John’s List

If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, you’re undoubtedly familiar with “John’s List” – John’s shit list of players past and present. We throw in the occasional Commissioner, GM, Coach, or newsworthy topic from around the hockey world. 

Vegas Golden Knights. For placing Mark Stone on LTIR with a “lacerated spleen” weeks before the trade deadline – another painfully obvious circumvention of the salary cap?  

Fantasy Lock Of The Week:

🔥Mattias Janmark, C, EDM

Mattias Janmark gets our fantasy lock of the week for his performance on Saturday night against the Calgary Flames – 1 G, 2 SOG, and 7 PIMs in just 10:48 TOI. Janmark stood up for his captain and absolutely demolished Blake Coleman during a spirited tilt.

Edge Work | NHL Schedule – Week 20

The segment where we put in the work to give you the EDGE in your fantasy hockey leagues! Each week the Hacks will cover the NHL Schedule and Waiver Wire Targets to guide you to victory. 

Need To Know: 

Welcome to Week 20, this week follows the familiar pattern with a total of 52 games on the schedule. 3 full days (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) and 4 light days. Light days are where 50% or fewer NHL teams in action 

In terms of attempting to optimize the schedule for games played, 11 teams play 4 games next week. Of those teams EDM and WSH play 3 of their 4 games on light days and three teams (ARI, LA and OTT) play 2 of their 4 games on off nights. Also of note: ANA, NJ play 2 of their 3 games this week on light days.

The teams to fade this week are CGY, CHI and NYR as they only play 2 games this week. 

Just to recap. 

• Monday – 4 Games
• Tuesday – 12 Games
• Wednesday – 2 Games
• Thursday – 12 Games
• Friday – 3 Games
• Saturday – 13 Games
• Sunday – 6 Games

Teams With 4 Games: ARI, BUF, DAL, EDM, LA, MIN, OTT, PIT, SJ, WPG and WSH

Teams With 3 Games: ANA, BOS, CAR, CBJ, COL, DET, FLA, MTL, NJ, NSH, NYI, PHI, SEA, STL, TP, TOR, VAN and VGK

Teams With 2 Games:  CGY, CHI and NYR

Teams With 1 Game: N/A

Edge Work | NHL Waiver Wire Targets For Week 20

Waiver wire targets will be focused on players that are rostered in ~50% or less of Yahoo (or Fantrax) leagues. When considering players to target, we review recent performance, player deployment, upcoming schedule and more.  

Forwards

🎯 Dylan Strome (C), WSH

Rostered: 26% Yahoo (58% Fantrax) | GP: 4 (Vs.OTT, @DET, Vs.PHI, Vs.ARI) | Line: 1 (w/ Alex Ovechkin & TJ Oshie, PP1) 

7 points (1 goal, 6 assists in the last 4 games). Strome is working out well on the Capitals top line, averaging just under 20:00 TOI/GM. Strome is shooting at a career-best 2.2 SOG/GM, on-pace for 62 points and also on-pace for a new career-high in goals at 31. 

🎯 Gabriel Vilardi (C/RW), WPG

Rostered: 34% Yahoo (69% Fantrax) | GP: 4 (Vs.STL, @DAL, @CAR, @BUF) | Line: 1 (w/ Mark Scheifele & Kyle Connor, PP1) 

8 points (4 goals, 4 assists) in his last 4 games, 6 of those coming on the power play. Vilardi has been averaging just over 18 minutes TOI. Offensively, Vilardi is having his best season to date – currently playing at a 66-point pace over 82 games. Like Dylan Strome, Vilardi is also shooting the puck more frequently this season at 2.5 SOG/GM. 

🎯 Wyatt Johnston (C), DAL

Rostered: 39% Yahoo (73% Fantrax) | GP: 4 (Vs.NYI, @COL, Vs.WPG, Vs.SJS) | Line: 1 (w/ Jamie Benn & Logan Stankoven, PP2) 

Wyatt Johnston has been great again this season, improving on a 41-point performance from a year ago; Johnston already has 40 points in 33 fewer games, a 56-point pace over a full season. Playing with a very talented prospect like Logan Stankoven and a proven vet like Jamie Benn should help Johnston remain productive. Since January 12th, the 20-year old has produced 17 points (9 goals) in 19 games – an impressive 82-game pace of 74 points. The Stars seem content to let sophomore play too, as he has played 21+ minutes twice over his last 4 games. 

