-
Sean Allen, Special to ESPN.com
Keep your foot on the gas!
It’s the middle of Week 23 of the fantasy hockey season, which means either there are only three more scoring periods for season-long points and rotisserie formats or you are likely in the middle of the head-to-head playoffs. This is when the key moves are made to drive home your NHL fantasy championship.
The middle of this week features a three-game Wednesday slate and a four-game Friday slate, both sandwiching an 11-game Thursday schedule that includes a clash between two Eastern Conference heavyweights — the New York Rangers visiting the Boston Bruins — and Tyler Toffoli gets to visit his recently former teammates as the Winnipeg Jets face the New Jersey Devils.
The Dallas Stars, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Arizona Coyotes and Seattle Kraken are all scheduled to squeeze in games before the weekend, as all five teams play on Friday. The Stars and Capitals are particularly appealing as they are home twice and get Thursday night off. Only the Calgary Flames are resting until the weekend.
It might be the battle for the sub-basement where you can find some extra value. The Chicago Blackhawks visit the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday as the teams vie for the second-best lottery odds after the San Jose Sharks. Don’t tell the Blackhawks that’s still a goal, as Philipp Kurashev and Nick Foligno seem more than happy with the lottery they already won. They’re riding the wake of Connor Bedard to fantasy relevance.
Across the last 10 games, Kurashev has 25.7 fantasy points and Foligno 21.1, both easily in starting territory. The Ducks are allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing forwards this season, so it’s a solid time to roll out this duo if you are in a position to do some light streaming.
Just remember that it’s crunch time, so your decisions have consequences. Make sure you don’t stream players like these now only to hit your games-played limit in three weeks time. Also, make sure you don’t drop a valuable asset just to get a streamer into your lineup. This advice applies to any and all moves you are considering.
Resources: Goalie depth chart | Daily lines | Projections | Play for free | Player rater | Most added/dropped | Mock draft lobby | How to watch on ESPN+
Stock Up
Dylan Guenther, W, Arizona Coyotes (95.5% available in ESPN leagues): The youngsters have turned into bright spots as the Coyotes play out the string. Guenther in particular has boosted his output with a rock solid 2.32 fantasy points per game (FPPG) across his last 10 outings. His line (with fellow youngster Logan Cooley) has been getting more than its fair share of the five-on-five action.
Alexander Nylander, W, Columbus Blue Jackets (94.8% available): A throwaway pickup in a minor trade (or so it seemed) has become one of the Blue Jackets’ top offensive threats to close out the season. Nylander parlayed his scoring with Cole Sillinger in the bottom six to a role on the top line and top power play with Boone Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau.
Cam York, D, Philadelphia Flyers (74.1%): This run by York is starting to get out of hand. Just look at his matchup back on Feb. 15 against the Toronto Maple Leafs compared to the one on Monday night. In February, he played 15:28 and earned 0.7 fantasy points. On Monday, he skated 26:06 (!) and earned 3.1 fantasy points. That was a fitting number as he’s actually averaged 3.12 FPPG over his last 10 games.
Stock Down
Brent Burns, D, Carolina Hurricanes (22.3%): Across the Hurricanes’ last eight games, four defensemen have managed to cross the 1.7 FPPG threshold, which is when they might be considered fantasy relevant. Burns is not among them. He is still getting time as the power-play quarterback, but Carolina does most of its damage at five-on-five these days, which is not where Burns thrives.
Streamer Specials
Wyatt Johnston, C, Dallas Stars (57.0%): Also, don’t forget Logan Stankoven (84.4%) as the pair continue to pile up fantasy points on a line with Jamie Benn. The Stars, as previously mentioned, play both Wednesday and Friday in favorable matchups against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Coyotes.
Darren Raddysh, D, Tampa Bay Lightning (99.1%): Yes, I’m recommending him again as the Lightning visit the Sharks on Thursday. He’s the No. 2 defenseman on the Bolts and lately they have been scoring at will.
Jonas Johansson, G, Tampa Bay Lightning (87.8%): Andrei Vasilevskiy is overdue for a night off, but this is a tough call as the Lightning play in a back-to-back set over the weekend that includes an equally soft matchup against the Ducks on Sunday. Maybe they stretch Vasilevskiy out until then, but if Johansson gets the call in San Jose, jump on him as a streamer.
Scott Wedgewood, G, Dallas Stars (95.7%): Keep an eye on the situation here, as Jake Oettinger suffered this past week while Wedgewood thrived. The Stars’ next matchups are against the Coyotes and Penguins, but then they get the Coyotes again followed by the Sharks. The bottom line is that Wedgewood has looked solid and there should be a ton of fantasy points from this crease in the coming days.
Frederik Andersen, G, Carolina Hurricanes (44.4% available): If the current rotation sticks, Andersen gets a soft matchup here against Philadelphia, as the Flyers rank are allowing the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing goaltenders this season.
Source: www.espn.com