Fantasy Hockey Friday #5 (11/14/14)
FHF Key
Flash Sale = Players that are on strong hot streaks that you will need to add immediately before they are claimed by another team.
Bargain Bin = Similar to the ODO category, except these players will not be as highly demanded. They will be claimed relatively quickly, but are not completely known to all teams.
Line Scorers = Players that are currently very low in ownership percentage and includes less-skilled players who are currently playing on productive lines, and have proved/might prove worthy of adding. As every studious fantasy owner knows, line combinations are everything.
Flash Sale
Jori Lehtera
– C, 46% owned
The best line in St. Louis includes this red-hot Finnish center between wingers Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko. They’ve proven to be one of the best trios in the NHL in recent weeks. Lehtera now has has six goals and ten assists, including four goals and six assists in his last six games (including a hat trick two games ago). He’s a plus-eleven too. His Yahoo! ownership percentage has risen 32% this week, so grab him quick.
Sean Monahan – C, 34% owned
There are a lot of young talented centers in the NHL this year (and many in this article). Monahan has produced around the same number of points as Lehtera, but he scores more goals. He currently has seven goals and five assists for the year, including five goals and three assists in only his last seven games. He has 46 shots on goal and has earned a plus-four rating while now playing on Calgary’s top line.
Reilly Smith – RW, 26% owned
His promotion to Boston’s top line has proved beneficial the young winger Reilly Smith. In his last five games he has collected two goals and three assists. Two of those points came on the power play. His production has really increased recently, so he is proving to be a really solid short-term boost for fantasy rosters.
Elias Lindholm – C/RW, 12% owned
The 19-year old sophomore has been spending a lot of time on the first line in Carolina with linemates Jiri Tlusty and Eric Staal (he’s currently dealing with a foot injury). After a very slow start to his season, he has now scored six goals and two assists in his last seven games (three power play points in that span). He shoots and hits often as well.
Bargain Bin
Jake Muzzin
– D, 36% owned
Muzzin’s scoring draught came to an end four games ago, and in that time, he scored a goal and four assists, which accounts for his entire production this season. He is back to playing top pairing minutes while also spending time on the Kings’ top power play unit. His 25 shots and 27 hits can be very valuable for leagues that count those stat categories.
Aaron Ekblad – D, 24% owned
The rookie blueliner in Florida has now scored a goal and five assists in his last five games, giving him eight points for the year. Don’t expect that production pace to continue, but feel free to add him for a few games.
Marcus Johansson – C/LW, 21% owned, Andre Burakovsky – C/LW, 17% owned, Troy Brouwer – RW, 20% owned
All three of these players have proved worthy of adding. Johansson has scored five goals and three assists in his last six games. Burakovsky has scored four points in his last three games., and Brouwer has scored a goal in four of his last seven games.
Leo Komarov – C/LW, 10% owned
The third line winger in Toronto has scored four points (one goal) in his last three games, increasing his point total to eleven. He’s a plus-two with 28 shots and 69 hits. While the Leafs continue to win games, he’s a good add.
Riley Nash – C, 5% owned
Nash scored only 24 points last season, but already has 12 this year. Since October 24, he has been held scoreless twice. He has scored a power play point in three consecutive games. He is centering the second line in Carolina between Nathan Gerbe and Alex Semin.
Line Scorers
Emerson Etem – LW/RW, 1% owned
Team: Anaheim Ducks
Line: 1st
Linemates: Devante Smith-Pelly, Ryan Getzlaf
Power play unit: 2nd
Zemgus Girgensons – C/LW, 3% owned
Team: Buffalo Sabres
Line: 1st
Linemates: Matt Moulson, Tyler Ennis
Power play unit: 2nd
Markus Granlund – C, 0% owned
Team: Calgary Flames
Line: 2nd
Linemates: Johnny Gaudreau, Jiri Hudler
Power play unit: 2nd
Zach Boychuk – Lw/RW (while Lindholm recovers from a foot injury), 0% owned
Team: Carolina Hurricanes
Line: 1st
Linemates: Jiri Tlusty, Eric Staal
Power play unit: N/A
Kris Versteeg – LW/RW, 6% owned
Team: Chicago Blackhawks
Line: 1st
Linemates: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane
Power play unit: 2nd
Alex Tanguay – LW, 11% owned
Team: Colorado Avalanche
Line: 1st
Linemates: Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly
Power play unit: 2nd
Brian Gibbons – LW, 0% owned
Team: Columbus Blue Jackets
Line: 1st
Linemates: Ryan Johansen, Nick Foligno
Power play unit: 2nd
Benoit Pouliot – LW, 2% owned
Team: Edmonton Oilers
Line: 1st
Linemates: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle
Power play unit: 1st
Mikael Granlund – C, 18% owned
Team: Minnesota Wild
Line: 1st
Linemates: Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville
Power play unit: 1st
Nikolay Kulemin – LW/RW, 3% owned
Team: New York Islanders
Line: 1st
Linemates: John Tavares, Ryan Strome
Power play unit: N/A
Derick Brassard – C, 26% owned
Team: New York Rangers
Line: 1st
Linemates: Rick Nash, Martin St. Louis
Power play unit: 1st
Tomas Hertl – LW, 55% owned
Team: San Jose Sharks
Line: 1st
Linemates: Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski
Power play unit: 2nd
Matthew Nieto – LW/RW, 3% owned
Team: San Jose Sharks
Line: 2nd
Linemates: Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture
Power play unit: 2nd
Jonathan Drouin – LW, 61% owned
Team: Tampa Bay Lightning
Line: 1st
Linemates: Vladimir Namestnikov, Steven Stamkos
Power play unit: 2nd
Vladimir Namestnikov – C, 1% owned
Team: Tampa Bay Lightning
Line: 1st
Linemates: Jonathan Drouin, Steven Stamkos
Power play unit: N/A
Line combinations courtesy of DailyFaceoff. Stats courtesy of Yahoo!, Hockeydb, and Hockey-Reference.
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