🎯 Mason McTavish (C/LW), ANA

Rostered: 40% Yahoo (79% Fantrax) | GP: 3 (@SJS, Vs:NJD, Vs.VAN) | Line: 2 (w/ Frank Vatrano & Troy Terry, PP2) 

Another promising young player, Mason MacTavish is having an excellent season with 38 points and 17 goals in 49 games played. 10 points (4 goals) in his last 11 games should be appealing enough for most fantasy managers.

🎯 Alexis Lafreniere (LW/RW), NYR

Rostered: 38% Yahoo (64% Fantrax) | GP: 2 (Vs.CBJ, @TOR) | Line: 2 (w/ Artemi Pamarin & Vincent Trocheck, PP2) 

5 points in his last 4 games (3 goals, 2 assists), while averaging over 17:30 TOI/GM over that span. Alexis Lafreniere is also averaging just over 3 shots per game during this 4 game run. Lafreniere is in the midst of a 4th-year breakout, currently on-pace for 51-points over a full season. I’m not convinced that the first overall pick will ever live up to the hype, or the 100-point season as some folks have suggested; but right now he is worth a look for the remainder of the season and in keeper/dynasty formats. 

ALSO: Boone Jenner (55%/67%) – 8 points and 5 goals in his last 6 games, Boone Jenner has been exceptionally productive; and provides helpful category coverage with a +5 rating, 6 PIMS, 25 SOG (4.16 SOG/GM), 16 Hits (2.66/GM), 69 FOW, and 22:02 TOI/GM!

Defensemen

🎯 Rasmus Sandin (D), WSH

Rostered: 12% Yahoo (49% Fantrax) | GP: 4 (Vs.OTT, @DET, Vs.PHI, Vs.ARI) | Pair: 2 (w/ Nick Jensen, PP2) 

Rasmus Sandin has really stepped up his game offensively of late, posting 12 points and 3 goals in his last 17 games – that’s a 58 point, 15 goal pace over a full 82-game season! As a bonus, Sandin added 18 hits and 18 blocks over that same stretch, roughly 1 each per game. The Caps have 4 games this week, all of which should be fantasy friendly matchups for Sandin and the Caps. The one drawback for now is the lack of power play time, where Sandin has only received a 29% PP Share since December 27th. 

🎯 Matthias Ekholm (D), EDM

Rostered: 46% Yahoo (63% Fantrax) | GP: 4 (Vs.LAK, Vs.STL @SEA, Vs.PIT) | Pair: 1 (w/ Evan Bouchard, PP2) 

Mathias Ekholm has been productive of late, posting 5 points in his last 5 games, all assists. Ekholm has provided some nice category coverage over that same stretch with 10 hits (2/GM) and 9 blocks (1.8/GM). Edmonton has a tough schedule this week, but it does include 4 games, 3 of which take place on off-nights! 

🎯 Ryan McDonagh (D), NSH

Rostered: 2% Yahoo (9% Fantrax) | GP: 3 (Vs.OTT, Vs.MIN, Vs.COL) | Pair: 2 (w/ Luke Schenn, PP2) 

Ryan McDonagh is probably most-applicable for deep, season-long formats, but with 7 points and 1 goal in his last 8 games, he may be a worthy streaming option for the upcoming week. McDonagh over that 8 game stretch has been a reliable source of blocks, hits, and has routinely played 22+ minutes per game. 

Goaltenders

🎯 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (G), BUF

Rostered: 59% Yahoo (67% Fantrax) | GP: 4 (@FLA, @TB, Vs.VGK, Vs.WPG) | Role: Tandem

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 4-1-0 with 1 shutout in his last 5 starts while sporting a 1.81 GAA and .934 SV%. This is a boom or bust pick this week though as the Sabres have one of the most difficult schedules over the next 7 days. 

🎯 Nico Daws (G), NJD

Rostered: 20% Yahoo (33% Fantrax) | GP: 3 (@SJS, @ANA, @LAK) | Role: Tandem

After starting against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, Nico Daws has appeared in seven straight contests for the Devils, claiming the crease. New Jersey has one of the easiest schedules this upcoming week according to Left Wing Lock (-26), which is no surprise given matchups against San Jose and Anaheim. Despite his two most recent starts, Daws has been very good for the Devils and should be an effective fantasy option for the upcoming week.  

ALSO: Mackenzie Blackwood, SJS (12%/29%) – Mackenzie Blackwood has been excellent in his last 8 appearances, going 5-2-1, 1 shutout, with a 2.47 GAA, .922 SV% and 4.76 GAA.