Fading Columbus down the stretch in fantasy hockey On every game day this season, THN Fantasy [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/fantasy/] will highlight players and goalies for fantasy managers to stream or roster for the rest of the season. The recommended players and goalies are rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues and can be selected in standard fantasy leagues or for daily fantasy games. 14 games on Thursday, March 20 * = confirmed Scott Wedgewood, COL at Linus Ullmark, OTT* (7 p.m. ET) Dustin Wolf, CGY* at Jacob Markstrom, NJ* (7 p.m. ET) Anthony Stolarz, TOR at Igor Shesterkin, NYR* (7 p.m. ET) Samuel Ersson, PHI at Charlie Lindgren, WSH* (7 p.m. ET) Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA* at Elvis Merzlikins, CBJ* (7 p.m. ET) Sam Montembeault, MTL* at Ilya Sorokin, NYI* (7:30 p.m. ET) Kevin Lankinen, VAN at Jordan Binnington, STL* (7:30 p.m. ET) Lukas Dostal, ANA at Justus Annunen, NSH* (8 p.m. ET) Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB at Casey DeSmith, DAL* (8 p.m. ET) Darcy Kuemper, LA at Arvid Soderblom, CHI (8:30 p.m. ET) Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at Stuart Skinner, EDM (9 p.m. ET) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF at Karel Vejmelka, UTA* (9 p.m. ET) Jeremy Swayman, BOS at Adin Hill, VGK* (10 p.m. ET) Frederik Andersen, CAR at Georgi Romanov, SJ* (10:30 p.m. ET) Scott Wedgewood. © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/fe4cc1ca-9411-4a38-912b-e8560ec673cb.jpeg] Scott Wedgewood. © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Goalies Scott Wedgewood, COL at OTT (15% rostered) Wedgewood will get the start in the second half of a back-to-back. It’s his third start in four games only because Mackenzie Blackwood was ill last week, but Wedgewood has filled in quite admirably with a win against the Stars. He’ll be going for his fifth straight win but it’s a difficult matchup since the Sens are so strong at home (20-9-2). I think Wedgewood is the right play for managers who want to get a win, but the Sens offense is really tough and he’ll certainly allow a few goals. Avs-Sens games have been typically very high-scoring matchups with an average of 9.8 goals (!) scored per contest in their past seven matchups dating back to 2021. The Avs are 6-0-1 in those games and have not lost in regulation to the Sens since Jan. 16, 2019. Lukas Dostal, ANA at NSH (45% rostered) Not very good performances from the Ducks lately, who’ve allowed 11 goals in their past two games. John Gibson may get the start if he’s healthy, or Ville Husso, who’s currently backing up Dostal. This is a potential revenge game for the Preds, who lost 2-1 in Anaheim on March 14, their fourth loss in five games against the Ducks dating back to 2023-24 season. I think Dostal should be fine in this start despite the two straight losses. The Preds offense comes and goes and right now it’s going with just two goals scored in their past three games. Dostal can provide a high volume of saves but the result is a toss-up. Elvis Merzlikins, CBJ vs. FLA (31% rostered) The Jackets offense was stymied by Jake Allen in their last game but it was very encouraging they managed to get 46 (!) shots on net. Scoring has been a huge problem for the Jackets, having been shut out twice in their past three games during their four-game losing streak. The lack of goal support is most worrisome, as is Merzlikins’ career 3-8-1, .888 SP, 3.74 GAA career record against the Panthers. The silver lining is the Jackets’ strong home record (20-9-4), but it’s a little misleading since they’ve lost every game so far during their four-game homestand. Certainly, a chance for an upset here with the Panthers stumbling recently, losing three of their past four. But this is a matchup the Panthers have really dominated in recent seasons, winning seven straight and 15 of their past 17. You’re hoping Merzlikins racks up the saves with a minimal chance of an upset. Georgi Romanov, SJ vs. CAR (0% rostered) Not a recommended start by any means, but it’s worth noting this will be Romanov’s first NHL start. He came in relief for Alexandar Georgiev in a 5-1 loss to the Caps on March 15, stopping nine of 11 shots he faced. This is a really tough matchup against the league’s hottest team; the Canes have won seven in a row and kept their opponents to two goals or less in every single game. There’s always an off-chance a rookie goalie stymies a streaking team, but it really doesn’t happen very often. Romanov faces a tough matchup in his first NHL start and even if he’s not sharp, the Canes tend to dominate puck possession, giving the Sharks very little chance to provide goal support, if at all. Remember to bookmark The Hockey News Fantasy [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/fantasy/] site for stats, news, analysis, rankings, projections and more, including the Sleepers and Keepers fantasy hockey podcast [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/fantasy/podcast]!
