It may have been a long two-week matchup for some owners, with bye weeks and the All-Star break to manage, so we’re going to help you finish it strong with our weekend guide. With factors including player trends, scheduling, strength of opponent and category needs in mind, here are a number of suggestions to help boost your roster as this week’s matchup wraps up.
Advertisement
Forwards and defensemen
Jake Virtanen, RW, Vancouver Canucks
Yahoo: 15% | ESPN: 32.2%
Plays: Saturday, Sunday
Shotgun Jake has netted 15 goals and 31 points in 51 games. When we weigh ice time to find his scoring rate, his 2.85 points per 60 rank third on the team behind only Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller. He’s a frequent shooter, too, attempting 13.07 shots per 60 (placing him fourth among Vancouver skaters). With six points in his past four games, Virtanen looks to extend his streak with back-to-back opportunities this weekend — one of which comes on the least-busy day, Sunday. And for some fantasy owners, he’ll contribute to the hits category as well.
Frank Vatrano, LW/RW, Florida Panthers
Yahoo: 27% | ESPN: 23.8%
Plays: Saturday
Vatrano plays only once this weekend, and it’s on the busiest day, Saturday. But he comes into that matchup against Montreal with a five-game point streak, and he’s earned nine points (five goals, four assists) along the way. Owners in need of depth scoring could be in luck when Vatrano and the Panthers return from their bye week if he can pick up where he left off.
Andre Burakovsky, LW/RW, Colorado Avalanche
Yahoo: 27% | ESPN: 62.2%
Plays: Saturday
Burakovsky is an option for those looking for helpers this weekend. With seven assists and eight points in his past six games, he’s up to 33 points in 46 games, five points shy of his best in 33 fewer games. His all-situation scoring rate of 2.89 per 60 is equivalent to that of a first-liner, and it ranks third among Colorado skaters. While Burakovsky isn’t the most frequent shooter, the Avalanche do take more shots with him on the ice, which bodes well for him to continue compiling assists.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, LW/RW, Columbus Blue Jackets
Yahoo: 34% | ESPN: 52%
Plays: Saturday, Sunday
Bjorkstrand dropped off owners’ radars after getting hurt at the end of December, but after missing 13 games, he’s back and he’s still scoring goals. He has six tallies in his past three games and is firing pucks at the net at the rate of just over 10 per game on the season as a whole (that’s second only to Cam Atkinson among Blue Jackets players). Bjorkstrand also has the best overall shot quality of any Blue Jackets player (.9 iXG per 60), and since returning he has gone right back on the top power-play unit. Don’t forget the extra roster help with him being a multiposition forward.
Advertisement
Carl Hagelin, LW, Washington Capitals
Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: .9%
Plays: Friday, Sunday
Typically, a player with 13 points in 40 games doesn’t scream “fantasy hockey value.” But he’s been better this season than his results show, with an individual expected-goal total of 7.37 and only three actual tallies to show for it. Shooting at a low clip of 4.23 percent certainly hasn’t helped.
Hagelin could be handy this weekend to owners in deeper leagues when he plays on the less-busy nights of Friday and Sunday and tries to build on his four-game scoring streak. Plus, along with depth scoring, owners add the potential of short-handed points with the speedy winger.
Chris Kreider, LW, New York Rangers
Yahoo: 64% | ESPN: 83.0%
Plays: Friday, Saturday
Saturday is the busiest day this weekend, so owners will have to contemplate whom to play. Kreider’s an option to consider for those with him on their roster or in the 36 percent of Yahoo leagues where he’s available. After an uncharacteristically slow start to the season, Kreider has hit his stride and has been a key contributor in New York. Playing on the first line alongside Mika Zibanejad, he’s scored five goals over his past seven games, collected four power-play points along the way and contributed quite a few shots.
Strength of opponent is also important here, as the Rangers are set to play one of the weakest teams in the league in the Red Wings in back-to-back games. Detroit allows one of the highest rates of quality chances against at even strength and the highest on the penalty kill.
Warren Foegele, LW/RW, Carolina Hurricanes
Yahoo: 4% | EPSN: 2.9%
Plays: Friday, Sunday
Foegele was held off the scoresheet in each of his past six games, keeping him at 22 points in 50 games. Despite his scoring drought, there’s potential. Using expected goals, which we can use as a proxy for shot quality, Foegele’s 4.13 individual xG ranks ahead of his actual goal total, so he’s doing the right things, even though the results aren’t there to show it fully. And at five-on-five, Carolina’s generally better at creating quality chances with him on the ice. Alongside Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Staal, the results should come.
Advertisement
If not Foegele, there are two other Hurricanes worth keeping an eye on, since they play on the less-busy nights to end the week: Friday and Sunday. First, right winger Justin Williams, whose value we outlined here, and second, Ryan Dzingel who skated up with Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen in Nino Niederreiter’s absence in practice.
Ilya Kovalchuk, LW/RW, Montreal Canadiens
Yahoo: 38% | ESPN: 58.5%
Plays: Saturday, Sunday
Kovalchuk’s start in Los Angeles might not have been inspiring, but his play so far in Montreal sure has. With eight points in nine games, he’s getting the ice time to reflect his uptick in production — from an average 15:25 with the Kings earlier this season to 19:47 with the Canadiens. Small samples can heavily influence a player’s underlying numbers, but we can see that Montreal is taking more quality chances for and allowing fewer against when Kovalchuk is on the ice to back up that production.
