For Week 9, we have a dozen players to highlight and even more thoughts. Let’s ride.
Four Game Streamers
John Gibson, G, ANA | 24% Yahoo
Lukas Dostal has emerged as The Guy in Anaheim. He was tasked with carrying the starting workload while Gibson was sidelined and responded with outstanding results. Through 15 games, he has saved more than 19 goals above expected, which is among the best in the league. That’s all the more impressive based on just how hard the Ducks make life for their goalies.
But Dostal isn’t the only goalie earning praise in Anaheim right now. Gibson is healthy and rolling, with a .915 save percentage and 4.9 goals saved above expected in seven appearances.
Gibson’s return is taking minutes away from Dostal right now — after an even rotation, he received consecutive starts twice. That run may have ended after Anaheim’s loss to Vegas on Thursday night, but splitting the net may be a good thing for both goalies. For Gibson, it’s playing opportunity despite Dostal’s growth this season. And maybe it’s a chance to showcase what he has left in the tank after years of wasting away behind the Ducks’ awful defense. And for Dostal, maybe it’s the balance he needs to extend his exciting opening run. Remember, his heaviest workload came last year in 44 games, so this should help him in the long run versus the team just running him into the ground before the midway point in the season.
For managers questioning how to proceed with Dostal or how to take Gibson in stride, Dostal is the real deal and should get more playing time very soon. Gibson is a worthwhile pickup here and there if he can keep up his solid start to the season. If that finally leads to him getting a new opportunity elsewhere, even better.
Owen Power, D, BUF | 35% Yahoo
With Rasmus Dahlin sidelined, Power has been bumped up to PP1. The Sabres’ power play has been a weak point all season — the team ranks poorly in both expected and actual goal generation and has trended down even further over the last stretch. So maybe having Power quarterback play will add a spark this team has been missing. Buffalo didn’t convert against the Jets Thursday night, but the team did generate four scoring chances on the advantage, according to NaturalStatTrick.
The Sabres have a favorable schedule. Three of their four games next week take place on light nights, and two games are against teams with struggling penalty kills. The Red Wings’ penalty kill is an outright disaster, and the Rangers’ defensive game has been collapsing lately. So maybe Buffalo can take advantage of that. Keep an eye on both Dahlin’s injury status and whether Bowen Byram ends up taking over if Dahin will be out for an extended amount of time.
Tyler Bertuzzi, LW, CHI | 8% Yahoo
Could the Blackhawks be in for a new coach boost? The bar is pretty low, considering how poorly this season has gone in Chicago. As many limitations as this roster has — and that’s the nature of being a rebuilding team — the Blackhawks should be better than their start shows, or at least more exciting.
Changing the coach doesn’t always transform a team — just look at the Bruins since Jim Montgomery was dismissed. But sometimes, it does give a team the jolt they were missing (see Montgomery taking over in St. Louis a few days after Boston fired him). That’s what the Blackhawks have to hope for.
The big question is just how much a coach can change mid-season. Even just tweaking line combinations could go a long way after some puzzling decisions to open the year. That’s why we’re turning our attention to Bertuzzi. He was signed as a free agent to punch up the Blackhawks’ top six around Bedard. But the second-year forward has only spent 12 percent of his five-on-five ice time with Bertuzzi. Maybe that changes now and helps both get going a bit more consistently offensively.
Dante Fabbro, D, CBJ | 15% Yahoo
We’ve highlighted Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko a ton this season, and for good reason. The Blue Jackets’ offense has been a pleasant surprise this season and a disruptive challenge for opponents to manage. Those players are still worth keeping an eye on if they are available in your league, and managers with Zach Werenski should be playing him on a nightly basis.
But for managers in deeper leagues, our attention is on Fabbro. His shot-blocking alone is worthwhile for a fourth or fifth defenseman on your roster, and his shot generation is another welcome contribution. He isn’t super flashy on the scoresheet but can be the quiet contributor that rounds out a roster. He has been a strong fit so far with the Blue Jackets (and probably shouldn’t have been put on waivers in the first place). And his week should be pretty busy from a fantasy context with the Capitals and Hurricanes ahead.
Jared Spurgeon, D, MIN | 14% Yahoo
With three goals and four points over his last three games, Spurgeon’s roster percentage is trending up. He isn’t a prolific scorer by any means, but there are two positive signs: the Wild are generating more dangerous looks in his minutes at five-on-five and his role on PP1. That could be beneficial over this next stretch of play.
