After a balanced week of scheduling, the NHL is back to its usual programming. So, let’s find ways to use the schedule to our advantage.
Four-Game Streamers
Brandt Clarke, D, LAK | 45% Yahoo
When Drew Doughty went down with an injury, Clarke emerged as a sleeper pick replacement. Not every fantasy manager was ready to buy in immediately, though. There was an element of uncertainty to Clarke’s ability to fill Doughty’s shoes from an offensive standpoint, especially with the Kings’ playing style in mind.
Los Angeles is picking up the pace on the scoresheet, and Clarke is contributing. The Kings are a more dangerous offensive team in his five-on-five minutes, and he is quarterbacking the top power play unit. He is chiming in with contributions across the board, so invest in him while you still can.
Jake Middleton, D, MIN | 28% Yahoo
Middleton generally isn’t a fantasy gem outside of the more physical categories. He can be counted on to block shots and throw hits, but recently, he’s also been contributing offensively. The Wild are a better team on both ends of the ice in his minutes, and now he’s offering some scoring to back it up.
Alex Laferriere, LW/RW, LAK | 21% Yahoo
Laferriere is proving to be a solid secondary scorer from a fantasy perspective. He is clicking on the top power play unit and is making an impact at five-on-five alongside Quinton Byfield and Warren Foegele. For those in deeper leagues, Foegele should be a more available option. The biggest difference is opportunity since he isn’t even on PP2. Another deep-league option in Los Angeles is Alex Turcotte, who is playing alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.
Gustav Nyquist, LW, NSH | 21% Yahoo
The Predators are changing around their top six to get more of a spark from their best weapons. The second line of Steven Stamkos, Tommy Novak, and Nyquist has gotten off to a promising start together. Novak is the most valuable of the three, while Nyquist is a bit more impactful on the scoresheet of late. Either option works since they both play on PP2 together. In this case, the choice could come down to positional needs.
Marco Rossi, C, MIN | 11% Yahoo
The good teammate effect is real, and Rossi is in an ideal slot between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. The Wild have created about 0.27 more expected goals per 60 at five-on-five when Rossi is on the ice and are scoring at an even higher pace.
Dawson Mercer, C/RW, NJD | 11% Yahoo
Mercer has been as up and down as it gets over the past year, so his roster percentage is as low as 11 percent right now. The real question is if his play over the past couple of games is indicative of what’s to come. The Devils’ top line with Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Mercer is cooking lately with a 58 percent expected goals rate, and it won’t be surprising if their scoring keeps trending up to match their offensive creation.
Luke Schenn, D, NSH | 2% Yahoo
Schenn, like Middleton, isn’t a fantasy darling. But playing with Roman Josi gives him a greater chance of making some noise offensively. Plus, he is a reliable shot blocker. With an upcoming slate of frequent shooters like the Capitals, Kings, and Panthers, he could be busy.
Light-Night Performers
Each four-game streamer will be in action on a light night. The Devils, Predators, and Wild will all be in action twice. Conversely, the Kings kick off the week with a light night appearance on Monday.
Both of the Golden Knights’ games next week take place on light nights, which makes Pavel Dorofeyev an effective pick for teams in need of a secondary scorer who generates a lot of shots.
Detroit, Washington, Anaheim, and Edmonton play two of their three games next week on light nights. The Capitals are rolling right now, with options up and down the lineup. Aliaksei Protas has been super productive lately. He is thriving on the Capitals’ top line with Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome — the trio has a 63 percent expected goal rate and a 6-3 edge in scoring. Charlie Lindgren and Logan Thompson are both solid options back in goal, too.
In Anaheim, all eyes should be on Lukas Dostal, who has been absolutely lights out. He gives the Ducks a chance to win nightly and has even stolen some games. Up front, Troy Terry is seriously underutilized; his year-to-year consistency should inspire more confidence despite his surroundings.
As for Edmonton, the Connor McDavid injury looms large. It opens up a slot for Jeff Skinner on the top line alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman to open the year. And it may sway the coaches to lean on Leon Draisaitl more, which could lead to more opportunities for Viktor Arvidsson, who may finally be hitting his stride with his new team.
The Kraken, Maple Leafs, Penguins, Sharks, and Blue Jackets will have one light-night appearance as well.
Matty Beniers is starting to heat up and scoring at a rate closer to his rookie season. Ryker Evans is also adding a spark from the blue line in Seattle.
The early returns for Max Pacioretty in Toronto are promising, giving the Maple Leafs the scoring depth they need. And in Columbus, all eyes remain on the top line. Kirill Marchenko, Sean Monahan, and Yegor Chinakhov are scoring at an impressive rate and have the underlying numbers to back it up. Depending on positional need, anyone from that trio makes for a fine option. Chinakhov is shooting the puck the most, but Monahan has a quality advantage.
The Sharks aren’t exactly known for offense, especially while Macklin Celebrini has been sidelined, but they’ve been making things interesting over the past couple of games. Mikael Granlund has been on a tear. Fabian Zetterlund shoots the puck a ton and has picked up the pace on the scoresheet. Jake Walman has been impressive on the backend and at the helm of PP1. The real question is whether San Jose can keep this up, even just until Celebrini returns (he is skating again with his teammates).
Honorable mentions: Nino Niederreiter, Kiefer Sherwood, Conor Geekie, Gabriel Vilardi, Connor McMichael,
Data via Evolving-Hockey, HockeyViz, HockeyStatCards, AllThreeZones, and NaturalStatTrick. This story relies on shot-based metrics; here is a primer on these numbers.
(Top photo of Brandt Clarke: Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
