20 Fantasy Thoughts: Vladar with a real shot to overtake Markstrom in Flames crease

On the list of frustrating things in fantasy hockey, teams utilizing three goalies has to be right near the top.

Both the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres are doing this right now, leaving fantasy managers stuck and confused on what to do next. You don’t want to drop someone that’s going to turn around and have major value, but you also can’t afford to carry a goalie that isn’t even guaranteed a start every week.

The Sabres seem like they are going to move Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen up and down from the minors to give him a start here and there. Again, can you afford to hold someone that’s only going to play sporadically? What if Buffalo only plays twice one week? Who would be the odd man out for a start between Luukkonen, Eric Comrie and Craig Anderson?

In Carolina it seems like there are two paths. They either trade Antti Raanta and go with a Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov tandem, or they stand pat and send Kochetkov back down. I don’t think Andersen is going anywhere, so the real decision is to hang onto Kochetkov or drop him. It’s not an easy call because even as a 1B to Andersen, Kochetkov would still be pretty valuable.

Hopefully we get some clarity sooner rather than later.

1. It hasn’t been a great stretch for the Colorado Avalanche recently to say the least, but I’d still give Pavel Francouz a shot if you need help between the pipes. Alex Georgiev’s career high in games played in a season is 34 and he’s already at 30, after recently completing a stretch of 12 straight starts. I’d imagine Colorado doesn’t want to overtax Georgiev too much, so Francouz figures to see a decent amount of action down the stretch and he’s now started two in a row, posting a shutout Saturday. If you’re concerned about Colorado’s recent struggles, I wouldn’t let that deter you. The Avs have too much talent to not make a second half run when they get healthy and Francouz could benefit.

2. Nik Ehlers has returned with a vengeance. The Winnipeg Jets forward had missed the majority of the season with an injury and is quickly making up for lost time, picking up eight points in five games since returning. Rick Bowness has the Jets playing great hockey and Ehlers could easily be one of the biggest point produces in the second half of the season.

3. Noah Dobson had been ice cold before picking an assist Saturday. It was just his second point in eight games. Any hopes of an offensive uptick from the New York Islanders after Barry Tortz left appears to be nothing more than wishful thinking, as the Isles still sit 23rd in goals for and have scored just seven times in the last five games.

4. There might not have been a better streaming add all year than Brandon Saad was last week. Saad notched a whopping five goals in four games for the week, as his line with Brayden Schenn and Ivan Barbashev caught fire after being thrown together when Vladamir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly went down. Unfortunately, it looks like the trio did nothing more than capture lightning in a bottle, though, as they’ve cooled off considerably this week.

5. At only three per cent rostered, Jake Walman seems like a really good bet on defence. He’s playing big minutes, owns a four-game point streak, and is filling up the shots, blocks and hits categories, too. Maybe more importantly, he’s playing with Moritz Seider and seems to have rejuvenated last year’s Calder Trophy winner. Seider was struggling mightily when he was paired with Ben Chiarot earlier in the year, but suddenly has five points in his past three games.

6. Sticking with the Wings, it’s been a very quiet return for Tyler Bertuzzi. He’s pointless in three games and has managed just a single shot. I know many are getting restless that were stashing him, but it might be best to give Bertuzzi a bit more time. Detroit has a good schedule next week, playing four times, including games against Arizona and Philadelphia.

7. Does Samuel Ersson have staying power? He’s 4-0-0 with a .924 save percentage on a very inconsistent Philadelphia Flyers squad. The question is how long can he keep this going, as the Flyers appear destined to eventually start selling off assets and dive head first into the race for Connor Bedard. There’s also Carter Hart around that’s still going to get plenty of starts. It seems unlikely Ersson becomes the next Pheonix Copley, but with Anaheim and Chicago on the schedule next week, maybe you can squeeze some short-term value out of him.

