We are firmly into the second half with a neck-and-neck-and-neck race for the top of the fantasy podium. Connor Hellebuyck will surely start getting some additional rest later in the season, so the race at the top right now is between Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon. This one comes down to games in hand, as the Lightning have three more games to play than the Avalanche at this juncture, so Kucherov holds down the top spot ... but it's that close.
These rankings are based on expectations of fantasy points produced from Friday, Jan. 17, until the end of the season. Fantasy points are based on the ESPN Fantasy standard game (for skaters: goals = 2 points, assists = 1 point, shots and hits = 0.1 points, blocked shots and special-teams points = 0.5 points; for goaltenders: wins = 4 points, OT losses = 1 point, shutouts = 3 points, saves = 0.2 points, goals against = -2 points).
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1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning, RW1
2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, C1
3. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, G1
4. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs, C2
5. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, C3
6. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers, C4
7. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche, D1
8. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning, C5
9. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche, RW2
10. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators, D2
11. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets, D3
12. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers, RW3
13. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild, LW1
14. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, LW2
15. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW3
16. Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights, C6
17. Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, LW4
18. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings, D4
19. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, D5
20. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets, LW5
21. Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, LW6
22. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres, D6
23. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs, RW4
24. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers, C7
25. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, RW5
26. Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils, C8
27. J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks, C9
28. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks, D7
29. Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils, G2
30. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets, C10
31. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers, LW7
32. MacKenzie Weegar, Calgary Flames, D8
33. Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings, RW6
34. Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche, G3
35. Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights, RW7
36. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, C11
37. Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW8
38. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs, RW8
39. Patrik Laine, Montreal Canadiens, RW9
40. Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres, RW10
41. Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers, C12
42. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers, RW11
43. Tim Stutzle, Ottawa Senators, C13
44. Adam Fox, New York Rangers, D9
45. Noah Dobson, New York Islanders, D10
46. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, C14
47. Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres, C15
48. John Carlson, Washington Capitals, D11
49. Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens, C16
50. Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers, RW12
51. Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars, G4
52. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings, C17
53. Mikhail Sergachev, Utah Hockey Club, D12
54. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, C18
55. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings, D13
56. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes, C19
57. Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals, RW13
58. Steven Stamkos, Nashville Predators, C20
59. Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets, D14
60. Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames, D15
61. Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues, D16
62. Clayton Keller, Utah Hockey Club, LW9
63. Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers, D17
64. Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings, G5
65. Jakob Chychrun, Washington Capitals, D18
66. Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens, LW10
67. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars, LW11
68. Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW14
69. Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils, C21
70. Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators, D19
71. Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings, LW12
72. Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings, LW13
73. Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild, LW14
74. Mats Zuccarello, Minnesota Wild, RW15
75. Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights, D20
76. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers, G6
77. Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas Golden Knights, D21
78. Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks, C22
79. Seth Jones, Chicago Blackhawks, D22
80. Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils, RW16
81. Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW17
82. Drake Batherson, Ottawa Senators, RW18
83. Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils, D23
84. Kirill Marchenko, Columbus Blue Jackets, LW15
85. Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning, C23
86. Tomas Hertl, Vegas Golden Knights, C24
87. Lane Hutson, Montreal Canadiens, D24
88. Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues, C25
89. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks, C26
90. Timo Meier, New Jersey Devils, LW16
91. Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, D25
92. Bo Horvat, New York Islanders, C27
93. Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles Kings, LW17
94. Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes, RW19
95. Josh Norris, Ottawa Senators, C28
96. Dylan Strome, Washington Capitals, C29
97. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning, G7
98. Jordan Kyrou, St. Louis Blues, RW20
99. Jonathan Marchessault, Nashville Predators, RW21
100. Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets, LW18
101. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars, D26
102. Jake Middleton, Minnesota Wild, D27
103. Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild, C30
104. Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes, LW19
105. Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers, RW22
106. Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes, RW23
107. Matt Duchene, Dallas Stars, C31
108. Shayne Gostisbehere, Carolina Hurricanes, D28
109. Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild, D29
110. Ryan Pulock, New York Islanders, D30
111. Vince Dunn, Seattle Kraken, D31
112. Nazem Kadri, Calgary Flames, C32
113. Kaiden Guhle, Montreal Canadiens, D32
114. Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins, D33
115. Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, D34
116. Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary Flames, LW20
117. Patrick Kane, Detroit Red Wings, RW24
118. Anders Lee, New York Islanders, LW21
119. Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers, C33
120. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins, LW22
121. Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins, D35
122. Gabriel Vilardi, Winnipeg Jets, C34
123. Chris Kreider, New York Rangers, LW23
124. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks, G8
125. Jake Walman, San Jose Sharks, D36
126. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins, D37
127. Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks, RW25
128. Ivan Barbashev, Vegas Golden Knights, LW24
129. Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars, C35
130. Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders, C36
131. Ryan O'Reilly, Nashville Predators, C37
132. Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals, G9
133. Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets, D38
134. Thomas Chabot, Ottawa Senators, D39
135. Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks, RW26
136. Dmitri Voronkov, Columbus Blue Jackets, LW25
137. Radko Gudas, Anaheim Ducks, D40
138. Mike Matheson, Montreal Canadiens, D41
139. Brandt Clarke, Los Angeles Kings, D42
140. Jacob Trouba, Anaheim Ducks, D43
141. Noah Hanifin, Vegas Golden Knights, D44
142. Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers, G10
143. Brayden McNabb, Vegas Golden Knights, D45
144. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins, C38
145. Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers, C39
146. Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks, D46
147. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars, LW26
148. Brock Nelson, New York Islanders, C40
149. Mikael Granlund, San Jose Sharks, LW27
150. Jake DeBrusk, Vancouver Canucks, RW27
151. Ian Cole, Utah Hockey Club, D47
152. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs, D48
153. Carter Verhaeghe, Florida Panthers, LW28
154. Dustin Wolf, Calgary Flames, G11
155. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers, C41
156. Troy Terry, Anaheim Ducks, C42
157. Nick Schmaltz, Utah Hockey Club, RW28
158. Matthew Knies, Toronto Maple Leafs, LW29
159. Jared McCann, Seattle Kraken, RW29
160. Owen Tippett, Philadelphia Flyers, RW30
161. Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado Avalanche, LW30
162. Nick Seeler, Philadelphia Flyers, D49
163. Brandon Montour, Seattle Kraken, D50
164. Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders, G12
165. Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild, G13
166. Vladislav Gavrikov, Los Angeles Kings, D51
167. Wyatt Johnston, Dallas Stars, C43
168. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins, G14
169. Marco Rossi, Minnesota Wild, C44
170. Logan Cooley, Utah Hockey Club, C45
171. Jake McCabe, Toronto Maple Leafs, D52
172. Dylan Holloway, St. Louis Blues, C46
173. Chris Tanev, Toronto Maple Leafs, D53
174. Claude Giroux, Ottawa Senators, RW31
175. Jake Neighbours, St. Louis Blues, LW31
176. John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs, C47
177. Alexander Romanov, New York Islanders, D54
178. Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars, D55
179. Justin Faulk, St. Louis Blues, D56
180. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers, G15
181. Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins, RW32
182. Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes, G16
183. Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators, G17
184. Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche, D57
185. Bowen Byram, Buffalo Sabres, D58
186. Pavel Buchnevich, St. Louis Blues, RW33
187. Blake Coleman, Calgary Flames, RW34
188. Ryan McDonagh, Tampa Bay Lightning, D59
189. Matt Roy, Washington Capitals, D60
190. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Washington Capitals, C48
191. Cam Fowler, St. Louis Blues, D61
192. Mikey Anderson, Los Angeles Kings, D62
193. Ben Chiarot, Detroit Red Wings, D63
194. Connor McMichael, Washington Capitals, C49
195. Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues, C50
196. Ross Colton, Colorado Avalanche, LW32
197. Brent Burns, Carolina Hurricanes, D64
198. Thomas Harley, Dallas Stars, D65
199. Adam Larsson, Seattle Kraken, D66
200. Jason Zucker, Buffalo Sabres, LW33
201. Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers, D67
202. Damon Severson, Columbus Blue Jackets, D68
203. Martin Fehervary, Washington Capitals, D69
204. Owen Power, Buffalo Sabres, D70
205. David Savard, Montreal Canadiens, D71
206. William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights, C51
207. Tyler Toffoli, San Jose Sharks, RW35
208. Conor Garland, Vancouver Canucks, RW36
209. Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers, D72
210. Phillip Danault, Los Angeles Kings, C52
211. Cam York, Philadelphia Flyers, D73
212. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, New York Islanders, C53
213. Nicholas Paul, Tampa Bay Lightning, C54
214. Fabian Zetterlund, San Jose Sharks, RW37
215. Dante Fabbro, Columbus Blue Jackets, D74
216. Ivan Provorov, Columbus Blue Jackets, D75
217. Trevor Moore, Los Angeles Kings, LW34
218. Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal Canadiens, LW35
219. Dylan Cozens, Buffalo Sabres, C55
220. Cam Talbot, Detroit Red Wings, G18
221. Brandon Tanev, Seattle Kraken, LW36
222. Kyle Palmieri, New York Islanders, RW38
223. Kiefer Sherwood, Vancouver Canucks, LW37
224. Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia Flyers, RW39
225. Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators, G19
226. Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas Golden Knights, RW40
227. Viktor Arvidsson, Edmonton Oilers, RW41
228. Alex Laferriere, Los Angeles Kings, RW42
229. William Eklund, San Jose Sharks, LW38
230. Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights, G20
231. Yegor Chinakhov, Columbus Blue Jackets, RW43
232. Tyler Bertuzzi, Chicago Blackhawks, LW39
233. Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks, RW44
234. Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken, G21
235. Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues, G22
236. Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers, LW40
237. Adam Fantilli, Columbus Blue Jackets, C56
238. Ryan Hartman, Minnesota Wild, C57
239. Eeli Tolvanen, Seattle Kraken, LW41
240. Vladimir Tarasenko, Detroit Red Wings, RW45
241. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Seattle Kraken, RW46
242. Warren Foegele, Los Angeles Kings, LW42
243. Jaden Schwartz, Seattle Kraken, LW43
244. Nino Niederreiter, Winnipeg Jets, RW47
245. Victor Olofsson, Vegas Golden Knights, RW48
246. Chandler Stephenson, Seattle Kraken, C58
247. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres, G23
248. Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs, G24
249. Charlie Lindgren, Washington Capitals, G25
250. Joseph Woll, Toronto Maple Leafs, G26