NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Expected Starters - Saturday, Dec. 23

Saturday, Dec. 23. 14-game slate.

* = confirmed or probable

Scott Wedgewood, DAL* at Juuse Saros, NSH (2 p.m. ET)

Jiri Patera, VEG at Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA* (3 p.m. ET)

Martin Jones, TOR* at Daniil Tarasov, CLB* (7 p.m. ET)

Linus Ullmark, BOS* at Marc-André Fleury, MIN* (7 p.m. ET)

Michael Hutchinson, DET* at Vitek Vanecek, NJ* (7 p.m. ET)

Alex Nedeljkovic, PIT* at Anton Forsberg, OTT* (7 p.m. ET)

Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB* at Charlie Lindgren, WSH* (7 p.m. ET)

Ilya Sorokin, NYI* at Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR (7:30 p.m. ET)

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF* at Igor Shesterkin, NYR* (7:30 p.m. ET)

Joey Daccord, SEA at John Gibson, ANA (8 p.m. ET)

Arvid Soderblom, CHI at Jordan Binnington, STL* (8 p.m. ET)

Connor Ingram, ARI at Alexandar Georgiev, COL (9 p.m. ET)

Jacob Markstrom, CGY at Cam Talbot, LA (10 p.m. ET)

Kaapo Kahkonen, SJ at Thatcher Demko, VAN (10 p.m. ET)

Streaming Options

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

Alex Nedeljkovic, PIT at OTT (13% rostered)

As I wrote on the Dec. 21, starting Nedeljkovic is the smart and logical choice. This would be his fifth straight start but the Pens cannot ignore his excellent play; he’s won three of his past four games and keeping the goals allowed to a minimum. The new coaching bump has not happened to the Sens and they’re still not good at defending. Nedeljkovic should be a good streaming option with the Pens gaining momentum, having won four of their past five.

Joey Daccord, SEA at ANA (26% rostered)

Not sure why Daccord hasn’t been rostered in nearly every league yet, but the Kraken’s net is his and he was excellent against the Kings with 42 saves. This is an odd start time for both teams, and with Leo Carlsson (knee) likely out for the Ducks, I like the Kraken’s chances. Daccord is a good goalie; he just needs some goal support.

Scott Wedgewood, DAL at NSH (35% rostered)

This will be Wedgewood’s fifth straight start and with three goals allowed on 20 shots against the Canucks in his previous start, he didn’t look particularly sharp. I’m wary of this matchup because of fatigue, considering Wedgewood’s never had a workload quite like this. The Stars should have the edge but note the Preds have been one of the league’s best teams with only three losses in December.

John Gibson, ANA vs. SEA (43% rostered)

Gibson will likely get the start after backing up Lukas Dostal in a 3-0 loss to the Flames. It’ll be Gibson’s first start since the birth of his child, and that’s always a good sign – call it the new dad bump. The Ducks had won two straight prior to that loss, and at the very least Gibson should be able to provide a very good save percentage.

(NEW) Marc-André Fleury, MIN vs. BOS (48% rostered)

Fleury gets his second start in three games before the break, and he was excellent in their previous matchup against the Bruins on Tuesday, making 40 of 43 saves (.930 SP). There's some logic to this move, but it's going to be tough to replicate his performance. The Wild have been excellent under John Hynes and they're strong at home, so there's definitely a good chance for a win. I'm just not sure you can expect the same save percentage. 

(NEW) Charlie Lindgren, WSH vs. TB (44% rostered)

Lindgren gets his second straight start — somewhat surprisingly — after a strong 34-save performance against the Jackets. The Lightning are going to be much tougher with an elite offense, and you wonder if the Caps can block enough shots and score enough goals to provide decent goal support. A lot needs to go right for the Caps to win, and in their past four matchups (2-2-0), three of them have been blowout wins. Lindgren has only one career appearance against the Lightning; a relief appearance last season when he stopped 24 of 25 shots after Darcy Kuemper allowed four goals on nine shots in 16:22. 

