ADD’EM:
Mikhail Sergachev-D-TBL (20.6% owned in ESPN), Jake Muzzin-D-LAK (67.8), Mike Cammalleri-LW/RW-LAK (3.1), Dustin Brown-RW/LW-LAK (58.6), Jordan Staal-C-CAR (11.1), Justin Williams-RW-CAR (27.6), Derick Brassard-C-OTT (46.4), Sam Reinhart-RW-BUF (35.7), arcy Kuemper-G-LAK (0.7)
10/22/2017
Looking for help this week? Take a look at what’s on the table for you to pick from. The goaltending looks pretty thin but if you are desperate and in need of a fill-in goalie, perhaps you take a chance on LA’s Darcy Kuemper who is hardly owned and rightfully so, but with 4 games on the slate this week and 1 back-to-back set in the beginning of the week, perhaps you can get two starts out of the backup to Jonathan Quick.
Up on defense you have two choices; veteran Jake Muzzin or rookie Mikhail Sergachev, both of which have gotten off to solid starts. Muzzin is having a rebound season after last year’s disappointment. With 5 points in past 3 games and 8 in all 7 games, and only owned in 67.8% of ESPN leagues, there is a chance he is still available in your league. Jump on that quickly. For those in dynasty leagues in particular, and even straight up points only leagues, Sergachev proves to be an interesting addition as the Lightning seem to be an offensive juggernaut and with Sergachev’s limited ice time (13:00 mins/gm) he still has managed 6 points in past 3 games and 8 in 9 games total. Owned in just 20.6 percent of leagues.
We are sticking with our Kings theme for the forwards because of the 4 game schedule against somewhat loose defensive teams in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Boston even though they are all on the road. Mike Cammalleri (3.1) and Dustin Brown (58.6) are capable candidates for a starting slot on your fantasy squad. Cammalleri has been a consistent point-getter but injuries always seem to derail him when the going gets good. Brown on the other hand has not been on many fantasy team’s radar the past few seasons with his lack of contribution but this year he seems to have found the fountain of youth with a 5-6-11 line in 7 games, a +11 rating and 30 SOG. Both worthy of a starting slot.
Two Carolina forwards make the cut this week with a 4-game schedule also with 3 at home. Justin Williams and Jordan Staal are solid veterans who can produce somewhat consistently. Williams has 3 points in past 3 while Staal has 5 in past 3 with 2 points coming on the pp.
Sam Reinhart had gotten off to a bad start in the first 5 games of the season with no points and a -9 but over the last 3 games seems to have turned it around with 3 points in last 4 and a +1 rating. Matching up against Ottawa and San Jose at home with an away game at Columbus sandwiched between them.
Last, but not least, we have Ottawa’s Derick Brassard who has put up 4 points in past 3 with a plus 3 rating but 0 power play points. Home against LA and Philly before heading to New Jersey. Three decent matchups for fantasy production. With Bobby Ryan being hurt, perhaps more responsibility falls to Brassard.
LAST WEEK’S REVIEW: Well the first week of ADD’EM was a bit of letdown as most of the players on the list didn’t live up to expectations. Jimmy Howard was 0-2 with 6 GA and a measly .800 SP. Moving up to defense and we didn’t fare any better with Nashville’s Sam Girard being a healthy scratch all week with Roman Josi’s return to the lineup. New Jersey’s Will Butcher cooled off a bit from his hot start with only 1 assist in 3 games of work. He was a +2 on the week with 6 SOG, so not a total loss.
Out of the six forwards listed, 3 of which were Tampa Bay Lightning players, three panned out to be okay additions for the past week. Vladislav Namestnikov in the best of positions being on both Tampa’s top line and top PP unit, you just know he’s going to get points with Stamkos and Kucherov getting multi-point games on a nightly basis it seems. Namestnikov was the pot of gold with a goal and 4 assists with a +4 and 7 SOG. Bingo! Team mate Tyler Johnson had a goal and an assists with 8 SOG. Alex Killorn wasn’t much help I’m afraid with just a single assist in those 4 games.
Dylan Larkin continued his rebound season with 3 assists in his 3 games but that was about all he had to offer. Scott Hartnell was a total bust and former Philly team mate Sean Couturier was a letdown with a goal and 5 SOG during his 3 contests.