Jan 15, 2016
Fantasy hockey forecaster for Week 16
Hats off to the kids. Three players 20 years or younger have contributed a hat trick to fantasy hockey owners this past week.
TSN.ca Staff
Hats off to the kids. Three players 20 years or younger have contributed a hat trick to fantasy hockey owners this past week.
Sam Reinhart, the second overall pick in the 2014 draft, started things off with three goals for the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets. A first-round pick from 2013, Max Domi, followed it up with three goals for theArizona Coyotes against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. Sam Bennett, who went two picks after Reinhart in 2014, topped them both by scoring four goals for the Calgary Flames on Wednesday against the Florida Panthers.
While familiar with all three players, fantasy owners only have a relationship with Domi. Owned in more than 97 percent of ESPN leagues, Domi is on pace for 25 goals and 60 points while playing a key scoring-line role for the Coyotes. He's been especially dangerous on the power play, with nine of his 31 points on the man advantage. Of course, there's the fact that prior to Domi's hat trick, he had scored in only one of the previous 25 games. Part of the slump may have been due to the lack of depth down the middle that the Coyotes face whenMartin Hanzal is out of the lineup. Though Hanzal doesn't often play with Domi on his wing, Hanzal is key to the Coyotes ability to ice two legitimate scoring lines. Hanzal missed most of December, which was Domi's weakest month of the season with only seven points in 14 games. With Hanzal back on the ice, the Coyotes depth chart is much stronger and doesn't allow opponents to narrow their focus to the line with Domi and Mikkel Boedker.
Bennett is next of the group for ownership among ESPN leagues, but lags a significant distance behind Domi. Owned in 5.5 percent of ESPN leagues - with many of those likely coming in the past day - Bennett has been waiver-wire fodder this season. And rightly so. Bennett literally doubled his goal total for the season in the past two games, from five to 10. Do fantasy owners need to pay attention? There are certainly signs that he should be on the radar. Bennett has settled into a consistent role on coach Bob Hartley's second line, which is leading to close to 16 minutes of ice time each game. His line mates have mostly been Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik, but his four-goal outburst coincided with Jiri Hudler being moved to the second line in place of Frolik. That may not have been a coincidence, as Hudler has struggled this season but remains the same player that potted 76 points last season. If the Flames can find a way to be happy with a different winger on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, this second line suddenly looks a lot stronger with Hudler, Backlund and Bennett together. And don't rule out the possibility that Bennett, who has been playing on the wing, might have earned a shot on the top line at some point. Fantasy owners can probably be content with upgrading Bennett to their "Watch List" at this point, but any word he gets a chance with Gaudreau and Monahan should make you run to your free-agent pile.
Reinhart is only owned in 2.2 percent of ESPN leagues and, given his opportunities this season, can be considered a bit of a disappointment. While his 19 points this season are equal to Bennett, Reinhart has been afforded a more prominent role with the Buffalo Sabres. Reinhard's most frequent linemate this season is the Sabres best forward, Ryan O'Reilly. He's also had a ton of ice time with Evander Kane and Jack Eichel. For his hat trick on Sunday, Reinhart was playing his first game on a line with Eichel and Zemgus Girgensons. While it may sound like we've been talking him down here, Reinhart may be a great pickup for deeper leagues. Eichel is a budding superstar and has been getting progressively better this season, with four points in October, eight in November and 11 in December. If he catches on with Reinhart, the pair could quickly become a dangerous secondary threat for the Sabres.
"O" (offense) and "D" (defense) matchup ratings are based upon a scale from 1 (poor matchup) to 10 (excellent matchup) and are calculated using a formula that evaluates the team's season-to-date statistics, their performance in home/road games depending on where the game is to be played, as well as their opponents' numbers in those categories. The "Ratings" column lists the cumulative rating from 1-10 of that week's offensive ("O") and defensive ("D") matchups.
