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

Leo Carlsson makes his NHL debut and what you need to know for Thursday's seven late games.

Arthur Kaliyev (2% rostered) had quite the debut, scoring two points with a plus-3 rating following his two-game suspension. I like him as a streamer and a sleeper, and in that order because I’m not sure he has season-long value. He’ll need to play top-six minutes for that, and he played just 11:59 against the Jets.

Look for Filip Gustavsson to start after Marc-André Fleury got the start in Montréal. This is a chance for Gustavsson to reassert himself as the No. 1 after allowing seven goals in his second start following a 41-save shutout in the season opener. The Kings don’t really win games with their offense, and I’d be okay starting Gustavsson in this situation.

The Wild played 11 forwards against the Habs with Matt Boldy injured, but Sammy Walker (0% rostered) has since been called up and he’s slated to play in Boldy’s spot on the second line. Placing Alex Goligoski on LTIR opened up some space. Walker, a local kid from Edina who starred with the Golden Gophers for four years and led AHL Iowa in goals with 27 last season, definitely has some offensive talent, but he’s a high-risk streamer and better as a DFS play.

By the way, Joel Eriksson Ek (80% rostered), coming off a two-goal, 11-faceoff wins and 16 PIM performance, needs to be rostered in all leagues. He’s one of the most underrated centers in the league and his broad multi-category coverage makes him invaluable in banger leagues. He’s going to set career highs yet again after setting one last season with 61 points.

The Yotes look good. I’m still putting stock in Barrett Hayton (14% rostered) as their No. 1 center, who’s played well despite lack of production. I don’t think Logan Cooley (50% rostered) is in danger of taking over that top spot since the top two lines have both looked good, and Cooley already gets his offensive minutes with PP1. Both centers are worth rostering.

Sean Durzi (60% rostered) is finally getting the attention he deserves and there’s little chance that J.J. Moser or Juuso Valimaki will take his job on PP1. The Coyotes got him from the Kings for a reason – to run their power play.

I’m intrigued by the Blues and this should be their first real test. They played the Stars sans Roope Hintz, and then the Kraken, who are struggling more than anyone else at the moment. We shall see if Jordan Binnington (67% rostered) is the real deal, and I’d have no problems starting him in this matchup. Like I said in the early edition, you draft workhorse goalies for quantity of starts, not quality.

The injury to Pavel Buchnevich, arguably their best player, is going to hurt. Brandon Saad joins the top line and I’ve always disliked him as a streamer because he’s an unreliable scorer and doesn’t provide any category coverage. Taking his spot on the second line is Alexey Toropchenko (0% rostered), and I must admit this is a little surprising since Craig Berube seems to prefer playing Saad with Brayden Schenn. Nikita Alexandrov (0% rostered) draws in, but all this to say that I don’t really like the Blues offense outside Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas, and don’t find any of their replacements worth streaming.

The Knights are incredibly balanced and, for my money, the best team in the league. Nearly every player in their lineup has something to offer, and I want to again highlight Paul Cotter and Brett Howden – both zero percent rostered – as excellent streaming options in banger leagues due to their hits and also potential to score a point or two. Cotter is averaging four hits per game while Howden has two points and two hits in two games, and plays both L2 and PP2.

Alex Pietrangelo is not expected to play, which means the power play is all Shea Theodore and he should be started without question.

The loss of Gabe Vilardi hurts. He was slated for a career season playing top-line minutes, but he’ll be out approximately six weeks with an MCL injury. The Jets tried playing Vladislav Namestnikov (0% rostered) in that spot against the Kings after Vilardi was injured, but after a 5-1 loss, they’re going to switch it up and promote Mason Appleton (0% rostered) instead. Note Appleton did not practice Wednesday but Rick Bowness expects him to play.

Namestnikov instead will center the second line between Cole Perfetti (4% rostered) and Nikolaj Ehlers (38% rostered), which then bumps Nino Neiderreiter down to the third line with Adam Lowry and Alex Iafallo. What to make of all this?

Appleton and Namestnikov obviously get a small boost in fantasy value in top-six roles. Namestnikov played a season-high 16:19 against the Kings and scored an assist, however, his offense has always been limited, and it’s hard to justify streaming him. Appleton is worth streaming because he can fill other categories even when he doesn’t score.

Ehlers, on the other hand… you’d think he’d be the candidate to move up, but once again he’s stuck in Bowness’ prison. He’s yet to score a point through three games, registering just five shots and averaging 15 minutes per game. He’s a frustrating fantasy player to hold because he’s capable of so much more, but, alas, we’re not the ones behind the bench. There’s no change in value for Ehlers.

