The Battle of Ontario highlights a three-game Wednesday night.
Expected Starter
Anton Forsberg, OTT at TOR (8% rostered)
Joonas Korpisalo was pulled in his last start after allowing three goals on 20 shots, so presumably Forsberg now gets his chance. This is the Sens’ first game after getting booed on home ice and chants of “Fire DJ!” rang through the rink. Brady Tkachuk passionately defended his coach and booed the booing, and what better way to quiet the haters by beating their provincial rival?
That being said, the Leafs have elite forwards coming off a big comeback win against the Lightning and Forsberg’s own play (.863 SP, 3.42 GAA) has been very subpar, opening the door for a lot of goals against. The Sens should come out with a complete effort, but the Leafs are the better team; unless fantasy managers are looking for some saves, I’d rather avoid this matchup. The Sens have won once in their past seven matchups.
Forwards (Add/Hold)
Josh Norris, C, OTT at TOR (47% rostered)
Norris is a fixture in the Sens’ top six and even though he doesn’t have Tim Stützle’s upside, he’s still humming along averaging three shots and a point per game. He’s definitely a season-long hold for points, shots and faceoff wins in 12-team leagues.
Quinton Byfield, C/LW, LA at VEG (28% rostered)
Byfield’s hitting his stride and living up to the potential with a huge spike in his offensive production. He’s coming off a three-assist effort against the Flyers and remains attached to Anze Kopitar’s hip. The drawback is Byfield’s lack of banger league value for a forward known for his strength and size, though he has a lot of add-and-hold value in keeper leagues.
Dylan Strome, C, WSH vs. FLA (26% rostered)
The Panthers should not be hard to score on. Don’t be deterred by Strome’s two-game drought; it’s a short-term bump and he’s locked in as their top center and Peter Laviolette’s favored option with Alex Ovechkin. It’s a little odd that, as a playmaker, Strome still has zero assists, but that will change as soon as Ovechkin gets in a groove, and Ovechkin’s too good not to go on a hot streak at some point.
Forwards (Stream)
Matthew Knies, LW, TOR vs. OTT (26% rostered)
It seems like Knies only scores against the Lightning and nobody else. He has a chance to dispel this notion by scoring a point, and he’s yet to score in consecutive games this season. Playing on the top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner should help immensely, and the Leafs should be able to score a lot of goals against the Sens’ struggling goalies.
Trevor Moore, LW, LA at VEG (26% rostered)
Moore doesn’t have the name recognition but he deserves to be rostered in many more leagues. He’s on a three-game point streak with 11 points in 11 games on the season and provides a healthy dose of shots.
Anton Lundell, C, FLA at WSH (7% rostered)
Normally, Lundell’s relatively low offensive upside makes him an unattractive streamer, but he’s found his touch lately with four points in his past six games. Sam Bennett was placed on IR on Tuesday, which means Lundell will continue to be their No. 2 center with Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe on his wings.
Mathieu Joseph, RW, OTT at TOR (6% rostered)
The Sens’ latest line shuffle finds Joseph on a line with Tim Stützle and Claude Giroux, a nice bump to one of their two scoring lines. Joseph’s offense – eight points in 10 games – has been a nice surprise this season, and the new deployment along with PP2 minutes provides some upside. His 19 minutes played against the Lightning was a season high and the fifth-highest among Sens forwards.
Nick Robertson, LW, TOR vs. OTT (2% rostered)
Robertson played only 11:34 against the Lightning but managed to get an assist and a shot on goal. His minutes are capped because the Leafs’ top six and power play units are set, but finding secondary scoring was a big reason Robertson was called up. He’ll get his chance to generate offense against a weak defensive team.
Defensemen (Add/Hold)
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, FLA at WSH (24% rostered)
Ekman-Larsson continues to be worth holding until the return of Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad, who are expected to return before the end of calendar 2023. OEL has scored a point in consecutive games and continues to play big minutes, and with big minutes comes broad multi-category coverage even though he doesn’t do anything particularly well. If you need a filler on ‘D’ even for just one game, OEL is a great option.
Defensemen (Stream)
Matt Roy, LA at VEG (15% rostered)
Kings and Knights is always a slugfest and if you’re looking for banger categories, look no further than Roy. Forming a shutdown pair with Vladislav Gavrikov, Roy has 22 shots, 22 blocks and 24 hits on the season, averaging around two per game.
Alec Martinez, VEG vs. LA (10% rostered)
Martinez is arguably the best source of blocked shots in the entire league and faces his former team. Don’t expect anything else, however, except maybe a couple more hits because matchups between these two teams tend to be very physical.
