While sports like football and basketball see fairly steady outputs from players week in week out, hockey sees hot streaks and cold streaks that can cost you in the standings if you’re not careful. Here’s 3 players who are currently enjoying a midseason surge that are widely available in fantasy hockey leagues:
Corey Perry, RW, Tampa Bay, 8% owned in Yahoo! Leagues
With 6pts (3G,3A) in his last 7 games Perry is generating a healthy dose of offense in Tampa’s bottom 6 forward group. For leagues that count PIMs, the 36 year old is as pesky as ever with 43 penalty minutes through 48 games, and is also shooting at his highest rate since 2017 (93 shots on goal).
In deeper leagues Perry can be a cheap way to get contributions in multiple categories. Tampa has the 4th most goals in the NHL, meaning there’s plenty of points to go around in the sunshine state regardless of where the former Duck slots into the lineup.
Evgenii Dadonov, LW/RW, Vegas, 11% owned in Yahoo! Leagues
He may not be producing at a high rate at the moment, but that could change as early as Wednesday. That’s because Golden Knights captain Mark Stone will be hitting LTIR and newly acquired centreman Jack Eichel will be making his season debut.
Taking Stone’s spot on the top line will be Dadonov, and there aren’t many better opportunities to score in the NHL than skating alongside Max Pacioretty and Jack Eichel. While there’s no guarantee his new linemates will help turn around his less than stellar season, you could do worse than to take a flyer on him and drop him if he doesn’t pan out. It’s certainly better than the alternative where someone else grabs him and you’re stuck kicking yourself if he starts producing like he did in Florida once more.
Adrian Kempe, LW/RW, Los Angeles, 37% owned in Yahoo! Leagues
In a quirky bit of scheduling, the Kings haven’t had a game since February 2nd against Detroit. Prior to their midseason break, Kempe had 4pts (2G,2A) in his last 5 games. Currently riding shotgun on LA’s top line, the 25 year old has found early season chemistry with Anze Kopitar potting a career high 19 goals through only 44 games.
If you’re in a keeper league, Kempe is likely already snatched up. But for those in redraft formats the Swedish winger can likely be found on the waiver wire, and help bolster your goal scoring output down the stretch. While you can often find peripheral stats like PIMs, SOG, or +/- help on the scrap heap, goal scorers are traditionally harder to come by. Jump on Kempe while you still can.