Looking for skaters
Winnipeg Jets: It's strange to say, but the Nashville Predatorsare becoming a target to look for fantasy owners to deploy their offense. The Jets play the Predators and Colorado Avalanche next week on a three-game schedule and both those opponents - notwithstanding the Avalanche's shutout on Thursday - are among the most susceptible to goals lately. The Predators have allowed 37 goals in their past 10 games and the Avalanche have allowed 30. As for the Jets, Nikolaj Ehlers is the best target. He's drawn back into the top six with Mark Scheifele out with injury and has goals in two straight. Also check on Dustin Byfuglien's status after he left Thursday's game with an injury and is questionable for Friday. If Byfuglien is injured, Tobias Enstrom might be worth a Hail Mary in deep leagues next week.
Chicago Blackhawks: Guess who the Blackhawks play next week? That's right, we are picking on Pekka Rinne. The Hawks face the Predators, visit both Florida teams and host the Jake Allen-less St. Louis Blues. Go a little deeper this week in picking through the Blackhawks lineup for starters. Andrew Shaw is a no-brainer as he is hot, playing on the top line and available in 90 percent of ESPN leagues. Might we also dare suggest that the schedule is good enough that Niklas Hjalmarsson, who's only fantasy value comes from skating next to Duncan Keith, might be worth a start.
Looking for goaltenders
Robin Lehner, G, Buffalo Sabres: Up from a conditioning stint in the AHL and expected to make his debut this weekend, Lehner returns from an ankle injury suffered in the very first game of the season. Acquired by the Sabres to be their No. 1 goaltender, his return should have fantasy owners in need of a goaltender reaching out for him. The fact that Chad Johnson and Linus Ullmark - who both trail Lehner for skills on paper - managed to put up respectable statistics for stretches of his absence is an indicator that the Sabres defense might just be pretty darn good. At the very least, fantasy owners of Louis Domingue, Connor Hellebuyck or Mike Condon, all of whom have a sunset clause on their value, will want to add Lehner for the chance at a more permanent solution.
Henrik Lundqvist, G, New York Rangers: Yeah, that's right. King Henrik is no longer on the must-start list. At least, he shouldn't be if you have been paying attention. If you've been using alternatives while Lundqvist has been struggling, you'll want to get him back into your lineup now. Not only has he looked great in his last two outings, but his schedule is quite solid for next week. Two teams are tied with the fewest goals in the NHL during the past three weeks and the Rangers face both the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators next week.
Infirmary
Jake Allen, G, St. Louis Blues: Losing Allen on a week-to-week basis is pretty devastating. He had completely shaken the timeshare label that existed in the preseason and was a true No. 1 fantasy goaltender. He ranked eighth on the ESPN Player Rater at the time of his injury. Brian Elliott will get enough work to be a No. 2 fantasy goaltender, but his ratios won't let him be a proper replacement for Allen owners. Playing the field might be the best way to replace Allen, though it will be a lot of work to track and make sure you have the Al Montoya's andAndrei Vasilevskiy's of the league in your lineup at the right time. As mentioned above, Robin Lehner has a chance to turn in decent numbers this season and could be an option. Shallower leagues should look to James Reimer or Louis Domingue, who are possibly still available.
James van Riemsdyk, W, Toronto Maple Leafs: Equally as brutal to fantasy owners is the loss of van Riemsdyk for an estimated six to eight weeks. The first thing to note here is to check his availability in your league. He's been dropped en masse since news of the injury and if you have an injured reserve spot open to stash him, van Riemsdyk will make a great addition to your March playoff push. As for a replacement, you'll have to look externally as van Riemsdyk was the heart of the Leafs offense. Consider Tobias Rieder as a replacement, as the Coyotes forward has been back in the saddle since linemate Martin Hanzal returned and he actually has more shots on goal in the past month than van Riemsdyk. Deeper leagues can try Rickard Rakell, who is settling with some permanency on the Anaheim Ducks top line.