8. This was not the week to drop Evan Bouchard. I’ll admit I was close to mobbing on, but with the Edmonton Oilers playing four times this week I gave him one last shot and he delivered. Bouchard had a pair of multi-point games and even earned more power play time than Tyson Barrie in one of the contests. I’m not sold that Bouchard has completely figured it out, though, as he’s had spurts like this before. Let’s see if he can sustain it.

9. I mentioned Klim Kostin as someone to watch last week if he could start finding the scoresheet because of his high hit volume, and he ended up clicking for four goals in three games this week. He should have value in leagues with hits during weeks where the Oilers have a busy schedule.

10. The Washington Capitals’ forward lines have been a bit muddled since the return of Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson. Conor Sheary and Sonny Milano have been in and out of the top six and Anthony Mantha and Dylan Strome have been recent scratches. It’s going to be tough to roster any of those four going forward unless someone really grabs a foothold in the top six somewhere.

11. It doesn’t sound like Roope Hintz is going to be out that long, though Tyler Seguin is taking advantage of an opportunity in the meantime. Seguin got promoted to the top line with Hintz out and has goals in two straight games. If Hintz misses another game, Seguin might be a good option for a stream.

12. Very quietly, Brett Pesce grabbed some top power play time recently and had a two-goal game, plus games of six and seven shots in his past five. He gets big minutes and could be a decent add on defence in deep leagues. Just be cautious of his schedule, as the Hurricanes play only twice next week.

13. It feels like Dan Vladar has a real opportunity to take the net from Jacob Markstrom for the Calgary Flames. It’s been a down year from Markstrom, as the Flames starter is just 13-10-5 with an .893 save percentage. Vladar, meanwhile, has won three of his past four appearances and was on his way to a fourth straight quality outing before a tough third period on Saturday. Darryl Sutter has been very loyal to Markstrom since he took the job, but the Flames are fighting for a playoff spot and you know someone like Colorado is going to go on a run and push them at some point. Sutter might have to start playing the hot hand.

14. Connor Clifton has caught my eye recently. In deep leagues, he could be a bit of a hits and blocks specialist for you. He’s had 22 hits and 19 blocks in his past six games, including one contest where he blocked a whopping nine shots. Clifton is one of the few players you can roster that doesn’t produce a lot of offence.

15. Yaroslav Askarov made his debut for the Nashville Predators this week when Kevin Lankinen was under the weather. Askarov is a highly touted prospect that will likely have some fantasy value down the line, but right now he’s still not ready. The likeliest scenario is that Askarov eventually becomes a 1B to take some of the workload from Juuse Saros.

16. There’s lots to like about the Seattle Kraken this year. Martin Jones, Matty Beniers and others have been getting a lot of praise lately, but Vince Dunn deserves more love. Dunn has 10 points in his past six games and 13 in his past nine. Last year Dunn was barely rostered but now he’s a must have.

17. Adam Boqvist was a healthy scratch recently. Between injuries and inconsistent play, it just hasn’t come together for Boqvist with the Columbus Blue Jackets this season, but he now has a point in three straight outings. Maybe all hope is not lost yet.

18. More tough luck for Max Pacioretty, as the Carolina Hurricanes forward went down with another injury after missing the majority of the season recovering from a torn achilles. Pacioretty had three goals in a little over three games since coming back and looked to be a great stash. Hopefully he’s not out for long.

19. The Florida Panthers recently juggled their lines and it seemed to spark Sam Bennett. He had a multi-point game Tuesday and 15 shots in his last three games. Bennett, like a few other Panthers, is having a down season offensively. Perhaps now playing with Matthew Tkachuk will get him going.

20. In the latest chapter of goalies are unpredictable, Samuel Montembeault just posted three incredible starts this week with save percentages of .925, .929, and .947. What makes this more amazing is that in the two starts prior to this he conceded a whopping 13 goals. I’m not sure how many people out there streamed him out of desperation, but you’re probably going to win your matchup if you did.