Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Calvin Pickard tops list of goalie pickups for Thursday
On every game day this season, THN Fantasy will highlight players and goalies for fantasy managers to stream or roster for the rest of the season. The recommended players and goalies can be used in standard fantasy leagues or for daily fantasy games.
10 games for Thursday, Nov. 14
* = confirmed
Samuel Ersson, PHI at Linus Ullmark, OTT (7 p.m. ET)
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB (7 p.m. ET)
Jacob Markstrom, NJ at Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA (7 p.m. ET)
Mackenzie Blackwood, SJ at Igor Shesterkin, NYR (7 p.m. ET)
Jordan Binnington, STL at Devon Levi, BUF (7:30 p.m. ET)
Jeremy Swayman, BOS at Jake Oettinger, DAL (8 p.m. ET)
Sam Montembeault, MON* at Filip Gustavsson, MIN* (8 p.m. ET)
Juuse Saros, NSH at Calvin Pickard, EDM* (9 p.m. ET)
Semyon Varlamov, NYI* at Kevin Lankinen, VAN (10 p.m. ET)
Petr Mrazek, CHI at Joey Daccord, SEA (10 p.m. ET)
Calvin Pickard, EDM vs. NSH (7% rostered)
Pickard has a chance to sweep the Preds in their third and final meeting of the season. He was excellent in their two previous meetings, allowing a total of just three goals on 51 shots. The Oilers are clearly counting on Pickard to keep the hot streak going, who gets his first start in three games with Stuart Skinner's play starting to improve.
It's rare for teams to sweep a season series given the amount of parity, but with the Oilers at home — both of their previous wins were in Nashville — they should have the advantage, and Connor McDavid is healthy after missing their previous contest. Pickard should be a very popular streaming option given the Preds' woes, despite boasting quite a few offensive stars on paper.
Petr Mrázek, CHI at SEA (23% rostered)
I can definitely talk myself into streaming Mrazek, who should be one of the better options for Thursday. Mrazek is coming off a strong 32-save performance against the Wild.
His career numbers against the Kraken are not good (.818 SP, 5.65 GAA), but that was mostly from one game in 2023 when he allowed seven goals on 31 shots. Otherwise, he had a .927 SP and 2.36 GAA in two appearances against them last season. The Kraken are one of the most offensively inept teams in the league, so I think the chances of a blowout are quite low.
Semyon Varlamov, NYI at VAN (35% rostered)
The Canucks are shorthanded without Brock Boeser and the Isles are missing two top-six players, so this might be a low-scoring grind with two good goalies in net. (Historically, though, their games have been high-scoring affairs with at least seven goals scored in their past eight meetings).
Varlamov has allowed just three goals in his past two starts, and I don't mind streaming him in this matchup. A strong performance with a good save percentage is very possible, though the Isles are the underdog and it won't be easy to win against the Canucks on home ice.
Mackenzie Blackwood, SJ at NYR (6% rostered)
I'm a lot less intimidated about this matchup than usual given Blackwood's excellent performances this season, including a 44-save shutout against the Devils, and also because the Rangers haven't looked very good despite their record.
The Sharks might not have the offensive firepower to take advantage, but this matchup might be closer than you'd think. The Sharks are still obviously the underdog, so let's not get too bullish, but if you're feeling adventurous and your league emphasizes saves and save percentages, Blackwood may not be the worst streaming option.
Samuel Ersson, PHI at OTT (27% rostered)
The toughest aspect of this matchup is that the Sens are very good at home (5-2-0), and their offense can be very explosive. Ersson has been very good this season despite the shortcomings of his own team, and should at least rack up some saves and offer up decent save percentage.
Beyond that, it's unlikely he'll earn the win. He allowed four goals on 33 shots in a 5-3 loss against the Sens last season, and that game was only close because the Sens started Mads Sogaard.
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