Saturday Start/Sit/Stream/Stash Late Edition (Oct. 21)

Brett Howden (0% rostered) scored a goal, giving him two points in two games, and I like him as a streamer in this matchup. Him and Paul Cotter (0% rostered) will flip-flop between the second and third lines sometimes, but Howden has more upside for scoring with a PP2 role while Cotter has more value for hits.

Alex Pietrangelo was close to returning but sat out Thursday. With Alec Martinez (8% rostered) returning, who’s incredibly valuable in banger leagues for his hits and blocked shots, it’s likely Brayden Pachal or Ben Hutton who comes out of the lineup for Pietrangelo if he plays.

If you’re wondering why Connor Bedard isn’t a sure-first first-round pick in redraft leagues, the rest of the team is why. They were dominated by the Avs and ended up losing 4-0, and without proper help, Bedard’s fantasy value will be capped. As good as Ryan Donato (4% rostered) has been, he’s not worth streaming in such a tough matchup.

The Flyers are a sneaky-good team and it bares reminding that Sean Couturier (17% rostered) is still criminally under-rostered. Cam Atkinson (4% rostered) has picked it up with two goals against the Oilers and averaging over 18 minutes per game. John Tortorella trusts him, and that counts for a lot because you never know who Tortorella is going to scratch, and he’s not afraid to scratch anybody.

Travis Sanheim (3% rostered) is being overlooked as well playing tons of minutes. He’s scored three assists in four games, including one on the power play, while providing a steady diet of shots and blocks.

The Stars offense is off to a slow start and it’s best to exercise patience. They will figure it out sooner than later, and both Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen scored their first goals on the season last game, so they’re starting to turn it around.

The Jackets generated a lot of scoring chances against the Flames last night and Adam Fantilli was robbed twice on odd-man rushes. He’s still looking for his first goal, and it will come. The Jackets will need their depth to pick up some slack on the second half of a back-to-back, and the player that caught my eye was Justin Danforth (0% rostered), who scored a goal and an assist. He gets moved around the lineup a lot, mostly in the bottom six, but he’s an older player and previously a top scorer in the Liiga in Finland and the KHL.

The big question in Minnesota right now is the goalie rotation. Both Filip Gustavsson and Marc-André Fleury won their season debuts only to get lit up in their second games, and it’s still a potential timeshare. Based on their current rotation – win and you’re in – I expect Gustavsson to get the start.

Can we just… skip the Sharks? Okay.

Colton Sisson (8% rostered) got a huge bump in percentage rostered after he moved up the depth chart following Cody Glass’ injury. Sissons skated 18:44 and finished with nine faceoff wins and two hits. Sissons isn’t known for his offense so don’t expect much scoring, but with more minutes and a role on the power play, that may change. At the very worst, he fills a lot of other categories, making him a streamer in banger leagues.

Ryan O’Reilly (25% rostered) scored a goal again, his second point in two games and also filled just about every column on the stats sheet: one shot, one hit, two blocks, nine faceoff wins. He’s better than just a streamer and in 12-team leagues should definitely be rostered.

The Preds offense is a little snakebit; they rank first (!) in the league in expected goals at even strength with 11.27, but 23rd in goals for with five, according to naturalstattrick.com. Sooner or later, those goals should start coming in.

A word on Evgeni Malkin: Not only was he absolutely snubbed on the ESPN top 100 players list, he’s also still playing incredibly good hockey at 37 years old. A lot was made about Malkin and Sidney Crosby playing all 82 games in the same season for the first time, and it’s worth noting Malkin’s on pace for 143 points. He’s highly unlikely to get there, but as the Pens’ leading scorer, good on you for drafting Malkin. You know more than ESPN.

Minor changes to the Pens lineup though neither will have an impact in fantasy: Radim Zohorna was called up to replace Jansen Harkins, who was sent down to the AHL, and Ryan Shea is expected to make his NHL debut with Pierre-Oliver Joseph sitting out after netting zero points and a minus-3 rating through four games.

By the way, Bryan Rust (50% rostered) has scored four goals in four games and in line for a major bounce-back campaign. He’s making good on his promise to play better this season, and on a line with Crosby, he’s worth rostering for the points.

The only bright spot for the Blues right now is Jordan Binnington (68% rostered), which is not new but certainly not expected. Their offense is sputtering and only three forwards have managed to score a goal. They’re three games into the season, which means no panic is necessary and, in fact, I’d consider buying low. You don’t have to trade for them because they’re seeing percentage rostered numbers drop, so just pick them up from waivers.

