NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Expected Starters - Saturday, Dec. 9

Saturday, Dec. 9. 12-game slate.

* = confirmed or probable

Connor Ingram, ARI* at Linus Ullmark, BOS* (1 p.m. ET)

Vitek Vanecek, NJ at Dustin Wolf, CGY (4 p.m. ET)

Logan Thompson, VEG at Jake Oettinger, DAL (4 p.m. ET)

Cayden Primeau, MTL* at Devon Levi, BUF* (7 p.m. ET)

Joonas Korpisalo, OTT at Alex Lyon, DET* (7 p.m. ET)

Kevin Lankinen, NSH* at Ilya Samsonov, TOR* (7 p.m. ET)

Igor Shesterkin, NYR at Charlie Lindgren, WSH* (7 p.m. ET)

Cam Talbot, LA* at Ilya Sorokin, NYI* (7:30 p.m. ET)

Jordan Binnington, STL at Petr Mrazek, CHI (8 p.m. ET)

Carter Hart, PHI* at Ivan Prosvetov, COL* (9 p.m. ET)

Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB* at Philipp Grubauer, SEA* (10 p.m. ET)

Antti Raanta, CAR at Thatcher Demko, VAN* (10 p.m. ET)

Streaming Options

( < 50% rostered on Yahoo leagues, ranked by matchup)

Devon Levi, BUF vs. MTL (35% rostered)

Levi proved everyone wrong again; he was excellent after being called up from AHL Rochester and allowed just one goal on 30 shots to notch his fourth win in nine starts this season. Both Levi and Eric Comrie have a good chance to win against the Habs, who have lost four of their past six and top sniper Cole Caufield has scored just three goals in his past 17 games.

(NEW) Ivan Prosvetov, COL vs. PHI (4% rostered)

Prosvetov will get his second start in five games after allowing three goals against in a loss against the Ducks. The Avs have a big advantage in this one, especially in terms of goal support, and Prosvetov has fared well behind a very strong team. Valeri Nichushkin, Bowen Byram and Cale Makar, all of whom missed time recently, will be in the lineup. Prosvetov should be one of the best streaming options for Saturday. 

Martin Jones, TOR vs. NSH (11% rostered)

Joseph Woll was excellent until he was hurt in the third period against the Sens, and with Ilya Samsonov dealing with an illness, it has put Jones back in the starter’s crease. He has not started a game since April 8 of last season, and despite his 27-13-3 record last season had to settle being the No. 3 on the Leafs’ depth chart. That alone tells you how much faith teams have in Jones, and the good news is he’ll be supported by a good offensive team. Assume this matchup will produce a win but with a low save percentage and high GAA.

Editor's note: Whew! Leafs nation has a sigh of relief with Ilya Samsonov starting after returning from illness. Is Samsonov fully recovered or are the Leafs terrified of starting Jones? Either way, Samsonov in net means the Leafs' odds of winning just increased. 

Alex Lyon, DET vs. OTT (44% rostered)

The luster dulled a little after Lyon allowed three goals on 32 shots (.906 SP) in a 5-3 win against the Sabres and after the Wings went with Ville Husso against the Sharks in the following game. We know Lyon was not going to keep up his hot streak forever, but this is yet another enticing matchup for him. The Sens have a 1-0-1 edge in the season series and in both games the winning team scored five goals. The Wings are favored in this matchup but it might be a high-scoring affair.

Dustin Wolf, CGY vs. NJ (10% rostered)

Wolf allowed two goals in the first period Thursday against the Canes but stopped all of the remaining shots he faced, allowing the Flames to stage a comeback win, 3-2. Given his performance, the Flames might go back to the hot hand – pun intended – and then have Wolf and Dan Vladar split the games on Monday (at Colorado) and Tuesday (at Vegas). I like Wolf but I don’t like the matchup against Jack Hughes but, again, if you’re looking for a goalie stash, Wolf is a viable option even though the upcoming schedule is difficult.

Petr Mrazek, CHI vs. STL (18% rostered)

The Hawks should go back to Mrazek after a 37-save shutout against the Ducks. It’ll be hard to keep the Blues off the board and the Hawks mustered just one goal in their previous game. The ice tilts clearly in the Blues’ favor, but maybe Mrazek’s strong play will continue and at least provide a good save percentage.

Antti Raanta, CAR at VAN (39% rostered)

It’s pretty telling when both goalies on one of the league’s pre-season Cup favorites are both rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. The Canucks are excellent at home, and while the Canes are excellent at suppressing shots, from a fantasy perspective, both Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov suffer because any goal allowed kills their save percentage. The Canes have lost three straight with the home team sporting a 24-12-6 record all-time in this matchup.

(NEW) Charlie Lindgren, WSH vs. NYR (26% rostered)

Lindgren gets his third straight start even after allowing seven goals in his previous two games. I find this decision a little odd, considering Darcy Kuemper is 8-3-0 all-time against the Rangers but, alas, I'm not the one making the Caps' decisions. (One wishes...) There's no denying Lindgren is having the better season, but this is such a tough matchup and, unless Lindgren gets hot again, it's best to just stay away for now. 

Philipp Grubauer, SEA vs. TB (24% rostered)

The Kraken are playing a back-to-back so Grubauer will either start against the Lightning or Sunday against the Wild. In both games, the Kraken are the underdogs, but the Lightning offense is much scarier with top scorer Nikita Kucherov. Grubauer has not shown much ability to steal games and it’d be a big surprise if he manages to pull off a win.

Cayden Primeau, MTL at BUF (1% rostered)

The Habs skipped Primeau’s start and gave it to Sam Montembeault on Thursday against the Kings instead, but this is still no easy task for Primeau. The Sabres just snapped their four-game losing streak against the mighty Bruins, and Primeau will likely face a much stronger young goalie at the other end of the ice in Devon Levi. This is the first time Primeau will face the Sabres in his career, and unless Primeau’s on a hot streak, he’s an inadvisable streaming option with a career .875 SP and 4.02 GAA.  

(NEW) Kevin Lankinen, NSH at TOR (1% rostered)

Chance for an upset? Sure, but it's not high. Despite winning three straight, Juuse Saros will get a break and instead start Sunday in Montreal. Lankinen's played sparingly this season but went 3-0-0 in November and he's 0-2-1 in his career against the Leafs with a .891 SP.