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Fantasy Hockey Week 3 Waiver Wire Picks & Preview

Fantasy Hockey Week 3 Waiver Wire Picks & Preview
Fantasy Hockey Hacks

Fantasy Hockey Hacks

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Fantasy Hockey Week 3 Waiver Wire Picks & Preview

In the 31st episode of the Fantasy Hockey Hacks Podcast, the FHH team discusses the third week in the NHL, covering Fantasy Hockey Week 3 Waiver Wire Picks & Preview, schedule notes, and providing the details on our recent giveaway! We’ll discuss players to focus on in week 3 (and beyond), what the schedule looks like for each team this week, get you up to date on the latest hockey news, injury updates, and more! Subscribe to our podcast on all major directories; and stay up to date with the latest in fantasy hockey news and fantasy hockey advice.

Highlights:

  • Nikita Kucherov placed on LTIR with a lower-body injury
  • Sidney Crosby tells reporters that there is no time-table for his return
  • Jack Hughes on IR with dislocated shoulder
  • Toronto Maple Leafs get shelled by a short-staffed Pittsburgh club
  • Yanni Gourde was activated from IR after off-season shoulder surgery
  • Drew Doughty injured in knee-on-knee collision
  • Lucas Raymond nets first career hat trick and 4-point night

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Hockey News & Injury Updates | October 19 – 25

October 19

  • Mark Stone does not require surgery according to head coach Pete DeBoer. Said it’s somewhere between day-to-day and week-to-week. 

  • Brock Boeser was activated from IR, will make his season debut tonight versus the Buffalo Sabres.  

  • Yanni Gourde was activated from IR after off-season shoulder surgery. Gourde will make his season debut for the Kraken versus the New Jersey Devils. 
  • Jack Hughes is DTD after suffering an upper-body injury against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night. 
  • Mike Smith left the game against Anaheim with a lower-body injury; was designated day-to-day by Dave Tippett. Waiting on an official update from the team. 
  • Pavel Buchnevich suspended 2 games for head-butting Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse. 

October 20

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed Nikita Kucherov on LTIR. The move gives TB and additional $9.5M in their LTI Salary Relief Pool. Tampa Bay needs to be cap compliant upon Kucherov’s return though, so it sounds like they will not be acquiring new players (Cap Friendly). 

  • Mike Smith is expected to miss at least a week, and will be placed on IR. 

October 21

  • Jack Hughes was placed on IR for a dislocated shoulder. Will NOT require surgery. 

  • Jeff Carter and Tristan Jarry were placed in COVID-19 protocol. Both players are asymptotic according to coach Sullivan. 
  • Mark Scheifele also placed in COVID-19 protocol. Will miss the game on Thursday versus Anaheim. 
  • Patrick Kane played his 1,000th regular season NHL game on Thursday night. 
  • Connor McDavid reaches 200 career NHL goals in 411 games played. 

October 22

  • No target date for Sidney Crosby to return, according to the Penguins center after practice on Friday. 
  • Drew Doughty needed help leaving the ice after a knee-on-knee collision with Janni Haakanpa Friday night against Dallas. It was confirmed the next morning that Doughty would miss Saturday’s game. 

October 23 

  • Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler remained in COVID-19 protocol on Saturday and did not play. 
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs were shelled by the short-staffed Penguins, 7-1. Pittsburgh was missing Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Rust, and Carter. 

October 24

  • Matt Murray has been placed on IR with a head/neck injury after leaving yesterday’s game against the Rangers. 
  • Ryan Getzlaf has been fined $1,000 for dangerously tripping Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek. 
  • Lucas Raymond scores a hat trick and adds an assist, becomes the Detroit Red Wings first rookie to put up four points since Lidstrom and Fedorov in 1991. Moritz Seider had a PPA; and both players are now 1-2 in rookie scoring – Raymond (7 points, 4 goals), Seider (5 assists). 

Listener Questions

  • Is Moritz Seider worth a pickup and hold? Or just a streamer in a 10-team h2h keeper league? 
  • Looking to drop one of Garland, Gourde, or Verhaeghe to pick up Gibson. I need a 3rd goalie, but I’m really confident in those 3 players mentioned. 
  • Do you guys like Darnell Nurse or John Klingberg more this season? 

