Jonathan Quick and Jakub Dobes will try to establish a winning streak for the Rangers and Canadiens, respectively, while Calvin Pickard tries to get back into the win column for the Oilers.
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12 games on Saturday, Jan. 4
* = confirmed
Jonathan Quick, NYR* at Logan Thompson, WSH* (12 p.m. ET)
Jakob Markstrom, NJ* at Yaroslav Askarov, SJ* (4 p.m. ET)
Alex Lyon, DET at Connor Hellebuyck, WPG* (7 p.m. ET)
Jeremy Swayman, BOS* at Joseph Woll, TOR* (7 p.m. ET)
Filip Gustavsson, MIN* at Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR* (7 p.m. ET)
Joel Hofer, STL* at Elvis Merzlikins, CLB* (7 p.m. ET)
Jakub Dobes, MON at Mackenzie Blackwood, COL* (7 p.m. ET)
Karel Vejmelka, UTA *at Jake Oettinger, DAL* (8 p.m. ET)
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB at Darcy Kuemper, LA (9 p.m. ET)
Justus Annunen, NSH at Dustin Wolf, CGY* (10 p.m. ET)
James Reimer, BUF at Adin Hill, VEG (10 p.m. ET)
Calvin Pickard, EDM at Philipp Grubauer, SEA (10 p.m. ET)
Goalies
Calvin Pickard, EDM at SEA (11% rostered)
Pickard's going for his ninth win in his 13th start and I think he'll be the most popular pickup of the night. The Kraken still don't have an easy time scoring and the Oilers' offense has also been a little snakebit (for their standards) but they should be able to pull through. The Oilers are 9-2-0 all-time against the Kraken, including six straight wins.
Joel Hofer, STL at CLB (9% rostered)
The one worry I have is that Hofer is prone to the odd blowup game - and the Jackets offense is not to be trifled with - but generally speaking I like the way Hofer's been playing. This will be the Blues' second game in two nights with travel, but they're coming off a strong game against the Pens. If they can limit the Jackets offense - they'll be missing Justin Faulk, but Cam Fowler's been great for them - Hofer should be in line for a win.
Jonathan Quick, NYR at WSH (27% rostered)
More performances like the one against the Bruins where he made 32 saves in a 2-1 win and Quick might actually be the answer to turning around the Rangers' season. I think Quick has plenty of fantasy value while Igor Shesterkin is out, but a tough matchup and a matinee start, even with Quick playing well lately... it's a tough call.
I'm cautiously optimistic but note the Rangers have not won consecutive games since Nov. 17-19. I think Quick can put up saves and a good save percentage but a win would be tough, especially with Logan Thompson at the other end of the ice.
Justus Annunen, NSH at CGY (8% rostered)
The Preds are playing the second half of a back-to-back with travel across one time zone, which gives me pause. Generally, Annunen has been good for the Preds, but I've seen enough of him to know that he's not particularly reliable, and the Flames' offense has been buzzing. Annunen allowed just two goals on 27 shots in his lone appearance against the Flames last season, but that was with a really good Avs team in front of him. If you're feeling adventurous, Annunen is a defensible play but not a particularly attractive one.
Alex Lyon, DET at WPG (11% rostered)
I'd probably pass. The Red Wings have won three in a row, two of which were with Lyon in net, but this is such a tough matchup and in their previous meeting earlier this season, Lyon allowed six goals on 29 shots. I'm not sure the Wings can provide enough goal support to earn the win but, admittedly, Lyon has some intriguing ROS value. I'm eyeing a potential start on Jan. 10 against the Hawks.
Jakub Dobes, MON at COL (5% rostered)
As much as I'm rooting for Dobes, who became the first goalie to shut out the defending champions in his NHL debut since Daren Puppa in 1985, this is yet another tough matchup where Dobes is a huge underdog. The case against Dobes is that the Habs are on a roll but they're still in a much lower tier than the Avs, who are coming off a brilliant comeback win against the Sabres. The case for Dobes - like his shockingly brilliant NHL debut - is that goaltending is unpredictable, and we've seen unheralded goalies go on unbelievable shutout streaks before.
Dobes is a high-risk, high-reward play. I think he can rack up the saves, but he set the bar so unrealistically high in his NHL debut that it's almost impossible to match.
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