Top 10 fantasy games of 2022

By Tom Collins

In early December, Matt Murray had an exceptional game against the Dallas Stars when he pitched a 44-save shutout.

It set records for advanced stats as Murray’s six goals saved above average is a record for a shutout game. It had fantasy general managers buzzing, and that performance got me thinking of how it stacked up against other fantasy contests.

Looking at it in more detail, just in the year 2022, five goalies had shutouts with more saves, and two other netminders tied Murray’s 44-save shutout. While advanced stats are great, I have yet to see a league that counts GSAA, so Murray’s game isn’t a top-five fantasy contest even if we were solely looking at goalies.

Below are the top 10 fantasy hockey games of 2022. To keep this from being a listing of most points in a game, we’re looking at production across fantasy categories. Anton Lundell, for example, had a five-point game in January. However, despite finishing as a plus-six, he had zero power-play points, one shot, zero PIM, zero Hits and one blocked shot. Patrick Kane had a six-point night in March, finishing with a plus-six and four shots, but also had zeroes in every other fantasy category (PIM, power-play points, faceoffs, Hits and blocked shots). Neither game could crack this list.

The same holds true for goalies. It’s more than just the number of saves. Elvis Merzlikins had the most saves in a 2022 contest when he made 56 saves against Calgary in January. However, he also gave up six goals in the loss. A 23-save shutout is a much-better fantasy option, but that doesn’t create headlines and isn’t considered a top game of the year.

Here are the top 10 fantasy games of 2022.

10. Mason Marchment, January 31

Marchment was one of the greatest surprises of the 2021-22 season, and his best game was against Columbus at the end of January. In that contest, he had the mark of the devil as he finished with a 666 (six points, plus-six and six shots). He also had two PIM, but with zero power-play points, Hits and blocked shots, he couldn’t go any further on this list. However, his six points (two goals and four assists) were tied for the second-highest mark of the season.

9. Ivan Provorov, October 13

There wasn’t been much to cheer about with Provorov in 2022, but at least he started the season with a bang. In the first game, Provorov had one of the best multi-cat performances of the calendar year as he finished with two assists, plus-four, three shots, five Hits and 10 blocked shots against the Devils. Those 10 BLKS were the highest in any game in 2022, and only the 20th time it’s occurred since January 1, 2010. Provorov also had a nine-Hits game a couple of weeks later, but his offense peaked in that first game.

8. Ilya Sorokin, November 23

The Islanders goalie had seven shutouts in 2022, and while a couple of them were easy (led by a 17-save shutout against Arizona last January), the majority had him facing a lot of rubber. Four of those shutouts required at least 40 saves, topped by a 49-save shutout on November 23 against Edmonton. I’m sure some fantasy general managers benched Sorokin that night, knowing he was facing the high-powered Oilers, but this is a great example of why you always dress your studs, even if it doesn’t look like a great matchup.

7. Aleksander Barkov, December 29

Barkov has already missed 10 games this season, and fantasy general managers were anxious to see what he could do in his first game back against the Habs after a recent injury. He did not disappoint, contributing to many fantasy categories. His stat line for the game reads as three goals, two assists, plus-three, five shots, one power-play goal, three power-play points, one Hit and 11 faceoff wins. He was one minor penalty and a blocked shot away from contributing in every fantasy category.

6. Timo Meier, January 17

Weird stat of the week: Meier has scored two or more goals in only six games in 2022. That’s absurd, considering he had 42 goals in the calendar year. However, one of those multi-goal games came in January against San Jose’s rivals in Los Angeles. In that game, Meier potted five goals, tied for the most by any player in 2022. He also finished with a plus-three, six shots and two power-play goals, and added a blocked shot. Even though there were a couple of five-goal games in 2022, they are still extremely rare. Since Darryl Sittler had six goals in a game in 1976, a five-goal regular season game has happened on only 32 occasions, and only six times since 2005-06.

5. Tage Thompson, October 31

Thompson has certainly been rewarding patient fantasy general managers over the past couple of years, and in 2022, he was just dynamite. He had games and weeks that might have single-handedly won matchups in head-to-head leagues. On Halloween night, he had three goals, three assists, a power-play goal, a power-play assist, plus-three, nine shots and five faceoff wins. To put into perspective how great he has been, this wasn’t even his best game of the season.

4. Casey DeSmith, April 21

DeSmith didn’t have a lot of starts in 2022, but for a few games last April, he was one of the best goalies in the league. He started seven of nine games, going 4-2-1, picking up at least 35 saves in five of those contests. That streak was highlighted by a 52-save shutout against the Bruins. That came during fantasy playoffs, which also notches this game a couple of spots up the rankings. The 52 saves were the most in a shutout in 2022, and the most in any win.

3. Nick Schmaltz, March 5

Schmaltz is an underrated option in fantasy hockey, simply because he can’t stay healthy enough to have much of an impact. Last season, he put up a 77-point pace, but since he missed 19 games, he only finished with 59 points. This year, he’s on pace for 69 points but has already missed 15 games. In a March game against the Senators, Schmaltz scored two goals and seven points, the most points in a regular-season game since Sam Gagner‘s eight-point night on February 2, 2012. To go along with the seven points, Schmaltz finished the night with a plus-five, five shots, one power-play goal and one power-play assist. In his next game, he put up four points and six shots in a game against the Red Wings.

2. Nathan MacKinnon, December 1

MacKinnon had three five-point contests in 2022, but the one against the Sabres a month ago was the best of the bunch. In that game, no matter what categories your league included, MacKinnon produced. Points only? He had two goals and three assists. You need special teams? He had a power-play goal and three power-play points. Your league includes faceoffs and plus/minus? He won eight draws and finished as a plus-one. You needed a boost in peripherals? He had two PIM, eight shots and two blocked shots.

1. Tage Thompson, December 7

The best part of examining Thompson’s year is remembering how many of his games were truly great. Besides the aforementioned Halloween night game, he had a hat trick and 11 faceoff wins against Colorado in February and a four-point, eight-shot game against Montreal in November. But it was his game against Columbus in December that had the hockey world buzzing. He scored five goals (four in the first period) to go along with six points, plus-three, nine shots, two power-play goals and one power-play assist in only 13:56 of ice time. He probably could have reached eight or nine points, but with Buffalo dominating the game, he didn’t get much ice time in the second and third periods.