On every game day this season, THN Fantasy will highlight players and goalies for fantasy managers to stream or roster for the rest of the season. The recommended players and goalies are rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues and can be selected in standard fantasy leagues or for daily fantasy games.
Patrik Laine, LW/RW, MTL at EDM (45% rostered)
Goaltending is not the Oilers’ strong suit. The Habs have drawn the sixth-most penalties entering Wednesday’s games, which bodes well for their chances of getting on the power play. Once that happens, it’s Laine’s time to shine. He’s scored 14 goals in 33 games this season, 11 of which have come on the power play.
JJ Peterka, LW/RW, BUF at TB (45% rostered)
Tough matchup since the Sabres are likely facing Andrei Vasilevskiy but Peterka is red-hot with a six-game points streak. The Sabres have scored just nine goals in their past four games but Peterka’s scored a point on six of them, showcasing how much they’re leaning on Peterka and the top line.
Logan Cooley, C, UTA at DET (44% rostered)
Utah should be well-rested coming off a four-day break and had plenty of time to reset following a 3-1 loss to the Devils that snapped their three-game winning streak. Cooley is Utah’s top playmaking pivot and played 20:02 against the Devils, his highest total after being eased back into the lineup following a brief absence. The big drawback is Cooley may draw a matchup against Dylan Larkin, who’s one of the better two-way centers in the league.
Tyler Toffoli, LW/RW, SJ at COL (38% rostered)
William Eklund, LW, SJ at COL (18% rostered)
Toffoli carries a three-game goal streak into this matchup and he’s known to score goals in bunches. He’s always been fantastic on the road, scoring 16 goals in 31 games compared to eight goals in 29 games at home. Historically, Toffoli has always been a strong performer against the Avs with 13 goals and 24 points in 31 career games.
Eklund is also a good choice with a three-game points streak. I think his upside is a little higher even though he’s playing with Toffoli at even strength and on the power play; Eklund plays more minutes and his game is more dynamic offensively, allowing him opportunities to score points whereas Toffoli is more of a finisher.
Adam Fantilli, C, CBJ at FLA (31% rostered)
Dmitri Voronkov and Boone Jenner had their point streaks snapped but not for Fantilli, whose assist extended his points streak to six games. This is a tough matchup because he’ll draw either Aleksander Barkov, who’s arguably the league’s best defensive center, or the agitating Sam Bennett. The Jackets usually score a lot of goals but I wouldn’t be surprised if their offense is a little more muted against one of the league’s better defensive teams. Regardless, the Jackets will be leaning on Fantilli a lot to generate offense.
Shane Wright, C/RW, SEA at NSH (13% rostered)
Wright has been low-key very productive over the past month, scoring 21 points in his past 24 games. The Kraken offense took a small hit after trading Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to the Lightning on Wednesday, but it shouldn’t affect Wright much since his line with Jared McCann and Andre Burakovsky remains intact. In fact, it might even up some minutes for Wright, who faces one of the league’s worst defensive teams. The Preds’ goaltending has been uncharacteristically weak and expected to be without captain Roman Josi on their blue line.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW, TB vs. BUF (13% rostered)
Bjorkstrand was traded to the Lightning in a multi-player swap on Wednesday and expected to debut with his new club. Not quite sure how Jon Cooper will manage his lines, but it’s likely Bjorkstrand steps onto the second line with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel, dropping Zemgus Girgensons to the bottom six where he’s a much better fit.
Bjorkstrand doesn’t shoot the puck much but he’s an efficient scorer with strong two-way play. Perhaps playing on a much better offensive team such as the Lightning can unlock some potential. Bjorkstrand’s a speculative play because we don’t know where he’ll play in the lineup and how he’ll mesh with his new team.
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