With Aleksander Barkov out of the lineup, this is Anton Lundell's big chance to present his case to be a top-six center. Often compared to Barkov as a strong two-way center, Lundell has not scored more than 44 points in a season since his rookie campaign.
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.
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Sam Bennett, C, FLA at CLB (47% rostered)
Anton Lundell, C/RW, FLA at CLB (11% rostered)
Bennett contributes more hits and gets the plum assignment on L1 and PP1 with Carter Verhaeghe, but Lundell was the better player in their 4-3 win over the Bruins on Sunday. Lundell scored his first two goals of the season playing alongside Sam Reinhart and he's averaging more than 19 minutes per game in Barkov's absence.
Jonathan Huberdeau, C/LW, CGY vs. CHI (47% rostered)
Martin Pospisil, C/RW, CGY vs. CHI (23% rostered)
Anthony Mantha, RW, CGY vs. CHI (6% rostered)
This line has certainly passed the eye test and moneypuck.com has this line rated as the Flames' best line in terms of expected goals percentage. It can be boom or bust, especially with Huberdeau, who scored four points against the Flyers on Saturday and then zero against the Oilers on Sunday. I like this matchup and I think all three players bring something to the table. I wouldn't overlook Pospisil, even though he doesn't get much ice time; he's on a three-game point streak and offers up hits and face-off wins.
Logan Stankoven, C/RW, DAL vs. SJ (43% rostered)
I like this matchup for the Stars very much and the addition of Wyatt Johnston to Stankoven and Jamie Benn's line. Mavrik Bourque is not expected to play, so this line will stay intact. Stankoven has four assists in three games and also plays on PP2.
Teuvo Teravainen, LW/RW, CHI at CGY (42% rostered)
Teravainen and Connor Bedard are meshing well, which is a great sign for the Blackhawks and Teravainen's fantasy value. He's coming off a four-point game against the Oilers and averaging 18 minutes per game, nearly two minutes more than what he received last season on Carolina.
Dylan Strome, C, WSH vs. VEG (35% rostered)
I get fantasy managers want to be cautious and wait-and-see, but Strome's locked in as their L1 and PP1 option next to Ovechkin. He scored two points, fired four shots and won 12 face-offs in the season opener.
Conor Zary, C/RW, CGY vs. CHI (14% rostered)
Separate from the Huberdeau-Pospisil-Mantha line, I think Zary's looked fantastic so far this season. He's on a three-game point streak with two goals and two assists and offers upside in multiple categories including hits and blocks. Zary's fantasy value is trending way up and this is a chance to get in on the ground floor. He's on a matchup line with Blake Coleman and Mikael Backlund but plays PP1.
Sean Monahan, C, CLB vs. FLA (12% rostered)
Kent Johnson, C, CLB vs. FLA (3% rostered)
Monahan's the top center and flanked by two dangerous goal scorers in Yegor Chinakhov and Kirill Marchenko, so his fantasy value is pretty self-explanatory. Johnson, on the other hand, is playing right wing on the third line but he's arguably been their best player to date. Look for him to gain RW eligibility soon and he's also been producing with three points in two games to justify all the ice time Dean Evason has been giving him.
Conor Garland, RW, VAN at TB (10% rostered)
The Canucks offense doesn't look as good as it did last season, but Garland's once again a coach's favorite. He's playing on the third line with rookie Aatu Raty as his center with PP2, but he also played 20:13 on Friday against the Flyers and notched an assist. If the Lightning and Canucks' top players cancel each other out, Garland has a chance to be the difference maker.
Marco Rossi, C, MIN at STL (10% rostered)
Joel Eriksson Ek is expected to play after missing one game following an elbow to the head, but it shouldn't affect Rossi's fantasy value or playing time very much. Rossi remains their top center between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello at even strength and his playing time has crept upwards from 14:01 in the season opener to 18:42 in their most recent game against the Jets.
Stefan Noesen, LW/RW, NJ at CAR (7% rostered)
Noesen's been a nice surprise this season. Usually, he's a power-play merchant, but only one of his five points this season have come with the man advantage and he's scored four points in his past two games. This a potential revenge game for the former Hurricane.
Defensemen
Adam Boqvist, D, FLA at CLB (9% rostered)
Speaking of power-play merchants, Boqvist is definitely one of them. He plays very minimal minutes - granted, he's just coming back from injury - and his fantasy value mainly comes from his PP1 deployment. He notched a power-play assist Sunday against the Bruins despite playing 11:11.
Philip Broberg, D, STL vs. MIN (7% rostered)
He's riding on Justin Faulk's coattails a little bit but no matter; Broberg's on a three-game point streak in the midst of a potential breakout campaign and averaging 19 minutes per game.
Seamus Casey, D, NJ at CAR (3% rostered)
Strike while the iron's hot. No doubt Casey's production will come back to earth at some point, but until then, he's been excellent with limited ice time and Sheldon Keefe is a big fan, so that's a good sign. He's scored three goals and an assist in his past four games despite averaging less than 13 minutes per game.
Honorable mention:
Matty Beniers, C, SEA at NSH (20% rostered) - L1, PP1
Mikael Granlund, C/RW, SJ at DAL (20% rostered) - L1, PP1
William Eklund, LW, SJ at DAL (12% rostered) - L1, PP1
Fabian Zetterlund, LW/RW, SJ at DAL (9% rostered) - L2, PP1
Morgan Frost, C, PHI at CGY (4% rostered) - L1, PP1
Shane Wright, C/RW, SEA at NSH (4% rostered) - L2, PP2
Brandon Saad, LW, STL vs. MIN (1% rostered) - L1, PP2
Jake Walman, D, SJ at DAL (12% rostered) - L1, PP1
