It was a night of upsets, both in the NHL and (depending on who you ask) in politics. If you’re a hockey fan, the bigger upset might have been that the Vancouver Canucks snapped their nine game losing streak in a 5-2 win over the New York Rangers.
Yesterday’s Games
The Winnipeg Jets routed the Dallas Stars and as a result Patrick Laine and Mark Scheifele won the night in fantasy with four points each. Jordan Eberle and Connor McDavid scored well and Peter Budaj made 19 saves for a shutout against the Maple Leafs.
Of course, I picked none of these players so I hope you ignored yesterday’s advice and made your own choices. Perhaps I’ll do better on Wednesday.
Tonight’s Games
Anaheim Ducks at Columbus Blue Jackets
Ottawa Senators at Buffalo Sabres
Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis Blues
Centers
Ryan Getzlaf ($6700)
Getzlaf has played 10 games and 12 points. On November 6th against the Calgary Flames he had three assists and four shots on goal. He’s in tougher playing against a Columbus team who is actually a fairly strong team defensively in stopping goals and reducing shots by their opponents, but in the spirit of the upsets on Tuesday, I’m banking on Getzlaf having a good showing.
Jonathan Toews ($6100)
Another player who’s had three strong games in the world of fantasy hockey is Jonathan Toews who in his last game had a goal and two assists and added seven shots on net. Toews had a rougher start to the season, but he and the Blackhawks are coming on strong. Can Toews keep up the run and on the road against St. Louis? I’m betting he can.
Forwards
Marian Hossa ($5400)
Hossa scored the overtime winner against the Stars on Sunday. He’s had a strong few games and at his price tag, could be a good play in fantasy. He has 11 points in 12 games, three power play goals and five power play points. My advice is to consider him as part of your lineup every game, as Chicago is the hottest team in the NHL and his solidified top-six role makes him a must-own fantasy asset.
Mike Hoffman ($5900)
There are fewer consistent goal scorers in the last few games than Mike Hoffman who has three goals in his last four games. He’s also been a consistent fantasy point earner as of late. He hasn’t hit any real fantasy home runs, but he’s taking on a Buffalo team who is bottom ten in the NHL for shots allowed. Hoffman has been getting shots off regularly and this could be a 6 or 7 shot game for Hoffman.
Defense
Duncan Keith ($5900)
Keith has 11 points in 13 games. He also ranks third on the Blackhawks with shots on goal and the red-hot Blackhawks have won six straight games with Keith logging over 25 minutes per game in the process. He’s yet to score a goal this season, but Keith is shooting the puck, so it’s likely a matter of time before one bounces in for him.
With the way Chicago is rolling right now and with Keith playing as many minutes as he is, all fantasy players should always give consideration to Keith for a place on your team.
Goaltender
Robin Lehner ($7200)
Lehner is more of a maybe than a number of goaltenders I might normally suggest taking on any given night, but there really aren’t any shoe-ins on Wednesday so going up against an Ottawa team that is coming in on a back-to-back and short viable goaltenders makes Lehner as good a choice as any.
Lehner has a 2.34 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and has saved an average of 32.2 shots per game over the last five games.