You don't have to be as committed as we are in these rankings to the idea of Alex Ovechkin coming back in vintage form from a broken leg, which could happen as early as this weekend. But there's a chance he could suit up for the Washington Capitals soon and resume his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's goal record. He's currently 27 shy with 868 career tallies, 15 of which came in the 18 games before he was hurt on Nov. 18.
These rankings are based on expectations of fantasy points produced from Friday, Dec. 20, until the end of the season. Fantasy points are based on the ESPN.com 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. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs, C1
3. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, C2
4. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, C3
5. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild, LW1
6. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning, C4
7. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers, C5
8. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, LW2
9. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche, D1
10. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche, RW2
11. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers, RW3
12. Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, LW3
13. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW4
14. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers, C6
15. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators, D2
16. Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights, C7
17. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, D3
18. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs, RW4
19. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers, RW5
20. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets, D4
21. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, G1
22. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers, LW5
23. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs, RW6
24. John Carlson, Washington Capitals, D5
25. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings, D6
26. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets, LW6
27. Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars, G2
28. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres, D7
29. MacKenzie Weegar, Calgary Flames, D8
30. Tim Stutzle, Ottawa Senators, C8
31. Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils, C9
32. Patrik Laine, Montreal Canadiens, RW7
33. Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW7
34. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets, C10
35. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers, G3
36. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, C11
37. Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights, RW8
38. John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs, C12
39. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks, D9
40. Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens, C13
41. Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes, RW9
42. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, RW10
43. Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers, RW11
44. Mikhail Sergachev, Utah Hockey Club, D10
45. Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, LW8
46. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes, C14
47. J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks, C15
48. Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals, RW12
49. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning, G4
50. Adam Fox, New York Rangers, D11
51. Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings, RW13
52. Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres, C16
53. Noah Dobson, New York Islanders, D12
54. Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres, RW14
55. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, C17
56. Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild, G5
57. Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils, RW15
58. Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames, D13
59. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks, G6
60. Drake Batherson, Ottawa Senators, RW16
61. Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW17
62. Seth Jones, Chicago Blackhawks, D14
63. Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild, LW9
64. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks, C18
65. Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets, D15
66. Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes, LW10
67. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings, C19
68. Dylan Strome, Washington Capitals, C20
69. Dylan Guenther, Utah Hockey Club, RW18
70. Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers, D16
71. Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens, LW11
72. Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers, C21
73. Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights, D17
74. Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils, D18
75. Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, D19
76. Clayton Keller, Utah Hockey Club, LW12
77. Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues, D20
78. Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning, C22
79. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, C23
80. Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils, C24
81. Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche, G7
82. Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings, LW13
83. Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues, C25
84. Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, D21
85. Steven Stamkos, Nashville Predators, C26
86. Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas Golden Knights, D22
87. Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators, G8
88. Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes, RW19
89. Tomas Hertl, Vegas Golden Knights, C27
90. Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators, D23
91. Josh Norris, Ottawa Senators, C28
92. Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings, LW14
93. Valeri Nichushkin, Colorado Avalanche, RW20
94. Matt Duchene, Dallas Stars, C29
95. Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers, C30
96. Timo Meier, New Jersey Devils, LW15
97. Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars, C31
98. Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins, D24
99. Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers, C32
100. Shayne Gostisbehere, Carolina Hurricanes, D25
101. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins, D26
102. Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes, G9
103. Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers, RW21
104. Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings, G10
105. Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW22
106. Mats Zuccarello, Minnesota Wild, RW23
107. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers, G11
108. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars, D27
109. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs, D28
110. Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks, C33
111. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars, LW16
