Boost your fantasy lineup! Highlighting forwards such as the Mammoth's Nick Schmaltz and the Ducks' Leo Carlsson to deliver outsized early-season production.
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 and/or for daily fantasy games.
Nick Schmaltz, C/RW, UTA vs. BOS (42% rostered) – FanDuel $6,000
The Mammoth offense is definitely a force to be reckoned with and Schmaltz is coming off a hat-trick performance, giving him seven points in five games. If you need points, Schmaltz is usually a great streaming option; his floor is 60 points, and he’s nearly always on the ice with Clayton Keller (EV and PP) and the Bruins are playing the second game of a back-to-back. Schmaltz’s current scoring pace is a little higher than usual, and I think that’s the biggest risk.
Leo Carlsson, C, ANA at CHI (32% rostered) – FanDuel $6,100
This should be a really good matchup with both teams featuring young and talented centers on their top two lines. After Connor Bedard, I like Carlsson best; he’s scored six points in three games, playing with the red-hot Chris Kreider at EV and PP. It’ll be interesting to see how the lines match up, though I don’t think Bedard or Frank Nazar will present much of a defensive challenge to either Carlsson or Mason McTavish. I can see both teams swapping scoring chances in what could be a high-scoring game.
Connor McMichael, LW, WSH vs. VAN (24% rostered) – FanDuel $4,800
The Caps are switching up their lineup a fair amount and, as of Saturday, McMichael was serving as the 2C between Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson, who has arguably been the Caps’ best player this season. Recent Canucks-Capitals matchups have been low-scoring affairs – 1-2, 2-1, 2-1, 2-3 in their past four – and that would be my biggest hesitation. However, McMichael was quite successful against them last season, registering a point in each of their two matchups.
Mason Appleton, C/RW, DET vs. EDM (2% rostered) – FanDuel $4,200
With Lucas Raymond likely out for this game and Patrick Kane (undisclosed) definitely out for this game, look for Appleton to maintain his spot on Dylan Larkin’s line and receive some substantial ice time. He’s been a perfect complement for Larkin and rookie Emmitt Finnie so far, scoring two goals and three points in two games. The Oilers defensemen might grade pretty highly based on analytics, but their goaltending definitely does not. The Wings have generally been good at generating scoring chances so far this season, getting at least 31 shots on goal three times in five games.
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