Waiver watch: Add these player for power play points

Sean Allen, Special to ESPN.comOct 21, 2024, 01:00 PM ET

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Every Monday, we’ll mine the waiver wire for lesser-rostered performers who have the potential to help fantasy teams in a variety of leagues. We’ll also present several strong streaming candidates for the immediate week ahead.

Forwards

Stefan Noesen, LW, New Jersey Devils (1.91 FPPG, 90.9% available): On the back of his quality results across the season so far, Noesen has last spotted on the Devils top power-play unit with the likes of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton (bad news for Timo Meier fans, by the way). Given that two of the Devils four opponents rank 28th or worse in power-play goals allowed this season (Detroit Red Wings are 31st and Tampa Bay Lightning are 27th), this looks like a good week to give him a spin. Bonus in daily lineup leagues if you have him opposite a player from the Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres or Columbus Blue Jackets, who, with the exception of Tuesday’s Frozen Frenzy, have all their games on the off nights for the Devils.

Morgan Frost, C, Philadelphia Flyers (1.88 FPPG, 94.2% available): The matchups aren’t even great this week, but Frost deserves more heat in fantasy. He’s locked in as the Flyers top center, at both even strength and on the power play. The four-game week allows for an excuse to get him locked in before he continues his fantasy-relevant pace and gets scooped up by another manager.

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Barrett Hayton, C, Utah Hockey Club (2.23 FPPG, 52.3% available): Playing on the top line and top power-play unit, the week bodes well for Hayton as the Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings both rank tied for 27th with 1.0 power-play goals allowed per game. Forwards on their opponents top power-play unit have averaged 2.61 FPPG and 2.65 FPPG respectively. On a per-game basis, they have the best fantasy schedule, with their three opponents offering up a combined average of 29.07 fantasy points to opposing skaters. You can consider Nick Schmaltz (2.00 FPPG, 75.7% available) here too, given he has the same roles as Hayton.

Ross Colton, LW, Colorado Avalanche (3.62 FPPG, 55.2% available): Matchups aside, this Colton streak is getting silly as he settles in on the Avs top line and top power-play unit. It doesn’t matter who you are; spend this much time with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, and the goals will flow. It’s an especially good week to grab Avs in daily lineup leagues; only the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators have fewer potential matchups conflicts for your lineup (which is more difficult to find this week given the Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday).

See also:

Tom Wilson, RW, Washington Capitals (4.38 FPPG, 55.8% available)
Casey Mittelstadt, C, Colorado Avalanche (2.42 FPPG, 54.9% available)
Logan Stankoven, C, Dallas Stars (1.70 FPPG, 68.8% available)
Jordan Eberle, RW, Seattle Kraken (2.57 FPPG, 78.9% available)

Defense

Simon Edvinsson, D, Detroit Red Wings (1.92 FPPG, 98.2% available): The Red Wings have the best fantasy outlook for the week, with four games against opponents that combine to allow an average of 27.59 fantasy points to their opponents’ skaters. Edvinsson has slid up next to Moritz Seider on the top pairing. Now is as great a time as any to deploy him for the week.

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Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Toronto Maple Leafs (1.90 FPPG, 81.3% available): We could make a similar argument for Jake McCabe (2.10 FPPG, 91.5% available) as the basis for it is the same: The Leafs play four games this week and the opponents cough up plenty of fantasy points. But we’ll go with Ekman-Larsson because all four opponents have allowed at least 1.94 FPPG to top-pairing opponents this season – and Ekman-Larsson is a frequent leader for the team in even-strength ice time. Consider them in daily leagues if you have Jake Sanderson or Evan Bouchard, as their paths only cross on Frozen Frenzy Tuesday.

Vladislav Gavrikov, D, Los Angeles Kings (2.12 FPPG, 95.0% available): While Brandt Clarke is filling the Drew Doughty shoe on the power play, Gavrikov is taking care of the other shoe at even strength on the top pairing. The ice time is enough for a fantasy-relevant FPPG. Also look for a Clarke (2.12 FPPG, 79.2% available) explosion on the power play against the Sharks on Thursday (2.48 FPPG for opposing defenders on the top power-play unit).

Shayne Gostisbehere, D, Carolina Hurricanes (2.50 FPPG, 64.6% available): He’s doing what he does best on the Canes top power-play unit, but also getting plenty of other ice time to help pad the counting stats. Look for a spike on Tuesday in Frozen Frenzy when the power-play specialist gets to face the worst penalty kill in the league so far (Edmonton Oilers, 1.5 power-play goals against per game).