112. Thomas Chabot, Ottawa Senators, D29
113. Carter Verhaeghe, Florida Panthers, LW17
114. Vince Dunn, Seattle Kraken, D30
115. Mikael Granlund, San Jose Sharks, LW18
116. Jacob Trouba, Anaheim Ducks, D31
117. Jakob Chychrun, Washington Capitals, D32
118. Lane Hutson, Montreal Canadiens, D33
119. Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils, G12
120. Brandon Montour, Seattle Kraken, D34
121. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins, LW19
122. Connor McMichael, Washington Capitals, C34
123. Mike Matheson, Montreal Canadiens, D35
124. Jake Walman, San Jose Sharks, D36
125. Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets, D37
126. Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles Kings, LW20
127. Jordan Kyrou, St. Louis Blues, RW24
128. Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild, D38
129. Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers, G13
130. Ivan Barbashev, Vegas Golden Knights, LW21
131. Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken, G14
132. David Savard, Montreal Canadiens, D39
133. Connor Murphy, Chicago Blackhawks, D40
134. Nazem Kadri, Calgary Flames, C35
135. Chris Kreider, New York Rangers, LW22
136. Radko Gudas, Anaheim Ducks, D41
137. Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets, LW23
138. Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators, G15
139. Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins, D42
140. Nick Seeler, Philadelphia Flyers, D43
141. Jake DeBrusk, Vancouver Canucks, RW25
142. Ryan Pulock, New York Islanders, D44
143. Bo Horvat, New York Islanders, C36
144. Mason Marchment, Dallas Stars, LW24
145. Chris Tanev, Toronto Maple Leafs, D45
146. Kirill Marchenko, Columbus Blue Jackets, LW25
147. Troy Terry, Anaheim Ducks, C37
148. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins, C38
149. Jared McCann, Seattle Kraken, RW26
150. Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks, RW27
151. Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary Flames, LW26
152. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings, D46
153. Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers, D47
154. Brandt Clarke, Los Angeles Kings, D48
155. Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado Avalanche, LW27
156. Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights, G16
157. Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks, RW28
158. Anders Lee, New York Islanders, LW28
159. Brayden McNabb, Vegas Golden Knights, D49
160. Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia Flyers, RW29
161. Nick Schmaltz, Utah Hockey Club, RW30
162. Brock Nelson, New York Islanders, C39
163. Ian Cole, Utah Hockey Club, D50
164. Damon Severson, Columbus Blue Jackets, D51
165. Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota Wild, D52
166. William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights, C40
167. Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders, G17
168. Noah Hanifin, Vegas Golden Knights, D53
169. Pavel Buchnevich, St. Louis Blues, RW31
170. Jonathan Marchessault, Nashville Predators, RW32
171. Gabriel Vilardi, Winnipeg Jets, C41
172. Matt Roy, Washington Capitals, D54
173. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars, LW29
174. Owen Tippett, Philadelphia Flyers, RW33
175. Ben Chiarot, Detroit Red Wings, D55
176. Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs, G18
177. Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild, D56
178. Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild, C42
179. Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars, D57
180. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Washington Capitals, C43
181. Owen Power, Buffalo Sabres, D58
182. Sean Monahan, Columbus Blue Jackets, C44
183. Claude Giroux, Ottawa Senators, RW34
184. Jake McCabe, Toronto Maple Leafs, D59
185. Fabian Zetterlund, San Jose Sharks, RW35
186. Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders, C45
187. Vladislav Gavrikov, Los Angeles Kings, D60
188. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers, C46
189. Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers, D61
190. Ryan O'Reilly, Nashville Predators, C47
191. Marco Rossi, Minnesota Wild, C48
192. Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins, RW36
193. Alex Vlasic, Chicago Blackhawks, D62
194. Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals, G19
195. Martin Fehervary, Washington Capitals, D63
196. Wyatt Johnston, Dallas Stars, C49
197. Jake Neighbours, St. Louis Blues, LW30
198. Joseph Woll, Toronto Maple Leafs, G20
199. Alexander Romanov, New York Islanders, D64
200. Logan Cooley, Utah Hockey Club, C50
201. Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks, D65
202. Tyler Toffoli, San Jose Sharks, RW37
203. Justin Faulk, St. Louis Blues, D66
204. Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues, C51
205. Bowen Byram, Buffalo Sabres, D67
206. Conor Garland, Vancouver Canucks, RW38
207. Kyle Palmieri, New York Islanders, RW39
208. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins, G21
209. Adam Larsson, Seattle Kraken, D68
210. Brandon Tanev, Seattle Kraken, LW31
211. Ryan McDonagh, Tampa Bay Lightning, D69
212. Kaiden Guhle, Montreal Canadiens, D70
213. Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal Canadiens, LW32
214. Cam York, Philadelphia Flyers, D71
215. Nicholas Paul, Tampa Bay Lightning, C52
216. Stefan Noesen, New Jersey Devils, LW33
217. Kiefer Sherwood, Vancouver Canucks, LW34
218. Ross Colton, Colorado Avalanche, LW35
219. Brent Burns, Carolina Hurricanes, D72
220. Will Cuylle, New York Rangers, LW36
221. Blake Coleman, Calgary Flames, RW40
222. Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers, LW37
223. Rasmus Sandin, Washington Capitals, D73
224. Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche, D74
225. Dustin Wolf, Calgary Flames, G22
226. Thomas Harley, Dallas Stars, D75
227. Kent Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets, C53
228. Patrick Kane, Detroit Red Wings, RW41
229. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Seattle Kraken, RW42
230. Victor Olofsson, Vegas Golden Knights, RW43
231. Alex Laferriere, Los Angeles Kings, RW44
232. Alexis Lafreniere, New York Rangers, LW38
233. Alex Wennberg, San Jose Sharks, C54
234. Dylan Cozens, Buffalo Sabres, C55
235. Cam Talbot, Detroit Red Wings, G23
236. Phillip Danault, Los Angeles Kings, C56
237. Dylan Holloway, St. Louis Blues, C57
238. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, New York Islanders, C58
239. Trevor Moore, Los Angeles Kings, LW39
240. Jonathan Drouin, Colorado Avalanche, LW40
241. Max Pacioretty, Toronto Maple Leafs, LW41
242. Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg Jets, LW42
243. Eeli Tolvanen, Seattle Kraken, LW43
244. Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks, RW45
245. Luke Kunin, San Jose Sharks, C59
246. J.T. Compher, Detroit Red Wings, RW46
247. Dmitri Voronkov, Columbus Blue Jackets, LW44
248. Charlie Lindgren, Washington Capitals, G24
249. Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues, G25
250. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres, G26
Check out some of the top performers in fantasy NHL from Thursday, including Andrei Vasilevskiy and Bryan Rust.