20 Fantasy Thoughts: Eichel nowhere to be found during ice-cold stretch

Next week’s fantasy hockey matchup is one of the trickiest on the calendar.

It spans two weeks in the majority of leagues, with a large discrepancy in games for some teams and a number of off days for the All-Star break. For instance, there are 22 teams that don’t play a game next week and then seven more that play just once in the second week of the matchup. Some teams will also have big layoffs without playing, like the Carolina Hurricanes, who won’t play between February 1-11.

If you’re planning to add any players in the near future, try to target those that play four times in the second week of the matchup. Filip Chytil and Adam Henrique, who we’ll get to later, come to mind as good options that can help you navigate the challenges of a double week.

Take a little time Sunday and go through your roster and the schedule to set yourself up in the best possible position to succeed.

1. One thing I’ve been thinking about with the Gabriel Landeskog situation, is could the Colorado Avalanche simply leave him LTIR until the playoffs like the Tampa Bay Lightning did with Nikita Kucherov a couple of years ago? The Avs have to at least be a bit hesitant about rushing him back after seeing Max Pacioretty and Josh Norris getting re-injured significantly. It would definitely help their cap situation around the deadline if they want to make any big moves. Of course, this probably depends on if Colorado can get a much tighter grip on a playoff spot come March, which is when they are targeting a Landeskog return. It’s certainly something to think about if you’re stashing Landeskog.

2. Jack Eichel is really struggling. He’s managed just one assist in eight games, being held without a shot in two of those contests, and hasn’t picked up a point in five straight. Mark Stone’s injury seems to have really impacted things and the Vegas Golden Knights have been forced to juggle their lines, moving Chandler Stephenson down the lineup. I’ve always noted that Stone is better in real life than fantasy, but there’s no denying his defensive game and ability to turn over pucks makes his linemates much better for fantasy. There’s no doubt Eichel misses him.

3. We almost saw the return of Pyotr Kochetkov. Frederik Andersen left a game earlier this week with an injury but he appears to be okay. Antti Raanta still started Friday’s game and the Hurricanes have a long break coming up, so even if Kochetkov did get the call up, he may not have played a ton over the next few weeks. If you jumped on Kochetkov on your waiver wire, it was still the right strategy. Better to be too early than too late on goalie pickups.

4. Matt Boldy now has four goals and seven points in his past five games. I had a lot of questions about dropping Boldy after he went six games without a point earlier this month, so hopefully you stuck it out. Boldy is someone to keep around as he’s just scratching the surface of his talent, especially if you’re in a keeper league. I know Boldy’s recent contract extension raised some eyebrows, but I think it’s going to age very well.

5. It’s been a very difficult season for Ryan Hartman. Between his injury, only scoring one goal this month, and getting scratched the other day, Hartman hasn’t provided anything close to the value he brought last year. Not playing with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello really makes Hartman tough to roster.

6. It’s getting tougher and tougher to hold onto Jacob Markstrom. Thursday’s game against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks might have been the last straw for some, as Markstrom gave up four goals and lost another start. He has just one win this month and is down to an .893 save percentage on the year. Despite Dan Vladar continuing to pick up wins, Darryl Sutter still keeps splitting time with his goaltenders. If things continue this way, though, at some point Sutter is going to have to start leaning on Vladar more.

7. It’s not an ideal time to be adding players with the All-Star break coming up and the New York Rangers don’t play again until Feb. 6, but Filip Chytil, at only 17 per cent rostered, might be worth bringing aboard. He’s scored four times in his past three games and has 12 points in his past 11 games overall. Hopefully the long stretch between games doesn’t cool Chytil off.

8. Joonas Korpisalo appears to have taken over the net in Columbus. He’s had nine quality starts in his past 11 games and some of those have come against strong opponents like Carolina, Calgary and Edmonton. With waiver wires so thin, he could be worth a short-term look if you need help between the pipes.

