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Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: 2/21

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: 2/21

Most fantasy hockey leagues, at this point in the season, have two-to-three weeks left in regular season contention, unless your league playoffs are of a shorter length. Regardless, it is crunch time, and those who are fighting to get playoff spots or get higher seeds should be paying attention to the waiver wire, especially with the NHL trade deadline looming. Whether you have injuries in your starting lineup or just need more games to get your point total over the top, adds can be the crucial piece to get your team those key wins. Here are my waiver wire adds (once again all under 50% ownership) for this week.

Winger

Gustav Nyquist (DET)
The Red Wings had their streak of 25 consecutive seasons in the playoffs snapped last year, and this season they aren’t playing much better. Their offense has been inconsistent and their defense and goaltending have been practically nonexistent this year, despite having talent in that area on paper. That being said, that doesn’t mean they are the worst team in the world and players on their team shouldn’t be looked at. Gustav Nyquist is my pick from their team and for my winger this week due to good scheduling as well as him playing first-line left wing for this team right now. Nyquist has 16 goals and 12 assists this season having played all 58 games for Detroit. Those numbers are certainly far from eye-popping, but that is also why he is only owned in 21.1% of leagues. As I mentioned a few sentences ago, I like him for their matchups, which this week include the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, and New York Rangers. All three of those teams are in the bottom half of the league when it comes to goals allowed per game. The Sabres are tied for third worst with the Oilers at 3.28 goals per game. The Hurricanes are middle of the pack at 14th (2.95 GAA), but still have had streaky goaltending much of the year, not to mention nobody is really scared of Cam Ward anymore. The Rangers have had all kinds of trouble defensively and goaltending-wise, with Henrik Lundqvist struggling more than ever right now. They are 9th worst in GAA at 3.12, and one of the worst as of late. The one concern that may loom is that the Rangers and Red Wings have played low-scoring games the last few years, with several 1-0 and 2-1 games. However, Henrik Lundqvist has still never had a stretch as bad as the one he’s going through right now, so it makes the Rangers, who also have several injured defensemen, an easy option to pick on. And Nyquist, having the most fantasy points among Red Wings players the last seven games as well as him now playing first-line minutes, seems like the best option for them with this easy schedule.

Center

Mikko Koivu (MIN)
The Minnesota Wild this season have been floating around the wild card seeds like they usually do every season. Teams like that have some overperformers and underperformers every year. They’ve gotten better than expected years out of players such as Eric Staal and Jason Zucker, but have also gotten a dropoff from players such as Mikko Koivu, which is why he is only owned in 41.8% of leagues. He has just nine goals this season playing all 59 of the Wild’s games. However, he is still valuable with his 22 assists, including 10 on the power play. And to me, being that he has been a good goal-scorer in the past, he may be able to get that part of his game going with the schedule he has this week. The Wild have four games in the next seven days, which will contribute more value automatically obviously getting more chances to score points. Their first two matchups are very good in the Devils and Rangers, with the Devils still having Schneider out and the Rangers really struggling defensively right now. The next two are not as easy in the Sharks and Blues but are still against goaltenders that can struggle and aren’t really considered elite. Also, the Blues have struggled recently, and have slipped into the wild card spots in the Western Conference. So despite both of those Western Conference teams having good GAAs, the combined production can still be better from Koivu than a player who had three games. Not to mention, Koivu did score and have an assist in Minnesota’s most recent game against the Blues on February 6. The Wild, with their four games, certainly have several other good options, especially with Zach Parise now back from injury. However, I still believe Koivu is the best option to roll with on this team, and as a result, he is my pick for center this week.

Defenseman

Dmitry Orlov (WSH)
Another team with four games this week to keep an eye on is the Washington Capitals. And with the exception of the Columbus Blue Jackets, all of those games consist of good matchups. Again, the forwards that may be available in your league from the Capitals may be viable options too. However, I am rolling with defenseman Dmitry Orlov, a player that is owned in just 25.5% of leagues. Orlov is contributing both offensively and defensively despite playing 2nd defensive pairing. He has eight goals and 13 assists this season to go along with 98 hits, which is 5th on this hard-hitting Capitals team. Not to mention, he is also 3rd on the team in blocks with 88. So overall, that makes him a well-rounded option performance-wise this year as a defenseman. Moving on to his matchups, the Capitals play the Panthers, Sabres, Blue Jackets, and Capitals. The Senators (3.43 GAA, 2nd worst), Sabres (3.28, 3rd worst), and Panthers (3.25, 5th worst) are all bottom-five teams when it comes to GAA, and all have had goaltending carousels that have lasted throughout the year. The 4th game is Columbus, which is a better team when it comes to defense and goaltending with talent in that area, led by goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. However, the Capitals may be getting them at a good time, as the Jackets are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games. Not to mention, from a defensive perspective, those two teams love to play a physical, hard-hitting style with their skaters. This will bode well for Orlov in terms of getting those hitting statistics up, which will still contribute fantasy points in some formats. So as a whole, if you’re looking for a defenseman both for short term and long term to finish your season strong, I would look no further than the underrated Orlov, who is available in three-quarters of fantasy leagues.

Goaltender

Petr Mrazek (PHI)
Former Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek just got traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. Like his former team, the Detroit Red Wings, the Philadelphia Flyers also consist of good matchups this week. And with the Flyers goaltending carousel that has come this season with Brian Elliott injured much of the season, expect Mrazek to play a good majority of the games for a Flyers team that has been one of the best as of late. If I were fantasy owners, I would be prepared to have him step in right away Thursday against the Blue Jackets, becoming a valuable option for that game and the whole week, which also include the Senators and Canadiens. The Montreal Canadiens are currently third worst in terms of goals for per game at 2.53 and may be looking to move their best offensive player, Max Pacioretty, at the trade deadline. Columbus, who I mentioned in the last paragraph, has struggled recently and have had a bad offensive identity all year, resulting in 2.56 goals per game, 4th worst in the NHL. And the Ottawa Senators, who have been among the league’s worst teams all year despite having plenty of offensive talent, stand at 8th worst right now at 2.69 goals per game. Mrazek has struggled most of the year so far, with a 2.89 GAA and a .910 save percentage. Those numbers are second worst in his career, after last year’s 3.04 GAA and .910. However, playing with a better team that is urgently in a playoff hunt could give him a boost morally and statistically. And as I mentioned above, the Flyers acquired Mrazek to help out that sense of urgency as they have been a team that’s needed goaltending help for much of the year. So expect Mrazek to play a bulk of the remaining games for the Flyers this season, unless Elliott comes back early.

Kyle Kloiber is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Kyle, check out his archive and follow him @2Kgmenrule1080.

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