NHL 2018/19 Week 18 Fantasy Hockey Report

This is my week eighteen fantasy hockey report for those competing in head to head categories or rotisserie leagues. There are both standard and deep league acquisition targets. This is more of a “waiver wire” report, looking for those who are more likely to be available in your league as opposed to the universally owned players. I also do not recommend any players who play 2 games or less over the next 7 days (Monday to Sunday), with a preference for those with 4 or more games.

Best Standard League Adds (20% to 60% Yahoo ownership):

1) Travis Konecny, W, Phi, (42% Yahoo ownership): Konecny was a solid performer in the 2^nd half last season and history appears to be repeating itself. The Flyers play Mon-Tue and Sat-Sun (both against Detroit), so he has added streaming value at either the beginning or end of the week. He has scored 9 PTS in his last 8 GP, so there is also long-term value with Konecny.

2) Gustav Nyquist, W, Det, (51% Yahoo ownership): I traded Nyquist away in my 18-team league out of fear that he’ll be traded at the deadline and get less favourable deployment on his new team. But so long as he’s in Detroit playing with Dylan Larkin (who returned from a brief injury), the outlook is good. Nyquist has sustained quality numbers for several weeks and has scored 9 PTS in his last 10 GP.

3) Jordan Binnington, G, Stl, (57% Yahoo ownership): Most people had no idea who this guy was until early January when he started winning games (9 wins in his last 11). Binnington has a season GAA of 1.70 with a .931 SV%. Add him wherever he’s available and ride this wave for as long as it lasts. I’m skeptical that these numbers are sustainable long-term, but in the context of the remainder of this season, Binnington is a must-own.

4) Nolan Patrick, C, Phi, (20% Yahoo ownership): Like Konecny, Nolan Patrick has started to establish a history of good second half performance. He’s now scored 9 PTS in his last 10 GP, albeit with inconsistent deployment. If you can’t get him into your line-up to start the week, I also love him as a weekend streamer with the Flyers playing a home and home against the Red Wings.

5) Matt Niskanen, D, Wsh, (26% Yahoo ownership): The Capitals play 4 games next week, including a very desirable Sunday game against Anaheim. Niskanen has scored 5 PTS in his last 8 GP, continuing to put up good hit totals with decent shots. This is not the level of player worthy of a permanent roster spot in shallow leagues, but always a useful streamer when the schedules align.

Last Week: Nino Niederreiter, Darcy Kuemper, Jared Spurgeon, Blake Coleman,

Brayden Schenn

Best Deep League Adds (under 20% ownership):

1) Andreas Athanasiou, Det, (17% Yahoo ownership): Athanasiou is always a great deep league streaming option when the Red Wings play four games. He has scored 7 PTS in his last 10 GP and tends to deliver good shot totals. The speedster has seen a substantial increase in ice time thus far in February, averaging over 18 minutes. Still plays too much with Glendening and Helm to be relevant in shallower leagues. If he ever got a permanent deployment with Larkin, then he gets very interesting.

2) Dylan Strome, Chi, (16% Yahoo ownership): It’s really starting to look like Dylan Strome is for real, having scored 13 PTS in his last 9 GP. The Hawks only play 3 games, all on busy nights, so you might have trouble getting him into your line-up this week. This is a long-term roster recommendation. For sure he needs to be owned in more leagues on a permanent basis, but is still a tough add in shallow leagues where there’s an over-abundance of centers.

3) Jonathan Bernier, Det, (4% Yahoo ownership): The Red Wings play 4 games this week, so Bernier has a good chance at getting 2 starts, one near the start and one near the end of the week. The Wings second string goalie has been playing decent hockey lately with a .935 SV% in his last 3 starts. There is also the chance that Jimmy Howard gets traded before the deadline, which would then vault Bernier into the #1 role, at which point he would be a hot add.

4) Ben Hutton, Van, (2% Yahoo ownership): The Canucks are leaning heavily on Hutton right now with Edler injured again (averaging 26:40 over his last 5 GP). This guy needs to be more than 2% owned so long as this deployment lasts. Last game the Canucks had Stecher up on the top power play, with Hutton on the 2^nd unit. He was still getting PP time when Edler was healthy too. In my 18-team league, somebody dropped Kevin Shattenkirk to add Hutton.

5) Jakub Vrana, Wsh, (14% Yahoo ownership): Vrana is another player that I’ve recommended multiple times this season as a deep league streamer. The Capitals play 4 games with one against Anaheim. At the very least he’s someone you’ll want to keep in mind for Sunday. Vrana has scored 4 PTS in his last 5 GP, while averaging 15:19 of ice time.

Last Week: Justin Williams, Joonas Korpisalo, Jacob Slavin, Jack Roslovic,

Nick Bonino

The 1% (best adds 1% owned or less):

1) Marcus Johansson, W, NJ: Johansson has made this list before as he’s been getting strong deployment for most of the season. Taylor Hall does not appear to be any closer to returning, which creates opportunity down the depth chart. He appears to be fully healthy and has produced 4 PTS in his last 6 GP.

2) Josh Leivo, W, Van: Another Canuck who has been getting good deployment lately, averaging over 16 minutes in his last 5 GP, with 5 PTS. The team will be in California this week, which is not as difficult an assignment as past years. If you want to stream players who play against Anaheim, here’s one that’s available in a bunch of leagues.

3) Troy Stecher, D, Van: I have never been a big believer in Troy Stecher, but the Canucks played him 26 minutes in the last game with over 6m on the power play. His ice time has jumped significantly since the Edler injury and has managed to produce 3 PTS in his last 6 GP. If he gets that PP1 assignment against the Ducks, look out.

Last Week: Oskar Sundqvist, Jordan Oesterle, Evan Rodrigues

Safe to drop in Standard Leagues:

1) Jake Allen, G, Stl: Allen is still owned in 58% of Yahoo leagues despite only starting 3 games in the last 30 days. So long as Jordan Binnington is winning, Allen is going to be sitting on the bench. Fantasy playoffs are coming, and I’m not sure you want a 2^nd string Allen burning a spot on your roster.

2) JT Miller, W, TB: It’s not been a good 30 days for Miller, who has scored only 3 PTS in 11 GP while averaging 12:12 of ice time. He’s still at 31% Yahoo ownership, and there’s room for that number to sink even lower if this deployment and production continues.

Last Week: Cam Talbot, Charlie McAvoy