New York Islanders season snapshot fantasy honors

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.
Today, a fantasy recap of the New York Islanders at the pause:
NOTE: Rank for fantasy most valuable player is based on standard-category production to date.

MORE FANTASY COVERAGE:
Top 250
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100 forwards
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50 D-men
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Season snapshots
Fantasy MVP: Anders Lee, LW (rank: 83) -- He's ranked among the top 100 overall players in standard fantasy leagues because of his strong coverage of goals (20), plus/minus (plus-8), shots on goal (195) and hits (102) for the New York Islanders. Lee ranks second on the Islanders in goals behind Brock Nelson (26), third in points (43), tied for second in plus/minus and leads them in SOG. Lee plays frequently on the top line with valuable center Mathew Barzal, who leads the Islanders with 60 points (19 goals, 41 assists) in 68 games; it's worth noting Barzal is ranked slightly behind Lee because Barzal does not provide many hits (22).

Biggest surprise: Brock Nelson, C/LW -- He has an NHL career-high 54 points (26 goals, 28 assists), surpassing his previous best from last season (53) in 14 fewer games. Nelson has also tied his NHL career high in goals from 2015-16 and assists from last season. Nelson has been a standalone fantasy asset on New York's second unit despite a lack of valuable linemates and is tied for fifth on the Islanders with a plus-6.

Unsung hero: Semyon Varlamov, G -- He signed a four-year contract with the Islanders in the offseason and has emerged as the clear starter after their goalie situation was an even timeshare between him and Thomas Greiss for the first 33 games. Among the 13 goalies in the NHL who have played at least 45 games, Varlamov ranks fourth in save percentage (.914). Greiss has also been respectable (.913 SV% in 31 games), but Varlamov has had a bounce-back fantasy season despite New York ranking among the NHL's bottom 10 in goals per game (2.78; 22nd) and power-play percentage (17.3; T-24th) with key injuries to two-way center Casey Cizikas and defenseman Adam Pelech during the season.

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