Fantasy Hockey Head-to-Head Week 8 Primer

The NHL reverts back to its regularly schedule programming following American Thanksgiving for Week 8. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday will once again be the busiest days of the week. There are 12 teams playing four games this week and only two teams are playing twice, giving fantasy managers plenty of options to choose from.

The Bruins and Rangers are the top of the schedule matrix on the backs of their excellent seasons so far. Each team will play four games but only one of their opponents – Leafs for the Bruins on Saturday and Red Wings for the Rangers on Wednesday – are in playoff position.

The Golden Knights, Avalanche, Capitals and Panthers likewise face softer schedules, and these six teams will be the ones to target and mine for streaming options. All 12 teams playing four games this week will have at least one back-to-back; the Blue Jackets play on the off-days but played Sunday, meaning Monday’s game against the Bruins will be the second half of their back-to-back.

If there’s any week for a slumping team to turn it around, this is definitely a good week to do it. The Devils have lost six of their past eight but now have both Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier back in the lineup, and face the lackluster Islanders before facing the Flyers and league-worst Sharks. The Wild, who are one of the worst defensive teams in the league and struggling to score goals, will face the Blues, Predators and Blackhawks, all of whom are allowing more than three goals per game.

Of note this week, Jets forward Gabe Vilardi is expected to return soon and reports indicate Patrick Kane will be signing this coming week. Vilardi played three games before suffering a knee injury and upon his return will likely be slotted back on the top line with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Kane, coming off hip surgery, is still deciding on his new team with Detroit and Florida as possible destinations.

Schedule

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.

Weekly Bangers

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

Hits/GP

Keegan Kolesar, RW, VEG – 3.33
Tanner Jeannot, LW/RW, TB – 3.24
Paul Cotter, C, VEG – 2.95
Tom Wilson, RW, WSH – 2.94
Yakov Trenin, C/LW, NSH – 2.67

Blocks/GP

Brayden McNabb, D, VEG – 3.19
Mario Ferraro, D, SJ – 3.05
Alexandre Carrier, D, NSH – 2.58
Connor Murphy, D, CHI – 2.53
Nick Bonino, C, NYR – 2.53

Season-long adds

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Cole Perfetti, C, WPG (26% rostered)

The impending return of Gabe Vilardi should not have much of an impact of Perfetti. The Jets indicated that Perfetti’s line with Vladislav Namestnikov will likely stay intact. Look for Alex Iafallo to move back down the depth chart. Perfetti’s in the midst of a breakout season with 16 points in 19 games heading into Sunday.

Gabriel Vilardi, C/RW, WPG (13% rostered)

It was hinted that Vilardi would return Sunday, the last game of the Jets’ road trip. Though he did not play, his return is imminent and the Jets play their next four at home. Upon his return, Vilardi should continue where he left off and, remember, he had a breakout season with the Kings last year. At the time of his injury, his line with Scheifele and Connor was dominant; Vilardi has a 73.91 5v5 CF% and 75.25 5v5 xG%. Translation: That’s beyond elite numbers, and even if he regresses, he should still be very good.

Mid-term holds

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Alex Lyon, G, DET (27% rostered)

We’re making an exception for Lyon because a few days ago he was rostered in less than five percent of leagues. He’s started three of the past four games for the Wings and made 37 saves for his second win of the season on Sunday. With Ville Husso struggling and James Reimer allowing bad goals at the most inopportune times, Lyon has emerged as their best option so far. He backstopped the Panthers to the playoffs last season and he’s got the potential to stay hot for the next little while. Whether or not he takes over the starting job for the entire season is still up in the air.

Charlie Lindgren, G, WSH (24% rostered)

Lindgren allowed five goals in his previous start but there’s no question he’s demanding a bigger part of the workload. We’re looking at a 1A-1B situation developing with Darcy Kuemper remaining the 1A, though Lindgren has put up the better stats so far this season. For managers in need of some goaltending help and don’t mind goalies operating in a timeshare, Lindgren’s fantasy value has climbed significantly over the past three weeks.

Dawson Mercer, C/RW, NJ (22% rostered)

Mercer scored a goal and an assist in a 7-2 rout of the Sabres and there’s some fantasy value to be had now that he’s playing with Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli. Mercer has struggled for much of the season but his scoring and shooting rate have both increased significantly during Hughes and Nico Hischier’s absence. Mercer has not been put in a better position to score points until now. If Mercer continues to struggle, then it might be time to write him off this season for good.

JJ Peterka, RW, BUF (21% rostered)

Peterka has appeared in this space numerous times this season and he continues to provide a healthy supply of points over his past 15 games. The Sabres’ second line with Peterka and Casey Mittelstadt has arguably been their most reliable scoring line this season.

Dylan Strome, C, WSH (20% rostered)

The Caps are still a low-scoring team but Strome’s in a good position to capture a big portion of the points. He’s scored four points in their past four games and locked in as one of their top two centers. Strome and Evgeny Kuznetsov will occasionally flip-flop, and obviously the best spot to be is next to Alex Ovechkin, which Strome will certainly do from time to time. The Caps have a favorable schedule in Week 8.

Nick Bjugstad, C, ARI (8% rostered)

After a brief lull where he scored only two points in five games, Bjugstad is back at it with a three-game points streak. Logan Cooley has taken the coveted spot on the top line, but Bjugstad’s line has remained very consistent and productive. Without Barrett Hayton, there’s also more ice time to go around, and Bjugstad has averaged 20 minutes in his past three games.

Short-term streamers

(< 25% rostered on Yahoo)

Gustav Nyquist, LW, NSH (12% rostered)

Heading into Sunday’s game, Nyquist was on a seven-game points streak playing on a line with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly, who’s also been very productive and worth adding again. Nyquist isn’t a shooter but he’s rackig up the helpers. With a L1 and PP1 role, he’s worth streaming as long as he stays hot.

Philipp Kurashev, C, CHI (6% rostered)

As long as Kurashev keeps passing the puck to Connor Bedard, he’ll continue to pile up the assists. Bedard’s on pace for over 50 goals, and he would be the second rookie after Alex Ovechkin to reach that milestone in the cap era. At a point-per-game pace, Kurashev can be a valuable piece in points leagues.

Jonathan Drouin, LW, COL (3% rostered)

Now that Drouin’s back in the Avs’ top six, he’s worth rostering again. He’s scored three points in his past three games, two of which were goals, surprisingly. While consistency remains elusive and his production still modest at best, the Avs have a four-game week with the Ducks and Coyotes in the middle of the week that would be fruitful matchups.

Calen Addison, D, SJ (3% rostered)

Maybe it just took a little time to get acclimatized. Addison has run the Sharks power play since the trade from the Wild, and he’s scored four assists in his past four games. He’s older and more experienced than the Blackhawks Kevin Korchinski, who’s getting some attention after replace Seth Jones on their power play but doesn’t provide a lot of offensive upside at this point in his career.