NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Goalie Pickups Dec. 5 - A Knight To Bounce Back

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 can be used in standard fantasy leagues or for daily fantasy games.

9 games for Thursday, Dec. 5

* = confirmed

Connor Hellebuyck, WPG* at Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF* (7 p.m. ET)

Justus Annunen, NSH at Sam Montembeault, MON (7 p.m. ET)

Ville Husso, DET at Linus Ullmark, OTT* (7 p.m. ET)

Vitek Vanecek, SJ* at Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB (7 p.m. ET)

Spencer Knight, FLA* at Ivan Fedotov, PHI* (7 p.m. ET)

Scott Wedgewood, COL* at Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR (7 p.m. ET)

Joey Daccord, SEA at Ilya Sorokin, NYI* (7:30 p.m. ET)

Jordan Binnington, STL at Dan Vladar, CGY* (9 p.m. ET)

Elvis Merzlikins, CLB at Calvin Pickard, EDM* (9 p.m. ET)

Spencer Knight, FLA at PHI (20% rostered)

It's hard to make heads or tails of Knight's fantasy value, considering he shut out the Canes, 6-0, then proceeded to allow five goals on 16 shots in a loss to the Pens. I do like this matchup, however, because the Flyers tend to be a low-scoring team. The Panthers do have the definite edge here, and I think Knight will bounce back after a horrible outing. Do not underestimate the Flyers; this game should be close. 

Dan Vladar, CGY vs. STL (9% rostered)

Hard to imagine the Flames go with Dustin Wolf in this matchup with Vladar coming off an easy 16-save shutout against the Jackets, but either Wolf or Vladar should be worth streaming in this matchup. The Blues aren't a particularly good offensive team, ranked 27th in GF/GP, and potentially missing key players in Pavel Buchnevich and Justin Faulk due to injury. 

Justus Annunen, NSH at MON (11% rostered)

This will be Annunen's Preds debut and his first appearance since Nov. 25 in a disastrous loss against the Lightning where he allowed five goals on 16 shots, a performance that likely precipitated the trade to Nashville. Regardless, Annunen gets a fresh slate and he should be eager to make a strong impression just as Scott Wedgewood - whom Annunen was traded for - did in his debut with his new club.

However, note that the Preds have been horrendous at 5-on-5 and may not offer much more help, if at all, than the Avs' defense, and the return of Patrik Laine gives the Habs a fearsome sniper. Annunen is a risky start with the Preds playing the second game of a back-to-back, but I still feel like the Preds should be the favorite here. 

Scott Wedgewood, COL at CAR (16% rostered)

It wouldn't be surprising to see the Avs go with Wedgewood, who stopped all 22 shots in a relief appearance and earned a 5-4 win in his Avs debut after they fell behind 4-0. (The Avs have yet to announce their starter as of this writing). The Avs really want to stick with Alexandar Georgiev, but if Wedgewood keeps playing like this, he will make them think twice. 

This is not an easy matchup and the Canes are very good off the rush while the Avs are terrible at defending them. I think the Avs have a chance to win the game becuase they don't quit, and I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being a high-scoring affair. Wedgewood may be worth a speculative add just in case he's good enough to siphon starts away from the struggling Georgiev. Be cautious if you're streaming him but note he might have some good medium-term value. 

Ville Husso, DET at OTT (4% rostered)

Husso was surprisingly good against the Bruins, allowing just three goals on 35 shots (.914 SP). He's slated to start again against the Sens, who have been struggling with a 2-5-2 record in their past nine games. The Sens are generally stronger at home (6-5-1) than on the road (4-7-1), so be wary of that, and Husso hasn't earned enough goodwill just yet to be a top streaming option. He's 2-2-0 with a .865 SP and 3.77 GAA in his career against the Sens, which gives me further pause. 

Of course, Husso could always surprise, just as he did with the Bruins, but he's such a risky play that he's only worthwhile if all other options have been exhausted. 

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