I mentioned a while back that my team in the RotoWire Staff Hockey League had been struggling. In fact, it was 1-7 at one point. I’ve since been able to recover with five straight wins, most of those by wide margins. And my roster has recently been bolstered after acquiring Aleksander Barkov and Zach Hyman for future considerations/assets.
I could’ve given up and traded some of my better players. But I didn’t, because I knew my lineup was solid and that the slump would eventually end. And now I’m right back in the playoff hunt. So keep fighting, even if it doesn’t initially look positive. Everything will be fine if you stick to the plan.
On that note, here are a few underappreciated fantasy NHLers who can help — including the first repeats of the season.
(Rostered rates as of Jan. 10)
Forwards
Patrick Kane, DET (Yahoo: 58% rostered)
I hate to reach over the 50% mark for recommendations, yet I’ll make an exception with Kane. After all, the future Hall of Famer has been on fire over a five-game scoring streak where he’s combined for four goals, four assists, and 15 shots with five of those points coming on Detroit’s lead power play. As long as Kane stays on that group and within the top-six, he’ll keep producing.
Aliaksei Protas, WAS (Yahoo: 42%)
Other than three straight scoreless outings during December, Protas has been consistent all season. He’s already eclipsed his personal best in points by seven, and there’s still half a schedule to be played. And since that aforementioned slump, Protas has posted seven goals, three assists, and 18 shots at 17:57 a night. His totals could be improved if he got a chance on the man-advantage, and that 24.3% shooting percentage is ripe for regression, but he’s in a favorable spot joining forces with Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome on the Caps’ first even-strength line.
Jonathan Huberdeau, CGY (Yahoo: 36%)
Congrats to Huberdeau for being this column’s first forward repeat, which is much deserved as he’s leading Calgary in goals and points. It was believed his stats would improve coming into the campaign based on a strong finish last season, though that didn’t play out over the opening two months. Since then, Huberdeau has only been held off the scoresheet in four of 16 contests with 18 points and 35 shots on a 19:37 average while skating on the lead groups in all attacking situations.