NHL Fantasy Up, Down, Left, Right, Start is not only a nod to the old Nintendo cheat codes, but also a (hopefully) helpful post to help you make some roster decisions with your fantasy hockey team(s). It will have information for both daily players and season-long players.
As always, based on roster sizes, number of teams, scoring categories, whether your league is a redraft, keeper or daily league, and various other factors, you should ultimately make your own call on these suggestions. These are simply here to make some daily decisions easier, and help you keep an eye on guys that might be on other owner’s radar.
Only players with a game today will be included in each post…helpful for daily players or anyone looking to get an extra body into your lineup.
There will also be a notes section at the bottom of this post with any notable fantasy news for tonight’s games updated throughout the day.
As always, feel free to ask me any fantasy related questions you might have by leaving a comment, or reaching out to me on Twitter.
Today’s NHL Games:
BUF
@
NYI
CHI
@
CAR
EDM
@
PIT
VAN
@
PHI
MIN
@
TOR
LAK
@
TBL
CBJ
@
DET
FLA
@
NSH
MON
@
WPG
SJS
@
STL
DAL
@
COL
OTT
@
PHX
UP
A player that is owned in around 1/3rd or less of public online leagues, but should be on your radar. Keep an eye on these guys going forward. Not necessarily a daily play yet, but don’t be afraid to scoop him up if he has a few more good games.
Source: Mike Carlson/Getty Images
Valtteri Filppula - TBL – Owned: 27% Yahoo!; 71% ESPN – 66% increase.
Filppula never quite put everything together in Detroit, where he had a career best 23 goals and 66 points in 2011-12, but never had more than 40 points in any other season. He is off to a hot start with Tampa, putting up four goals and five points in five games. While it will be impossible to keep up his current 57% shot percentage (four goals on seven shots), what makes me put him on the “up” list is his increased ice time with the Tampa talent around him. This season, his TOI looks like this: 14:59; 19:12; 20:09; 20:52; and 25:32 in his most recent game. The goals will slow, but the points may near a career high if he can continue getting top minutes.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP : vs LAK. Career vs opponent: 6 goals, 14 points in 25 games.
Brad Boyes – Owned: 16% Yahoo!; 18% ESPN.
Boyes is not going to be that same guy that put up 72 points with the Blues five seasons ago, or even the same guy that was on pace for 60 points with the Islanders last season, but with his move to the top line in Florida, he can certainly help your team. He’s shooting the puck, getting 17 SOG through six games, and his TOI is increasing. Most players on Florida are going to be tough to have in your lineup on a consistent basis, but Boyes is a guy that you could probably still get as a FA and put in with some confidence when your other options aren’t available.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP : at NSH. Career vs opponent: 10 goals, 17 points in 28 games.
DOWN
A player that is likely owned in most leagues, but is likely to fall. Players here are likely to fall into the “sell-high” category. Could still be a daily play, but proceed with caution if you have better options.
Chris Stewart – Owned: 58% Yahoo!; 58% ESPN.
Stewart led the team with 18 goals last season, but he has none to begin this season even though the Blues have gotten off to a great start with 19 goals scored in four games. The most alarming part about Stewart’s numbers is that he’s averaging just 12:27 of ice time to begin the season. He’s a streaky player, so there will be parts of the season where he racks up some points, but you may want to look elsewhere for some consistency…especially if you’re in a head-to-head league. He does have added value in leagues that count PIMs.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP : vs SJS. Career vs opponent: 3 goals, 10 points in 16 games.
Steve Ott – Owned: 22% Yahoo!; 65% ESPN.
Steve Ott is a great player to have on your team if your league counts PIMs and hits. If it doesn’t, there’s almost no reason to have him on your roster. He’s going to give you about 250 hits along with 150 PIMs, but that will come with only about 10-12 goals and around 35 points. His value comes entirely from the two categories mentioned, so be sure to know your league’s scoring before rostering a guy like Ott.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP : vs SJS. Career vs opponent: 0 goals, 3 points in 10 games.
LEFT
A player who’s ownership has likely risen in the last few days, but should ideally be left for someone else. Decent short-term pickups if needed for tonight’s games, but don’t expect much over a full season.
Derek Morris – Owned: 3% Yahoo!; 6% ESPN – 6% increase.
Morris used to be a guy that you’d want on your roster every year. He’d provide decent offensive numbers to go along with a good amount of PIMs, hits, and blocked shots. However, Morris is now a guy that hasn’t reached 20 points since 2009-10, and his other numbers have all been trending downward. His two goals this season already matches his total from his two previous seasons combined, so that isn’t likely to continue. At 35 years old, he’s probably better left for someone else to gamble on.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP : vs OTT. Career vs opponent: 1 goal, 9 points in 20 games.
RIGHT
A player who’s ownership has likely risen in the last few days, and if he’s still available, you’d do well to pick him up right now and start him tonight!
Source: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Jonas Brodin – Owned: 23% Yahoo!; 99% ESPN – 43% increase.
I took a “wait and see” approach with Brodin, but he has already shown that, at the very least, he can handle top-pairing minutes and will provide some points to go along with those minutes. He has a point in five of six games this season, while averaging over 25 minutes a game paired with Ryan Suter. He’s also getting a few pucks to the net with seven SOG in six games, so there’s no reason to think the point total won’t be up in the 45-50 range by season’s end.
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP : at TOR. Career vs opponent: N/A
START
This will be a list of confirmed starting goalies for today’s games, with my ranking for each.
Check back throughout the day for an updated list of confirmed starters and updated rankings.
Rankings are based on a number of factors including strength of opponent, recent play, likelihood to put up good numbers (35 saves with 3 goals against is sometimes better than 17 saves with 1 goal against), win probability, and other factors. Take your league scoring into consideration when choosing between two closely rated goalies.
* = probable – likely to start based on factors such as morning skate, etc., but not confirmed yet.
** = not confirmed – a good chance at starting, but no indications yet as to who will be in net.
Evgeni Nabokov vs BUF
Semyon Varlamov vs DAL
Corey Crawford at CAR
Roberto Luongo at PHI
Sergei Bobrovsky at DET
Marc-Andre Fleury vs EDM
Jonas Gustavsson vs CBJ
Ben Bishop vs LAK
Steve Mason vs VAN
Carey Price at WPG
*Pekka Rinne vs FLA
*Mike Smith vs OTT
*Jonathan Quick at TBL
James Reimer vs MIN
Craig Anderson at PHX
Ryan Miller at NYI
Jacob Markstrom at NSH
Darcy Kuemper at TOR
Cam Ward vs CHI
Ondrej Pavelec vs MON
Antti Niemi at STL
Jaroslav Halak vs SJS
Dan Ellis at COL
Jason LaBarbera at PIT
NOTES
Updated throughout the day with any significant fantasy news.
- Nail Yakupov is expected to return to the lineup tonight after two games of being a healthy scratch.
- Brian Gionta will be back in the lineup tonight for Montreal after missing Saturday’s game.
- Montreal’s fourth line will have Danny Briere on it tonight.
- Tyson Barrie will be a healthy scratch again tonight for Colorado.
- James van Riemsdyk (undisclosed) won’t be in the lineup tonight.
Carlos Figueiredo
NHL Rankings & Content Editor
Dynasty Sports Empire
@SpeakoftheDevs
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