Hitting the season's midway point presents the perfect occasion for another edition of Fantasy 32. As such, here's a roundup of one actionable fantasy tidbit from each and every team in the NHL.
The Ducks launch a six-game road trip on Monday, beginning in Pittsburgh. Goalie John Gibson has won zero games away from home to date. Nil. On the road, Anaheim's No. 1 is 0-9-3, with a 4.36 GAA and .889 SV%. Those of you still clinging to Gibson in fantasy competition might want to bench him for the foreseeable future. At minimum.
Forward Barrett Hayton is your current top streaming/DFS option in the desert. Now centering a line with Clayton Keller, Hayton has four goals -- including one in each of his past three contests -- and five assists in eight games. The 2018 fifth overall draft pick is available in nearly 99% of ESPN.com fantasy leagues.
They're using the "T" word in Boston once more. Tandem/timeshare-mates Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman are splitting opportunities even-stevens again these days. While Ullmark is overwhelmingly spoken for across the ESPN.com fantasy spectrum, Swayman is not. And the 24-year-old is performing well.
Three's not yet a crowd in Buffalo. As of Friday afternoon, AHL part-timer Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen remains a member of the Sabres. Which means neither Luukkonen, Craig Anderson nor Eric Comrie should be relied upon as a consistent fantasy presence in the Sabres' crease.
Only four games in and Max Pacioretty is already back in the infirmary. Sustaining a lower-body injury, the sniper left Thursday's game in Columbus only three minutes in. Stay tuned for more details, but we're told it isn't connected to his previous Achilles issue. Which is good. Teuvo Teravainen is back on a top line with Sebastian Aho for now.
Skating on a line with Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau, winger Milan Lucic (0.5%) is serving as a somewhat valuable fantasy commodity of late. With two goals and an assist in his past four contests, the physical winger is averaging 1.9 fantasy points/contest. That includes Thursday's dud in St. Louis. Lucic has value in deeper leagues, especially competition that rewards hits as well as scoring.
Never mind the IR designation, Patrick Kane is expected back in the Blackhawks' lineup Saturday versus Seattle. That's according to coach Luke Richardson. Subsequently, Lukas Reichel has been sent back to the AHL, where the promising prospect should remain until someone again falls hurt or, ahem, gets traded.
Kirill Marchenko is scoring for the Blue Jackets. I dunno. There isn't much to like about what's going on in Columbus right now, fantasy and otherwise. The 22-year-old rookie is one bright spot.
Versatile forward Evan Rodriguez (8.6%) is making the most of his spot on a top scoring line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Averaging nearly 22 minutes per game, Rodriguez has three goals and six assists to show for his past seven contests. And it doesn't appear either Gabriel Landeskog or Valeri Nichushkin is due back healthy anytime soon.
While Roope Hintz recuperates off-site, Tyler Seguin (66.2%) is shouldering the responsibility of centering a top line with Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski. Not coincidentally, he has scored a goal and assist in two games as substitute. There's sometimes an argument to be made for benching Seguin when tough lineup decisions need to be made. Not right now, though.
Post-knee injury, Robby Fabbri (3.0%) is back with bluster. Skating on a top-six line with Andrew Copp, he has scored in three straight. If only this guy could stay healthy for any significant stretch of time. Fingers crossed.
According to TSN's Darren Dreger, Evander Kane could return to the Oilers' lineup as early as Jan. 19. That's next week. A top-tier fantasy asset, Kane collected five goals and eight assists on 50(!) shots in 14 games before suffering a lacerated wrist. Check on his availability in your own league ASAP. In the meanwhile, Dylan Holloway serves as a nifty Daily Fantasy asset as linemate to Connor McDavid.
Maintain Anthony Duclair (3.2%) on your radar. Once recovered from his Achilles injury -- there's talk of a post-ASG return -- the feisty forward could provide instant fantasy sparks as a welcome top-six scoring asset. Duclair scored 31 goals and 27 assists through 74 games with the Panthers this past season.
Don't sleep on Quinton Byfield (1.3%) as a fantasy streaming asset/member of a scoring line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. The 2020 second overall draft pick potted a goal and assist -- while earning first star honors -- in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Sharks. Keep the formidably built future star in your Daily Fantasy reach for now as well.
Filip Gustavsson is splitting time evenly with Marc-Andre Fleury at present. And the other Wild netminder is winning. Like Thursday night against the Islanders, when he allowed only one goal on 20 shots. Gustavsson is rostered in 16.6% of ESPN.com leagues, while Fleury is spoken for in 63%.
Defender David Savard (28.6%) blocks a good number of shots. He also contributes to the scoresheet on occasion. Of the few fantasy-relevant figures in Montreal these days, Savard deserves a little more love in leagues that reward shot-blocking and scoring stats.
