Below are players listed, by position, that can help fantasy hockey owners either this week alone, or this week and beyond. At the end of the skaters list are goalies that can be streamed this week to give those fantasy hockey owners in head-to-head leagues an extra start in goal.
Nick Bjugstad (Florida Panthers – Centre) – 1.1 per cent owned on ESPN, 2 per cent owned on Yahoo
Bjugstad averaged a shade over 2.4 shots on goal per game last year, being 1 of 78 forwards to do so (min. 60 games played). Being 1 of 78 forwards isn’t really impressive, but being 1 of 2 rookies to do so is (Nathan MacKinnon was the other).
Bjugstad is 1 of 38 forwards with at least 2.9 shots on goal per game so far this year (min. 15 games played). It is the Panthers that he plays for, and their offence has been anemic, but the Panthers control 56 per cent of shot attempts at 5 on 5 when he and Jonathan Huberdeau are on the ice together (via Hockey Analysis). Florida also has a 5.56 on-ice shooting percentage with Bjugstad on the ice, and that will go up. Add the puck possession, the shot generation, the increasing ice time (Bjugstad has played at least 17 minutes in five of his last six games) and Bjugstad is a nice, underappreciated asset.
Mike Hoffman (Ottawa Senators – Left Wing) – 3.9 per cent owned on ESPN, 6 per cent owned on Yahoo
Speaking of shot generation, one of the best in the league at doing so is Ottawa’s Hoffman. So far this year, Hoffman takes 21.05 shot attempts per 60 minutes of 5 on 5 ice time, and that mark is good for 8th among all regular NHL forwards, ahead of shooting machines like Evander Kane, Max Pacioretty, and Alex Ovechkin. Hoffman is also fifth among NHL forwards in shots on goal per 60 minutes at 5 on 5.
As of now, Hoffman is playing on a third/fourth line for the Senators with Mark Stone and Curtis Lazar. While that trio is playing fairly well together, they still don’t get much ice time – Ottawa’s last game saw these three get about as much even strength ice time as Chris Neil. What separates Hoffman is that he gets power play time. Stone was getting it earlier in the year, and Hoffman is now on the second unit.
Hoffman, Lazar, and Stone get among the most offensive zone starts for Ottawa forwards and that’s good for those fantasy owners worried about plus/minus. Throw in the elite shot production and power play time and Hoffman looks to be a player on the rise.
Jakob Silfverberg (Anaheim Ducks – Right Wing) – 7.1 per cent owned on ESPN, 13 per cent owned on Yahoo
This could be a bit surprising, but so far this year, Jakob Silfverberg is scoring 1.8 points per 60 minutes at 5 on 5, a rate higher than teammate Ryan Kesler, almost on par with Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom (1.81), and higher than players like Chris Kunitz, Gustav Nyquist, and Henrik Sedin.
In four of his last five games, Silfverberg had more than 19 minutes of total ice time. He had zero such games among his first 14 games of the year. Part of this had to do with Corey Perry missing time, but in their most recent game, Silfverberg spent the second half of the game on Kesler’s line. That should lead to more ice time.
There is a regression coming, but not in a bad way. Silfverberg is shooting 2.3 per cent so far this year; in his previous 125 career games (including playoffs), Silfverberg shot 8.2 per cent. His goal total should be climbing in short order.
For now, the drawback is Silfverberg isn’t getting power play time. Even if that lasts, his new line mates should be a boon to his per game production. If the lack of power play time doesn’t last, Silfverberg gets an even bigger boost.
Tim Erixon (Columbus Blue Jackets – Defenceman) – 0.7 per cent owned on ESPN, 1 per cent owned on Yahoo
The injuries have piled up all season long for the Blue Jackets and that has thrust some players into roles they wouldn’t otherwise be in. With Fedor Tyutin and Ryan Murray both out, Erixon is being given more ice time – in his first eight games, he cracked 16 minutes five times, but has done so in seven of his last eight games.
What gives Erixon value is his power play time. In the Blue Jackets’ two weekend games, he was fourth on the team in power play time against San Jose, and tied for the most power play time against Philadelphia. He’s on the top unit with Ryan Johansen and company, so it’s not like he’s getting a lot of minutes with a lesser unit. Those fantasy hockey owners looking for cheap power play points this week, Columbus faces two bottom-10 penalty kills (by percentage) in Boston and Philadelphia.
Goalies To Stream This Week
Antti Raanta (Chicago Blackhawks) – The Blackhawks have a back-to-back on the weekend with games in Edmonton and Vancouver. Though Raanta was sent to the AHL on the weekend, coach Joel Quenneville said that Raanta would join the team for the upcoming road trip.
Niklas Svedberg (Boston Bruins) – Svedberg has seen his fair share of work so far this year, and performed adequately. Boston has a back-to-back with Columbus and Montreal on Friday-Saturday.
Viktor Fasth (Edmonton Oilers) – The Oilers have a back-to-back at home this weekend with New Jersey and Chicago coming in. If Fasth gets the Devils, I would use him in that game. If he gets Chicago, I would avoid him.
Jake Allen (St. Louis Blues) – The Blues have back-to-back games on Saturday-Sunday, and four total this week. Allen should get at least one, if not two starts.
Be sure to check out Sportsnet’s Pick ‘N Play and Fantasy Hockey Pool games right here on Sportsnet.ca. The Pick ‘N Play involves picking 1 of 2 players in a head-to-head matchup for most points on a given night, while the Fantasy Hockey Pool is a cap-style game where a roster has to be filled out. There are grand prizes as well as weekly prizes for both.
*Statistics courtesy of Hockey Analysis, Hockey Reference, War On Ice, ESPN, Yahoo, and NHL.com
