Fantasy hockey pickups: Add Rickard Rakell immediately
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Victoria Matiash, Fantasy Hockey
The Hurricanes, Red Wings, Capitals, and Devils are all off until Thursday, by which point we should have a much clearer picture of how long New Jersey will have to manage without Jack Hughes (again). Of those active to launch this fresh fantasy week, some noteworthy highlights include the Canucks traipsing through New York to face the Rangers and Islanders, respectively Monday and Tuesday. The Flyers host the Penguins Monday and Canadiens on Wednesday, when most other teams are idle, while it’s a similar story for the Avalanche, who welcome the Bruins and Knights on both lightly-scheduled evenings. More below on one figure you might particularly want to stream in Colorado.
Elsewhere, the Stars stand a great chance to get back on winning track in a Monday/Wednesday home-and-home series the badly banged up Wild. Some notable match-ups on a busier Tuesday include the Oilers visiting a depleted Blackhawks squad – without Connor Bedard and others – in Chicago, the sizzling hot Panthers facing the Blues in St. Louis, and the Kraken hoping to extend their win streak to seven in Buffalo.
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Stock Up
Rickard Rakell, F, Pittsburgh Penguins: Appearing in this space two weeks ago – shortly after returning from injury – Rakell still isn’t earning the love he deserves in ESPN.com leagues. Enjoying the delightful gig of skating on a scoring line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, Rakell has four goals and five assists on 23 shots through eight games. Which works out to 2.6 fantasy points/contest through that stretch – more than Crosby himself. So why is the winger still available in more than half of ESPN.com leagues? At least stream him against the Flyers on Monday.
Gustav Nyquist, F, Nashville Predators: Relishing hefty minutes on a top line and power play with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly, the veteran forward has notched at least one point in every game since Dec. 21, adding up to six goals and six helpers through eight contests. Three of those twelve points counting with the extra skater. Unlike his linemates, Nyquist remains overwhelmingly unspoken for in ESPN.com leagues. The Predators host the Ducks Tuesday.
Martin Jones, G, Toronto Maple Leafs: It’s hard to find any fault with Jones’ recent tour through California, after he allowed a grand total of two goals through three convincing wins. Credited with “calming everyone down” amid the team’s concerns in net, Toronto’s No. 1-for-now is poised to start against the Sharks again on Tuesday. The same club he stopped 23 of 24 shots against on Saturday, with the help of some solid defending out front. The Maple Leafs then visit the Islanders Thursday, before hosting the Avalanche Saturday and Red Wings on Sunday.
Thomas Harley, D, Dallas Stars: With Miro Heiskanen out week-to-week, the young defender is now logging more than 24 minutes/game, including valuable time with the extra skater. Averaging 2.0 fantasy points/contest since season’s start – a figure that should further rise – Harley remains free in more than two-thirds of ESPN.com leagues.
Jonathan Drouin, F, Colorado Avalanche: This is more like what the Avs were hoping to get from Nathan MacKinnon’s old Halifax Mooseheads buddy. Now skating on a top scoring line and power play with MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, Drouin has 13 points in his past 12 games, including four goals and a helper in his last three. He’s also playing a ton of minutes. If unwilling to go all in on the 28-year-old, at least stream him against the Bruins on Monday and Vegas Wednesday, when most other skaters are idle.
Stock Down
Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Tampa Bay Lightning Since Christmas, Tampa’s go-to is 1-4-0, with a .859 SV% and 3.66 GAA. If not for the lone victory against a badly hurt Minnesota squad, his fantasy points total would sink well into negative double-digits. Consider benching Vasilevskiy for another netminding body when the Kings visit Florida on Tuesday. And moving forward, until the goalie/team snaps out of this funk.
Alexandar Georgiev, G, Colorado Avalanche: Not against Boston on Monday. Not after Georgiev gave up three goals on 15 shots through half a game with the Panthers over the weekend. The Bruins are filling the net with regularity these days.
Streamer Specials
Nazem Kadri, F, Calgary Flames: The Flames center has five goals and one assist in his past half-dozen contests. The Senators – Calgary’s opponent Tuesday – are giving up an average of 4.33 goals/game this calendar year.
Morgan Geekie, F, Boston Bruins: Since the Avalanche are surrendering goals like no one’s business these days, rolling out David Pastrnak’s linemate on a lightly-scheduled Monday feels like a smart play. Especially since Geekie is on another roll, with a pair of goals and assists in his most recent two outings.