Edge Work | NHL Schedule, Week 3

Teams With 4 Games: ANA, ARI, CAR, CGY, FLA, LAK, MTL

  • Team Of Interest | The Florida Panthers are the team to target next week with 4 games on the schedule. Florida takes on Arizona, Boston (2x), and Detroit; with a back-to-back set on Friday/Saturday. There are still several players available in Florida’s top 9, namely Anthony Duclair (28%) and Owen Tippet (4&); both of whom are playing in the top 6 currently. As a bonus, the cats play 3 games on off-nights. 
  •  Team Of Interest | The Carolina Hurricanes play four games at home next week against Toronto (2-3-1), Boston (2-1-0), Chicago (0-4-1, 8th in Central), and Arizona (0-3-1, 7th in Central). 3 of those 4 teams are struggling out of the gate, and should provide ample fantasy production next week. Jesperi Kotkaniemi (9%) is probably the only remaining Hurricane in the top 6, but worth a look for next week. 
  • Team Of Interest | The Calgary Flames have a fairly favourable schedule next week, playing against the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils (no Hughes), Pittsburgh Penguins (no Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Carter possibly in COVID protocol), and the Philadelphia Flyers (who were without Ryan Ellis on Saturday). 

Teams With 3 Games: BOS, BUF, CBJ, CHI, COL, DAL, DET, MIN, NJD, NYR, PHI, PIT, SJS, SEA, STL, TB, TOR, VAN, VGK, WPG, WSH

  • Teams Of Interest | The Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, New York Rangers, and Washington Capitals play all of their games on off-nights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday) this week, providing additional fantasy value for any of their players that you pick up. Anthony Mantha (66%) is playing in the top 6 and top power play unit for the Capitals, and could be a valuable add for next week, assuming he is still available in your league. Dallas also has a number of potentially valuable players that could be available, including Ryan Suter (31%), Radek Faksa (10%), Dennis Gurianov (22%) and Alexander Radulov (83%). See our waiver wire recommendations below for our pick from Columbus.

Teams With 2 Games: EDM, NSH, OTT 

  • Team Of Interest | Of teams with only 2 games next week, Edmonton would be the best option. They host Philadelphia on Wednesday before visiting Vancouver on Saturday. Neither matchup is necessarily favourable; but if you need a streamer, Edmonton’s 3rd line has been very productive (see Zack Kassian and Warren Foegele), or players like Kailer Yamamoto (8%) and Evan Bouchard (14%) are widely available and offer exposure to Edmonton’s Top 6.

Teams With 1 Game: NYI

  • With one game on the schedule for next week, I would avoid targeting Islander players for next week; unless you really want to stash a player like Oliver Wahlstrom for the remainder of the season. 

Edge Work | Fantasy Hockey Week 3 Waiver Wire Picks

Waiver wire targets will be focused on players with ownership ~50% or less. 