9. If you’re looking to bolster the depths of your roster, look no further than Henrique. The Anaheim Ducks forward is playing some great hockey right now, tied for the team lead in goals and scoring six times in his past eight games. There’s a lot to like about Henrique, as he’s got centre and left-wing eligibility, is just 13 per cent rostered and takes faceoffs. He’s really found a home on the top line with Troy Terry and Mason McTavish.

10. It’s been challenging to roster John Gibson this year. The Ducks haven’t been good and wins are hard to come by. That said, Gibson has had seven starts where he made 40-plus saves. If you need a streamer late in the week in a league with saves, Gibson could be your man.

11. I’ve seen a few people recently asking if they should drop Brandon Hagel to activate an injured player from IR because they feel he’s the weakest player on their roster, but I would find a way to keep him. He’s got 14 points in his past 14 games and is playing over 21 minutes a night on a strong Lightning squad.

12. Victor Olofsson is on pace for 41 goals and 10 assists this season. That’s quite a ratio. To say Olofsson is a shoot-first player would be an understatement.

13. You should be safe to drop Jake Walman now. After being a trendy pickup earlier in the month due to a nice point streak, Walman is officially ice-cold with no points in seven straight games. A lot of times with players like Walman you have to capture lightning in a bottle and grab them when the going is good. Don’t hold on too long.

14. I’m curious to see how the loss of Auston Matthews impacts William Nylander. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward is having an All-Star calibre season despite not being named to the team and the loss of Matthews didn’t seem to hurt him Friday, as Nylander notched a power-play goal. Eventually, though, Nylander’s numbers could take a bit of a hit if these line combinations don’t change. Currently, Mitch Marner and John Tavares are being paired together on the top group with Michael Bunting, leaving Nylander likely with some combination of Calle Jarnkrok, Alex Kerfoot or Pontus Holberg. That’s quite a dropoff in talent. Without Tavares or Matthews at centre, it’s reasonable to think Nylander’s even strength points could slip. Hopefully he can continue to find the scoresheet on the man advantage.

15. With Ilya Samsonov going on a run in the Leafs crease and Matt Murray’s latest injury, Murray could become a drop candidate. I wouldn’t do anything in the immediate future with the All-Star break coming up, unless there’s word Murray will miss serious time. I do think he’ll probably become fantasy relevant again at some point, but with crunch time approaching in most leagues, you may have to make a move if there are better options on the wire.

16. If you’re still holding onto Jordan Binnington, I’m not sure why. Binnington has now allowed at least three goals in 19 of his past 24 games. I know he plays a lot and gives you volume, but there has to be someone with more value available.

17. One St. Louis Blue you could target is Torey Krug. He may have been forgotten about on waiver wires because he missed so much time due to injury and Krug has been very productive in three games since returning. He has three points, six blocks and 11 shots over that stretch. One thing to keep in mind about Krug, though, is his plus-minus. He’s minus-23 on the campaign and may not be a fit for your squad if your league counts that stat.

18. Most key Colorado Avalanche players are likely taken in your league, though Alex Newhook is widely available and starting to find his footing. He has five goals in his past eight games and is especially valuable in leagues that count faceoffs.

19. The New York Islanders may not be able to score more than two goals a game, but Brock Nelson sure seems to be back on track. Nelson has a seven-game point streak after going four games without hitting the scoresheet. He was scoring at a great pace earlier this season and Nelson is now on pace for 70-plus points again.

20. I don’t think I had more questions about a player in the first half of the season than Sam Reinhart. Should I drop him? Trade him? Hang on? Apparently, hanging on was the right call. Reinhart seems to be rejuvenated in the second half, notching 13 points in his past 11 games. The reason for Reinhart’s recent success is a newly formed Florida Panthers top line that saw Anton Lundell jump up to play with Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov. That group has really been clicking and Reinhart is finally rewarding those that showed patience with him. It’s never easy to keep holding onto hope when a player like Reinhart is really struggling, but he was certainly worth the wait.