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 Saturday, March 8
* = confirmed
Jonathan Quick, NYR at Linus Ullmark, OTT (12:30 p.m. ET)
Joey Daccord, SEA at Ivan Fedotov, PHI (12:30 p.m. ET)
Jeremy Swayman, BOS at Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB (3 p.m. ET)
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF at Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA (6 p.m. ET)
Anthony Stolarz, TOR at Mackenzie Blackwood, COL (7 p.m. ET)
Jakub Dobes, MTL* at Dustin Wolf, CGY (7 p.m. ET)
Arvid Soderblom, CHI at Juuse Saros, NSH (8 p.m. ET)
Joel Hofer, STL at David Rittich, LA (8 p.m. ET)
Jake Oettinger, DAL at Stuart Skinner, EDM (10 p.m. ET)
Ilya Sorokin, NYI* at Alexandar Georgiev, SJ (10 p.m. ET)
Ivan Fedotov. © Eric Hartline-Imagn ImagesGoalies
Ivan Fedotov, PHI vs. SEA (4% rostered)
Fedotov has been really good lately with three goals allowed in his past two starts, and another strong start might force the Flyers to play him more often. This is a matinee game but the advantage goes to the Flyers since it'll feel like a 9 a.m. start for the visiting Kraken. Their strong suit - goaltending - has been losing a bit of steam and they were sellers at the deadline, losing some scoring depth with Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde now in Tampa.
I quite like Fedotov in this start but understand he's a risk due to his inexperience and inconsistency. However, the Kraken are stuck in a rut and have just two regulation wins over the past month. I like Fedotov's chances of earning a win here.
Joel Hofer, STL at LA (7% rostered)
David Rittich, LA vs. STL (7% rostered)
I like Hofer more as a goalie but the Blues are missing key players while the King added Andrei Kuzmenko at the deadline to bolster their power play. However, the Blues have all the momentum right now with six wins in their past seven games while the Kings are mired in a five-game losing streak, including two losses to the Blues.
Based on momentum, Hofer's the pick to win. However, I can't see the Blues sweeping all three games, so I'll go against the grain and pick the Kings to win. The good news is Blues-Kings matchups tend to be low-scoring affairs, so a win isn't that important but saves and a good save percentage are, then both Hofer and Rittich should be fine streaming options.
Jonathan Quick, NYR at OTT (12% rostered)
Matinee games can be weird. That's probably the biggest reason I don't like this matchup for Quick, who's coming off a 34-save shutout and historically been good against the Sens in his career (7-5-1, .916 SP, 2.40 GAA). The Rangers are 4-2-0 in their past six while the Sens have lost six of their past eight, and need to recover quickly after captain Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson were noticeably shook when Josh Norris was traded.
I don't mind Quick as a streaming option here but I'm not confident; NHL.com's odds has the Sens as the slight favorite. Matinee starts are difficult because it can throw both teams out of rhythm, and Quick has mixed in some mediocre starts with some really good ones this season.
Arvid Soderblom, CHI at NSH (4% rostered)
The Preds have won two straight with 11 goals scored while the Hawks are playing the second game of a back-to-back with travel. Soderblom has just one win in his past eight starts and eight wins in 27 starts overall in the season. Despite the Preds' season-long woes, they seem to have no trouble scoring right now.
Maybe Soderblom can rack up the saves, but I don't like the prospects of him providing a good save percentage or a win. The Hawks weren't huge sellers at the deadline but their lineup is really thin. The Hawks are one of the worst teams on the road with a 7-20-4 record.
Jakub Dobes, MTL at CGY (10% rostered)
Not a big fan of this start for Dobes, who's facing a much better goalie at the other end of the ice and a team with a strong home record (17-10-4). He was good in his previous game (.920 SP) but prone to some bad starts due to his experience.
Other than the fact that Flames expected starter Dustin Wolf can steal this game, note the Habs are 2-5-0 on Saturdays away from their home rink. The Flames are also back at home after a grueling six-game road trip (2-2-2) where they played the final four games over six nights, so the home crowd and last change should give them a boost. The Habs have lost three straight against the Flames dating back to the previous season. I think Dobes can rack up the saves but it's less likely he earns the win.