Thursday Start/Sit/Stream/Stash Early Edition (Oct. 19)

Matthew Knies has finally been bumped up the second line with William Nylander and John Tavares, and other things you need to know for Thursday's five early games.

The good part about Jacob Markstrom and Devon Levi starting all of the games for their respective teams is that it benefits fantasy managers who like quantity. The quality, however, just isn’t there. When it comes to mid-tier goalies, I find the best strategy is to just start them all the time, unless it’s a really lopsided matchup. You draft goalies with big workloads for a reason – quantity – and if you start getting picky with your starts, it defeats the whole purpose of rostering them in the first place. Over time, you’ll capture both the good starts and the bad starts and, hopefully, the good outweighs the bad.

I’m seeing a lot of managers dump Nazem Kadri (64% rostered) right now after going three games without a point and registering just five shots and one hit with a minus-4 rating. It still feels too early to dump Kadri, but his lack of shots and hits is concerning since that’s where most of his fantasy value is derived. I’d wait a little longer before deciding what to do.

On the other hand, Adam Ruzicka (1% rostered) has some streaming value in deep leagues playing on L2 and PP2. The big power forward has scored two of his three points on the power play, and also seen his ice time climb from 10:52 in the season opener to 15:07 in their most recent game.

I’m not sure if Andrew Mangiapane (52% rostered) will score 35 goals again, but four points in three games and playing right wing on the top line certainly demands attention. In fact, his percentage rostered has climbed the most over the past day. If you’re looking for some scoring, he’s a very good mid-term hold right now.

The Sabres offense has to get going. Their top line has scored only one goal so far, and again I’m going to recommend Casey Mittlestadt (14% rostered) as a potential streamer/sleeper. His line with Zach Benson (6% rostered) has produced the most points, and Mittelstadt’s averaging a career-high 17:33 per game, putting him a good position to build on last season’s 59-point campaign. The drawback with Mittelstadt is that he’s virtually useless in banger leagues since he doesn’t shoot the puck or play a physical game.

The Auston Matthews revenge tour is on, and if you picked him to win the Rocket Richard, my early congratulations to you. That wrist injury is clearly not bothering him, and though I would bet against a hat-trick performance, he’s arguably the best goal scorer in the league (and fantasy) right now.

Hallelujah if you drafted Matthew Knies (17% rostered) and stuck with him. Knies joined John Tavares and William Nylander’s line at Wednesday’s skate, pushing into a top six role and more minutes after averaging 12:12 in the first three games. This is a just reward; Knies has been very good for the Leafs, and a Knies-Tavares-Nylander line was what fantasy managers were clamoring for all preseason. Feel free to start Knies against a thin blueline and shaky goaltending.

Meanwhile, Max Domi (53% rostered) moves down to the third line and his fantasy value takes a big hit accordingly. He’s always been an empty-calorie point producer – to me, anyway – meaning that he thrives on good linemates and ice time on bad teams, and on good teams he should play lower in the lineup and thus decreases his fantasy value. It’s safe to dump him onto the wire unless you’re convinced he’s a 50 to 60-point player.

This might be your last chance to get Evan Rodrigues (39% rostered). Paul Maurice moved Sam Reinhart to the top line and the results have been magic; Reinhart scored two goals against the Devils, one of which was assisted by Rodrigues, and Maurice even made note of their chemistry together. I suspect this line will stay together for a little while longer.

Moving Carter Verhaeghe to L2 shouldn’t hurt his fantasy value too much. He had already taken a hit being moved to PP2, but his extreme high-volume shooting offsets any effects playing away from Aleksander Barkov, not to mention his winger on L2 is now Matthew Tkachuk. Don’t fret about Verhaeghe’s depressed shot totals either; though he’s averaging only two shots per game, he’s also averaging five shot attempts per game, which is in line with his 5.8 attempts per game last season.

By extension, this should give Eetu Luostarinen (3% rostered) a small boost. As the No. 2 center, he played 20:43 against the Devils and finally registered his first shot of the season. Shooting the puck isn’t his job, but with improved faceoff abilities and flanked by two excellent wingers, he’s a viable streamer.

