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In head-to-head fantasy matchups, every week is tough. The talent gap between opponents can be wide, but anyone can beat anyone in a seven-day stretch with a few hot streaks, a few lucky breaks, and/or a few unplanned injuries.
And no lead is safe. You could be up more than 20 points on Friday and crash after some players made a decision for the weekend.
As there is no surefire protection against future underachievement or absenteeism, some of the following recommendations may help, at least depending on recent form and condition:
Ahead
Alex Killorn, Tampa Bay Lightning (41% Roasted)
When Killorn was originally discussed in November, it was implied that his scoring success was primarily due to his pairing with Steven Stamkos. While that is sometimes true, the two have been splitting five-on-five over the past few weeks, and in all Kilorn has posted 13 points in 14 games to go along with 30 shots. After missing out on Tampa’s top power play, he’s back there and has scored three points since the start of the month. As involved in all positions and on pace to record his first 60-plus-point campaign, Killorn should be unavailable in the league about 60 percent of the time.
TJ Oshie, Washington Capitals (42% Roasted)
Washington has been lost to injuries throughout the season, so it’s good to see the key forwards back together again. The club have been weak offensively recently with only 34 goals in 13 fixtures, although some up front have still benefited. For his part, Oshii recorded seven points, 33 shots and 24 hits and managed his first PPP since Jan. 5 on Wednesday. Not skating as an equal power center with Evgeny Kuznetsov or Nicklas Backstrom might not be ideal, but Oshii still joins forces with them — and someone named Alex Ovechkin — on the Caps’ first man-advantage. .
Ryan Hartman, Minnesota Wild (38% Roasted)
Hartmann received a boost when he was reunited with Kirill Kaprizov, resulting in four goals, four assists, 30 shots, 13 blocks and 10 hits in 10 appearances. The star winger was sidelined and scheduled to miss the next two weeks, but it allowed Hartman to rack up a pair of assists at San Jose on Saturday and a PPG, PPA and shorthanded tally against St. Louis on Wednesday. did not stop him from doing You might want to get him on your roster before someone else beats you to that cross-category production.
Jacob ulcersSt. Louis Blues (26% Roasted)
The fit bus was not in Detroit, so Vrna was sent to St. Louis. He has displayed tremendous talent in his relatively short career, yet injuries will materialize and halt whatever momentum was already built. The Blues have struggled this season, but their lineup shuffle has opened up opportunities. Vrna has taken advantage of his new surroundings to post four goals and 19 surefire shots on net in just five matchups, with the last three markers coming in the form of PPG.
Owen Tippett, Philadelphia Flyers (12% Roasted)
Players who can consistently accumulate statistics from a variety of areas are valuable in fantasy. It’s on weak teams that is often overlooked, and Tippett is a prime example. The Flyers weren’t going anywhere this year, yet the former Florida forward put up a solid performance, putting up 34 points, 179 shots, 107 hits and 57 blocks. And Tippett has been especially active over the past nine games with 45 shots while averaging 21:47 — including 2:41 on the lead power play.
William Eklund, San Jose Sharks (3% Roasted)
Eklund quickly shot out of the gate last season when he notched PPAs in his first three NHL outings before returning to Sweden, where he posted 14 points in 29 contests. After going 41 for 52 in the AHL, he was called up to the Sharks less than two weeks later to fill one of several vacancies resulting from trade activity. Eklund’s dominant position in offensive positions since the recall was predictable, though no one would have imagined him skating 20 minutes a night. The 20-year-old should continue to get all the responsibilities he can handle, and that makes him at least a favorable fantasy pick.
John-Jason Peterka, Buffalo Sabers (2% Roasted)
This column has already reviewed several of Buffalo’s young forwards, so there probably aren’t any left to cover. That is, until Peterka received a placement upgrade with fellow 22-and-under Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn. And the scoring has been on trend lately with a goal and four assists in his last four appearances in addition to eight shots. Peterka may not produce much in the short term, but he is one to keep an eye on for the future.
Alex Chiasson, Detroit Red Wings (0% Roasted)
Chiasson has never been a prolific scorer, yet has always been valuable in finding and exploiting his space. Chiasson’s area of expertise lies as a net-front presence on the power play, something that has seen him score 70 points in the current campaign. Detroit originally brought him aboard in October as part of a professional tryout, where he would record 20 points over 29 AHL outings before being promoted. Chiasson got a total of 28 minutes in the first three at Motown, but it was the last of them in which he recorded a PPA on the top unit. And that led to a PPG in each of his last three starts. Let’s assume Chiasson will stay in that dominant position, though you shouldn’t expect much more.
defenseman
Torey Krug, St. Louis Blues (46% Roasted)
Krug’s coverage numbers have dropped due to injuries and the Blues trading away some of their stars who are already out of playoff contention. The ice time may be significantly less than usual and the minus-34 doesn’t help, but he’s still quarterbacking a lead power play. Since Krug returned in late January, he’s recorded 10 points — six of them PPA — on 37 shots and 26 blocks per night in three minutes of man-advantage.
Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers (28% Roasted)
Edmonton’s move on the deadline resulted in reduced responsibilities for Ekholm, though that didn’t stop him from producing with one goal, three assists, 13 shots, 13 hits, 14 blocks and a plus-13. There may no longer be a spot on PP, but he continues to play a major shorthand role. The Oilers boast elite offensive weapons, and Ekholm should be a defensive rock who contributes on both ends.
Jacob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes (23% Roasted)
Slavin managed to score at least 30 points this season in five of his last six years. He could reach that mark once again, but he hasn’t been as dominant in attack as others have shouldered the bulk of the load. Slavin has lost a lot of his spot on the power play, and has fewer minutes to roam on the Carolina blueline, yet he’s seen an uptick recently, registering six points, 25 shots and 11 blocks over nine contests. The scoring streak probably won’t last, though he is generally reliable in other categories.
Nick Blankenberg, Columbus Blue Jackets (1% Roasted)
Blankenberg was first featured here seven weeks ago, so it may seem odd to repeat this so soon, but he still hasn’t joined virtually any fantasy league. The Blue Jackets aren’t fantasy hotshots based on their 29th-ranked offense and defense, but Blankenburg has been more than serviceable since mid-February (five assists, 10 shots, 22 hits and 12 blocks). The special thing is that two of these helpers have come climbing on top of a person. He has averaged close to 21 minutes during this stretch and serves as one of Columbus’ primary defenders.
goaltender
Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes (28% Roasted)
You may remember Kochetkov from his hot run earlier this season when Frederik Andersen was hurt, or more recently his AHL scoring/dancing/fighting machine exploits, With Antti Ranta sidelined, Kochetkov was called up again last week and was immediately shut down. He would give up three goals in Jersey on Sunday, though he allowed nothing in the final 25-plus minutes. Ranta’s return is unknown, but he probably won’t be returned. And as Anderson has substantial injury history, Kochetkov could be in line for more starts the rest of the way.
Connor Ingram, Arizona Coyotes (7% Roasted)
Ingram has spent most of his pro career in the minors, only making his NHL debut in late 2021 — five years after being drafted. He was eventually claimed off waivers by the Coyotes in October and made 10 appearances over the next two months where he posted a 4.24 GAA and .878 save percentage. This season has been kind to Ingram as he has a 2.84/.926 line through 15 games, a stretch that saw him go 535 of 578 shots. He’s getting more starts than Karel Vejmelka of late and makes a good fillin since Arizona’s defense hasn’t looked as bad as it has in comparison to recent campaigns.
players to consider from the previous column: Martin Necas, David Krejci, Dylan Cozens, Matty Beniers, Robert Thomas, Joel Erickson, Jeff Skinner, Andrei Kuzmenko, Dylan Strome, Nick Schmaltz, Logan Couture, Kevin Hayes, Dawson Mercer, Mason McTavish, Lucas Raymond, Brock Bowser, Phillip Chitill, Brian Rust, Jared McCann, JT Comper, Mikael Backlund, Anthony Beauvillier, Seth Jarvis, Boone Jenner, Cole Perfetti, Scott Laughton, Brandon Hagel, Gabriel Vilardi, Philippe Danault, Jordan Eberle, Ivan Barbashev, Ivan Rodrigues, William Carlson , Tom Wilson, Victor Arvidsson, Eli Tolvanen, Anton Lundell, Ondrej Palat, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jason Zucker, Nino Niederreiter, Nick Paul, Tyler Bertuzzi, Kirill Marchenko, Seth Jones, Brandon Montour, Cam Fowler, Ivan Bouchard, Dmitry Orlov, Shayne Gostisbehere, Noah Hanifin, Vince Dunn, Rasmus Sandin, Bowen Byram, Jusso Valimaki, Jon Klingberg, Adam Larsen, Samuel Girard, K’Andre Miller, Sean Durzi, Sebastian Aho, Mike Matheson, Janice Moser, Vitek Venacek, Martin Jones, Carell Vejmelka, Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen, Stuart Skinner, Phoenix Copley, Semyon Varlamov, Akira Schmid, Mads Sogard, Philipp Grubauer, Joonas Korpisalo