Fantasy Hockey News

Mikko Rantanen scored a goal and added two helpers on the evening contributing to the 6-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night. His line showed three points, a plus-1 rating, two PIM, four shots and one hit.

Fantasy Impact: The Avalanche scored five unanswered goals. One in the middle of the second period and four in the third. Rantanens goal came on the powerplay wristing a shot through Jaroslav Halak's blocker side 7-hole. The more impressive part of his performance was when assisted on Nathan Mackinnons goal by picking up the puck in his own end and dancing past oncoming pressure. He then gathered speed through the neutral zone only to deke and pass through the defenseman in close and watch Mackinnon bury it over Halak's glove. The effort brings him up to six goals and 20 assists with a plus-10 rating. Him and Blake Wheeler of the Winnipeg Jets are tied at the top with a double saw-buck of apples.

Tanner Pearson has been traded to Pittsburgh in exchange for left-winger Carl Hagelin. Their cap hits are very close and Hagelin will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. (Source: ESPN)

Fantasy Impact: Pearson has topped 40 points in each of the past two seasons and is signed through 2021. Hagelin is one of the fastest players in the league and also helps with the occasional PIM.

Nathan Mackinnon did his part in the Avs 6-3 victory over the Bruins on Wednesday night. He finished the game with one goal, one assist, a plus-1 rating and two shots.

Fantasy Impact: The top line for the Avs combined for six points in this bout and secured two in a row. Mackinnon darted up the right side while Mikko Rantanen made some nice moves to break out, carry the puck to the high slot, and feed him in close for a quick shot over Jaroslav Halak's glove on the short side. This performance brings him up to 11 goals and 13 assists so far this season. Make sure he's fired up while the Avalanche are on the ice.

Semyon Varlamov was the winning goalie on Wednesday night backstopping the Avalanche to a 6-3 win. He stopped 20 of 23 shots while posting an .870 save percentage.

Fantasy Impact: Varlamov had a relatively easy night considering there were nine goals scored in the contest. The Bruins scored three unanswered goals. Two late in the first period and the third early in the second but the offense came alive in the final frame, and ended up potting five goals in a row. The win moves Varlys record to 6-5-2 with a 2.32 GAA and .926 SV %.

Gabriel Landeskog got the opening goal in Wednesday nights game between the Bruins and Avalanche. The Avs won the game 6-3 and he finished the game with one point, a plus-1 rating, 3 shots, one hit and one block.

Fantasy Impact: The "Viking" got the Avs on the board early in the game when Nathan Mackinnon put pressure on Halak which in turn caused a turnover that landed on Mikko Rantanen's stick. He made a beauty feed to Landeskog who was wide open in the middle and buried it top corner. That gives the captain 11 goals and eight assists on the season.

Jake Allen stopped 18 of 19 shots on goal, allowing one power-play goal during Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Fantasy Impact: Allen now has a .913 save-percentage and a 3.42 goals-against-average on the season. The start to the 2018-19 season has been a disappointment for Allen Owners so far, but this defeat was by no means his fault. Allen should steadily improve as he is still settling in after recovering from a concussion.

Fowler took a puck to the face in Tuesday's game and was forced to depart with 3:02 remaining in the third period. There are no news on the severity of the injury yet. Fowler can return next Wednesday the earliest. (Source: CBS Sports)

Fantasy Impact: Quite a big blow to Anaheim losing probably their best defenseman this year, but certainly the most productive one with 3 goals and 7 assists in 19 games.

Pheonix Copley (who was in goal last night at Minnesota) will start tonight (Wednesday) at Winnipeg. (Source: Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post)

Fantasy Impact: According to Khurshudyan, the injury is not serious. It's not clear when Holtby was injured. Copley has played well in his last three starts.

Erik Haula is out month to month for the Vegas Golden Knights because of an injury, coach Gerard Gallant said Wednesday. The 27-year-old forward appeared to injure his right leg when he was hit by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau along the side boards during the third period of a 3-1 loss at Scotiabank Arena on Nov. 6. He was taken off the ice on a stretcher. (Source: nhl.com)

Fantasy Impact: Haula has 2 goals and 5 assists in 15 games this season. He'll be missed in a forward group desperate to find its scoring touch and consistency.

Antti Niemi allowed six goals on 43 shots against the Oilers on Tuesday.

