Blues see key players return, new opportunities for Kiefer Sherwood and Yegor Chinakhov. Grab these rising forwards before your league mates do.
On every game day this season, THN Fantasy will highlight players and goalies for fantasy hockey managers to stream, roster or utilize in standard leagues and/or DFS games. Players and goalies highlighted for streaming in standard leagues are rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues.
Jordan Kyrou, RW, STL vs. SEA (53% rostered) - FanDuel $5,400
There is no shortage of wingers to choose from the Blues but Kyrou stands out with his offensive profile as a high-volume shooter with L1 and PP1 roles. Not having Robert Thomas will take some bite out of their offense, but Pavel Buchnevich, Dalibor Dvorsky and Pius Suter down the middle isn’t too bad, especially given the Kraken’s center depth isn’t great, either. If you want a winger with a little more jam, consider Jimmy Snuggerud, Dylan Holloway and Jake Neighbours, in that order; Snuggerud is expected to join Kyrou on PP1.
Kiefer Sherwood, LW/RW, SJ vs. CGY (52% rostered) - FanDuel $5,400
The reigning hits champion likely won’t win the title this season – it’s probably the Wild’s Yakov Trenin – but he’s setting up for his first 20-goal season. With Tyler Toffoli’s status uncertain, look for Sherwood to play on their top line with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. This is an excellent spot for Sherwood, who can create space with his physical play and hands good enough to finish scoring chances. This is a good matchup against the Flames, who allow the 11th-most shots per game and traded Rasmus Andersson earlier in the season, further weakening their defense.
Patrick Kane, RW, DET at OTT (32% rostered) - FanDuel $5,700
The Olympic break probably benefits veterans the most, and that includes the 37-year-old Kane, who’s still scoring at a very healthy clip. He did not score a point in three games leading up to the break, but remains on L2 and PP1 with long-time running mate Alex DeBrincat. The Sens can be stingy on home ice, ranking 10th-lowest in goals against per game, but overall continue to be pretty porous, ranking ninth-highest in goals against per game.
Yegor Chinakhov, LW/RW, PIT vs. NJ (8% rostered) - FanDuel $4,900
Chinakhov missed Wednesday’s skate for the birth of his daughter, so you know what that means: Dad strength. Anecdotally, players seem to have really strong games once they become a dad, and Chinakhov may be no different. The Pens will be without Sidney Crosby, but that means Chinakhov’s line with Evgeni Malkin will likely be leaned on a lot more. Since joining the Pens, Chinakhov has scored eight goals and 12 points in 18 games. The Devils are also playing the second half of a back-to-back.
Kirby Dach, C/RW, MTL vs. NYI (2% rostered) - FanDuel $4,800
Dach was on a four-game points streak prior to the Olympic break and slated to skate on L1 with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, and PP2 with Alex Newhook, who returns to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 13. The knock against Dach is his inability to stay healthy, but otherwise he’s a capable top-six scorer who’s been put in a very good situation to score points with two of the Habs’ best players. The drawback is he has to face Ilya Sorokin.
Ondrej Palat, LW, NYI vs. MTL (1% rostered) - FanDuel $4,400
Considering how little Palat has accomplished this season – five goals and 13 points in 57 games this season – he’s not an ideal streaming option, but note he’s expected to play with Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal on L1 and PP2 with Anders Lee and Jonathan Drouin. The Habs’ goaltending has been a sore spot all season and Palat is playing significantly more minutes with the Isles than with the Devils (15:42 vs. 12:45), so there might be some sneaky upside here.
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