See also:

Goaltenders

Joel Blomqvist, G, Pittsburgh Penguins (1.95 FPPG, 94.8% available): We’ll see how long the Penguins will carry three goaltenders, but Blomqvist is the only one not putting up negative fantasy points so far. This week brings the western Canada road trip, as the Pens face the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers. It could be a very telling trip as to how the Penguins crease will look for the weeks to come. Maybe you don’t start Blomqvist if you don’t have to, but getting him on your bench is wise.

Kevin Lankinen, G, Vancouver Canucks (6.73 FPPG, 90.1% available): It’s a slow week for the Canucks with just two games, so there is a chance Arturs Silovs gets a start to stay fresh, even though Lankinen is clearly the hot hand. That said, neither game is overtly threatening on paper (Chicago Blackhawks allow 2.77 FPPG to opposing goalies, Pittsburgh Penguins allow 1.75 FPPG). The real benefit could come if Thatcher Demko‘s timeline gets setback and Lankinen still has a 60%-plus crease share heading into November.

See also:

Short-term streamers

Editor’s Picks

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Anton Lundell, LW, Florida Panthers (2.49 FPPG, 69.0% available): So long as Aleksander Barkov remains sidelined, Lundell should be a lineup lock. This week should remain safe as the current target for Barkov to return is simply “before” the trip to Finland to play the Dallas Stars on Nov. 1. That leaves the Monday, Oct. 28, contest against the Buffalo Sabres as the best bet.

Josh Norris, C, Ottawa Senators (2.88 FPPG, 76.4% available): If his overpowered FPPG isn’t enough to convince you yet, Norris has extra appeal in daily lineup leagues where his power-play fueled statistics have a Sunday game scheduled against the woeful Colorado Avalanche penalty kill. The Sens lead the league with 1.6 power-play goals per game and are second with 4.2 power-play opportunities per game.

Erik Gustafsson, D, Detroit Red Wings (2.13 FPPG, 98.1% available): If you are spot-starting on Sunday and looking for a boost, check to see if Gustafsson is still playing on the top power-play unit. The Oilers have allowed 3.08 FPPG to opponents on the top unit.

Victor Olofsson, RW, Vegas Golden Knights (2.17 FPPG, 94.1% available): He’s day-to-day at the moment, but if you see Olofsson draw in for either Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings or Saturday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, role him out there for the power-play boost.

Connor Zary, C, Calgary Flames (2.32 FPPG, 84.6% available): The week starts with the Pittsburgh Penguins (2.43 FPPG to opposing forwards on the top power-play unit) and Carolina Hurricanes (2.60 FPPG), but then gets sour by the weekend with the red-hot Winnipeg Jets (0.89 FPPG). Zary looks like a good option for the first two, then maybe trade him out for Norris or Olofsson.

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Johnny Beecher, C, Boston Bruins (2.35 FPPG, 94.5% available): It’s a very interesting week to consider the troublesome threesome at the bottom of the Bruins depth chart. Beecher, Mark Kastelic (2.32 FPPG, 86.2% available) and Cole Koepke (2.02 FPPG, 97.2% available) are absolutely laying waste to the opposition through hits and points. It’s a sterling fantasy combination so far. What makes this week particularly interesting is that the Bruins play three opponents who do a pretty good job of stifling their opponents’ power plays: the Nashville Predators are third in fewest opportunities allowed per game and seventh in fewest power-play goals allowed; the Dallas Stars are the best in penalty killing so far, ranking first in power-play goals allowed; and the Toronto Maple Leafs are even middle-of-the-pack with 0.6 power-play goals allowed per game ranking them tied for 11th. So if the Bs want to compete, they may need to do it at even strength, which is this trios specialty.

Chasing the Sharks, G: There may be an opportunity this week in daily lineup leagues to simply chase the sharks with your goaltending. San Jose plays on Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks, Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings and Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights. Lukas Dostal (4.70 FPPG, 72.4% available) might be in line for Tuesday; if Darcy Kuemper (0.53 FPPG, 78.4% available) is healthy again by Thursday, he would up; and the Golden Knights would be on the second leg of a back-to-back set on Saturday, meaning Ilya Samsonov (4.20 FPPG, 49.5% available) may get the call. The Sharks rank third in the NHL, giving up an average of 5.3 FPPG to opposing goaltenders.

Jake Allen, G, New Jersey Devils (8.20 FPPG, 84.3% available): Either game of the Devils back-to-back set this week is more than ripe for an Allen spot start. On Thursday, the Detroit Red Wings rank sixth in most FPPG to opposing goaltenders (3.08 FPPG), while the New York Islanders rank fourth (5.20 FPPG) on Friday.

Logan Thompson, G, Washington Capitals (2.00 FPPG, 57.6% available): If the Capitals keep rotating starts, Thompson will only get one start this week. But Wednesday’s second leg of the home-and-home with the Flyers is promising. Philadelphia ranks fifth in FPPG to opposing goalies (4.80 FPPG).

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