It's been only three healthy games -- give Ondrej Palat a minute. His role on a scoring line with Nico Hischier is too rich to not pay out scoring dividends soon. The former Lightning skater is also good for banging his body around and blocking shots (relative to other forwards).
Centering a top line with Filip Forsberg, rookie Juuso Parssinen is riding a five-game points streak with a goal and six assists. Parssinen is overwhelmingly available in the ESPN.com NHL fantasy universe.
The Islanders' third-line center is scoring and throwing hits and blocking more shots than just about any other forward these days. In fact, Jean-Gabriel Pageau is currently averaging more fantasy points/game in conventional leagues (2.7) than any other skater on his own team. The well-rounded asset is spoken for in only 40% of ESPN.com competitions.
Need fantasy D? Give K'Andre Miller (23.1%) some hefty consideration. Visibly morphing into the player we projected him to eventually become, Miller is riding a five-game point streak with three goals and four assists. The third-year defender is also shooting and blocking shots. Scoop him up before it's too late.
Winning more than not, Anton Forsberg is playing better than Cam Talbot thus far in 2023. If this trend keeps up, the Senators' No. 2 will be playing a lot more often as well. Ottawa still fancies itself a playoff contender. Coach D.J. Smith will fill his crease with whoever he believes gives the Senators the best shot at securing victories.
A red-hot Travis Konecny has 12 goals and eight assists in his past 10 games, yet remains available in 12% of ESPN.com leagues. But probably not in yours. So shoot Joel Farabee (3.8%), who's also contributing as Konecny's linemate, a look instead.
Keep a view of how Dustin Tokarski manages Friday evening against the Jets. If the third-stringer plays well, he should replace a struggling Casey DeSmith as Mike Sullivan's go-to until Tristan Jarry (lower-body injury) fully recovers. Which could render the AHL standout a solid streaming option/Daily Fantasy asset for a game or few.
How about them Kraken! It seems every skater deserves some share of the credit for Seattle's current tear, including newbie Eeli Tolvanen. Since jettisoning Nashville via a trip through waivers, and yet to taste defeat with his new club, the former Predator has four goals and two assists in seven games. Tolvanen has a role to play in your deeper fantasy league.
Beginning Friday evening and concluding next Sunday, the Sharks face the Oilers, Devils, Stars, Blue Jackets and Bruins. With the exception of next Saturday's battle with Columbus, any San Jose netminder should be firmly affixed to your bench.
Before fizzling out against the Flames, the Brandon Saad/Brayden Schenn/Ivan Barbashev line was on a pleasant roll, with a combined nine goals and seven assists in four games. The Blues will need more of the same from their second scoring unit if they're to have any hope of battling for a playoff spot. Particularly with Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly sidelined. Schenn (50.8%) is my fantasy favorite of the three, since he's also skating on the club's top power play.
For those who could still benefit from receiving this particular memo, Brandon Hagel is a fresh fantasy gem this season. Skating on a top line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, the former Blackhawk is fourth in team scoring since Oct. 22, with 16 goals and 18 assists on 111 shots in 35 games. And yet he remains available in 48% of ESPN.com leagues. The guy's for real, folks. Take the fantasy plunge.
Center Auston Matthews is both ill and banged up, according to ESPN's own Emily Kaplan. Don't be surprised if the Maple Leafs rest their star here and there between now and the postseason. Especially if Toronto becomes more comfortable in securing a playoff spot. As a fantasy asset, Matthews' status should be monitored regularly.
Trade talk is reportedly heating up about Brock Boeser (48.9%). A move away from the mess in Vancouver would undoubtedly do the underperforming forward some good. If you've been holding on to Boeser this long, may as well now see how it all plays out. Landing a top-six gig with a contender would be nice.
Forward Mark Stone is hurt. We don't know any details yet, or severity of the injury, only that he left Thursday's game against Florida with an upper-body issue. If invested in the top-line forward, check for updates ahead of Saturday's tilt with the visiting Oilers before rolling out your own fantasy lineup.
Have you seen the Jets' upcoming schedule? Beginning Sunday, Winnipeg faces a stretch of games against the Coyotes, Canadiens, Maple Leafs and Senators before wrapping up in Philadelphia the following weekend. Of that gaggle, only Toronto sports a winning record and goals-allowed rate in the league's upper half. If you've been on the fence about acquiring top-six skaters like Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler or even Cole Perfetti in deeper leagues, now would be the occasion to make such a move.
Two games in and Tom Wilson (27.7%) already has 10 hits to his credit. It won't be long before the physical forward adds a good number of shots and scoring to his fantasy résumé as well. Snatch him up when you still can.