With no games over the weekend due to the All-Star game, there’s not much to report on my end. For the next few weeks, the schedule is quite wacky since this was supposed to be a break for the Olympics. I’m going to do a quick rundown of this week and what we’re looking at so everyone can plan accordingly. Let’s get to it!
The Senators play five games this week. Five! There are plenty of teams that have 0 or 1 (I’ll get to those later). There are two sets of back-to-back for Ottawa, including tonight and tomorrow. That makes players on Ottawa have elite streaming potential, especially with the Devils missing Jack Hughes tonight with COVID and Dougie Hamilton could still be out. Tim Stutzle is at the top of the list if he’s available in your league, with Alex Formenton and Tyler Ennis my next choices.
The Panthers, Kings, Rangers, and Sharks all have zero games this week, while the Ducks only have one on Friday. If you’re in a shallow head to head league, I’d be willing to cut bait with fringe holds like Ryan Strome or Adrian Kempe in order to get games in over the field. Remember, in head to head leagues, volume is king.
If you’re in a league with weekly moves, don’t worry about what days the person you’re claiming plays. There’s no day this week with more than eight games, so it’s going to be nearly impossible for you to have a full roster anyways.
If you’re looking for an early week streamer in net, I’d start with Antti Raanta. I expect him to start on Tuesday against the Senators. Yes, it’s a back to back for Carolina, but it also is for Ottawa. Great chance to get a win banked. Later in the week, Tampa plays Arizona on the second of a back to back. You have to think that Brian Elliott starts the game, especially with Tampa playing Colorado the day before. That’s as close to a free win you’ll ever be able to get. The only other viable option that should definitely get a game is Jaroslav Halak. Hopefully it’s against Arizona and not the Islanders, but I’d feel pretty good about using him either way.
For those that really want to look ahead, Edmonton has five games next week, while Buffalo, Chicago, Minnesota, Ottawa, and Winnipeg all have four games. That’s nine games for Ottawa in two weeks! So much for that break.
Three Point Challenge: We’ll do it for Tuesday’s games per usual. You can not select Huberdeau, Draisaitl, Kadri, McDavid, Ovechkin, Rantanen, Gaudreau, Kaprizov, Panarin, or Stamkos. I’ll go with Kuznetsov against the Blue Jackets.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the action of the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