By the way, keep sticking with Oliver Ekman-Larsson (13% rostered). Clearly, the Panthers like him as the top PP QB, and he’s getting his fair share of shots and blocks and playing a ton of minutes. The points will come.

The Preds have elected to keep most of their lines intact, which has been quite the rarity in the league. Ryan O’Reilly (25% rostered) remains very under-rostered, especially in leagues that count faceoffs. His fantasy value has increased due to a spike in shot volume; he’s averaging three shots per game despite barely averaging two per game over the past few seasons. In deep leagues, he can be a very useful player.

Roman Josi continues to split time with Tyson Barrie on the power play and that still concerns me. This is not the time to sell, but it’s at least worth noting that Josi will turn 34 in June, which is the age where a lot of players experience a huge drop-off. I don’t think Josi will live up to his ADP though his shot volume still makes him an upper-tier fantasy defenseman.

We are still waiting for some secondary scoring from the Rangers. Kaapo Kakko (10% rostered) has yet to score a goal, making me look bad as the conductor of the Kakko hype train, and Alexis Lafrenière (22% rostered) hasn’t done a whole lot after scoring in the season opener. To Peter Laviolette’s credit, he says he’ll give the Rangers lines time to gel. I’ll stay patient on both players but keeping them both on my watch list.

With a power-play goal against the Coyotes, along with three shots and a hit, Vincent Trocheck continues to be a multi-category stud. He’s rostered in only 70 percent of leagues but that number should be well into the 90-percent range in banger leagues.

A bit of a scare when Elias Pettersson didn’t practice Wednesday, but Rick Tocchet says he’s ready to go. If someone can tell Tyler Myers to stop shooting pucks at his own players and injuring them, that would be great. He’s in peak chaos giraffe mode lately.

The Lightning have won six straight against the Canucks, scoring less than four goals just once during that span. The odds favor them, and they’re the home team, but there’s a good chance that streak gets snapped. The Canucks are coming off a lackluster effort against the Flyers, and if Tocchet wields any power, his squad will bring a better effort. The Canucks thrive on their offense, and the Lightning have shown their inability to defend and keep pucks out of their own net. They’re just so thin at every position, and Jonas Johansson (49% rostered) is a real wild card, though I do think he needs to be rostered in more leagues due to the potential for some wins.

If you’re looking for streamers, I like Filip Hronek (45% rostered) for his multi-category coverage and he might even be a season-long hold if he continues to play with Quinn Hughes. Anthony Cirelli (5% rostered), the Bolts’ No. 2 center, is on a three-game point streak and averaging over 18 minutes during that span. He’s not a prolific offensive player, but he does a lot of little things well and should provide broad category coverage.

The Oilers are either going to destroy you or get destroyed. There’s really no in-between. After trouncing the Preds, 6-1, when Jay Woodcroft initiated Code McDraisaitl and played his top two players together, their offense was near-unstoppable.

Admittedly, that second line with Warren Foegele (0% rostered) and Zach Hyman was more effective than I thought, and they’re in line for potentially another big game against a thin Flyers defense. Still, I’d be uncomfortable streaming Foegele since he doesn’t play a lot of minutes.

The Oilers have not announced their starter but based on their rotation, Stuart Skinner (78% rostered) should get the start and worth streaming. The Flyers offense doesn’t rate as one of the league’s more dangerous ones despite added depth, and Skinner should put forth his best effort or otherwise cede playing time to Jack Campbell (38% rostered), who was excellent against the Preds. Their timeshare will be closer to 50-50 than most people think, and Campbell is worth the trouble because he’s capable of playing well – just not for a full season.

The Flyers are not expected to make any lineup changes following a shutout win against the Canucks. This is the Carter Hart (64% rostered) that we know, by the way, with a .921 SP and 2.36 GAA this season. It’s been really difficult to trust him over the past few seasons, but an improved defense and improved play has certainly made him worth rostering again, especially at a thin position. Among zero-G draft strategists, Hart surely has been a big win.

Travis Sanheim’s (2% rostered) fantasy value is increasing. He’s been living up to his big contract and more this season, and plays the most minutes. With two assists, six shots and six blocks, Sanheim is filling multiple categories and trails Cam York (5% rostered) just slightly in power-play ice time per game. I definitely think Sanheim should be rostered in more leagues as a high-floor option.