You aren't wrong if you feel like the free-agent pool in your fantasy league is getting thin. That's what happens when we get into the meat of the season. Fantasy managers adjust to the changing dynamics and zero in on the players who are actually producing.
But sometimes we miss the forest for the trees. Especially the trees that will body check you and step in front of pucks.
OK, not a great metaphor. Still, the point stands: the flashiness of goals, assists and power plays often overshadows the lunch-bucket stats that count just as much when everything is tallied. Hits and blocked shots are the bread and butter of blueliners, and there are plenty of fantasy targets still floating around in your league who can help in those categories.
That said, you don't want a two-trick pony. If all a player delivers is hits and blocks, they'll struggle to earn a permanent place in your lineup. Take Brayden McNabb of the Vegas Golden Knights, an absolute star on the blue line with a league-leading 77 blocks and 46 hits. But he isn't a roster lock because that's almost all he does. A whopping 93.3% of McNabb's 46.2 fantasy points this season have come from just those two categories. Even as the most prolific shot blocker in the league, he's averaging only 1.7 fantasy points per game (FPPG). That may pass muster in deeper leagues, but won't be worth your time in your standard 10- or 12-teamers.
Ben Chiarot from the Detroit Red Wings and Jake McCabe from the Toronto Maple Leafs are the two clearest pickups here. Both are doing enough in hits and blocks to be usable right now.
But, overall, this list is more evidence that relying too heavily on just those two categories doesn't quite clear the bar for fantasy deployment. There are some usable options, but not as many as you might expect. Those 1.6- and 1.7-FPPG players are on the cusp but need something more in their overall profile to justify a roster spot.
But that "something more" is exactly what you should be watching for. Travis Sanheim sits outside the top 20 with 26.9 FPHBS so far -- 60.6% of his total fantasy points -- and he's sitting at just 1.6 FPPG. But the Philadelphia Flyers have recently turned to Sanheim as their power-play quarterback. If he chips in even modest power-play production, that sturdy FPHBS base suddenly becomes fantasy-relevant.
Resources: Goalie depth chart | Daily lines | Projections | Play for free | Player rater | Most added/dropped | Mock draft lobby | How to watch
Goalie notes
Here's this week's selection of goaltending snapshots, showing crease shares, fantasy production and key notes where relevant.
Buffalo Sabres in 29 games (five last week):
Alex Lyon (crease share season/week: 42.6%/7.4%, fantasy points season/week: 10.4/0.8, 94.1% available, 0.84 FPP60)
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (crease share season/week: 33.1%/67.2%, fantasy points season/week: 3.6/-2.2, 90.7% available, 0.37 FPP60)
Colten Ellis (crease share season/week: 24.3%/25.4%, fantasy points season/week: 7.2/-4.0, 99.5% available, 1.02 FPP60)
Any hope that Luukkonen might be a streaming target was crushed on Monday. In the league's softest matchup for goaltenders, he spotted the Flames five goals and was pulled. Devon Levi is sporting an .897 save percentage in the AHL, so ... we might not revisit this crease for a while.
Carolina Hurricanes in 28 games (three last week):
Frederik Andersen (crease share season/week: 49.7%/32.5%, fantasy points season/week: -4.6/-4.2, 45.2% available, -0.33 FPP60)
Brandon Bussi (crease share season/week: 32.2%/34.0%, fantasy points season/week: 31.8/1.8, 92.2% available, 3.52 FPP60)
Pyotr Kochetkov (crease share season/week: 18.1%/33.5%, fantasy points season/week: 20.2/-2.4, 85.7% available, 3.96 FPP60)
Raise your hand if you saw a three-way timeshare balancing almost evenly through 28 games with Bussi as the top fantasy option. Put them down, fibbers. Kochetkov has been slightly more efficient via FPP60, but it's a slim margin. Andersen has been, frankly, damaging to fantasy teams. It's unclear where we go from here with all three healthy. Daily leagues can pick their spots, but weekly leagues? I'd look elsewhere in the short term while still trying to stash one on your bench.
