Frozen Fantasy: Some Weeks are Better than Others

I've had a rough week. I think we all have them. Things drop out of the sky and surprise you, and sometimes all you can do is let them happen. 

So I watched a lot of hockey. And listened to analysis. But I need to say that's all I could muster this week.

It's funny this being human thing. I'm upright, and I'll come through it. I always do. I'm giving myself grace to step straight into recommendations. I appreciate you walking this with me. 

So let's take a look at who caught my eye this week. 

Tyler Bertuzzi, LW/RW, Chicago (58 percent Yahoo!) -- Here's the thing. Bertuzzi has the same number of goals as Leon Draisaitl (100 percent Yahoo!) and more than Mark Scheifele (98 percent Yahoo!), Cole Caufield (99 percent Yahoo!) and someone named Auston Matthews (100 percent Yahoo!). He's not any of them, but is on pace for a whopping 45 goals and close to 200 shots. And until this weekend, Bertuzzi was rostered in fewer than half of fantasy leagues. He came out of the December break with six goals and two assists through the first six games. Bert added a goal and assist Saturday to give him seven goals, three assists, three power-play points and 31 shots in his last nine. And with Connor Bedard (99 percent Yahoo!) back from injury, he should get more room to maneuver… and score more.  

Tony DeAngelo, D, NY Islanders (3 percent Yahoo!) -- DeAngelo went nine contests with no points in December - OK, ending on New Year's Day. Same difference. It was part of a 22-game span that saw him only deliver five assists, 34 shots and a minus-8. And at one point, his ice time dropped to 14:13. Yes, it was an ugly span. Then something came over DeAngelo. In four outings heading into Tuesday, he's managed one goal, five assists, 11 shots and a plus-10. Is it Jekyll and Hyde, or something else? I don't really care. DeAngelo offers 50-point upside, or at least he's delivered more than 50 twice over his career. Anthony knows offense. Fantasy must know Anthony. So you don't like his personality. You don't have to. 

Simon Holmstrom, RW, NY Islanders (1 percent Yahoo!) -- I talked about Holmstrom in the fall. He's an on-again, off-again scorer who does things in bunches. He goes into Tuesday on a three-game, four-goal streak (five points). This could end next time out as he usually doesn't go on runs for very long. But I'm running him out there in my deep league until he throws up a goose egg. Or two. 

Kasperi Kapanen, RW, Edmonton (2 percent Yahoo!) -- Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I have been burned by Double K before. We all have. But I'm back at the Kapanen trough as he's on fire beside Leon Draisaitl (100 percent Yahoo!) since his return from a extended absence. Heading into Monday, he has a point in each of the three games he's played (one goal, three assists). I may have to eat this because Kapanen is Kapanen, though he skates with the Draisaitl… I know, I know, he never quite figured it out with Sidney Crosby (100 percent Yahoo!), but maybe old dogs can learn new tricks. 

Oliver Kapanen, C, Montreal (9 percent Yahoo!) -- Kapanen was the NHL rookie goal leader (15) heading into Sunday. Yeah, I know. That snuck up on me too. He's ahead of fellow hotshot freshman Ivan Demidov (10; 64 percent Yahoo!) and Beckett Sennecke (14; 32 percent Yahoo!). He looked dominant Thursday during a three-point (one goal, two assists) effort against the Panthers to extend his goal streak to three (three goals, two assists). Kapanen was then held off the board Saturday while struggling on faceoffs the last four outings (14-for-50; 27.1 percent), so his contributions are imperfect. But goals are harder to come by than any other fantasy category, so he might help if he can be deployed at F and not C. 

Marat Khusnutdinov, C, Boston (7 percent Yahoo!) -- I've never won the lottery, and I bet you haven't either. But it feels like Khusnutdinov did on Saturday afternoon. Skating with David Pastrnak (100 percent Yahoo!) on the top line is already special, but four goals and an assist in a single game? Khusnutdinov will likely never have a moment like that again unless he gets to lift Lord Stanley. He's on a three-game, seven-point stretch (four goals, three assists) and that prime gig could yield solid benefits. 

