Week 19 Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Pickups (Feb. 28-Mar. 6)
The NHL waiver wire heads into its own version of "March Madness". Fantasy hockey playoffs draw ever closer. This week returns the schedule to something closer to normal. There will be 51 games played in all from Feb. 28 - Mar. 6. Let's break down the schedule matrix in the terms of games by night.
- Monday (Feb. 28) -- 3
- Tuesday (Mar. 1) -- 9
- Wednesday (Mar. 2) -- 4
- Thursday (Mar. 3) -- 9
- Friday (Mar. 4) -- 7
- Saturday (Mar. 5) -- 10
- Sunday (Mar. 6) -- 8
Again, note the final four nights. That is a lot of games spread out (35 in total).
Teams Playing Four Games: Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights.
Teams Playing Three Games: Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets.
Teams Playing Two Games: Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins.
In Week 19, the back end of the schedule has the real "kick" in your fantasy week so keep that in mind.
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Some Nice Commodities (Players Less Than 30% Owned)
W Tanner Jeannot, Nashville Predators (27.9% Rostered)
The Nashville forward keeps breaking out and is still quite the find in banger leagues where hits and PIMS still count in the postiive direction. Tanner Jeannot has three points in his last three games. Also, during the past five contests, Jeannot has four blocked shots and 5+ hits three times. This is what makes him a threat all while playing around 16 minutes a night or so. He is like Ryan Hartman for the Minnesota Wild in a way. All three of his goals came last week against Florida and Carolina which would be considered the toughest of competition. It does seem his best fantasy moments are against best on best. That bodes well for the future.
W Mason Marchment, Florida Panthers (22.9% Rostered)
Marchment just needed a chance to play on a loaded team. Cue the Florida Panthers. The depth that Florida has borders on ridiculous. Mason Marchment has 11 goals and 28 points in 27 games. This is all while playing just 13:14 a night. Let that sink in. He is playing third line minutes at most without much power play time. It just goes to show how much depth and balance Florida possesses. Marchment has five points in his last four games. That included a hat trick against the Minnesota Wild of all teams. Florida is averaging four goals a game still and doing it with what feels like 25 players. Marchment is just a cog in what has been an offensive fantasy juggernaut all season long.
D Vladislav Gavrikov, Columbus Blue Jackets (4.2% Rostered)
No one can stay healthy in Columbus and yet the team keeps stepping up. They found a way to even beat the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. That pushed them to four games over .500 on the season. Vladislav Gavrikov will have more responsibility with Zach Werenski out once again. He has four assists in his last five games and has played 23+ minutes in four straight appearances. Schedule does not matter as Columbus faces a huge amount of shots against game in and game out. That means Gavrikov will have chances to block more shots and maybe contribute more offensively with Werenski out. His defensive floor and offense have been a true gem this fantasy season.
G Samuel Montembeault, Montreal Canadiens (4.0% Rostered)
Samuel Montembeault may not be 100% but one would never know it. He has managed his ailment well and maybe it has healed. Either way, the Montreal goaltender has allowed just four goals in his past three starts which included a shutout against the Buffalo Sabres. That does not sound like much but in a week's time Montembeault boosted his win total from two to five. That's significant. At the very worst, Montreal is at least playing as a team where before the were playing as a bunch of individual pieces with no direction. Montembeault has benefitted among the most from that philosophical change.
Assets Owned At A Higher Rate (30-60% range)
W Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens (47.6% Rostered)
This is where maybe one wonders if Montreal should have just fired everyone much sooner. With Martin St. Louis aboard, Cole Caufield is playing like he is having fun. That means opposing defenses and goaltenders are having a nightmare of a time. Bottom-six ice time and no power-play chances are a thing of the past as Caufield is playing more than 20 minutes on some occasions. The results are mind boggling. He has eight points in his last four games (10 in the first 33). Caufield tallied four goals and four assists in that span with three instances of 3+ shots on goal and 5+ shot attempts. With the confidence in full abundance, Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and the rest of the Montreal Canadiens are on a four-game winning streak (a first this season).
D Noah Dobson, New York Islanders (54.3% Rostered)
The young New York Islanders' defenseman does seem to be getting more and more ice time. Barry Trotz is stubborn but not stupid. He needs a player like Dobson to keep growing. While the playoffs are too tall an order, New York could finish strong and a key part of that will be the young blueliner. He has eight goals and 23 points in 45 games. That includes four in his last five. For all intents and purposes, he played 19:49 or more in all five appearances. That included 21 or more in three consecutive contests. Dobson is a burgeoning threat in all phases -- including the power play. He is pretty much a must-own defenseman at this juncture.
Check out all the fantasy hockey injury news here!
G Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars (43.8% Rostered)
The waiver wires seem to be abuzz with Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger. This is because both goalies are in good position to do well and naturally they are young. Also, there are in a range of fantasy utilized we like to call "right on the cusp". They are not only trending upward but sustaining err consolidating their gains. Oettinger has gone up anywhere from 8-15% in utlilization rates depending on the platform this week. Dallas only plays three times but he is expected to play at least twice. The Dallas goaltender went 3-1-1 in his last five starts allowing just seven goals. The schedule is favorable again this week and Dallas seems to keep games lower scoring which benefits his fantasy numbers (16-6-1, 2.26 GAA, .921 save percentage). And yes, it is okay to pick up Swayman where Oettinger has been nabbed.
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