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF at NYR (18% rostered)

Luukkonen is expected to draw the start before the holiday break. Luukkonen hasn’t started since Dec. 16 and this is a tough matchup where the Rangers should be heavily favored, but he’s also had very good career numbers against them: 1-2-1, .935 SP, 2.01 GAA. You’re hoping for a win, mostly thanks to the Sabres’ offense, and a decent save percentage.

Martin Jones, TOR at CLB (35% rostered)

No way the Leafs can go back to Ilya Samsonov right now. After a 9-3 drubbing against the Sabres, the Leafs must bounce back against the Jackets, and the memories of trailing 5-0 in their previous matchup should be fresh. I’d be wary of this matchup if only because Jones has been shaky – four goals allowed in each of his past two games – but no way the Leafs can lose to another bottom team again… right?

Jiri Patera, VEG at FLA (4% rostered)

Logan Thompson and Adin Hill’s status are questionable at best, which means Patera will likely draw his second straight start. This is yet another tough matchup, and the Knights blew a 2-0 lead and allowed the game winner with just 1:13 left to play in the third period in their 5-4 loss against the Lightning. This is a matinee matchup, putting the Knights at a bigger disadvantage on the road, and you’re hoping that the Knights offense can at least bail out Patera with a win.

Arvid Soderblom, CHI vs. MTL (2% rostered)

Soderblom has not won a game since Nov. 24, and since then he’s allowed at least three goals in every game, including seven against the Kraken on Dec. 14 in his most recent start. With an offense that depends solely on Connor Bedard, the Hawks are not in a good position to win this game, nor has Soderblom proven he can provide a half-decent save percentage.

Anton Forsberg, OTT vs. PIT (5% rostered)

Maybe it’s time to give Forsberg a chance. The Sens have now lost six straight with Jacques Martin going 0-2 behind the bench so far, and Joonas Korpisalo has not provided the saves. The defense is still very shaky and Forsberg has allowed nine goals in his past two starts, but if this game turns into an offense-first race, the Sens are at least on equal footing as the Pens. You hope for a win but wince every time there’s a shot on net and hope Forsberg can at least provide a save percentage around .900.

Spencer Martin, CLB vs. TOR (1% rostered)

The Jackets’ rotation is tough to figure out, but after Pascal Vincent essentially blamed their overtime loss to the Caps on Elvis Merzlikins, and seeing how Daniil Tarasov got buried with nine goals in two games, it has to be Martin’s turn, right? Should Martin get the start, it’ll be his first action since Dec. 7 when he allowed seven goals against the Isles, and the Leafs should have some extra jump after being embarrassed in their previous game. Yes, the Jackets jumped out to a 5-0 lead last time, but it’s unlikely Ilya Samsonov will start and, if anything, they’ll be counting on their offense to win games.

Editor's note: Tarasov will get the start. All things considered, it probably doesn't change much for the Jackets, who will need to put forth a strong offensive effort to win games. There has been no rhyme or reason to the Jackets' rotation so far, and it's hard to imagine any of their goalies getting into any kind of rhythm.

Kaapo Kahkonen, SJ at VAN (4% rostered)

Kahkonen has not had any luck against the Canucks this season, who should dominate this matchup. While Kahkonen has been better lately, it’s going to take a lot of things to go right for the Sharks to pull off the win. At best, you’re hoping Kahkonen can rack up the saves.

Michael Hutchinson, DET at NJ (0% rostered)

Either Hutchinson, recently signed to a two-way contract after Ville Husso and Alex Lyon were injured, gets the start of James Reimer plays both games in a back-to-back. Neither situation is ideal, and this is the Devils, one of the best offensive teams in the league. Hutchinson was 2-6-3 with an .875 SP and 4.29 GAA in 16 appearances for the Jackets last season. There’s almost no upside with this option.