Top Waiver Wire Targets

📈 Pierre-Luc Dubois (C), WPG| Rostered: 51% (Yahoo) | GP: 3 (@ANA, @LAK, @SJS) | Line: 2 (w/ Connor & Svechnikov) | DK Salary: $ | FPPG: 
  • Dubois has been paired with Kyle Connor in Winnipeg’s top 6, and the results have been positive. Through 6 games this season, Dubois has produced 6 points (4 G) while averaging 18:34 TOI. A few of Dubois’ underlying numbers are cause for concern – 5v5 SH% (12.5%), SH% (50%), shot volume (1.6 SOG/GM), secondary assist % (100%), and 45.7 CF%; however, Dubois is putting up points next to an elite linemate so take advantage for the time being. 
📈 Boone Jenner (C/LW), CBJ | Rostered: 13% (Yahoo) | GP: 3 (vs.Dal, @NYR, @NJD) | Line: 1 (w/ Laine & Voracek) | DK Salary: $ | FPPG: 
  • Boone Jenner has been given a plumb assignment, centering Patrik Laine and Jakub Voracek on Columbus’ top line; and he is receiving PP1 usage (67.6% PP Share). Jenner is averaging 20:21 TOI, 64.2 FOW%, and 2.4 SOG/GM; 5v5 SH% (3.7%), PDO (1004), and secondary assist % (0) all indicate his current production should be relatively sustainable. 
📈 Reilly Smith (RW), VGK | Rostered: 17% (Yahoo) | GP: 3 (@COL, @DAL, vs.ANA) | Line: 1 (w/ Karlsson & Marchessault) | DK Salary: $ | FPPG: 
  • With Pacioretty and Stone out with injury, Reilly Smith has taken over top line duties with William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault. Production has been limited from Smith so far (1 point in 4 GP); but he will receive every opportunity to put up points over the next few weeks. 18:21 ATOI, 56.3% PP Share, 3.0 SOG/GM. 
📈 Yanni Gourde (C/RW), SEA | Rostered: 32% (Yahoo) | GP: 3 (vs.MTL, vs.MIN, vs.NYR) | Line: 2 (w/ Schwartz & Jarnkrok) | DK Salary: $ | FPPG: 
  • Back from off-season surgery, Yanni Gourde is receiving 22:14 ATOI and 3:45 PP TOI through 2 games this season. Just 1 assist to show for his efforts, Gourde will no doubt start producing on a line with Jaden Schwartz and Calle Jarnkrok. 
📈 Mats Zuccarello (RW), MIN| Rostered: 31% (Yahoo) | GP: 3 (@VAN, @SEA, @COL) | Line: 1 (w/ Kaprizov & Eriksson Ek) | DK Salary: $ | FPPG: 
  • Zuccarello has been fortunate enough to land with Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek on the Wild’s top line. Through 4 games this season, Zuccarello has posted 6 pts (2 G), 2 PPP, 2.5 SOG/GM, and is seeing 57.5% PP Share. The 34-year old winger will cool off from his 123 point-pace; but he could very well exceed his 3-year average of 21 goals and 58 points over a full 82 game schedule. 
📈 Mikael Granlund (C/RW), NSH | Rostered: 8% (Yahoo) | GP: 2 (vs.SJS, vs.NYI) | Line: 2 (w/ Trenin & Kunin) | DK Salary: $ | FPPG: 
  • Granlund’s linemates and overall team situation are less enticing than other names on this list; but he offers dual-eligibility, is on pace for 66 points, and sees 57.3% PP Share. 
📈 Joel Farabee (LW/RW), PHI | Rostered: 67% (Yahoo) | GP: 3 (@EDM, @VAN, @CGY) | Line: 2 (w/ Atkinson & Brassard) | DK Salary: $ | FPPG: 
  • Joel Farabee has been playing on a line with newcomer Cam Atkinson, and Derek Brassard (Hayes injured); and things have been going very well. Farabee has 6 pts (3 goals) through 4 games this season, and the line collectively has not been scored on (7 GF/0 GA, Natural Stat Trick). Some of the underlying stats suggest that regression is coming, but ride Farabee and that line while you can.  
📈 Evan Bouchard (D), EDM | Rostered: 17% (Yahoo) | GP: 2 (vs PHI, @VAN) | Pair: 1 (w/ Nurse) | DK Salary: $ | FPPG: 
  • Head coach Dave Tippett has been singing Bouchard’s praises since training camp, and after just a few games the young defenceman has been moved up to the first pairing to play with Darnell Nurse (and Connor McDavid at even-strength). On pace for 49 points (1 G, 2 A in 5 GP), Bouchard is getting 20:15 ATOI, is a +5, and is firing 2.8 SOG/G. Also covers blocks with 11 so far on the season. Power play time will be hard to come by though. NOTE: Bouchard played 24:05 against the Golden Knights on Friday. 
📈 Shayne Gostisbehere (D), ARI | Rostered: 17% (Yahoo) | GP: 3 (@FLA, @TB, @WSH, @CAR) | Pair: 2 (w/ Soderstrom) | DK Salary: $ | FPPG: 
  • Gostisbehere is making the most of his opportunity in the desert, producing 4 points (2 PPP) through 5 games for Arizona. The Yotes have been rolling Ghost out for 64.3% of the power play, currently more than #1 Dman Jacob Chychrun (35.3% PP Share). On pace for 66 points, Gostisbehere could provide value as a 4-6 defenceman, particularly in deep leagues.  
📈 Vitek Vanecek (G), WSH | Rostered: 69% (Yahoo) | GP: 3 (@OTT, vs.DET, vs.ARI) | Role: Starter | DK Salary: $ | FPPG: 
  • By all appearances, Vitek Vanecek has secured the starter’s role for the Washington Capitals after starting 4 of 5 games so far this season. Vanecek has posted very solid numbers with a 2.05 GAA and .920 SV%, giving the Caps confidence to continue rolling him out. Even better, Vanecek is sporting a .957 EV SV%, and a .786 PK SV% (which we know will regress to .860 throughout the season). If available in your league, pick him up now!
📈 Adin Hill (G), SJS | Rostered: 45% (Yahoo) | GP: 3 (@NSH, vs.MTL, vs.WPG) | Role: Starter | DK Salary: $ | FPPG: 
  • Adin Hill is making good on the promise he showed with Arizona last season as he’s off to a hot start with 3 wins, 2.00 GAA and .922 SV% through 3 games played so far this season. The Sharks are currently second in the 4-0-0 and sitting second in the Pacific Division.

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2021 How To Win Your Fantasy Hockey League Series

BONUS: Dom Luszczyszyn’s (The Athletic) Fantasy Hockey Rankings & Cheat Sheet

 

 

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