Fantasy Impact: Niemi is 4-2-0 on the season but that is due in large part to the Canadiens offensive output for him. The 35-year-old journeyman tender has .887 save percentage and is allowing 3.74 goals per game. He's a risky play for any fantasy owner at this time.

Jeff Petry grabbed his 13th assist of the season on Tuesday against the Oilers.

Fantasy Impact: Petry now has 14 points this season with a goal and 13 assists. While he is a -5 on the season he provides fantasy value for owners looking for a defenseman who can score points.

Johnathan Drouin recorded an assist in Tuesday nights loss to the Oilers.

Fantasy Impact: Drouin has five goals and nine assists for 14 points through 18 games this season.

Noah Juulsen tallied an assist for the Canadiens on Tuesday against the Oilers.

Fantasy Impact: Juulsen now has four points in the form of three assists and a goal. Juulsen is a plus two and has already racked up 45 hits on the season. If he can get a little more offense going he can be an important rotational defenseman for fantasy owners.

Andrew Shaw factored in on both Canadiens goals in the loss to the Oilers on Tuesday. Shaw tallied an assist and a goal in the game.

Fantasy Impact: Shaw is averaging just a half point per game right now and is a minus player on the year. On top of that, he is sub 40% in the faceoff dot this season. Unless Tuesday nights performance spurs a turnaround for a career 20-30 point per season guy, Shaw is best left in the free agency pool in fantasy.

Max Domi scored his 10th goal of the season in the Canadiens loss to the Oilers on Tuesday.

Fantasy Impact: Domi remains red-hot with 10 goals, 12 assists, 22 points and a +3 plus/minus on the season. At 23, Domi is showing that his future is bright.

James van Riemsdyk has been skating a lot and looks to return Thursday against Devils. (Source: @BroadStBull)

Fantasy Impact: JVR is set to return to the Flyers lineup Thursday and is taking a role as a net-front presence on the first powerplay unit. Monitor as he may be on a minutes restriction, but once he is fully ready to go, he should be in fantasy lineups.

Valtteri Filppula assisted on Tom Kuhnhackl’s first period goal in the Islanders 5-2 victory over Vancouver on Tuesday night.

Fantasy Impact: Valtteri Filppula has been a solid 3rd line forward for the Islanders this season. Unfortunately, for fantasy purposes a player who is on the third or fourth line with no power play duty isn’t usually a key contributor. Filppula has 5 goals and 4 assists through 17 games. If Filppula got higher profile line assignments he may be of more value for fantasy purposes.

Thomas Greiss stopped 22 of 24 shots in a 5-2 victory over Vancouver on Tuesday night. The win brings Greiss’s record to 5-2–1 on the season.

Fantasy Impact: Since Robin Lehnetr’s injury Thomas Greiss has played like a man on a mission. That mission is to secure more starts and Greiss has done a good job towards that goal. With his 3rd win in his last 4 games , Greiss has improved to 5-2–1 and kept his GAA under 2 at 1.98 and a robust .936 save percentage. Greiss is a strong 3rd goalie now in fantasy leagues and if he starts to get more starts maybe a starting fantasy goalie.

Andrew Ladd assisted on Jordan Eberle’s first period goal of the Islanders 5-2 win over Vancouver.

Fantasy Impact: Andrew Ladd has played a lot of his season on the bottom lines so it’s no wonder his point totals are not too impressive. But, going into Tuesday’s night his line assignment has improved with a move to the second line with Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson. In the game, Ladd got an assist to bring his season totals to 3 goals and 4 assists through 14 games. Ladd may be worth monitoring to see how his new line assignment effects his point totals. At this point, Ladd is only worth owning in the deepest of leagues.

Brock Nelson registered two points in the Islanders 5-2 win over Vancouver on Tuesday night. Nelson’s first assist came on , new linemate, Jordan Eberle’s goal in the first period. Nelson’s second assist was on Tom Kuhnhackl’s third period goal.

Fantasy Impact: Brock Nelson seems to be teetering on the cusp of fantasy relevancy. Nelson’s new second line mates might provide the spark for each of them to raise their level as Andrew Ladd, Jordan Eberle and Nelson all scored points in their first game together. Nelson has 8 goals and 5 assists through 17 games. Nelson is worth owning in some deep to medium depth leagues.