers on L1. He assisted on both of Clayton Keller's goals in a 6-0 win against the Wild. In banger leagues, McBain is an under-the-radar option who can provide immense value in the short term.