Each fantasy season is full of injuries and players that just don’t meet your expectations. Being able to adjust on the fly and find studs on your league’s waiver wire is critical in a short season. Here are five players owned in less than 30% of Yahoo leagues who can help your team:
Patric Hornqvist (15%): The line of David Legwand, Taylor Beck, and Patric Hornqvist has been hot, and I’d recommend adding Hornqvist out of those three. He’s had a down year production-wise, but he’s a natural goal scorer, scoring 20 or more goals the past three seasons. Out of the 74 shots Hornqvist has fired, only four of them have found twine, putting his shooting percentage at an abysmal 5.4%. Combine his recent line chemistry with the hopes of his shooting percentage creeping towards his career average of 9.4%, and you have a smart investment.
Derick Brassard (14%): Brassard got away from the offensively challenged Blue Jackets to … the offensively challenged Rangers. But the Rangers are under-achievers that should be able to put pucks in the net. The recent makeover to the team could give their offense a jolt, and the former Columbus first-round pick could help provide the spark.
Artem Anisimov (11%): Speaking of Columbus, they too are hoping that their recent acquisition, Marian Gaborik, will jumpstart their league-worst offense. Anisimov already had three points in three games before Gaborik was added to his line. With a bonafide threat on his wing, that streak could stretch to the fantasy playoffs.
Marcus Johansson (8%): Alex Ovechkin is officially on fire, and Marcus Johansson is enjoying life playing with him and Nicklas Backstrom. He has points in nine of his last 12 games, and is riding a four game point streak. Use him while he can still hang onto Ovechkin’s coattails.
Mika Zibanejad (5%): Kyle Turris isn’t the only one taking advantage of the extra opportunities available during Jason Spezza‘s absence. Zibanejad has 9 assists in his last 9 games, and now has Cory Conacher as a linemate for 5-on-5 and the second power play unit. Owners would love for Zibanejad to start sprinkling some goals in with all those assists, but it’s not for a lack of trying – he has 10 shots over his last 2 games.
Last Week’s Picks:
The injury bug bit Curtis Glencross in the vague “lower body” area, and now Martin Erat left the Capitals-Panthers game after sustaining an injury when he was hit from behind by Erik Gudbranson. It was just Erat’s second game as a Capital. Nikolai Kulemin hopes Joffrey Lupul returns to the lineup quickly – he scored a goal and had 7 hits against the Flyers with Lupul in the lineup, and had just 3 hits and no shots against the Devils without him. Martin Hanzal continues to see decent minutes and put up points, scoring two goals and two assists this week. Last, but certainly not least, Shawn Matthias tallied two assists against the Capitals, and has seen his ownership rise from 3% last week to 11%. I’d like to thank all of you on his behalf for believing in us him.
