Welcome back everyone! We're getting close to the Christmas break here, so for now it's making every roster move count to try and stack up wins before the start of the new year.

The Immediate Fix (Grab this guy and use him for the next several days)

Joey Daccord, G, Seattle Kraken (Rostered in 1% of ESPN leagues, 29% Fantrax, 19% Yahoo) – When it comes to goaltenders, I really think the most valuable stat in fantasy isn't wins, saves, or even shutouts…okay, well maybe shutouts. No, the most important stat here is Starts. Now why starts? Today I found myself refreshing every Carolina beat and GoaliePost (fantastic site, download the app, Christmas is coming as well if we sell merch), and came up with crickets because Carolina didn't skate on a back-to-back and they take the ice after lock. Scrambling for a goalie stinks, let's find someone who can help us start.

Here’s one! His name is Joey Daccord. He plays the, I believe it's the goaler position, and his team plays Monday and Wednesday next week. This could mean you don't have to stop on your run every ten minutes to refresh Twitter just to possibly get an add/drop in. Really though, I do like this spot for starts and Daccord is a name to potentially have on your radar. He looked great in his 24 save shutout versus Florida and at times has allowed just two goals in three of his last four starts.  

The immediate fix here for Daccord is for starts and how having someone in net potentially everyday next week can be a big-time boost to your lineup. In leagues that start more than one goalie on a given night, first off, I envy you, but even in that case I still think Daccord could be worth the add. In leagues that start just one goaltender then Daccord could be perfect for the mid-week slates next week for your club and in DFS I can almost say without a doubt he'll be in my mix as the Kraken will be on the road in Dallas and Los Angeles. A road goaltender that will likely see volume that won't break the bank? Lock and load.

The Building Block (Buy now, sit back and enjoy the production)

Nils Hoglander, LW, Vancouver Canucks (Rostered in 1% of ESPN leagues, 23% Fantrax, 5% Yahoo) – A couple seasons ago I wrote up Nils Hoglander as a Building Block after he was coming off a week or so heater where I really thought he could be something special for fantasy. A lot of things went sideways for those Canucks clubs, but Hoglander is back in the mix, and I think could be in a similar spot as before…but potentially more advantageous?

Did anyone have JT Miller and Brock Boeser as maybe the best one-two combo in the NHL this season on their BINGO card? I know I drafted Miller very high in my main league, but I think Boeser went largely overlooked, so much so I think he was an Anchor here two seasons ago. Now though, the duo has been great with and expected goals for together of 14.76 along with 59 combined high danger chances at even strength. With Hoglander now up with this line, that opens the door for sneaky good fantasy production, and it's already started to show as Hoglander has four points in his last four games.

I think this could potentially be a wait-and-see addition and that's fine, give it a game or two to see if this line sticks together but at the very least I would flag this player in your league to keep tabs on production. For DFS he's great to play if you want to full stack Vancouver's second line as he'll bring the cost down and will likely benefit from any even strength production.

The Odd Man Out (His short-term value is cause for concern)

Alexander Georgiev, G, Colorado Avalanche (Rostered in 97% of ESPN leagues, 99% Fantrax, 99% Yahoo) – Going to approach this one with caution here because Alexander Georgiev could easily go on a nice streak here, but for now he has value with the club he is on but struggled recently.

Georgiev allowed five goals against the Flames on Monday, and I raised an eyebrow. He's had a fair share of really quality outings for sure, but I've seen more games where he's struggled in net, and it shows recently with a .833 Sv% the past three starts. To be positive here, he plays for the Colorado Avalanche. To those new to the program, that's a good thing as he could let in two goals and maybe not have the greatest rebound control and end up alright. The negative though is I could see the Avs going to Ivan Prosvetov a little more moving forward.

Every season there's a goaltender or two that just for whatever reason can't get close to replicating what they were the season prior, and I think Georgiev is up there as a nominee. Again, not to say he doesn't catch fire here if the Avalanche get into an easy swing on their schedule, but if you're rostering him, it is worth monitoring.

The Anchors (They’ll do nothing but disappoint even over the long haul)

Pierre-Luc Dubois, C/RW, Los Angeles Kings (Rostered in 75% of ESPN leagues, 73%, Fantrax, 56% Yahoo) – I just need to tip my cap to the person who, minutes after the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade was made Tweeted out, that PLD has requested a trade from LA. It's good to know there's a fellow samurai out there as well. Back to fantasy, he has not been great, and the roster numbers are still very high.  

I think this was another name recognition draft pick for most fantasy owners and in a way, I do sort of get it. Pierre-Luc is a player that can produce offensively and is around very good wingers in Los Angeles. Add to the fact that he always brings a good amount of hits and blocked shots, and there's upside that he could be a good player to have in fantasy. The problem here is the stats so far in just over 25 games. Five goals, seven assists, only 47 shots on goal with the peripheral game being almost non-existent. What's also worrisome here is that he is no longer centering the Kings second line and has now dropped to the third line. That could be good in a sense that he might get softer matchups, but his ice time is now lower along with the talent of who is around him.

For me this is a player that sure, maybe on the surface you're afraid to send to waivers as he might be picked up right away, but I think there's plenty of other players on most waiver wires that can produce much more offensively right now than Dubois.

Love ‘Em (These squads are sure to pay dividends in the coming days)
This period runs through December 15^TH – December 27^TH

Colorado – What's not to love here? The Avalanche top line is playing great hockey right now and their schedule looks favorable upcoming with games against the Hawks and Sharks.

New Jersey – The Devils will be home all next week and that's swung their score higher for a Love 'Em. Their goaltending has been, well go "better", as of late and their second line has found themselves in good matchups recently. Only reason I know that is because of how cheap they've been on DK…we'll keep that our little secret!

Arizona – The Yotes have a very high total out of the gat with two games against the Sharks upcoming. This has been a fun Arizona team to watch as of late and they're a Love 'Em for this week.

Leave ‘Em (These squads will leave fantasy owners sorely disappointed in the short term)

Edmonton – The analyzer for whatever reason is not a fan of the New York metro road trip on the road, even with how little travel that actually is. The Oilers have been playing very well as of late but they're a Leave 'Em for now.

Pittsburgh – With fairly even schedules throughout next week we had to find a Leave 'Em somewhere and that lands on the Penguins. Their powerplay has been very underwhelming thus far and they're going to go up against a Minnesota and Carolina club that could give them issues. For now, they're a Leave 'Em.

Montreal – Only reason here is that they're going to be on a back-to-back towards the end of the week. Even with one of those opponents being the Hawks we had to find a third Leave 'Em and a back-to-back was just enough to call out the Habs for the time being.

*For continued fantasy news and notes, follow me on Twitter @ndySanz.