Montreal Canadiens in 28 games (four last week):
Jakub Dobes (crease share season/week: 54.9%/75.7%, fantasy points season/week: 24.4/7.2, 64.6% available, 1.57 FPP60)
Sam Montembeault (crease share season/week: 45.1%/24.3%, fantasy points season/week: -14.2/-5.2, 54.6% available, -1.11 FPP60)
As goes the Canadiens' success, so goes the goaltending ... or maybe it's the other way around. A mid-November losing streak took some shine off Dobes, but this was a net-positive week and he's clearly in the starter's chair lately.
Ottawa Senators in 28 games (three last week):
Linus Ullmark (crease share season/week: 75.7%/66.9%, fantasy points season/week: 7.2/3.6, 56.6% available, 0.34 FPP60)
Leevi Merilainen (crease share season/week: 24.3%/33.1%, fantasy points season/week: -1.6/-1.4, 99.6% available, -0.23 FPP60)
Three steps forward, one leap back. Ullmark seemed to be slowly climbing out of his early-season rut. Then he drops a -8.0 against Dallas to close November. Bad outings happen, and the Senators have offense to spare with Brady Tkachuk back, and the results have been more positive since October. Still, he leads the league with four games of -6.0 or worse, meaning you never quite know when he's going to step in it. He's also top-15 in games with 4.0 or more fantasy points. So ... some reward with that risk?
If the Sens do anything to address their penalty kill, Ullmark becomes a midseason trade target. He's allowed 19 power-play goals -- four more than any other goalie -- and that's a major part of the problem.
Pittsburgh Penguins in 27 games (three last week):
Tristan Jarry (crease share season/week: 46.1%/100.0%, fantasy points season/week: 43.2/14.2, 53.2% available, 3.43 FPP60)
Arturs Silovs (crease share season/week: 40.3%/DNP, fantasy points season/week: 15.2/DNP, 87.9% available, 1.38 FPP60)
Sergei Murashov (crease share season/week: 13.5%/DNP, fantasy points season/week: 8.6/DNP, 99.7% available, 2.33 FPP60)
After last season's fall from grace, it's refreshing to see Jarry as a lineup lock again. He ranks 13th in total fantasy points, 10th in FPP60 and fifth in wins per start. Silovs' early run has cooled, leaving Jarry with the lion's share.
Dennis Hildeby makes beautiful save
Toronto Maple Leafs in 29 games (five last week):
Anthony Stolarz (crease share season/week: 40.2%/DNP, fantasy points season/week: 5.4/DNP, 46.6% available, 0.46 FPP60)
Joseph Woll (crease share season/week: 25.4%/40.9%, fantasy points season/week: 24.4/13.4, 73.2% available, 3.3 FPP60)
Dennis Hildeby (crease share season/week: 24.0%/59.1%, fantasy points season/week: 27.0/20.2, 92.6% available, 3.88 FPP60)
Cayden Primeau (crease share season/week: 10.4%/DNP, fantasy points season/week: -4.6/DNP, 99.9% available, -1.52 FPP60)
Woll is injured, Stolarz is injured and Hildeby just shut out the Lightning. Monday's win actually pushed Hildeby into the team lead for fantasy goaltending. This is an apples-to-apples comparison to Carolina; you want one of these guys rostered hoping to ride whoever emerges for the second half. Woll is arguably the favorite, but chasing Hildeby in the short term isn't a bad strategy.
Power-play notes
Travis Sanheim, D, Philadelphia Flyers (available in 56.0% of ESPN leagues): The Flyers have turned to Sanheim as their Plan C on the point in recent games. Jamie Drysdale and Cam York both had ample opportunity to claim the role, so this isn't a case of someone getting unfairly bumped. If Sanheim sticks here, it's a big deal. He already has a fantasy-relevant floor thanks to hits and blocks, and the Flyers have three power-play goals in the past three games with him involved (one with Tyson Foerster before his injury, two with Owen Tippett afterward).
