The Minnesota Wild have remained competitive this season mainly because Devan Dubnyk has been one of the league’s top goalies (9-6-2, 1.66 GAA, .946 SV%). But the Wild also possess a balanced scoring attack, which includes two scorers in this week’s waiver wire report.
Nino Niederreiter, LW/RW, MIN
Niederreiter is holding a hot stick at the moment, having scored three goals and added three assists over his past five games.
He’s helped his own cause by averaging three shots per game over his past six matchups. Bruce Boudreau is a more offensive-minded coach than the Wild have had in the past, which could help Niederreiter break through the 35- to 45-point range that he has hung around for the past few seasons. His current 17 percent shooting accuracy should likely fall, but Niederreiter is a strong bet to reach 20 goals for the third consecutive season.
Mikko Koivu, C, MIN
If you’re looking for a safe, reliable option for your team, Koivu is your guy.
Although he hasn’t hit 20 goals since 2009-10, you can usually pencil in Koivu for at least 50 points per season. Koivu has experienced some cold stretches, like going 10 games without a goal, but he has been heating up lately with five points over his last five games. He probably doesn’t have the highest upside of any player on your waiver wire, but at least you know what you are getting into.
Bo Horvat, C, VAN
For the first time in ages, the Canucks’ leading scorer does not have the surname of Sedin.
In fact, Horvat currently leads the Canucks in both goals (8) and points (16). That’s not saying much for a team that has had trouble scoring all season, but Horvat has been trending upward anyway. Although he had a five-game point streak snapped on Thursday, he has been scoring at a 55-point pace since January of last season.
The Canucks lack bona fide NHL scorers in the Sedin succession plan, so Horvat’s future should include prime minutes. For more on Horvat, check out Steve Laidlaw’s NHL Fantasy Hot/Not.
Anthony Mantha, RW, DET
Mantha was only able to stick for ten NHL games last season, but this year it looks like he’ll be here for good.
Want to know why? For starters, he has been playing alongside Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Tatar on one of the Red Wings’ scoring lines (more line combinations here).
He has also been receiving power-play time with the same group to go with an average of 16 minutes per game overall. But most importantly, he has scored three goals and added an assist in his last six games. Detroit isn’t as deep with scoring options as they used to be, so Mantha should play a key offensive role going forward.
John Moore, D, NJ
It seems as though John Hynes is appointing a different power play QB each week.
Recently it has been Moore, who has also seen his overall ice time grow. This recent increase in responsibility has helped Moore’s production, as he has scored three goals and added three assists over his last ten games. Moore has also reached or been near 20 minutes per game over that stretch.
His competition for that first-unit power play role is Damon Severson and Yohann Auvitu, so the Devils’ situation is one to watch if scoring defencemen are few and far between on your waiver wire.
Anders Nilsson, G, BUF
Goalies that are earning wins can be especially difficult to find on a league’s waiver wire—and that is what Nilsson has been doing over the couple weeks.
With Robin Lehner day-to-day with a hip injury, Lehner has won three of his last four games played. In addition, Nilsson has posted solid numbers over eight games this season (2.30 GAA, .934 SV%). Lehner is not known for his ability to avoid injury, so you might be able to get some mileage out of Nilsson.
