NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Expected Starters - Friday, Dec. 15

Friday, Dec. 15. Six-game slate.

* = confirmed or probable

Lukas Dostal, ANA* at Jonathan Quick, NYR

Kevin Lankinen, NSH at Antti Raanta, CAR*

Linus Ullmark, BOS at Ilya Sorokin, NYI*

Anton Forsberg, OTT* at Jake Oettinger, DAL*

Mackenzie Blackwood, SJ at Connor Ingram, ARI*

Devon Levi, BUF at Logan Thompson, VEG

Streaming Options

(< 50 percent rostered in Yahoo leagues, ranked by matchup)

Jonathan Quick, NYR vs. ANA (47% rostered)

The Rangers play back-to-back so Quick will either draw this start or Saturday’s against the Bruins and, obviously, this one is more desirable. Quick has been excellent all season, winning eight games in nine starts and that trend will likely continue against the bottom-feeding Ducks.

Mackenzie Blackwood, SJ at ARI (12% rostered)

I think Blackwood can at least escape this matchup with a good save percentage. He’ll likely get the call after allowing just one goal in a win against the Jets at home, and he’s been a great source of saves all season. The Coyotes are stumbling with four straight losses, and the Sharks have won five of their past six matchups.

Kevin Lankinen, NSH at CAR (1% rostered)

The Canes are playing the second half of a back-to-back and that bodes well for the Preds, who are coming off a two-day break. This is the first game of the Preds’ back-to-back and Lankinen should draw this start while Juuse Saros gets Saturday’s home date against the Caps. This is an intriguing play because the Canes still have a reputation for being a very strong team but haven’t played like it for much of the season. I wouldn’t blame anyone for rolling the dice with either Lankinen or Saros, and the Preds have won their past two matchups. There’s still some risk, however, and with so many teams playing back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, there are probably better options out there.

Antti Raanta, CAR vs. NSH (35% rostered)

It’s so telling that neither Canes goalie is over 50 percent rostered. There's not much confidence in the Canes’ goaltending right now, and they're playing the second game of their back-to-back. However, their deeper roster still makes them the favorite against the Preds. I just think the outcome is a coin flip, and Raanta just hasn’t been able to cobble together a good save percentage, making him a bottom-tier fantasy option right now.

Anton Forsberg, OTT at DAL (8% rostered)

After Joonas Korpisalo took back the net, this is Forsberg’s first start in four games. The issue with Forsberg is he’ll look really good at the start but crumbles when you give him a consistent workload. I don’t like this matchup against the Stars; they’ve had a three-day break and the Sens are playing their third road game in four nights.

John Gibson, ANA at NYR (47% rostered)

The Ducks have lost four straight and have not won in regulation since Nov. 14, and against one of the best teams in the league, their chances are, uh, not good. Gibson won four of his five games this season during a three-week stretch from Oct. 26 to Nov. 14, otherwise he’s 1-13-0. 

Editor's note: Lukas Dostal will get the start, which is an interesting decision because it means Dostal will likely start again either Sunday or Monday for the Ducks' back-to-back. This will give Dostal two starts in three games. While Dostal was strong in a 24-save, 1-0 loss to the Hawks in his previous start, both Ducks goalies are inadvisable streamers.