Andre Burakovsky, RW, Chicago Blackhawks (available in 82.3%): The Hawks' top unit with Burakovsky back in action picked up two power-play goals this past week. Teuvo Teravainen was keeping the spot warm while Burakovsky missed some action in late November, but with the change to Artyom Levshunov on the blue line and Burakovsky up front, the group has three goals in 15:23 of action on the advantage. But the best unit for the Hawks so far has actually been with both Burakovsky and Teravainen, with Frank Nazar the odd one out. That group has five goals across 6:23. For reference, Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi are the other two staples.
Valeri Nichushkin, RW, Colorado Avalanche (available in 69.2%): He's only seeing secondary power-play deployment since returning to the lineup, but the Avalanche's most productive unit this season still features Valeri Nichushkin. The five-man group of Nichushkin, Victor Olofsson, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Cale Makar has six power-play goals. No other Avs combination has more than two.
Roope Hintz, C, Dallas Stars (available in 11.8%): None of these players will be available in more than the shallowest leagues, but Roope Hintz and the Stars' top unit deserve a spotlight. That five-man group has more power-play goals (18) than 18 entire NHL teams. They're seven clear of the next-best unit from the Penguins and double the totals of the groups tied for third. Wyatt Johnston alone has more power-play goals than the Maple Leafs. This unit is, simply, terrifying.
Drew Doughty, D, Los Angeles Kings (available in 46.6%): And how about that? The Kings have finally started using their talented power-play quarterbacks on the first unit. The results haven't been overwhelming yet, but with Doughty on the first unit, they picked up a goal in 5:18 of action. With Brandt Clarke on the point they generated more chances across 4:15. Either way, the move means Quinton Byfield was demoted to the second unit. But it shouldn't impact on his standing, since he hasn't been generating fantasy stats anyway.
Ivan Demidov, RW, Canadiens (available in 49.5%): The Habs have gone back to Demidov on the top unit again. If you're keeping score at home, the pattern was Zack Bolduc, Demidov, Bolduc and now back to Demidov. In 33:40 with Bolduc, the group produced 51 shot attempts and seven goals. In 31:37 with Demidov, the top power-play unit has 36 shot attempts and eight goals. So there is an argument that either is fine. We just wish they'd pick one for consistent fantasy value.
Anthony Duclair, LW, and Maxim Shabanov, RW, New York Islanders (available in 99.0% and 99.0%): With Kyle Palmieri out for the season, there's a spot up for grabs on the Isles' top unit. Duclair and Shabanov are both getting their first look there while Jonathan Drouin remains day-to-day. Whoever sticks could offer some deep-league value.
JJ Peterka, RW, Utah Mammoth (available in 30.5%): He was already pushing Nick Schmaltz aside for some looks on the top unit, so this injury to Logan Cooley simply cements Peterka in place until Cooley's return.
JJ Peterka tallies goal vs. Ducks
Droppables
Quinton Byfield, C, Los Angeles Kings (rostered in 41.6%): As noted in the power-play section, the Kings have finally ditched the five-forward setup. Unfortunately for Byfield, he's the odd man out and bumped to PP2. He isn't delivering the breakout we hoped for, sitting at just 1.4 FPPG, and the trend isn't improving. He has only 0.7 FPPG over his past 10. Even if this ends up being a slow start rather than a lost season, he shouldn't be rostered right now.
Tyler Toffoli, RW, San Jose Sharks (rostered in 57.7%): It looked like the right landing spot, but too many of San Jose's young guns are hitting their stride at the same time for Toffoli to maintain a veteran-driven scoring role. His power-play access has faded as William Eklund and Will Smith continue earning prime usage alongside Macklin Celebrini. His ice time has followed suit, down to 13:49 over the past 10 games (from 15:40 on the season).