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.  

10 games on Tuesday, March 4

* = confirmed

Juuse Saros, NSH at Jeremy Swayman, BOS (7 p.m. ET)

Vitek Vanecek, SJ at Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF (7 p.m. ET)

Frederik Andersen, CAR at Alex Lyon, DET (7 p.m. ET)

Elvis Merzlikins, CBJ at Jonas Johansson, TB (7 p.m. ET)

Dustin Wolf, CGY at Samuel Ersson, PHI (7 p.m. ET)

Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at Jakub Skarek, NYI (7:30 p.m. ET)

Jacob Markstrom, NJ at Jake Oettinger, DAL (8 p.m. ET)

Alex Nedeljkovic, PIT at Mackenzie Blackwood, COL (9 p.m. ET)

Lukas Dostal, ANA at Calvin Pickard, EDM* (9 p.m. ET)

Filip Gustavsson, MIN at Joey Daccord, SEA (10 p.m. ET)

Goalies

Calvin Pickard, EDM vs. ANA (11% rostered)

Spicy! After turning to Pickard to snap their five-game losing streak, the Oilers are going back to Pickard again to see if they can keep the momentum going. Pickard allowed just one goal on 36 shots (.972 SP) against the Canes and now faces a much weaker Ducks team at home. I really like this matchup for Pickard because it looks like the Oilers offense has woken up a bit, and there might be some ROS value if Pickard keeps winning because clearly there’s not a lot of trust in Skinner.

Pickard is one of Tuesday’s top streaming options with the potential for increased value if he can keep stealing starts from Skinner. Pickard is 7-2-0 since Jan. 1 and 4-1-0 against division opponents this season. It’s a revenge game, too, having lost to the Ducks on Dec. 29, 5-3.

Samuel Ersson, PHI vs. CGY (27% rostered)

Ersson will likely return to the starter’s crease after getting a much-needed break, and it was most evident in his last start when he allowed five goals on 25 shots. He should be well-rested and much better this time around, going up against a Flames team that has lost three straight with only one (!) goal scored.

I like Ersson in this matchup and I think the Flyers will pick up the win. The only way they don’t is if they can’t beat expected Flames starter Dustin Wolf.

Alex Lyon, DET vs. CAR (9% rostered)

The Wings deserved a better fate at the Stadium Series after outshooting the Jackets, 46-20, and Lyon gets a chance to earn his fourth win five starts. Lyon’s 5-1-0 record at home is a little misleading because his save percentage (.884 vs. .911) and GAA (2.90 vs. 2.65) are both worse at home than on the road. The Canes are looking a lot better with two wins in their past three games, and they definitely are the favorite.

I think Lyon can get the saves and offer a decent save percentage – the Canes tend to dominate puck possession and shoot a lot, ranking third in shots per game – but I’m unconvinced they’ll get the win. They should’ve won against the Jackets but the Canes are a much tougher opponent and generally do a good job of limiting the opposition offense.

Vitek Vanecek, SJ at BUF (2% rostered)

The Sharks have put in some valiant efforts and finally pulled off a pretty gruelling win against the Leafs to end their losing streak. I don’t really like this matchup – not that Vanecek was enticing in the first place, anyway – and both teams are coming off a back-to-back. The Sabres offense continues to show a lot of jump, nearly completing a comeback win against the Habs after being down 3-0.

I’m hesitant with this start. I think Vanecek can get the saves but I’m not confident in either his save percentage or the prospect of a win. The Sabres outshot the Habs, 36-20, and they’re 15-13-3 at home despite being five games under .500.

Alex Nedeljkovic, PIT at COL (13% rostered)

Nedeljkovic likely gets the start because throwing Tristan Jarry back into the fire right away against the Avs just doesn’t seem fair. Nedeljkovic was sharp in his previous start (.920 SP) despite getting tagged with the loss, and now faces a tough test against one of the league’s best offenses.

Nathan MacKinnon will take this matchup seriously going up against Sidney Crosby, whom he idolizes, and that spells trouble for the Pens goaltending. There’s little trust in them, anyway, and I can see the Avs really rip up the Pens like they did last time in a 6-2 win with Jarry in net. I don’t see much upside in streaming a Pens goalie unless you’re convinced this is going to be a big upset.

Jonas Johansson, TB vs. CBJ (1% rostered)

This looks like an enticing matchup but it’s best to pass on Johansson. The Lightning are playing the second game of a back-to-back after getting their eight-game winning streak snapped against the rival Panthers last night, and at no point this season has Johansson shown any reason to be confident in his abilities. The Jackets offense is very dangerous with 21 total goals scored between the two teams in their previous two matchups.

Hard pass. Johansson is one the few backups who really isn’t worth streaming no matter how lopsided the matchup may look. If you’re adventurous, look for Johansson to rack up the saves, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll be able to keep the Jackets off the board, and this game could go either way with two red-hot teams.  

Jakub Skarek, NYI vs. WPG (0% rostered)

Either Ilya Sorokin starts his second game of a back-to-back with another one coming up in three days, or Skarek gets his second start of the season and his first since Feb. 2 when he allowed five goals on 32 shots (.844 SP) in a loss to the Panthers. Patrick Roy praised Skarek but he is a very inexperienced goalie facing the league’s best team, and the Isles don’t offer much goal support; they were shut out by the rival Rangers last night, 4-0.

Pass. Too many things can go wrong with this streaming option.

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