Games Played This Week by Team

5 Games: SJ

4 Games: ANA, BOS, DAL, LA, MTL, NYI, NYR, PHI, VGK

3 Games: ARI, COL, NSH, NJ, PIT, STL, TOR

2 Games: BUF, CAR, DET, FLA, OTT, TB, VAN, WPG

1 Game: CGY, CHI, CBJ, DET, FLA, MIN,

Streaming Selections

So, now, the roles reverse. All of the teams that had a bye week last week have a lot of games this week, and all the teams that had a lot of games last week don’t this week. There are still more teams who play a lot this week, so there shouldn’t be any dire need to grab players. But in case you grabbed Jordan Oesterle or any of the guys in last week’s Streaming Selections, here are a few players you can replace them with. If you’re wondering why Michael Ferland and Tyler Johnson aren’t discussed, it’s because they were already discussed in a previous installment.

Andreas Athanasiou – C/LW – Detroit Red Wings

36% Owned in Fantrax Leagues

To start the season, Athanasiou was the only player to hold out. Even though he threatened to go to the KHL, this had more to do with the Red Wings not having enough cap space to sign him to the deal he wanted. After 10 games, they both eventually came to an agreement on a one-year deal worth $1.4 million. Detroit is on a rebuild for the first time in a long while, and Athanasiou is set to prove to Detroit what he is worth this season. So far, Athanasiou has been pretty good, all things considered. He has nine goals and 19 points in 33 games, with about 16 minutes of ice-time. Athanasiou has 88 shots on goal already, which is 2.66 shots per game. He’s been on a roll lately with four goals and three assists in his last seven games with 31 shots on goal. On the other end, Athanasiou is at a -9 +/- rating on the season and is notoriously known to not be great on defense. However, some pluses are that he has developed chemistry with Dylan Larkin on the second line. In those last seven games, he’s had an average of 20 minutes. So, he is certainly getting opportunities to show what he is capable of doing. Athanasiou had 29 points in 67 games with only 13 minutes of ice time on average last season. Now that he is getting more ice-time, he is taking every chance he can get. The number of shots Athanasiou is putting up lately should make him a worthy add. It’s only a matter of time before those shots start turning into goals.

Tomas Hertl – C/LW/RW – San Jose Sharks

65% Owned in Fantrax Leagues

Considering the Sharks have five games this week and some teams are still on byes, this will be the only streaming selection that is team-specific this week. Hertl is most known for his four-goal game in his rookie season. And he hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype, considering he hasn’t gotten more than 50 points in a season in his five years in the NHL. However, Hertl has 12 goals and 12 assists in 41 games this year with 99 shots on goal. This puts him at a projected 48 points. Now, this may be more of a sign that San Jose is not scoring more than we are used to, but Hertl is currently in second in goals on the team with 12., However, there are still a lot of things to love about Hertl. He is getting about 18 minutes of average ice-time on the second line and first power-play unit. As I mentioned before on Kevin LaBanc, Hertl is one of the younger players on an aging team. So at age 24, Hertl is only going to get better just by gaining more experience. He’ll be an important piece for San Jose’s future. With five games on the schedule, it is an even bigger reason to get on the Hertl train. Besides Hertl, Kevin LaBanc, Joonas Donskoi, Melker Karlsson and Timo Meier are worth a look this week.

75% Owned in Fantrax Leagues

Even though the Senators have had a really disappointing season, there is still some hope. The Senators’ downturn can be traced to when they sent Kyle Turris to the Predators and acquired Matt Duchene in a three-way trade also with Nashville and Colorado. Ottawa is 9-15-3 since that trade and have become the third-worst team in the NHL. The Sens were 6-3-6 before the trade. To make matters worse, Kyle Turris was killing it in Nashville. However, all is not completely lost. Matt Duchene has actually been picking it up lately and seems to be getting accustomed to Ottawa’s coaching system. He has three goals and three assists in the last five games. He’s had six goals and six assists in 28 games since donning the Ottawa jersey. He is getting good deployment as the second line center, and he is on the second power-play unit. Being owned in 75% of leagues, there is a chance Duchene is not available. But he is a good buy-low candidate, as there is a good chance his current owner is frustrated with him. If he is available on the market, though, keep in mind that the Senators don’t play until January 18. There really isn’t a ton of hope surrounding Ottawa this season, but if the Senators are going to get going in the second half, they’ll need Duchene to be the guy.

Evgenii Dadonov – C/RW – Florida Panthers

69% Owned in Fantrax Leagues

Dadonov has 17 assists and 26 points in 35 games and is on a very good top line in Florida with Alexander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, but he isn’t owned in a ton of leagues. There are likely two reasons for this. One is that he was recently injured. He has seven points in the 13 games since he’s been back. It should be noted that five of those points were in the last four games. To be fair, he wasn’t on the top line when he returned, but now that he is with Barkov and Huberdeau. They’ve been dynamite. He is also on their first power-play unit. Which brings me to my second reason: this is the Florida Panthers. They are on a downward trajectory and have had a brutal season. But the top line is one of the bright spots this season and has been productive even when the defense hasn’t been. The Panthers don’t play again until Friday, so like Duchene, you can wait to pick him up.

Ivan Barbashev – C/LW – St Louis Blues

26% Owned in Fantrax Leagues

When Jaden Schwartz injured his ankle in early December, the Blues were in trouble. As a result, they’ve had to rely a lot on forwards to help out. Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Brayden Schenn made one of the deadliest lines in the league, when healthy. Now, Ivan Barbashev has taken over Jaden Schwartz’s spot on the top line. Barbashev has five points in 17 games this season. But all of those points were in the last three games. It feels like Barbashev has figured some things out. What’s impressive is that, in those three games, he has had 17 minutes or more of ice-time only once with no power-play time. In fact, he’s only had 17 minutes of ice-time once this season. I’ll admit that isn’t great, but at the same time, the fact that he is contributing and has been really hot lately just shows that he might be getting used to the NHL. Barbashev is one of the Blues’ top prospects, but he has had 17 points in 47 NHL games in his career. There is a chance he could be sent down when Schwartz gets healthy. But if he remains this hot, the Blues might not have a choice. You can get him before he really blows up.

Streaming Update

This is where we take a look at the performances of the players I mentioned in last week’s article. Knowing when to drop your streamers is just as important as knowing when to add them. The following guys should be kept in all keeper and dynasty formats unless stated otherwise. Keep in mind all of these players have a bye this week.

Vinnie Hinostroza – Despite the fact that Hinostroza had one assist in four games last week, he wasn’t all that impressive. He can be dropped.

Elias Lindholm – Lindholm did have a goal and an assist in three games last week. He missed one game due to an illness. He could probably be dropped unless there aren’t a ton of great options.

Mikael Backlund – Backlund had a pretty good week with one goal and three assists in four games. Even though he is on a bye, he should only be dropped if absolutely necessary.

Charlie Coyle – Coyle had two assists in four games last week, which isn’t bad. He’s still on the third line. You can drop him at this point.

Zach Parise – I mentioned that I wouldn’t be surprised to see Parise move up in the lineup, and that’s exactly what happened. That said, I didn’t expect Nino Niederreiter to be out, which benefited Parise. Parise didn’t score in three games last week. But he had an assist on Sunday. I’d be patient but could understand dropping him for someone better at this point.