Robert Thomas (27% rostered) is widely available and he’s been valuable in leagues that count faceoffs, and Brayden Schenn (46% rostered) is also great in banger leagues for multi-category coverage.

This should be a fun game with a lot of offense, so start all of your players on both teams. Teuvo Teravainen (66% rostered) has been excellent so far and he’s skating as the No. 1 center in Sebastian Aho’s absence. This might also truly be your last chance to get Seth Jarvis (54% rostered), who’s on pace to lead the Canes in scoring.

One other noteworthy player: Jesperi Kotkaniemi (13% rostered). He scored his second goal of the season against the Kraken and he’s also winning a lot of faceoffs and picked up his shooting volume. He’s on a very good trajectory and, once again, the Canes seem to have it figured out when it comes to these long-term contracts.

Artturi Lehkonen (36% rostered) scored a point in his second straight game and Valeri Nichushkin (64% rostered) extended his point streak to three games. Both are under-rostered playing top-six roles on one of the most offensively talented teams in the league. Even Ryan Johansen (12% rostered) is getting in on the action with a power-play goal, his first point of the season and continues to play L2 and PP1 for some additional upside.

You know what happens when the Oilers start losing? They lean on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl even more. It’s really their only option, which makes Zach Hyman all the more valuable now because he’s replaced Evander Kane (72% rostered) as the top left winger.

Kane has been bumped down to the third line to play with Connor Brown (17% rostered), while Mattias Janmark (0% rostered) moves up to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ line. Obviously, any player not playing with either McDavid or Draisaitl will see a significant drop in fantasy value.

As far as the goaltending battle goes, Jack Campbell (43% rostered) is really starting to get the edge over Stuart Skinner (75% rostered). Of course, in true Campbell fashion, he was consistently unreliable, allowing four goals in a loss to Philly two nights after a 42-save performance against Nashville. Their goaltending is wholly unreliable, but if you have Skinner, I highly recommend rostering Campbell as soon as you can.

Rick Bowness makes the weirdest decisions sometimes. I’m not convinced Mason Appleton (0% rostered) is the right player to replace Gabriel Vilardi on the top line but, alas, that’s the player Bowness has gone with. Logic dictates that Nikolaj Ehlers (37% rostered) should get a chance, and despite a two-assist effort against Vegas, Ehlers is stuck on L2 and PP2.

Also, don’t panic on Connor Hellebuyck; he’s going to figure it out sooner than later. The Jets aren’t a particularly good time, or one that can provide a lot of offense to bail him, but we knew that going into the season.

The Rangers are still waiting for some secondary scoring, and so are we. Both Alexis Lafrenière (20% rostered) and Kaapo Kakko (10% rostered) are still struggling to score, and even I admit that my patience would be wearing thin, though I do not have either player on my roster.

The Kraken are finally scoring goals. After averaging less than a goal per game to start the season, but Matty Beniers (67% rostered) seems to be really the sophomore wall. He’s minus-5 through five games, and though he’s not the only one, he’s also yet to score a goal. Beniers is worth holding but perhaps bench him until his play turns around. It’s too early to dump him.

I am continuously intrigued by Tye Kartye (1% rostered), who I think should be able to play higher in the lineup. The Kraken used him, at times, on the top line, and he’s seen his ice time tick back up in the past two games where he’s scored a goal on six shots. If you’re looking for a streamer, Kartye is an option, even if he’s lower on the list.

Joey Daccord (2% rostered) is coming off a tough win against the Canes and the goaltending battle is really shaping up with Philipp Grubauer (45% rostered) going 0-3 despite some solid play. My hot-take prediction that Daccord takes over the as the starter by Christmas is still alive. If you have the roster space, Daccord is stash-worthy right now.

The B’s creampuff schedule hits a bit of a bump with this matchup. Somehow, the Bruins have been able to coax three goals in three games out of James van Riemsdyk (5% rostered), who I still wouldn’t recommend to roster. Stream him during his hot streak if you have to, but he’s playing on the third line now.

The Kings will be a tough out with three lines that can score. There are six forwards averaging at least 17 minutes per game, and that’s not including Quinton Byfield (4% rostered) or Arthur Kaliyev (3% rostered), both of whom are still on upward trajectories.

I like Byfield’s deployment on L1 and his offense looks improved, but Kaliyev has more offensive upside right now and he’s scored three points in two games since serving his suspension. His two-way play may leave a lot to be desired, but there’s no doubting his offensive talent, and he’s worth streaming over Byfield.

Cam Talbot (50% rostered) is winning the goalie battle with three starts to one, and he was seen as the 1A going into the season due to his experience. He’d be the goalie to roster for the Kings, and even with some poor peripherals, he’s going to get the wins.