- Sean Allen is a fantasy analyst for ESPN.com. He was the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hockey Writer of the Year. You can tweet him @seanard.
It’s not the most glorious NHL schedule to kick off the final scoring period in fantasy hockey.
In weekly formats, today is the last time you will set your lineup, so keep in mind the extended scoring period. And don’t forget the fantasy season ends on April 13 — not on April 14.
This three-game Monday slate doesn’t pop by any means. It features some good defensive teams with the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights and, though they haven’t been showing it as much lately, the Dallas Stars. We could get surprised though as the Golden Knights, Predators and the Seattle Kraken also play on Tuesday. None of those three teams have an obviously lighter matchup on either day, so the goaltending choices are up in the air until we get some confirmations.
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All times Eastern.
Favorable scoring matchups
Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild
8 p.m., Xcel Energy Center
Two solid offenses of late meet here, as the Golden Knights and Wild are tied for fourth in the league in five-on-five goals per 60 in the past month. The Wild have the edge with better numbers for goals against per 60, but the game does project to be more of a 2-1 or 3-2 affair. Jack Eichel and Matt Boldy are the players on either side to hitch your wagon to, so if you are streaming in options from this game it’s Ivan Barbashev or Marcus Johansson at the top of the list. Vegas won a meeting between the clubs 4-1 on Saturday on home ice.
Nashville Predators at Dallas Stars
8:30 p.m., American Airlines Arena
The Stars will have home ice as they go for the four-game season sweep of the Predators. Jake Oettinger has all three of those wins while allowing just four total goals. Roope Hintz has four goals and two helpers in those games against Nashville. But the Stars will need to watch out for the new wave Preds top line with Tommy Novak and Luke Evangelista. The Pair combined for seven points against the Blues on Saturday.
Arizona Coyotes at Seattle Kraken
10 p.m., Climate Pledge Arena
This late game is the best bet for extra scoring to justify streaming in some players. Don’t forget in weekly leagues that the Kraken have an advantage over the rest of the league with seven games over the final scoring period. Focus on the power play, where the Coyotes have allowed 18 power-play goals in the past month. That would be Eeli Tolvanen, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Alex Wennberg, with a rotation of Jared McCann and Daniel Sprong for the fourth forward spot plus Vince Dunn on the point. Any of them are decent streaming options depending on your league size. The Coyotes can still get some offense done, too, so don’t overlook options like Juuso Valimaki, Matias Maccelli or Barrett Hayton.
Mid-tier fantasy forwards
Jared McCann, C/W, Seattle Kraken (66.4%)
Barrett Hayton, C/W, Arizona Coyotes (23.0%)
Ivan Barbashev, C/W, Vegas Golden Knights (18.6%)
Deep league/Daily Fantasy value forwards
Matias Maccelli, W, Arizona Coyotes (3.4%): If you don’t use him as a streaming option, it’s fair. But do yourself a favor and watch some of the passes he makes in a game. If his mercurial results become more consistent in his sophomore campaign, he’s going to be a fantasy factor.
Pavel Dorofeyev, W, Vegas Golden Knights (1.6%)
Marcus Johansson, C/W, Minnesota WIld (2.6%)
Tommy Novak, C, Nashville Predators (10.7%)
Eeli Tolvanen, W, Seattle Kraken (6.0%)
Luke Evangelista, W, Nashville Predators (0.9%)
Mid-tier fantasy defensemen
Tyson Barrie, D, Nashville Predators (77.4%): Roman Josi still sat out on Saturday and there’s no indication if he’ll be back as part of this back-to-back set beginning on the road on Monday. Barrie remains the power play fixture while Josi is out.
J.J. Moser, D, Arizona Coyotes (16.4%): Driven by blocked shots, but helped by some scoring, Moser has 2.6 fantasy points per game across his past seven outings.
Juuso Valimaki, D, Arizona Coyotes (10.6%)
Vince Dunn, D, Seattle Kraken (81.3%)
Deep league/Daily Fantasy value defensemen
Ben Hutton, D, Vegas Golden Knights (0.3%): Whether he’ll be a healthy scratch or not likely depends on whether Shea Theodore is ready to go after missing two games. But it’s notable that Hutton stepped into the lineup and picked up three points with Theodore out.
Ryan Suter, D, Dallas Stars (2.8%): If you are trending below your games-played maximums and just want some bodies that might get a few points, Suter fits the bill. His physical play has helped him to a modest 1.8 fantasy points per game in his past six outings.
Josh Brown, D, Arizona Coyotes (1.5%)
Goalies
Laurent Brossoit, G, Vegas Golden Knights (1.0%): He was the standout when the teams met on Saturday in Vegas, so he probably gets the start again. A win feels like a coin-flip, especially with the location shifted over to Minnesota. Still, Brossoit is set up as a streaming gamble here.
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