Weekend Stream: Week 8
A Forward, Defenseman, and Goalie to Stream for Saturday and Sunday's Games
I was able to go to my first live hockey game of the season, an ECHL contest between the Kansas City Mavericks and the Wichita Thunder. While I obviously enjoy the NHL product the most (especially for fantasy hockey purposes), there’s something special about going to a smaller barn and watching some Minor League hockey, especially between two teams in the Midwest (Missouri and Kansas, respectively).
I plan on doing some ECHL content in the future (as well as AHL and WHL), mostly revolving around possible “dynasty league” players in the Minors or Juniors worth watching. Expect something next week about ECHL goalies, including Jack LaFontaine of the Mavericks, who earned the shutout and First Star on Friday night at Cable Dahmer Arena.
However, since this is a fantasy hockey blog, we’re going to look at the next two days of games and identify three players (a forward, a defenseman, and a goalie) to stream for the end-of-weekend slate.
Games for November 29th and 30th
It was a tough day for streaming yesterday, with 15 games on the slate. Thus, it was likely that some fantasy hockey managers left some scoring production on the bench (I know I did). It was nice to see the return of Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk, who notched an assist in his return to the ice in St. Louis.
Saturday and Sunday’s games allow for more nuance in terms of streaming. We have 11 games today and four on Sunday, with the eight teams playing on Sunday holding the best schedule scores this weekend, via TJ Stats.
With many teams coming off Friday night games, there are plenty of opportunities for players to sneak some value against tired squads, especially on Saturday night. Thus, let’s look at players from the Ducks, Predators, and Sharks who should be worth streaming for teams trying to solidify their roto scoring or matchups over the next two days.
Beckett Sennecke, RW, ANA (15% Rostered)
The 19-year-old rookie who was playing in the OHL last year with the Oshawa Generals is off to a stellar start in his NHL debut campaign. In 24 games played, he has 18 points (7 goals) and averages 0.75 PTS/G and 1.79 SOG/G. He’s also sporting an IPP of 75% and a PDO of 1012. Furthermore, for a rookie, he produces some sneaky banger value, with 0.96 Hits/G.
Sennecke has been on fire lately with six points in his last six games, including three assists in his previous three. According to Left Wing Lock, the Canadian rookie is getting second-line duty in Anaheim with Chris Kreider and Martin McTavish. Thus, it’s not a surprise that he’s become an assist machine, especially recently, with five assists in his last seven.
Fantasy managers looking for goals may get disappointed with Sennecke’s long-term outlook. His season shooting percentage is high at 16.3%, a sign that regression is on the horizon. In fact, he’s starting to see that shooting regression is happening, as he's shooting 7.1% in his last seven games.
While he may not be a dependable goal producer, Sennecke is a points machine whose stock is rising, especially with the Ducks thriving under first-year head coach Joel Quenneville. With 85% availability in Yahoo leagues, he should not just be streamed for Sunday’s game, but also be a hold long-term.
Nick Blankenburg, D, NSH (1% Rostered)
I benched Blankenburg yesterday in my KKUPFL league, thinking a regression game was coming after his one-goal, one-assist performance (8.75 FPTS in KKUPFL) on November 26th against Detroit. However, he made me look like an idiot with one assist, three shots on goal, and three blocks, good for 6.00 FPTS in KKUPFL.
The 27-year-old blue liner is producing solid output as a player available in 99% of Yahoo leagues. In 14 games, he’s averaging 0.71 PTS/G, 1.79 SOG/G, 1.00 Hits/G, and 0.93 Blocks/G. He also sports a 66.7% IPP and 962 PDO, pretty solid marks for a third-line defenseman.
Blankenburg has four points in his last three games. He is also averaging 0.67 PTS/G in his previous six games and 0.80 PPP/60 in his last ten, including a 10.5% shooting percentage over that same time frame.
The American blue liner has thrived as the Predators’ power-play quarterback, averaging 2:46 PP TOI this season. That alone should make him a more rostered player, even with the Predators sitting in last in the Central Division.
On a positive note, the Predators are averaging more shots forced (27.9 SF/G) than shots allowed (27 SA/G), which could hint at a future upward trend in goal production (-25 goal difference). It seems like Blankenburg is helping Nashville in that area and should continue to have a hand in it going forward, making him a player worth streaming.
Alex Nedeljkovic, G, SJS (3% Rostered)
I’m a Sharks fan, so I feel like a homer having another San Jose goalie in this post. That said, this seems like a great matchup for the Sharks' backup, who’s been having a solid season after coming over from Pittsburgh this offseason.
In 10 games this year, the American goalie has three wins and is producing a 3.02 GAA and a .901 save percentage. He also has a GSAA of 1.28 and a quality start percentage of 40% (four total this year). All those metrics are around what he did a season ago with the Penguins.
Now, there are some metrics of concern. His GSAE is mediocre at -1.53. However, the good thing about Nedeljkovic is that he’s minimizing the Really Bad Starts, a trend for him the past two years. After sporting a 28.9% RBS percentage two seasons ago, he had an 18.4% RBS percentage last year with the Penguins and has a 10% RBS percentage with the Sharks. That’s what a club wants to see from their backup goalie.
The Sharks are coming off a 3-2 win in Vancouver on Friday. Thus, the squad may be a bit fatigued, and that should be a concern against a team like Vegas. However, the Golden Knights have been cold on the attack recently, with only five goals in their last three games. Furthermore, they have a -1 Goal Differential this year, so they’ve been a bit of a disappointment this season so far.
The Golden Knights have been inconsistent on offense, but they do a good job of getting shots, ranking second in the Pacific with 30.1 SF/G. The combination of a lot of shots from Vegas, their lackluster scoring efficiency, a Sharks blue line that gives up a lot of shots, and a solid backup goalie in Nedeljkovic should result in some solid fantasy production for those managers willing to stream the Sharks’ goaltender for tonight’s game.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images