Good Evening! I’m Lackeydrinksonme!
It’s the third issue of my weekly long-run streamer column. I’m here to offer some pickups for the short-slate games in the upcoming week, with a focus on putting more players on the ice than your opponent. ESPN has changed everything, so I don’t have “Games Started” data for the 18-19 season, but bear in mind that the odds of coming out with a win are strongly related to the number of players you put on the ice. It’s worth taking a moment to go day by day to add up starts to make sure you’re on top.
If you thought you drafted great but you’re 0-3, don’t fear just yet. I have plenty of stories across my years of fantasy with people starting 0-5, 0-6, and once 0-7 who still made the playoffs. Maybe look to buy low on breakout candidates like Clayton Keller, or sell high on some name value that you aren’t quite trusting. Also grab Juuse Saros right now. Do it.
Out of the 580 fantasy matchups I have recorded, teams who put at least 10 more skaters on the ice than their opponents are 65-5-6. Those who have gotten at least 5 more skaters won 62% of the time. This column will focus on getting additional player starts several times a week, especially on days with fewer games, and maximizing player usage so as to not leave points on the bench. If you see a guy you like, who is starting this week, pick him up with the objective of getting an extra 2-4 decent starts a week.
Let’s get to our weekly streamers to get some skaters onto the ice!!
Colorado Avalanche (M/W/F/St)
One day off from being a perfect short-slate schedule Colorado is figuring things out with MacKinnon and Landeskog leading the charge. If you don’t have either of these two, here are some options to roll out for three days and play to plug holes over the weekend.
Erik Johnson – Currently leading the team in Time On Ice and Corsi For. I like Johnson as a versatile D-man who is clearly getting some looks. 5 Assists, 19 SOG, and 11 Hits make him a brilliant add for the off days this week.
Carl Soderberg – With around 15 minutes of TOI a game and nearly two of those on the power-play, I’m ok with a look at Soderberg who is currently owned in around 4% of ESPN leagues. He isn’t really a candidate for positive regression and doesn’t have amazing linemates, but there’s power-play time and shots and hits.
Tyson Jost – Probably not on anybody’s radar, Jost is seeing more than four minutes of power-play time per game and at the time of writing is only owned in .7% of ESPN leagues. He has fine possession numbers, but maybe lacking some shots. If you’re looking very deep, hopefully he’s available.
Winnipeg Jets
Adam Bailey and Brandon Tanev – Featured on the same line almost ¾ of the time, Tanev and Bailey take a ton of shots and dish out a ton of hits, each. They have better possession numbers than Wheeler, Sheifele, and Connor, and each has around 15:00 of ice time. Yikes, if they keep this up and you grab the pair, the points are a gamble but the counting stats will be there.
Josh Morrissey – With ownership on the rise, he might have been snapped up. It’s worth taking a look at Morrissey who has seven points so far while hitting more than 23 minutes of ice time a game, with more than a minute on the lethal power play. Very nice.
Carolina Hurricanes OR Detroit Red Wings (M/F/Su)
Carolina is playing at a level people didn’t expect them to and Detroit is… well, where we expected Ottawa to be. Monday/Friday/Sunday is an interesting schedule with a lot of dead space. The strategy here might be to stream or hold for M-Th, then grabbing someone from CAR/DET just for Friday and Sunday, letting your base team run through the first four days of the week.
Warren Foegele – Still owned in only 1% of ESPN leagues. Foegele is an obvious streaming choice and might be worth picking up for the entire week, considering CAR’s first game is against DET. Foegele’s possession numbers are awesome, and with 15:00 of ice time a game is certainly worth a sexy wink and a nod until he cools off.
Gustav Nyquist – Nyquist is in line for a career year, and this shouldn’t be the first place you are hearing this, but on the chance that it is, give him a long hard look. Detroit isn’t and will not be great, but Nyquist plays with Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha, two incredible forwards who are also looking for their breakout. Nyquist has great possession numbers and should contribute across categories.
Jaccob Slavin – Leading the Canes in TOI, Slavin isn’t an amazing choice, but is worth grabbing for the weekend games against SJS and NYI (at home). All of CAR have terrific possession numbers, (mostly based of SOG, for people who don’t know) but with Slavin’s presence on ice and his own contributions in SOG, HITs, and PPTOI, he’s certainly worth a look as a late effort over the weekend.
I’m planning on doing a deep dive Wednesday night (I hope!!), so will have an article up then and also a continuation of this series next Monday. Feel free to ask any questions you might have, and good luck!!
