It’s the second week of fantasy hockey! How’d your first week go? Lots of points? No injuries to your stars? Love to hear it, love to hear it.
Anyway, we’re back to a normal one week schedule–none of this “we’re playing two games in Prague to start the season but the actual hockey won’t start for three more days” nonsense. That means we’ve got plenty of games to squeeze a bit of extra fantasy value from. Let’s get into it.
Four-Game Streamers
Rickard Rakell, RW, Pittsburgh Penguins | 15.7% ESPN
Like the Avs, the Penguins play all four of their games on light nights this week, so they’re ripe for some extra fantasy value. Rakell isn’t the most exciting option, but he’s been elevated to the first power play unit while Bryan Rust is out with injury. Now, Rust is listed as day-to-day on the IR list, so there’s a chance he comes back at any time and bumps Rakell off the first unit. Rakell should remain on the second line next to Evgeni Malkin though, which should provide at least some scoring opportunity for the 31-year old winger.
Alex Laferriere, LW, Los Angeles Kings | 0.8% ESPN
This one’s a dicey proposition depending how the Kings manage their lineup, but there’s some short-term value in Laferriere: he’s penciled into the Kings’ top line next to Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, and is slotted on the first power play unit. The 22-year old winger has one NHL season under his belt and, with Quinton Byfield appearing to lock down the 2C role instead of playing top line wing, there’s an opportunity for Laferriere’s scoring to jump. If he doesn’t stick in a top-six role, add with caution, but for now keep an eye on the Kings’ roster.
Will Smith, C, San Jose Sharks | 6.8% ESPN
Last week we highlighted Jake Walman (and he’s still widely available as a depth d-man who runs a power play), so this week we’ll look at San Jose’s other big rookie, Will Smith. Smith hasn’t cracked the top power play unit, but he is slated to center the second line Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund. The Sharks are pretty bereft of talent at all parts of their lineup, but Smith produced well at the college level and should be able to get a couple points in the early goings of his NHL career.
Dawson Mercer, RW, New Jersey Devils | 11.1% ESPN
The Devils don’t have many streaming options, given their big guns all get drafted rather early in fantasy, but Mercer’s playing wing on the second line next to Nico Hischier. Mercer might be good for an assist here and there but, unless you’re down bad for streaming options, it may behoove you to look elsewhere on the waiver wire.
Aaron Ekblad, D, Florida Panthers | 36.5% ESPN
Much like the Devils, the Panthers’ big guns are often off the draft board early, leaving scant streaming options available. Last week we highlighted Adam Boqvist, as he’s the favorite to run PP1, but he took a puck to the face in the home opener against the Bruins and his status is questionable. Enter Aaron Ekblad. He’s still a top-pair defenseman who is first in line to take on power play duties and, with Brandon Montour in Seattle, the Panthers are counting on Ekblad in a big way. Ekblad lost a lot of 2023-24 to injury, so he should bounce back in a big way; it’s easy to forget Ekblad’s technically still in his prime at 28 years old, and there’s potential for him to become a season-long add if things break his way.
Light-Night Specials
Anthony Beauvillier, RW, Pittsburgh Penguins | 0.7% ESPN (four light-night games)
Add with caution! Beauvillier’s only here because of the Bryan Rust injury: while Rust is out, Beauvillier’s playing on the top line next to Sidney Crosby–always bet on a fantasy value bump to afterthought players when they’re sharing the ice with the cream of the NHL crop. If Rust has returned to the lineup, Beauviller’s elevated role will disappear, and he’ll have next to no fantasy value, so pay attention to what’s going on with Pittsburgh this week.
Casey Mittelstadt, C, Colorado Avalanche | 16.8% ESPN (four light-night games)
Mittelstadt’s not in quite the same position to succeed as the aforementioned Drouin, but he is penciled into the Avalanche’s first power play unit. At 5-on-5, Mittelstadt will be centering the second line and, while the Avs are a better team than the Buffalo Sabres he was on this time last year, there are still questions around Mittelstadt’s game. Still, you could do a lot worse for a team playing on four light nights.
Brandt Clarke, D, LA Kings | 9.6% ESPN (three light-night games)
Another player highlighted last week, Clarke is still widely available and still projected to run the Kings’ first power play unit. He won’t be getting big top-pair minutes, but the young defenseman has some potential long-term value as long as Drew Doughty’s out of the lineup.
Mason McTavish, C, Anaheim Ducks | 9.8% ESPN (three light-night games)
Similar to the Sharks, the Ducks don’t have a lot of high-end fantasy options, but McTavish does provide some fantasy opportunity: he’s centering the second line and has a spot (for now) on the first power play unit. Another year under head coach Greg Cronin and another step forward from the young guns, and there’s potential for McTavish’s scoring to jump from last year, but it may not happen out the gate.
Back-to-Back Goalie Options
Goalies have an outsized impact on fantasy results and, unless you have a set-it-and-forget-it starter, you sometimes have to get creative with where your goaltending points come from–especially if your league has a minimum number of required starts per week. The goalies highlighted in this section are generally going to be backups, and will fit two criteria:
- Their team has a back-to-back this week
- One of those teams is an inferior opponent that even a tired team or middling backup goaltender (widely available in most leagues) should be able to nab a win against
This section may not appear every week (sometimes the back-to-backs are brutal enough to be a scheduled loss), but it’s worth considering streaming a backup goalie if you’re behind in points and need to swing for the fences, or are trying to get ahead of a tough opponent.
David Rittich, G, LA Kings | 0.4% ESPN
The Kings appear again today! Fancy that. This time, it’s backup goalie David Rittich, as the Kings play the Montreal Canadiens on the second half of a back-to-back (the first game is against the Toronto Maple Leafs). The Kings are a stingy team, and the Canadiens are still not very good–and Patrik Laine’s absence makes their offense even less threatening. LA may be tired going into the Bell Center, but even so they should be good enough to best the Habs.
Spencer Knight, G, Florida Panthers | 1.3% ESPN
The young netminder has had a rocky path to the NHL after being a 1st-round selection in 2019, but it’s finally Knight’s time to shine as backup to Sergei Bobrovsky. The Panthers play the Boston Bruins on the road, then the Columbus Blue Jackets the next night. That first game should be grueling for Florida, but the Blue Jackets aren’t very good–even tired, Knight and the rest of the team should get a W.
Devon Levi, G, Buffalo Sabres | 3.3% ESPN
It doesn’t seem fair that the Sabres get two back-to-backs to start the season but, alas, here we are–and like the Panthers, the second half of their back-to-back is against the cellar-dwelling Blue Jackets. This proposition’s a little dicier than the other two, as the Sabres are…well, the Buffalo Sabres, but I still believe in them enough to beat Columbus in this situation.
Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Carolina Hurricanes | 28.7% ESPN
It’s not clear exactly how Carolina’s going to split up netminding duties between Kochetkov and Freddie Andersen, but they have a back-to-back against the Penguins and then the St. Louis Blues. The Blues are a good enough team that I almost didn’t include Kochetkov (also considering he’s rostered in over a quarter of ESPN leagues already–hardly a backup’s numbers), but Carolina is such a strong squad that there’s a good enough chance they still beat the mediocre Blues. If Kochetkov gets the start against Pittsburgh, though, I might take a pass; you can never count on a Crosby-led team to roll over easy (pay no attention to the blowout they suffered against the Rangers).
