Sunday, February 23, 2020

2019/20 Week 20 NHL Fantasy Hockey Report


This is my week Twenty 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) Igor Shesterkin, NYR, (47% Yahoo ownership): If you can still find this guy on your waiver wire, go add him now. Over his last 6 starts, Igor has 6 wins with a .948 SV%. I’m heavily invested in Shesterkin myself. He has moved into a majority time share in the Rangers net as the team has gone 7-3 in their last 10, desperately hanging on to the playoff race. The team has been giving up a ton of shots, but the rookie goalie has been equal to the task. Add him wherever you can find him.

2) Kevin Fiala, Min, (40% Yahoo ownership): After scoring just 1 point in his first 8 games, Fiala has been scoring at nearly a 70-point pace. The Wild first line of Fiala, Parise, and Staal has been sustaining success over a large sample and is worth investing in, with Kevin scoring 12 PTS in his last 10 GP. It’s going to be a 4-game week for Minnesota with the Red Wings on Thursday. Given Fiala’s production, you may also want to consider keeping him on your roster beyond this week.

3) Tyler Toffoli, Van, (45% Yahoo ownership): Tyler Toffoli has been traded to Vancouver and has stepped into the role vacated by an injured Brock Boeser on the top line and top power play. If you needed more convincing, he scored 2 goals and added an assist in a blowout win against the Bruins last night. Over his last 5 GP, Tyler has scored 8 PTS with 25 shots and a +6. He’s worth a streaming spot this week, and you may even want to hang on permanently depending how that goes.

4) Jared Spurgeon, Min, (31% Yahoo ownership): Spurgeon’s ownership has doubled since the beginning of the month, scoring 7 PTS in his last 10 GP, including a hat trick against Edmonton. Spurgeon has been on my watch list all season, and is a D-Man I’m happy to add whenever the schedule aligns, as it does this week. He’s currently on the top power play unit and I’ve added him myself in a 12-team standard league, but the league isn’t deep enough to warrant a permanent roster spot.

5) Kailer Yamamoto, Edm, (42% Yahoo ownership): The Oilers may only play 3 games this week, but I’m still adding Yamamoto wherever I can find him. There is a risk that he could get bumped from the top power play unit whenever McDavid returns, but still holds value beyond that, having scored 14 PTS in his last 12 GP. Kailer was on my sleeper list last season, but he never got the opportunity he’s getting now with Draisaitl.


Last Week: Viktor Olofsson, Andre Burakovsky, Jason Zucker, Antti Raanta, Jakob Chychrun


Best Deep League Adds (under 22% ownership):


1) Pavel Buchnevich, (18% Yahoo ownership): I’ve been aboard the Buchnevich train for the last 3 weeks, playing with Kreider and Zibanejad, scoring 11 PTS in his last 12 GP. We will see what happens to the Rangers lines if Kreider is moved on Monday. The best-case scenario for Pavel is maintaining the status quo. New York may still be close enough to the wild card to hang on to Kreider, but if he’s moved, there is also the possibility that Buchnevich steps into his spot on the top power play.

2) Alex Stalock, Min, (16% Yahoo ownership): Stalock has overtaken Dubnyk as the #1 goalie in Minnesota, posting an impressive .930 SV% over his last 6 games. He stands to get at least 2, possibly 3 starts this week and is available in many leagues. The Wild aren’t a great team, but they have been competitive lately, winning 6 of their last 10. Stalock is certainly worth a gamble in deeper formats.

3) Markus Nutivaara, Cbj, (0% Yahoo ownership): With the injury to Seth Jones, the Blue Jackets have been leaning more heavily on Nutivaara, who has 5 PTS in his last 7 GP, and is available almost everywhere. At even strength he’s been playing on the top pairing with Zach Werenski and has averaged 20:12 of ice time over the last 2 weeks. Injuries have decimated the BJs roster, which is creating opportunity for youngsters to fill the void.

4) Andrew Mangiapane, Cgy, (3% Yahoo ownership): The Flames 2nd line of Tkachuk, Backlund, and Mangiapane has been hot, or at least played 2 really good games in the last 2 weeks. Mangiapane has scored 10 PTS in his last 12 GP, averaging almost 17 minutes per night. Yes, 6 of those PTS came in 2 games, but he can still help you in deeper pools, as he’s sitting on the waiver wire in 97% of leagues.

5) Nikita Gusev, NJ, (10% Yahoo ownership): Gusev’s stock has been volatile, but the Russian has been good, scoring at a 52-point pace on the season. The exodus of forwards from New Jersey before the trade deadline is creating opportunities. Simmonds has been playing on the top power play unit, a role that Gusev could fill if Simmonds is traded. He will probably hurt your +/- if that’s something you care about.


Last Week: Zach Sanford, Anthony Beauvillier, Aaron Dell, Tyler Toffoli, Devon Toews

No comments:

Post a Comment