All season long, NHL.com's fantasy hockey staff will have you covered with daily lineup news, production trends and injury notes from around the League. We will identify how these developments affect fantasy owners in year-long (Yahoo) and daily (DraftKings) formats.
Fantasy buzz: Impact of Barrie, Atkinson, Wennberg injuries
Defensemen Johnson, Girard could see first power-play usage; forwards Dubois, Bjorkstrand gain value
Kesler to make season debut for Ducks
Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Kesler will make his season debut against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; PRIME, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV). He missed Anaheim's first 37 games in his recovery from offseason hip surgery.
He is expected to skate alongside Andrew Cogliano and Chris Wagner on the third line; Ryan Getzlaf will remain with Rickard Rakell and Ondrej Kase on the first line and Adam Henrique will center Jakob Silfverberg and Kevin Roy on the second. Kesler is likely to rejoin Getzlaf, Rakell and defenseman Cam Fowler on the first power-play unit.
In season-long fantasy leagues, Kesler (56 percent owned in Yahoo) should be activated or added immediately. He finished 36th overall in Yahoo based on standard-category performance last season and had added value in hits leagues (146 in 82 games). From a DraftKings standpoint, Kesler ($5,000) is a middle-range center worth rostering against Vegas, especially considering he finished sixth among forwards in blocked shots (75) last season.
READ:
Fantasy top 250 rankings after Kesler's return
Blackhawks place Crawford on injured reserve
Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford (undisclosed) has been placed on injured reserve. He will not play against the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
Crawford missed three games earlier this month because of a lower-body injury. The Blackhawks will likely start Anton Forsberg (15 percent owned in Yahoo) during Crawford's absence, but they also recalled Jeff Glass from Rockford of the American Hockey League.
Fantasy owners of Crawford can either stream Forsberg or look outside for a replacement. The top 22 starting goalies in
NHL.com's latest rankings
are each owned in the vast majority of leagues, but high-end backups Aaron Dell (SJS, 36 percent owned), Ryan Miller (ANA, 21 percent), Carter Hutton (STL, 19 percent) and Malcolm Subban (VGK, 25 percent) could suffice when given spot starts.
Goaltenders Jaroslav Halak (55 percent) and Semyon Varlamov (52 percent) can help at least in the wins category considering the New York Islanders (3.56 goals per game, 2nd in NHL) and Colorado Avalanche (3.17, 8th) have given their goaltenders plenty of goal support.
Barrie of Avalanche has fractured hand
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie fractured his hand against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. He will have surgery and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Barrie, 103rd in Yahoo based on standard-category performance, is tied for third among defensemen in points per game (0.79) behind John Klingberg (0.84) of the Dallas Stars and Shayne Gostisbehere (0.82) of the Philadelphia Flyers and tied for fifth in power-play points (12). He ranks third on Colorado in points (27) behind forwards Nathan MacKinnon (40) and Mikko Rantanen (31).
The obvious in-house fantasy replacement is defenseman Erik Johnson (25 percent owned), who is tied for the lead among Avalanche defensemen with four goals and leads them at the position in shots on goal (96) and ice time per game (25:32). He had four SOG in his return against the Coyotes after a two-game suspension, and has covered peripheral categories like penalty minutes (42), hits (57) and blocked shots (70) well through 33 games.
Johnson averages 1:55 per game with the man-advantage and has two power-play points, but could be bound for first-unit action alongside MacKinnon, Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog with Barrie sidelined. Rookie Samuel Girard (17:39 per game, 2:27 on power play) is another candidate to play on the first unit, but he's merely a daily fantasy flier at the moment. Season-long owners should take a wait-and-see approach to Girard (1 percent), who has no goals, two assists and no PPP in 21 games since being acquired from the Nashville Predators on Nov. 5.
Girard is priced near the DraftKings minimum ($2,900) for the second leg of their home-and-home set against the Coyotes on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET; ALT2, FS-A, NHL.TV). Johnson ($4,800) is a much safer value choice given his category coverage and the fact that Arizona has allowed the seventh-most DraftKings points to opposing defensemen.
READ:
Fantasy top 250 rankings at NHL's Christmas break
Atkinson, Wennberg to miss 4-6 weeks for Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without forwards Cam Atkinson (
fractured foot
) and Alexander Wennberg (back) for 4-6 weeks because of injuries.
Atkinson (280th in Yahoo) and Wennberg (323rd) have each been a fantasy disappointment based on average draft position (Atkinson: 73.7; Wennberg: 163.4), but their injuries still have far-reaching fantasy implications. They join center Brandon Dubinsky (fractured orbital bone) and defenseman Zach Werenski (undisclosed; day to day) on the Blue Jackets' injured list. Without Atkinson and Wennberg, two of Columbus' first power-play spots are up for grabs. The Blue Jackets have the worst power-play conversion percentage in the NHL (12.1).
Forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois (C/LW, 27 percent owned), Josh Anderson (RW, 34 percent) and/or Oliver Bjorkstrand (RW, 8 percent) could see more power-play time alongside left wing Artemi Panarin and defenseman Seth Jones. Forward Boone Jenner (C/LW, 18 percent owned) already averages 2:06 per game on the power play and will likely be Columbus' second-line center at even strength with Wennberg and Dubinsky sidelined.
Bjorkstrand has the most to gain fantasy-wise from this development. He will now have a definite top-six role and likely first power-play usage. He leads the Blue Jackets in points per 60 minutes (2.69) and is ranked 158th in NHL.com's fantasy top 250. Dubois has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) and four power-play points in his past 14 games on a line with Panarin and Anderson, and becomes a must-own player in standard leagues given his solidified role as Columbus' No. 1 center.
Dubois ($5,000) is worth stacking with either Panarin ($6,200) or Anderson ($5,700) when the Blue Jackets visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, FS-O, NHL.TV). Since Dec. 5, the Penguins are 2-4-0 in their past six home games and have been outscored 19-13. Bjorkstrand is priced at $3,900 in DraftKings and is worth rostering in your third wing or UTIL spot if you would rather not spend up for Columbus' top line.
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