NHL 2017 Week 5 Fantasy Hockey Report

Players to watch, all formats:

1) Brock Boeser, Vancouver, (35% Yahoo ownership): He scored a hat trick against Pittsburgh yesterday. If there are any Canucks fans in your league, he’s probably already owned.

2) Mikko Rantanen, Colorado, (34% Yahoo ownership): He’s up to 12 PTS on the season, including 5 in his last 4 GP. The kid can score. A must add in dynasty leagues, worth considering in standard leagues. Lots of upside here.

3) Anders Lee, Islanders, (70% Yahoo ownership): I added him this week in a standard league. He’s got 13 PTS in his last 8 GP.

4) Brendan Gallagher, Montreal (50% Yahoo ownership): He’s been on fire with 8 PTS in the last 2 weeks. I’m not sure how long that scoring rate will continue, but he’s a guy to ride while the going is good.

5) Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver, (35% Yahoo ownership): I’m not 100% sold on his viability as a long term #1 starter, but he has been playing very well for his last few games, and for the time being is a decent #2 fantasy option.

Going Deep: players to add in deeper leagues:

1) Mathew Barzal, Islanders, (9% Yahoo ownership): He’s got 10 PTS in his last 5 GP. He’s worth considering even in standard leagues. That ownership should hit 30% at least by the end of the week.

2) Yanni Gourde, Tampa, (4% Yahoo ownership): He’s got 5 PTS in his last 5 GP and was a darkhorse contender for Rookie of the Year by somebody at the Hockey News.

3) Lars Eller, Washington, (2% Yahoo ownership): 6 PTS in his last 4 GP is good for a guy that’s 2% owned. He’s a good target in deep leagues. He’ll eventually go cold again, but ride the wave while it lasts. Not worth considering in standard leagues yet.

4) Tomas Plekanec, Montreal, (3% Yahoo ownership): It was a brutal start to the season but he’s got 4 PTS in his last 4 GP. Worth a shot in deep leagues.

5) Kari Lehtonen, Dallas, (6% Yahoo ownership): Not someone I expected to be adding to the watch list today, but Bishop has been struggling lately and over his last 3 starts Lehtonen is 2-1 with a 1.17 GAA and .959 SV%. Perhaps not a viable long-term option, but he’s the best performing goaltender who is widely available in deep leagues. Worth a shot if you need a few extra starts.

Sell High:

1) Rick Nash, Rangers, (41% Yahoo ownership): He’s got 5 PTS in his last 4 GP. If you can find a buyer to take him off your hands, now might be the best time to move him.

2) Mike Smith, Calgary, (88% Yahoo ownership): He’s been sensational early this season but I do not expect him to finish with a 2.21 GAA and .933 SV%. There is some regression to the mean coming in the future, especially with the workload he’s getting.

3) Vincent Trochek, Florida, (61% Yahoo ownership): It won’t hurt you to keep Vinny, but he’s got 8 PTS in his last 5 GP and could be used as trade bait to get a better player who’s been slumping.

4) Steven Stamkos, Tamps, (100% Yahoo ownership): He’s been one of the best players in the NHL this season, so Stamkos is due for his annual freak injury/illness. If you’ve been holding him in a keeper league this might be the best time to sell.

5) Max Pacioretty, Montreal, (95% Yahoo ownership): After a terrible start to the season, Maximus has 7 PTS in his last 7 GP. If you were looking to sell, 2 weeks ago was a bad time. You’ll get a better return now.

Buy Low:

1) Fredrick Andersen, Toronto, (91% Yahoo ownership): He’s been struggling lately with a 3.56 GAA and .898 SV% over the last 2 weeks. He should eventually get better, so now might be the time to buy low.

2) Patrick Laine, Winnipeg, (99% Yahoo ownership): He went 4 games without scoring a point and complained to the media that hockey has gotten hard. He’s scored in 2 consecutive games since that admission. He’s off to a bit of a slow start and you may be able to get him from an owner expecting bigger things.

3) Richard Panik, Chicago, (62% Yahoo ownership): He’s gone pointless in 7 games and his owner is probably starting to panic. Probably not worth owning in a standard league, but you may be able to pick him up cheap in a deeper league.

4) Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh, (100% Yahoo ownership): He’s only got 3 PTS in his last 8 GP. If ever there was a good time to make an offer for Sidney Crosby, it’s right now. At some point in the near future he’ll catch fire again.

5) Nicklas Backstrom, Washington, (99% Yahoo ownership): With 1 point in his last 7 games, his trade value might never be cheaper than it is right now. He’ll bounce back soon enough, but in the meantime, pitch an offer and see what happens.

Be concerned:

1) Brent Seabrook, Chicago, (74% Yahoo ownership): He’s gone pointless in 6 straight games and is owned in far too many leagues. If you own Seabrook, in almost any league, there’s a better guy on the waiver wire.

2) Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit, (69% Yahoo ownership): 2 PTS in his last 7 GP, he can be safely dropped in all standard leagues.

3) Nikita Zaitsev, Toronto, (55% Yahoo ownership): He’s got 1 point in his last 11 GP and is owned in too many leagues. Granted if you do own him you're probably a Leafs fan and won't listen to this advice.

4) John Gibson, Anaheim, (95% Yahoo ownership): In his last 4 starts he’s 1-3 with 14 GA. All this after Ryan Miller has come off IR and is playing good. If Gibson continues to have some struggles, he’ll have a short leash with the veteran back-up.

5) Brian Elliott, Philly, (68% Yahoo ownership): He’s been one of the worst performing goalies over 60% ownership, with 14 GA in his last 4 games. His season GAA is 3.11 with an .892 SV%. If he’s the #1 goalie on your team, it’s not looking good.