I think the Stars have this one in the bag, and they were evenly matched in their game against the Knights, whom I consider the best team in the league.

Anyway, the biggest storyline in this game is the debut of Leo Carlsson (10% rostered), the second overall pick in 2023. Because it’s Anaheim, because Carlsson missed the beginning of the season with injury and because – let’s face it – Carlsson isn’t Canadian, we’re not getting a lot of fanfare.

True, Carlsson’s game isn’t as dynamic offensively as Connor Bedard or Adam Fantilli, but he was the second pick for a reason. He’ll start the season with Troy Terry (58% rostered) and Trevor Zegras (68% rostered) on his wings, forming a very young but high-upside second line. There’s a good chance that Carlsson factors into the power play, too, though most likely with the second unit.

Considering how well some of the rookies have played under Greg Cronin, including Jackson LaCombe (0% rostered), who’s averaging 20 minutes per game, and Pavel Mintyukov (2% rostered), who just scored his first career goal, Carlsson should be in good hands and not be on any sort of minutes limit. I think Carlsson’s worth a speculative add, but I would shy away from streaming considering how tough the Stars and Jake Oettinger will be. In keeper leagues, Carlsson has a ton of value.

Teuvo Teravainen (61% rostered) is fantasy hockey’s hottest commodity at the moment, going from 19 percent rostered to 61 percent in one day in the midst of a four-game point streak. With Sebastian Aho nursing an injury, Teravainen took over as the top center and didn’t disappoint. He’s a must-roster and must-start in that role.

That has also pushed Stefan Noesen (1% rostered) up the lineup and I like him as a streamer in this matchup. Noesen is a power-play merchant and doesn’t do a whole lot at even-strength, and the Kraken are minus-2 in net penalties with the potential for more as frustration sets in. He scored nearly half of his 36 points on the power play last season, and this season likely won’t be any different.

Fredrik Andersen took a puck to the head and if you managed to stash Pyotr Kochetkov (29% rostered), this is your time. I suspect Antti Raanta (36% rostered) will start despite his poor numbers so far, but this is why the Canes wanted to carry three goalies in the first place; inevitably, one of Andersen or Raanta will be injured. When Kochetkov sees game action, there’s going to be like a Prime Day rush to roster him.

I’m fading the Kraken hard until they turn it around. Sometimes it takes an elite player to pull his team out of the rubble and snap them out of a funk, but the Kraken don’t have such a player with their offense-by-committee approach. They’re averaging less than a goal per game, and while both teams are usually known for their strong underlying possession metrics, the Canes have the clear edge because they can actually score.

The Avs took Jonathan Drouin (21% rostered) off the top line in their last game against the Kraken, moving Valeri Nichushkin (64% rostered) to the top line. Drouin’s fantasy value craters – read: droppable – if he’s not playing next to Nathan MacKinnon, and Nichushkin’s value goes up, though not by a whole lot since he’s a productive player already. The only reason Nichushkin is under-rostered is because he missed a huge chunk of time last season; otherwise, he’s been close to a point-per-game player for the Avs. Obviously, I think Nichushkin should be rostered in all leagues.

For the Hawks, other than Connor Bedard, no other player is advisable. The Avs will skate circles around them, especially against a slower third line on the Hawks that features Corey Perry and Nick Foligno.

And on goes the Bruins’ creampuff schedule, facing arguably the worst team in the league. Jake DeBrusk (67% rostered) now has more fantasy value on the top line, where he should’ve begun the season, anyway, and he bumps James van Riemsdyk (4% rostered) down to the third. van Riemsdyk has scored two goals in two games, but he’s really not an ideal top-six player and I imagine he will have close to zero fantasy value the rest of the season.

More intriguing is Matt Poitras (2% rostered), their No. 2 center who has one assist and four shots through two games and seeing time on PP2. Considering how thin the B’s are at center, Poitras has some sneaky upside. Keep an eye on him for now.

As for the Sharks… Kevin Labanc (1% rostered) draws into the lineup for Jacob Peterson, but Labanc’s been irrelevant for a few seasons now. Henry Thrun, who could’ve been a sneaky streamer for power-play exposure, was sent down and Ty Emberson draws in. They’re just bereft of options and with William Eklund (4% rostered) now playing away from Tomas Hertl on the third line, there’s just not a lot to be excited about.