Kevin Lankinen, G, Vancouver (7 percent Yahoo!) -- The net is Lankinen's after Thatcher Demko (64 percent Yahoo!) went down Saturday with some kind of below-the-belt issue. The Canucks are the NHL's worst team, so any netminder they use is a bit of a sitting duck. But Lankinen showed he could compete last season when he posted a surprising 25-15-10 record, 2.62 GAA and .902 save percentage. He's struggled this year, so I don't expect that kind of production. But this week's schedule has Vancouver playing the worst two teams in the east (Columbus and Ottawa). If there ever was a time, it could be now.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G, Buffalo (44 percent Yahoo!) -- Luukkonen has officially gotten his groove back. OK, that's my take, and maybe not everyone else's. But he's in a straight time share in Buffalo while winning five of his last six starts. And they weren't all gimmes as he beat Boston and Dallas over that stretch. Best of all, UPL has helped get Buffalo into a Wild Card spot. I know, neither of us thought that was even possible. The only thing I don't trust is the goals against. Luukkonen only allowed one goal in each of the first three Ws, but then a combined 10 through the next three (2-1-0). Trust is tough. Real tough. 

K'Andre Miller, D, Carolina (18 percent Yahoo!) -- Everyone, except Carolina brass, thought the Rangers won last summer's Miller trade by "addition by subtraction". Today, he's a top-40 scorer from the blueline and has caught fire since Christmas on a three-game, five-point scoring run (two goals, three assists) with eight points - including six helpers - from his last eight to go with 10 hits, 10 shots and four blocks. Miller won't get you many power-play points, but there's 21 overall that puts him on pace to potentially equal his career mark of 43. Add in triple-digit hits and he's someone who needs to be rostered in a lot more than one-in-five leagues. 

James Reimer, G, Ottawa (0 percent Yahoo!) -- Optimus Reims signed a PTO with AHL Belleville on Friday and is soon expected to ink an NHL contract. He's a depth pickup who knows how to stop NHL shooters and his presence will allow Leevi Merilainen (7 percent Yahoo!) to marinate in the AHL instead of being ragdolled in the big leagues. Reimer is a league-average netminder, so he'll be a solid matchup play in daily formats if the Sens can get their act together overall. I'm monitoring. He'll need to shake off rust because it's almost nine months since his last outing.

Justin Sourdif, RW/C, Washington (22 percent Yahoo!) -- I wish I hadn't edited Sourdif out of last week's article. I thought he was a flash in the pan, yet he went off last Monday with a five-point performance including a hattie against the Quacks. He's the team's second-line pivot with loads of chemistry alongside wingers Connor McMichael (26 percent Yahoo!) and Ryan Leonard (36 percent Yahoo!). Over this past week, Sourdif put up six points (four goals, two assists) in three games. And since Dec. 31, he's reeled off 10 points - six of those goals - seven PIM, a plus-10, 13 shots, five hits and three blocks. The 23-year-old is flying high right now. Other than the puck in the face that he took Sunday night. Don't pick Sourdif up until you know he won't miss time. 

Logan Stankoven, RW/C, Carolina (21 percent Yahoo!) -- I'm gonna come clean here - I've loved Stankoven since he won back-to-back World Junior golds on Team Canada's top line beside Connor Bedard (99 percent Yahoo!) in that epic 2023 tourney. He's already set a new career mark in goals (10) while on a four-game goal (four) and five-game point (six points) streak heading into Monday. Stankoven is centering the second unit, but I'd roll him at wing and use his faceoffs as a bonus where he's gone 25-for-51 (49.0 percent) over the same span. That's not a great rate, though it's still something extra.

Alexandre Texier, LW/RW, Montreal (8 percent Yahoo!) -- Texier was hot last week as he racked up back-to-back three-point efforts and recorded his first-ever NHL hat-trick. And going into Monday, the winger has eight points (four goals, four assists) during his last six contests. Texier also has 13 shots, five hits and a plus-6 in that stretch with 14 points - including seven goals - and 39 shots in 23 appearances since donning le bleu, blanc et rouge. Texier has always been known for his elite hands, high-end skating and offensive vision, but it's always been at the expense of anything on his own side of the red line. He's slowly improving his two-way play, which means more ice time that will give his talent more time to shine. Win-win. 

Until next week.