2019/20 Week 15 NHL Fantasy Hockey Report

This is my week fifteen 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) Anders Lee, NYI, (60% Yahoo ownership): If you are looking to stream new players into your line-up this week, first check to see which Islanders are available, as they’ll be playing 5 games, including Detroit. I’ve added Lee myself in a 12-team standard league. He has scored 7 PTS in his last 12 GP, with 37 shots and 15 hits. Good peripherals and plays on the top power play. The Islanders only play once the week after this, so I’ll be dropping all my NYI streamers in 7 days. In the meantime, Lee is at the top of my list.

2) Brock Nelson, NYI, (59% Yahoo ownership): Nelson is a good second prize on your waiver wire if Lee is already taken. The two play together on the second line with Eberle, but unlike Lee, Nelson is not playing on the top power play. He will give you more value in leagues that count faceoff wins, where his wing eligibility is an added bonus. When I’m competing in a league with faceoff wins, I always target the wing eligible players who frequently take draws. Over his last 10 GP, Nelson has produced 5 PTS with 24 shots, 8 hits, and 82 FWs.

3) Patric Hornqvist, Pit, (55% Yahoo ownership): Playing on a 2^nd line with Simon and McCann is hardly exciting, but it’s his role on the mighty Pittsburgh power play that is most appealing. That being said, none of the 5 PTS Hornqvist has scored in 7 GP since returning from injury have been with the man advantage. The guy was on my bust list this season and not someone I’m excited to own long-term, but this week is a good time to stream him, with the Pens playing 4 games including one against the Dead Wings. He’s been averaging 4 shots per game since his return.

4) Elvis Merzlikins, Cbj, (36% Yahoo ownership): I’m proud of the fact that I’m in first place in a fantasy league where I drafted Bobrovsky and Dubnyk (both still under .900 SV% this season). Joonas Korpisalo deserved a ton of credit for turning my season around before he was injured. Enter Elvis, who has seamlessly stepped in as the starter. Over his last 9 GP, the King has posted a 2.07 GAA and .936 SV%. Whether or not that success is due to team defense is irrelevant to me, I just care about the numbers. Elvis went into Vegas last night and shut out the Golden Knights. He’s gonna set your soul on fire!

5) Erik Gustafsson, Chi, (49% Yahoo ownership): Gustafsson has lost his gig on the top Chicago power play and is a player that I dropped last week because of it. Having said that, I’m considering streaming him back in given the Blackhawks upcoming schedule (Ottawa and Montreal on Tue-Wed, then Toronto and Winnipeg on Sat-Sun). I’m not expecting too many PTS, but he’ll help your hit totals. Gustafsson does see time on the 2^nd power play unit, so it’s not a completely lost cause. There just weren’t too many quality steaming options for defensemen in this ownership range (and I always include at least 1 in my weekly streaming list). I might end up adding Nick Leddy or John Marino instead.

Last Week: Blake Coleman, Elvis Merzlikins, Sami Vatanen, Ondrej Palat, Nikita Gusev

Best Deep League Adds (under 20% ownership):

1) Dominik Kahun, Pit, (6% Yahoo ownership): Kahun was recently promoted to a line with Gino Malkin and has scored 5 PTS in his last 2 GP. So long as this deployment lasts, Kahun needs to be owned in more leagues. He may not be a safe bet to hold that deployment permanently, but with the success they’ve had in the short-term, you should at least be optimistic about the upcoming week. There will likely be a line shake-up when Crosby returns, which could be any day now.

2) John Marino, Pit, (15% Yahoo ownership): Marino started scoring back in early November and hasn’t slowed down (notwithstanding a 2 week stretch in early December). The rookie has been producing at a 43-point pace for the season, including 9 PTS in his last 12 GP. He first appeared on my Fantasy Report on Nov 24 when he was 1% owned. While the kid is scoring points, his shot totals have been underwhelming. If you want better peripheral numbers, you may want to try Nick Leddy as your streaming defenseman, who is only 5% owned.

3) Jordan Eberle, NYI, (13% Yahoo ownership): The Islanders have a few forwards in the deep league ownership range who are worth considering this week, the best of them is Jordan Eberle (7 PTS in his last 13 GP). Anthony Beauvillier is listed on the top line with Barzal, but has only scored 1 point in his last 11 GP. Josh Bailey also played on the top line last night and has been equally ice cold. That leaves Eberle as my preferred deep league streaming forward from the Islanders.

4) Aaron Dell, SJ, (11% Yahoo ownership): If you haven’t been paying attention, Aaron Dell has actually been good in San Jose since the coaching change, and has sustained that quality play for multiple weeks. Over his last 9 GP, Dell has posted 5 wins with a 2.23 GAA and .928 SV%. It’s hard for people to erase the memories of Dell sucking over the past two seasons, but if you can, there is value here. It appears as though he has won the starting duties from Martin Jones and won an impressive victory against the Dallas Stars last night. I added Dell myself in a 12-team standard league (I also placed a bid for Igor Shesterkin but did not bid enough).

5) Dominik Kubalik, Chi, (10% Yahoo ownership): Kubalik has spent most of this season in the 1%-2% ownership range, but has caught fire lately playing on the top line with Jonathan Toews, scoring 13 PTS in his last 12 GP. The Blackhawks have been trying to spread out their scoring across 3 lines, which is bad for the high-end players, but great for guys like Kubalik. I’d like to see more power play time before targeting him as a permanent hold, but as a short-term streamer, Chicago players have added value this week.

Last Week: Nick Suzuki, Conor Garland, Samuel Girard, Adin Hill, Arturi Lehkonen