Looking Ahead: New Jersey and Columbus Weekend Value; Michkov’s Scratch; Utah’s Schedule, and More
Andrew Santillo
2024-11-08
Welcome back everyone! We have a lopsided schedule this week for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, but next week things even out a bit for us. Let's dive on in to what we have for Looking Ahead to try and sway some matchups in your favor.
The Immediate Fix (Grab this guy and use him for the next several days)
Stefan Noesen, RW/LW, New Jersey Devils (Rostered in 33% of ESPN leagues, 58% Fantrax, 36% Yahoo) – Last week in my main league I had a choice to make for an add/drop and really gave Stefan Noesen a look. It worked out but was bummed when a buddy added him to his team shortly thereafter. I feel like that will become a trend here as we move into the weekend.
Both New Jersey and Columbus will be in action on both Saturday and Sunday to close out the fantasy week. Given the two here, I'm going to go ahead on a limb and say that we'll probably want to target New Jersey here. Crazy. Bold. Another word. New Jersey is the better play here and given what the roster numbers look like for forwards, Noesen's is lower, but there's some potential value here.
At even strength Noesen is somewhat interesting, but it's the power play that we're here for. Noesen is on the top power play unit, which anything top power play for New Jersey is excellent, and he has been good with this grouping so far. In around 29 minutes on the man advantage, that unit has 35 shots on goal with eight goals for. In the last four games for the Devils, New Jersey has given the top power play unit roughly a 65% run. The Devils also will face San Jose on Sunday, and while San Jose's PK has actually been alright this season, this is still the San Jose Sharks we're talking about here.
The Building Block (Buy now, sit back and enjoy the production)
Jack Roslovic, C/LW/RW, Carolina Hurricanes (Rostered in 3% of ESPN leagues, 17% Fantrax, 2% Yahoo) – I'm pretty sure I've written up Jack Roslovic as an Immediate Fix at times during the past three seasons, but now friends he may be a Building Block going forward.
Last week I was worried about Seth Jarvis for fantasy production because it appeared that Roslovic had taken his place on the Carolina top line. I thought it would maybe be temporary, and at times Jarvis would skate back up, but this top line right now with Roslovic looks like something that the Canes like deploying. I watched the Canes game vs Philadelphia and outside of someone from Philly falling down every shift, one thing that stuck out to me was just how well this top line gelled together and you can see it at breaks on how they communicate on the ice with Roslovic there. The ice time might be a concern with not as much power play exposure here, but for even strength I like this addition and not to mention as well that Carolina is on the schedule four times next week. He is an early front runner for this year's Cy Young award with nine goals and one assist in 12 games.
The Odd Man Out (His short-term value is cause for concern)
Matvei Michkov, RW, Philadelphia Flyers (Rostered in 58% of ESPN leagues, 94% Fantrax, 58% Yahoo) – Let's talk rookies here for a second. I typically don't roster rookies in fantasy, with the only two being (for any extended amount of time), Artemi Panarin, who let's face it, was playing against grown men at a very early age, and Elias Pettersson. Matvei Michkov I gave consideration too but stayed away, and it's for the reason I'll give here on just why and why he's our Odd Man Out this week.
Michkov was benched in last night's game out against Tampa Bay. It may be a rest thing, but I don't like not knowing what head coach John Torterella is going to do with lineups either in game or prior to. And that's if we even get lines at all. There was even a quote this week that Morgan Frost might be benched and that was before he scored a goal vs Carolina…might of went off his skate but a goal is a goal.
I worry about ice time and availability which is upsetting because I'd love to see what this kid can do over a full 82-game season. While that time will surely come, talent is tantalizing, especially young talent. We have excellent prospect writers here at Dobber and a couple of them put Michkov ahead of Connor Bedard's ceiling for those taken in the '23 draft, and that's saying something. I wouldn't flat out move off Michkov yet in fantasy, but just keep an eye on ice times moving forward. The 20-minute games with Owen Tippet might not be the case going forward.
The Anchors (They’ll do nothing but disappoint even over the long haul)
K'Andre Miller, D, New York Rangers (Rostered in 46% of ESPN leagues, 44%, Fantrax, 14% Yahoo) – Somehow, I've missed watching the Rangers almost entirely this season, but for DFS have kept an eye on lines, production, ice time, etc. It's for those reasons that those out there rostering K'Andre Miller might want to take a look at waivers.
Two seasons ago Miller was fantastic, 43 points and looked great on the blue line for New York. I know he was taken higher in our league for upside, but disappointed a bit, regressing to 30 points. This season, it's not looking great so far to even hit that number as he hasn't gotten on the score sheet since October 19th and is on pace for just 14 points. Grabbing a defenseman off waivers is never ideal, but it might be worth checking on who is available.
Love ‘Em (These squads are sure to pay dividends in the coming days)
This period runs through November 8th – November 17th
Pittsburgh – Some of the shooting metrics for the Penguins with their top line and top D pairing have been good the past week, they'll have a chance to add some points to the win column with games against Columbus, San Jose, and a Detroit club that they've already beaten, next week.
Seattle – Seattle might be further away from a playoff spot than some people may have thought, but they have an easier schedule upcoming with four games all on home ice. They're a team I love next week, even if playing them in DFS is maddening.
Vancouver – There's a club I really like upcoming, and that's the Canucks. They start a five-game homestand this weekend and move into next week where all four team's they'll see have losing records.
Leave ‘Em (These squads will leave fantasy owners sorely disappointed in the short term)
Tampa Bay – Might not be the worst time for Tampa to get some rest here with a lighter schedule on the horizon. Still, there's plenty of people out there who will miss them in fantasy, they are a stay away for now.
Utah – This is a teeter totter club, there's things I really like, but there's things that they need to drastically improve upon. This upcoming week is difficult with only two games, where they'll see Carolina and Vegas.
Chicago – Watch the last five seconds of the first period vs Detroit on Wednesday night. Leave Em. This is a club that just got off a nine-day road trip and will now travel back on the road next week.
*For continued fantasy news and notes, follow me on Twitter @ndySanz.