Young goalies Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Samuel Ersson and Samuel Montembeault are three potential streaming options for Tuesday's slate.
Tuesday, Feb. 6. Eight-game slate.
* = confirmed or probable
Jacob Markstron, CGY at Jeremy Swayman, BOS (7 p.m. ET)
Jake Oettinger, DAL at Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF (7 p.m. ET)
Thatcher Demko, VAN at Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR (7 p.m. ET)
Samuel Ersson, PHI at Anthony Stolarz, FLA* (7 p.m. ET)
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at Tristan Jarry, PIT (7 p.m. ET)
Samuel Montembeault, MTL* at Charlie Lindgren, WSH* (7 p.m. ET)
Justus Annunen, COL at Vitek Vanecek, NJ (7:30 p.m. ET)
Stuart Skinner, EDM* at Adin Hill, VEG (10 p.m. ET)
Streaming Options
( < 50% rostered in Yahoo leagues, ranked by matchup)
Anthony Stolarz, FLA vs. PHI (10% rostered)
Interesting that Stolarz will get the start. He allowed two goals in a 3-2 win against the Isles in the Panthers' last game before the break and now he'll start their first game coming back from the break. I think this is a good matchup; the Panthers are at home, they have more scoring talent and speed and the Flyers were really struggling going into the All-Star Weekend.
Justus Annunen, COL at NJ (2% rostered)
The Avs are playing the second half of a back-to-back, and after waiving Ivan Prosvetov immediately following the All-Star Game, we might see Annunen make his second start of the season.
He's been excellent in the AHL and previously started for the Avs on Jan. 16 in a 7-4 win against the Sens in which he stopped 36 shots. The Devils are yet another weak defensive team and missing key players on offense. I'm not confident Annunen will put up good numbers, but the Avs' offense is good enough that they will be favored due to their outstanding goal support. If Annunen sticks as the backup, he could be a strong streaming option for the rest of the season.
Samuel Montembeault, MTL at WSH (24% rostered)
Montembeault's generally been pretty good, and this is a matchup against a team that seems to be trending down; the Caps were 0-3-1 entering the break and recently announced Evgeny Kuznetsov would be out indefinitely after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
The Habs were victorious in their previous meeting on Oct. 21, and I think this should be a close game. Montembeault definitely has a chance to win this one.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF vs. DAL (47% rostered)
In eight appearances since the calendar flipped to 2024, Luukkonen has not allowed more than three goals. The Stars are also not the Stars of last season, when they could count on Jake Oettinger to reliably bail them out.
That bodes well against the Stars, but this is a really tough matchup. The Stars are one of the league's best road teams (14-5-4) and their offense is really good. If the Sabres pull off the win, it's because their offense was really effective and Luukkonen was able to make a lot of stops. I think there's some upset potential but I wouldn't bank on it, making this a risky start. You're hoping for a lot of saves and a good save percentage.
Samuel Ersson, PHI vs. FLA (38% rostered)
Ersson and the Flyers really struggled going into the break, but maybe the time off will help Ersson get back on track. Owen Tippett is expected to return to the lineup to face his former team, which certainly helps Ersson's chances.
However, this is a tough game against arguably the best team in the East. This will be the first time Ersson faces the Panthers, and I'd rather wait to see how Ersson plays coming out of the break before committing to him for future starts.