On every game day this season, THN Fantasy will highlight players and goalies for fantasy hockey managers to stream or roster for the rest of the season. The recommended players and goalies can be used in standard fantasy leagues or for daily fantasy games.
7 games for Tuesday, Nov. 19
* = confirmed
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Stuart Skinner, EDM* at Linus Ullmark, OTT (7 p.m. ET)
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Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB at Alex Nedeljkovic, PIT (7 p.m. ET)
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Filip Gustavsson, MIN* at Jordan Binnington, STL (7 p.m. ET)
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Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA at Connor Hellebuyck, WPG (7 p.m. ET)
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John Gibson, ANA at Petr Mrazek, CHI (8:30 p.m. ET)
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Semyon Varlamov, NYI at Dustin Wolf, CGY (9 p.m. ET)
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Igor Shesterkin, NYR at Kevin Lankinen, VAN (10 p.m. ET)
Semyon Varlamov, NYI at CGY (35% rostered)
Varlamov was in the starter’s crease during Monday’s skate which leads me to believe he will start against the Flames even though the Isles have had two days off and they’re not playing a back-to-back. Ilya Sorokin has lost three straight, including two in overtime, so I suspect they’re giving him a break.
This is the Isles’ fourth straight road game so fatigue will be a factor, but Varlamov has been quite good this season and excellent in his past three games, allowing just five goals. He’ll give the Isles a chance to win, and they’re due; the Isles have not beaten the Flames in regulation in their past six games since pre-COVID. My biggest concern isn’t necessarily the Flames offense, but the fact that Dustin Wolf is at the other end of the ice and could very well steal this game. At the worst, I think you’ll get a good save percentage from Varlamov.
Roy confirms Sorokin tomorrow vs. Kraken. Possibly back to Varlamov in Calgary, though that decision not finalized.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) November 15, 2024
John Gibson, ANA at CHI (17%)
Petr Mrazek, CHI vs. ANA (26%)
Flip a coin, though I do think the Ducks are playing much better than the Hawks right now. The Ducks are playing the second half of a back-to-back with travel, and they’re really banged up right now missing several key players. But the Hawks have been unable to generate any kind of offense lately, and Gibson has looked quite good since recovering from appendicitis.
My worry is past history; Gibson has not been good at all against the Blackhawks, going 0-3-0 (!) with a .788 SP (!!) and 6.59 GAA (!!!) in those games. That’s really the only reason that gives me pause, but with goaltending, past history isn’t always a good indicator. The Hawks have lost four of their past five with six goals scored during that span. If they somehow light up Gibson, I’d be surprised.
If I had to pick, I’d lean Mrazek for the win and a decent save percentage. If you like playing the odds, consider rostering both if you have room. You’re very likely going to get a win, unless somehow both starters get pulled — it’s happened before — and there’s a good chance both goalies offer a decent save percentage.
Alex Nedeljkovic, PIT vs. TB (11% rostered)
Yikes. I’d rather avoid this start, but if we’re talking ourselves into bad decisions — it happens in fantasy hockey — consider that Nedeljkovic has actually been very good against the Lightning with a career .923 SP and 2.56 GAA. He faced them once last season, nearly blowing a 4-1 lead but managed to hang on for a 5-4 win.
Needless to say, the Pens defense is worse than it was last season, so there’s a huge risk here, not to mention the Lightning are on an upswing, snapping a four-game losing streak and beating the Jets and Devils by a combined 8-1 score. Andrei Vasilevskiy is red-hot, and he will be tough to beat.
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