The easiest fantasy hockey points in November come from opportunity, not talent. When a top-line center gets suspended or a first-unit forward goes down, someone gets those minutes and power-play reps, and that player is usually sitting on waivers. This week three teams have reshuffled their top units: Detroit after the Dylan Larkin suspension, Columbus after losing two forwards in one night in Buffalo, and Pittsburgh with Bryan Rust on injured reserve. Add two defensemen who quietly run first power-play units, and you have this weekend’s adds.
Detroit: Finnie and Arvidsson inherit the Larkin minutes
The Red Wings suspended Larkin without pay on Oct. 29 after he told the team he would no longer play while he waits for a trade. He has a full no-trade clause and gave Detroit a list of 10 teams he would approve, so a deal isn’t simple. Fantasy managers should plan for him to be gone for weeks, not days.
Emmitt Finnie, C/LW
The second-year forward was the first choice to center Detroit’s top line, between Alex DeBrincat and Viktor Arvidsson, and he has kept the job. Finnie has seven goals and four assists through 15 games and is riding a four-game point streak. What matters most is the power play: Detroit’s first unit is now Arvidsson at the net front, Finnie in the bumper, DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond on the flanks and Moritz Seider at the point. That’s the best real estate on the roster, and it’s going to a player who is still widely available.
Here’s the warning: Finnie is barely a month into his second NHL season and playing a new position against top-line matchups. His seven goals have run ahead of what a 15-game sample usually supports. Add him for the role and the power-play time, not because you expect seven goals every 15 games. He’s a must-add in 12-team leagues and deeper, and a strong streamer in shallower formats while the Larkin standoff lasts.
Viktor Arvidsson, LW/RW
Arvidsson put on the best show of the post-Larkin era so far, with a hat trick and an assist in a 4-1 win over Chicago on Oct. 29, the night the suspension began. That pushed him to eight goals. He works the net front on PP1 and plays on DeBrincat’s line at even strength, which is the most productive role he’s had in years. His injury history is the reason not to pay full price, but in weekly leagues he belongs in lineups right now. Detroit plays in Colorado tonight.
Columbus: Kent Johnson becomes the whole offense
The Blue Jackets lost 5-2 in Buffalo on Friday, and the score wasn’t the worst part. Sean Monahan left late in the second period with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot, and Dmitri Voronkov left in the third with an upper-body injury. Coach Rick Bowness said both are still being evaluated. There is no timeline for either, and Columbus doesn’t play again until Tuesday against Florida.
Kent Johnson, C/RW
Johnson tied Friday’s game with his team-leading eighth goal and added an assist, which pushed his point streak to seven games. He now has eight goals, eight assists and 34 shots on goal in 15 games, and 11 of those points came during the streak. He also plays on the top power-play unit with Zach Werenski, which matters more if Monahan misses time, since Monahan assisted on Johnson’s goal Friday.
Johnson’s rostership is still far below what a point-per-game forward on a top unit usually carries. If he’s available, add him in every format. The Monahan and Voronkov injuries don’t reduce his opportunity. If anything, they concentrate more of the Columbus offense on him, Werenski and Adam Fantilli.
Denton Mateychuk, D
Mateychuk picked up the other assist on Johnson’s goal and is widely available. Werenski owns PP1 in Columbus, so Mateychuk’s upside is limited, but deep-league managers who need a defenseman with steady even-strength points should take a look.
Pittsburgh: Crosby’s wingers get a promotion
Bryan Rust left an Oct. 19 loss to Utah with a lower-body injury. Coach Dan Muse said Rust would miss at least six weeks and be reevaluated after that, so don’t expect him back before December. That leaves a top-line job next to Sidney Crosby open.
Rickard Rakell, LW/RW
Rakell is on Crosby’s line and is still available in a large share of ESPN leagues. Crosby has turned average wingers into fantasy starters for two decades, and Rakell is a better finisher than most of them. Add him as a starter for as long as Rust is out.
Tommy Novak, C
Novak has moved onto the top line with Crosby and Rakell in recent reports and is barely rostered anywhere. He’s a deep-league dart, not a priority, but at minimum his line assignment makes him worth watching.
The defensemen running first power-play units
Points from defensemen are mostly about power-play time, and two of the most underowned blue-liners in the league have it.
Jamie Drysdale, PHI
Drysdale has one goal, five assists and 27 blocked shots in 16 games. That’s a slow start, but his usage hasn’t changed: he quarterbacks a Flyers first unit with Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone, and he plays roughly three-quarters of Philadelphia’s power-play time. Very few defensemen get that share. When a power-play quarterback’s points lag behind his ice time, that usually doesn’t last. He’s still available in most ESPN leagues. Buy him before the assists catch up.
Charle-Edouard D’Astous, TB
D’Astous assisted on Brayden Point’s power-play goal in Tuesday’s 4-2 win over Detroit, and Tampa Bay keeps using him on the first unit with John Carlson. The two have split the point time roughly evenly, which caps both of them, but a share of a power play that runs through Point and Nikita Kucherov is worth having. Kucherov’s trade request is the big risk: if he gets moved, the whole unit takes a hit. Until then, D’Astous is still on fewer than half of Yahoo rosters and is a solid add for points-league managers.
Waiver priority this weekend
- 1. Kent Johnson, CBJ — Point streak, top power-play unit, and more opportunity with Monahan out. Add everywhere.
- 2. Emmitt Finnie, DET — Top-line center and PP1 for as long as the Larkin standoff lasts.
- 3. Viktor Arvidsson, DET — Eight goals and the net-front job on PP1. Start him in weekly leagues.
- 4. Rickard Rakell, PIT — Crosby’s wing until Rust returns, likely not before December.
- 5. Jamie Drysdale, PHI — Buy-low defenseman with roughly three-quarters of the Flyers’ power-play time.
- 6. Charle-Edouard D’Astous, TB — Shares PP1 with Carlson. Watch the Kucherov situation.
- Deep leagues: Tommy Novak, PIT, and Denton Mateychuk, CBJ.
Every pickup on this list comes down to minutes. When Larkin returns or gets traded, when Monahan’s evaluation comes back and when Rust is cleared, the minutes will move again. Until then, these are the players getting the top roles, and fantasy managers who add them now get the production before the rest of the league notices.
See today's NHL lines on DFS Lines, each one set against the player's last ten games.