Will Cuylle, LW, NYR | 41% Yahoo
Not to be dramatic and say the sky is falling in New York, but … nothing is going right for the Rangers. Except for their schedule next week from a fantasy context: a four-game slate with three light nights and matchups against (in theory) beatable opponents in the Blackhawks and Sabres. Can the Rangers take advantage of that? That’s the question. If any player can bring a spark, it’s likely Cuylle or Filip Chytil. We talked about both last week, but our thought process remains the same: the big guns are not performing and aren’t attainable anyway for most managers. But these two have had such a positive influence on the team’s expected goal creation that they’re the only logical choices upfront.
The other line of thinking is to pick up opponents who have to face the Rangers — especially on those light nights. That could mean Shane Wright on Sunday, Bertuzzi on Monday, and Power on Wednesday.
Jonathan Quick, G, NYR | 21% Yahoo
Back in goal, Quick could be a consideration. It has nothing to do with his caliber versus Igor Shesterkin’s but is just a matter of fact with their upcoming stretch ahead. The Rangers have back-to-back games this upcoming Sunday and Monday, and again next Saturday and Sunday. Expect two starts over the next week for Quick, and expect him to be busy behind New York’s struggling defense.
Dylan Holloway, C/LW, STL | 18% Yahoo
Remember that new coach boost we talked about with the Blues? It looks like Holloway is benefitting from it. He is shooting the puck more and getting results to match, which has resulted in more top-six opportunities. In St. Louis, playing in the top-six versus the bottom-six comes with a pretty big difference in linemate quality. Playing with Jordan Kyrou and Brayden Schenn seems to agree with Holloway; the line earned about 54 percent of the expected goal share in their minutes together heading into Thursday night’s matchup against the Flames.
Matthew Knies, LW, TOR | 49% Yahoo
Auston Matthews is back to his scoring ways, so we have to mention his teammate, who is still available in the majority of leagues. Otherwise, consider Fraser Minten, who got bumped up to the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander on Wednesday night.
Light Night Performers
Patrik Laine, LW, MTL | 51% Yahoo
Every single four-game streamer has a light night appearance this week. But there is one other player on our radar.
Laine has finally made his debut with the Canadiens, and he is reminding the hockey world what he is capable of with two goals in two games. And his second game was a reminder of some of the drawbacks, too. Montreal’s second line gave up more than they generated at five-on-five against the Predators despite having pretty sheltered minutes away from Nashville’s best.
With Laine, along with defensive red flags, there are also durability concerns. But sometimes, the good in his game can outweigh that, especially from a fantasy context. The shooting ability is there, and in his last couple of seasons in Columbus, he showed some puck-moving upside as well. If head coach Marty St. Louis can help harness his skill, it should outweigh some of his flaws (that will likely be exposed on a team with as many defensive woes as Montreal).
Odds and Ends
Thatcher Demko, G, VAN | 91% Yahoo
Speaking of returns from injury, Demko could be back between the pipes for the Canucks soon. So what should managers expect? Arturs Silovs probably could use some more seasoning in the AHL after a rough go at the NHL level this year. And that would leave Vancouver with a Demko-Kevin Lankinen crease. Lankinen’s role will change from number one to probably 1B.
Backup seems like too harsh of a demotion, especially for a team that should want to ease Demko back in after such a long layoff. The last thing the Canucks should do is overuse their goalie and re-aggravate an injury that kept him out longer than expected. If Lankinen can excel in a reduced capacity, he should still get some good rotations in.
Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like Lankinen had hit a wall after a really bad outing against the Predators. And it was easy to chalk that up to usage, which he isn’t accustomed to at this level. But he responded with three quality starts, including his best game of the year against the Bruins. So, while it’s going to be an adjustment for managers who lean on Lankinen for a lot of starts (like me!), maybe the change in role will help keep his numbers afloat long-term, similar to the last couple of years in Nashville. But until Demko is back to top gear and playing a starting role consistently, Lankinen may be worth hanging onto for managers who can’t pick up another 1A.
Data via Evolving-Hockey, HockeyViz, HockeyStatCards, AllThreeZones, and NaturalStatTrick. This story relies on shot-based metrics; here is a primer on these numbers.
(Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
