This is my 2021 week two 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 your best options among those who are more likely to be available in your league as opposed to the universally owned players. There are 10 recommendations in total, 2 goalies, 2 defensemen, and 6 forwards.
Last week was not my best, though there was some bad luck involved with both
injuries and Covid postponements. Eventually I'll regress back to the mean.
Best Standard League
Adds (25% to 65% Yahoo ownership):
1) Joe
Pavelski, Dal, (45% Yahoo ownership): If you thought that a Covid outbreak
and delayed start to the season might slow down the Dallas Stars, you would be
mistaken. They blew out the Nashville Predators in their first game, with
Pavelski scoring 4 PTS to continue his hot streak from the playoffs. They will
face the Red Wings and Hurricanes twice this week, and I’m more than happy to
bring Joe along for the ride. Though my waiver claim last night was
unsuccessful, as my bid was too low, so I grabbed Sam Reinhart instead.
2) Oliver Bjorkstrand, Cbj, (60% Yahoo ownership): The situation in Columbus might be tumultuous with their top center getting shipped out of town, but I’m still bullish on Bjorkstrand, who has scored 5 PTS in 5 GP to start the season and plays 4 games this week against Florida and Chicago (teams with porous defense). It’s hard to say how the line-up will shake out when Laine comes to town, but it will probably take at least 7 days before Laine can be inserted into the lineup. Oliver is not a lock to play with Laine, as they might give that role to more of playmaker, but we’ll see.
3) Pavel Buchnevich, NYR, (31% Yahoo ownership): Buchnevich currently finds himself playing on the wing with Artemi Panarin, playing over 22 minutes in the Rangers last game. The Russian has recorded 4 PTS in 4 GP and will face the Sabres and Penguins twice each this week, both teams who have had some issues keeping pucks out of their net. Pavel is getting time on the power play, though mostly on the 2nd unit (which did get nearly 3 minutes in the last game, compared to 4 minutes for the first unit). If Buchnevich can stick on the Panarin line, he’s a long-term target.
4) Devon Toews, Col, (42% Yahoo ownership): My knock on Devon Toews heading into the season was that the Avalanche had too many mouths to feed on the blueline, but it turns out that there’s plenty of food to eat. The Avs have back-to-back games against San Jose to start the week and Toews has scored 4 PTS in 5 GP, though his shot and hit totals are low. If you’re looking for peripheral stats, you may want to consider taking Justin Faulk instead, who has 17 shots and 17 hits through 5 games.
5) Matt Murray, Ott, (48% Yahoo ownership): Do not confuse this recommendation as a long-term endorsement of Murray, but rather, of the available options under 65% owned, he’s the guy I’m adding for next week. Through 4 games Murray has posted a 3.79 GAA and .880 SV%, which is far from spectacular. The Senators have 3 games against Vancouver and 1 against Edmonton in the upcoming week, so Murray could get you a few wins. Mikko Koskinen and Vitek Vanecek were also considered for this spot, but I don’t like their upcoming schedules as much as Ottawa.
Honorable Mentions: Sam Reinhart, Patric
Hornqvist, Kevin Hayes, Justin Faulk, Vitek Vanecek
Best Deep League Adds
(under 25% ownership):
1) Kaapo
Kahkonen, Min, (15% Yahoo ownership): Cam Talbot was forced to leave Friday
night’s game and was replaced by Kahkonen, who stopped 17 of 17 shots for the
win. Talbot’s injury is not believed to be serious, but that didn’t stop me
from scurrying to the waiver wire to add Kaapo in a league where I own Talbot
and there are slim pickings available on the wire. The Wild have the Kings
twice to start the week, which is a great time to stream Kahkonen into your
roster. But they close the week in Colorado, which could be problematic.
2) Rasmus Andersson, Cgy, (15% Yahoo ownership): Rasmus Andersson played over 8 minutes on the power play in the Flames last game, finishing with almost 23 minutes total ice. He has collected 7 shots and 3 PTS through 3 GP, and is absolutely worth considering in deeper formats. He may even be a shallow league contender if this deployment continues, though Giordano is a perpetual threat to steal that prime-time spot on the PP. Rasmus won’t provide too many hits or blocks, but the shot totals are strong.
3) Carter Verhaeghe, Fla, (3% Yahoo ownership): When I was preparing my fantasy projections for this season, I was most certainly not expecting Verhaeghe to be deployed on the top line with Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers have only played 2 games due to Covid postponements, but Carter managed to collect 3 PTS in that small sample. Certainly that 3% ownership is far too low for a top line player on Barkov’s wing. Long-term I’m concerned about Huberdeau getting moved back to the top line, but in the meantime, Verhaeghe is the man.
4) Denis Gurianov, Dal, (23% Yahoo ownership): Gurianov was my #1 deep league sleeper prior to the start of the season, which for Dallas was delayed due to a Covid outbreak. As discussed above, the Stars showed no ill effects in their return to action. Denis found himself on the top power play unit (where he scored a goal), though the Stars did spread out the ice time in the blowout win against the Nashville. The Stars have the Red Wings to start the week, which should pay dividends. I like Gurianov as a long-term addition. His ownership is far too low at 23%.
5) Joel Eriksson Ek, Min, (21% Yahoo ownership): Eriksson Ek is arguably the Wild’s best center, but currently finds himself on a line with Greenway and Foligno. That hasn’t stopped him from collecting 5 PTS and 19 shots in 5 GP, as he is also getting a few minutes per game of power play deployment. I would love to see Ek find his way onto a line with Fiala and/or Kaprizov, though for the time being the Wild seem to prefer him in a checking line role (his 19:27 ATOI last game is higher than your average checking line center).
Honorable Mentions: Alexandre Texier, Josh Norris, Jordan Kyrou, Ty Smith, Thomas Greiss
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