Hunter Skoczylas previews the Boston Bruins’ fantasy hockey matchups for the upcoming week.
The Boston Bruins are in first place in the Atlantic Division and fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 12-9-0 record, 24 points and a 0 goal differential. Last week, Boston dropped games to the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes and topped the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.
David Pastrnak (11G, 15A) secured seven points last week, bringing his season total to 26 points, with Morgan Geekie (12G, 6A) and Pavel Zacha (5G, 11A) rounding out the top three. Both Pastrnak and Geekie rank inside the top-12 in the NHL in goals scored. Jeremy Swayman (8-5-0 record, 2.99 GAA and .902 SV%) secured wins over both the Maple Leafs and Canadiens last week but dropped Monday’s tilt against the Hurricanes. Joonas Korpisalo (4-4-0 record, 3.35 GAA and .878 SV%) started against the Senators but stopped just 17-of-21 shots in a 5-3 loss.
Boston will begin a four-game road trip, with the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks on tap for this upcoming week.
Bruins’ upcoming schedule for the week of November 18
Wednesday, November 19 at Anaheim Ducks
Friday, November 21 at Los Angeles Kings
Sunday, November 23 at San Jose Sharks
Bruins’ DraftKings Fantasy Preview
Wednesday, November 19 at Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks are in first place in the Pacific Division and third place in the Western Conference with a 12-6-1 record, 25 points, and a +10 goal differential.
Anaheim enters the new week having dropped three of its last four games after a strong start to the season. This Ducks team has done a complete 180 from previous seasons, ranking fifth in shots per game and third in goals per game. The special teams play could certainly improve, with the club ranking 16th in PP% and 22nd in PK%. The top forward groups have been producing enough that the power play hasn’t mattered much, however.
Leo Carlsson (11G, 15A) is tied for the fourth-most points in the NHL and is averaging a healthy 14.3 DraftKings FPTS per game so far this season. Cutter Gauthier (12G, 10A) has done damage in the points department, too, and is tied for the third-most goals in the NHL. Gauther is averaging nearly 16.0 DK FPTS per game this season and ranks fourth on the team in 5v5 xGoals%. Lukas Dostal (9-5-1 record, 2.80 GAA and .903 SV%) is off to a relatively good start in his fifth season, posting a career-best 2.80 GAA across 15 starts this season. The Ducks rank 13th in goals allowed per game, but considering their record, Dostal is still averaging 12.3 DK FPTS per game because of the wins.
Friday, November 21 at Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are in second place in the Pacific Division and fourth place in the Western Conference with a 10-6-4 record, 24 points, and a -1 goal differential.
While the Kings have scored the seventh-fewest goals per game, they are still securing wins, with four wins in their past five games. It is impressive that Los Angeles has secured wins as often as it has, considering the special teams play has been underwhelming on top of the club’s inability to score goals consistently. The club ranks 24th in PP% and 16th in PK%, but strong defense and goaltending have been the bread and butter. The Kings have allowed the seventh-fewest goals per game and rarely play undisciplined, ranking inside the bottom-10 in penalty minutes per game.
It is unsurprising to see Adrian Kempe (6G, 13A) leading the club in terms of points. The consistency from the rest of the forward groups has been the biggest development for the Kings, with Quinton Byfield (4G, 13A) and Kevin Fiala (9G, 6A) rounding out the top three. Fiala leads the clubs in goals and power play points, despite the slow-ish start to the new season. Despite a shaky start to the season, Darcy Kuemper (7-4-3 record, 2.42 GAA and .904 SV%) has secured wins in four of his last five starts, while Anton Forsberg (3-2-1 record, 2.96 GAA and .890 SV%) has been a dependable backup across six starts.
Sunday, November 23 at San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are in seventh place in the Pacific Division and 13th place in the Western Conference with an 8-8-3 record, 19 points, and a -7 goal differential.
The Sharks remain in rebuild mode as they have been for multiple seasons, but this club has taken a step in the right direction. While San Jose still finds itself near the bottom of the standings, the club has won four of its last six games and finally has some offensive juice to at least stay competitive. The Sharks rank 22nd in goals scored per game and 10th in goals allowed per game. The power play ranks 19th and the penalty kill ranks 23rd, but the Sharks are one of the youngest teams in the league, and the little things could fix themselves over time as chemistry builds.
Macklin Celebrini (10G, 17A) has put the team on his back in his second season in the NHL. He ranks third in the league in points and is averaging 14.5 DK FPTS per game. Will Smith (7G, 10A) and William Eklund (5G, 7A) are behind Celebrini in terms of production and have been stellar 1B and 1C pieces for San Jose thus far. This club still ranks top-10 in goals allowed per game, thanks to shaky goaltending from 23-year-old Yaroslav Askarov (5-5-1 record, 3.09 GAA and .906 SV%). Still, he has won four of his last five starts, so the upside is clearly there, especially when the offense is productive.