Rasmus Sandin, D, Toronto Maple Leafs
Yahoo: 26% | ESPN: 19%
Plays: Saturday
The rookie defender has one goal and three assists in five games since being called up by the Maple Leafs, and he has a chance to build on that against one of the weaker teams in the league, the Senators, on Saturday. There’s only so much analysis to be made on five games played, but a cursory look shows Toronto shooting more when he’s on the ice and conceding fewer shots against. As long as that continues, it should lead to more playing time and tangible results on the scoresheet.
Brayden McNabb, D, Vegas Golden Knights
Yahoo: 14% | ESPN: 10.9%
Plays: Friday, Saturday
McNabb certainly doesn’t stand out as a fantasy stud, but he checks necessary boxes for some owners in need of help outside of the offensive categories. Defenders can often be counted on for categories including blocks and hits, and McNabb can deliver both. His 94 blocks rank 16th in the league, while his 153 hits are 10th. For owners who need blocks, hits, and shots, Johnny Boychuck is another defender with an even lower ownership percentage. Unlike McNabb, though, he plays only on Saturday, while the Golden Knights defenseman is scheduled to play in back-to-backs.
Advertisement
Connor Murphy, D, Chicago Blackhawks
Yahoo: 12% | ESPN: 13%
Plays: Saturday
For those in need of blocks who can’t sacrifice the offensive categories entirely, Murphy is available in over 85 percent of Yahoo leagues. The Blackhawks defender’s 95 blocks put him 14th in the league. He slides up a little higher up the list when accounting for playing time with rate stats, since he’s played only 39 games this season. By no means can Murphy be counted on for offense, but with 15 points in 39 games, he can still chip in a bit.
Adam Fox, D, New York Rangers
Yahoo: 40% | ESPN: 67.5%
Plays: Friday, Saturday
Fox has been a bright spot on the Rangers’ blue line on both ends of the ice. He has the best impact on their play in terms of suppressing shots and chances against, and now that he’s slated to play alongside Brady Skjei again, there’s potential for him to build on what’s already an offensively solid rookie campaign. Along with his even-strength play, Fox is on New York’s second power-play unit that is set to play a weak Detroit penalty kill.
Vladislav Gavrikov, D, Columbus Blue Jackets
Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 1%
Plays: Saturday, Sunday
Gavrikov is a pick off the beaten path, for sure, but let us tell you why it might be worth taking a flyer on the guy — particularly during such a wonky week, schedule-wise. Gavrikov has earned himself a spot in the Blue Jackets’ top four, playing 15:57 of five-on-five time per game. He’ll also add between four and five hits and shots on goal per 60. He can be good for some points, he’s 0-3-3 in his past five games, gets regular PK time, and, perhaps most importantly, plays twice over the remainder of this week.
Goaltenders
James Reimer, Carolina Hurricanes
Yahoo: 22% | ESPN: 13.3%
Plays: Friday, Sunday
Perhaps the low ownership rates here are a case of those of you working the schedule just waiting to jump back on Reimer, but no other goaltender has exceeded expectations more than he has. Reimer has the highest goals saved against above expectations (9.36) in the league to date.
Advertisement
Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks
Yahoo: 34% | ESPN: 16.4%
Plays: Saturday only
Crawford had a rough start to the season and his partner, Robin Lehner, has been the better overall goalie for Chicago. But Crawford’s play has been stronger of late, and he got four of the past six starts going into the All-Star break. He’s also kept his performance above expectations ever so slightly (.5 GSAx), and it will surely help you category-wise that Chicago allows the most shots against per 60 minutes of play (34.74) of all 31 teams.
Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
Yahoo: 53% | ESPN: 30.4%
Plays: Friday, Sunday
It may sound crazy to recommend a goaltender who is playing in a three-goalie rotation right now, particularly one who hasn’t played since Jan. 11, but hear us out. Who allows the second-most shots against in the league after Chicago? The Rangers (34.28). So you’re going to get shots against. There’s a little bit of a bad team effect here, for sure, but it’s worth noting that Lundqvist is 16th in the league in terms of beating expectations (2.76 GSAx).
Jaroslav Halak, Boston Bruins
Yahoo: 59% | ESPN: 50%
Plays: Friday, Saturday
Tuukka Rask (concussion) is no longer on IR status, and he’s likely to play at least one game this weekend, but Halak has been strong this year and could also see playing time — not just this weekend but also beyond. The longest stretch of consecutive starts for Rask has been three games (Nov. 21-26), so Halak is definitely going to get time in net. Expect Halak to see just over 30 shots per game and perform right to expectations most nights.
Schedule notes
Teams with two games: Columbus, Carolina, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, Boston, Winnipeg, Montreal.
Teams with back-to-backs: Columbus, Carolina, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, Montreal.
Note: All data current through Wednesday’s games. Data via Evolving-Hockey.com and NaturalStatTrick. This story relies on shot-based metrics. Here are primers on these numbers: Part 1, Part 2.
(Photo of Oliver Bjorkstrand: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)