Here are some players that can help fantasy hockey owners for either the upcoming week, or for the rest of the season. At the end of this column are some goalie streams to look for those in head-to-head leagues that might need and extra start or two.
Forwards
• Mikhail Grabovski (NY Islanders) – Ownership: 7.1 per cent (ESPN), 7 per cent (Yahoo)
This is a pickup that could be beneficial for the rest of the season.
Grabovski has always been a player that drives play, which means players are better possession-wise with him than without him. He left the Islanders game on Friday after blocking a shot, but is only considered day-to-day. He was playing with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo before he was injured. If Grabovski can play well with them, fantasy owners may be very fortunate to own Grabovski moving forward.
• Alex Killorn (Tampa Bay) – Ownership: 4.9 per cent (ESPN), 6 per cent (Yahoo)
Next week, Tampa Bay plays four teams, with three of them against Philadelphia, Edmonton, and Colorado. That makes Killorn a good pick up for at least the next seven days.
The top line has been a revolving door for most of the year, but Killorn has been playing with Steven Stamkos at even strength of late. He’s also been getting second unit power play minutes with Ryan Callahan and Valtteri Filppula. Anyone playing with Stamkos should be owned, and Jonathan Drouin did in the last game as well. Look for both he and Killorn on waiver wires for the upcoming week.
Considering his situation, Killorn is an absolute steal for two of a possible four points on Sportsnet’s Fantasy Hockey Pool next week. Don’t forget to sign up, as there are weekly as well as grand prizes.
• Brett Ritchie (Dallas) – Ownership: 3.9 per cent (ESPN), 2 per cent (Yahoo)
All season, Dallas has been looking for a winger on the Tyler Seguin-Jamie Benn line. Lately, it’s been rookie Brett Ritchie who has taken up that position.
Ritchie is a second-round pick from 2011 and has 70 points in 95 AHL games (with 36 goals). This is a somewhat proven American Hockey League scorer now being given one of the cushiest spots in hockey. Dallas has a so-so schedule next week, but does have four games, and hopefully Ritchie sticks on the line beyond that.
• Beau Bennett (Pittsburgh) – Ownership: 3.9 per cent (ESPN), 3 per cent (Yahoo)
The Penguins are starting to get healthy, and Beau Bennett is among them. He’s struggled to stay healthy in his career, but now that he’s back in the Penguins lineup, he was put alongside Evgeni Malkin.
Bennett is just a temporary add. The Penguins have three games coming up next week, and their first opponent is the sliding Minnesota Wild. If Bennett is moved out of the top six forward mix, he’s immediately expendable.
Defence
• Tobias Enstrom (Winnipeg) – Ownership: 13.9 per cent (ESPN), 15 per cent (Yahoo)
Tobias Enstrom returned from injury Saturday night after six weeks off. In his first game back, he played over 25 minutes, and had an even-strength assist.
Enstrom is one of the backbones of this defence. He’s routinely relied upon for 23-25 minutes a night, and he gets a good amount of power play time behind Dustin Byfuglien. Those needing a fifth defenceman should add Enstrom with the intention of keeping him for the rest of the season.
• Dmitry Kulikov (Florida) – Ownership: 1.7 per cent (ESPN), 3 per cent (Yahoo)
Kulikov is shooting just 2.5 per cent so far this year, less than half his career rate. He’s also averaging over 23 minutes a game in January, most of which at even strength. His plus/minus should start to rebound, and his goals should see an uptick. He’s a good add behind Enstrom for at least the next week, as the Panthers take on Winnipeg, Colorado, and Edmonton.
Goalie Streams
• Petr Mrazek (Detroit)
Now is the time to pick up Mrazek. Detroit starter Jimmy Howard was injured Satruday, and while the hockey world is awaiting his status, it didn’t look good. There’s a chance, even with Howard healthy, that Mrazek would get a start this week against Buffalo anyway.
• Anton Khudobin (Carolina)
Carolina is playing good hockey, and have a back to back this week with Vancouver and Ottawa. Khudobin should get one of those games.
• Dustin Tokarski (Montreal)
The Habs have back-to-back games in the middle of the week against Columbus and Ottawa. Hopefully, Price doesn’t start both and Tokarski gets one of them.
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*Some stats courtesy of Hockey Analysis, Hockey Reference, HockeyDB, ESPN, and Yahoo.
