NHL Fantasy on Ice

Pete and Rob are joined by Michael Leboff of the Action Network to cover all angles of the NHL betting landscape for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which are set to begin Saturday. The guys run through each series with potential upsets, Conn Smythe candidates and X-factors. Leboff makes a case for the Stanley Cup futures appeal of the Jets and Islanders and why past playoff performers like Sidney Crosby and Nikita Kucherov bring wagering value with the ceiling of winning the Conn Smythe. The guys talk about strategies like sticking with your preseason picks over recent trends and also following injury developments closely for an edge over the course of the postseason. Players discussed include Charlie McAvoy, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mike Smith, Evgeny Kuznetsov, MacKenzie Weegar, Tyson Barrie, Anthony Cirelli, Jordan Binnington and also the Nathan MacKinnon injury concern. The hosts also give their final four picks from each division.

Pete, Rob and guest David Satriano are back for their annual Stanley Cup Playoffs fantasy pool preview episode with top 100 player rankings (list available on NHL.com/Fantasy) and sleepers for leagues counting the entire 2021 postseason. The guys identify the players and teams they trust most to make deep playoff runs and potential stacks, who to take at No. 1 between Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid and the value of Auston Matthews, the Vegas Golden Knights tandem, best individual goalie options (Andrei Vasilevskiy, Philipp Grubauer) and more. The guys discuss some middle round picks with upside like Kirill Kaprizov, Taylor Hall, David Krejci, William Nylander, Alex Nedeljkovic and sleepers including Alex Newhook, Eeli Tolvanen, MacKenzie Weegar, Sam Bennett, Alex Tuch, Jeff Carter and more. The guys remind fans of players to monitor who are dealing with or coming off injuries like Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Nikolaj Ehlers, Aaron Ekblad, Carey Price, Brendan Gallagher, Zach Hyman and more. They also give Davey a shoutout for his 4/4 performance in the fantasy championships and tell people where to find fantasy playoff pools, including their NHL Bracket Challenge group.

Pete and Rob are joined by “Waiver Wire” James to wrap up the 2020-21 regular season with some late-season trends and strategies and early keeper / dynasty league storylines and debates for next season. The guys discuss players like Teuvo Teravainen, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Spencer Knight, Sam Bennett, Anthony Beauvillier, the Senators’ promising top line of Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris and Drake Batherson, rookie defenseman Mikey Anderson, Tyler Seguin, Erik Haula, the Red Wings’ sneaky goalie tandem of Thomas Greiss and Jonathan Bernier and more. The guys also discuss two emerging Vezina Trophy candidates in Semyon Varlamov and Juuse Saros and some of NHL.com/Fantasy awards recipients.  

Pete and Rob catch up on all the biggest trends around the League and look ahead to a crucial weekend in the fantasy playoffs/championships. Topics discussed include the rise of Spencer Knight for the Panthers and sneaky pickups around the League, including Alex Barre-Boulet of the Lightning, Alexander Barabanov of the Sharks and rookie Quinton Byfield of the Kings. The guys discuss the potential impact of Evgeni Malkin on the Penguins and Tyler Seguin on the Stars if either returns before the end of the regular season and other players including Semyon Varlamov (now leads NHL in shutouts), Mikael Granlund, Kasperi Kapanen, Phil Kessel, Elias Lindholm, Thomas Greiss, Yegor Sharangovich and which rookie goalies could make an impact in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Pete and Rob catch up during the fantasy playoffs and championship week about the biggest player and team storylines around the League and sports betting trends. The guys react to the Rangers making things interesting down the stretch with elite offensive production, an incredible goal differential and their sudden proximity to the Islanders and Bruins in the MassMutual East Division with two games remaining against each of those teams. The guys also react to the long-awaited NHL debut of Canadiens forward prospect Cole Caufield and another appearance and win for Panthers rookie goalie Spencer Knight on Tuesday. In addition to the Wednesday slate, other players mentioned include Jesse Puljujarvi of the Oilers, the Blues’ new top-liners, Coyotes defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Alex Goligoski, Alexis Lafreniere of the Rangers, Jack Hughes of the Devils, Sam Reinhart of the Sabres, the Hurricanes getting Teuvo Teravainen back from injury, updates on Philipp Grubauer, Mikko Rantanen and Joonas Donskoi of the Avalanche, the potential impact of the Nikolaj Ehlers injury on the Jets and how everything has impacted the NHL.com/Fantasy rankings.

Pete and Rob are joined by guest “Waiver Wire” James Harding to talk about all the best pickups at each position to help win your fantasy semifinal and championship matchups. They discuss some favorable schedules, teams to tap into and how to handle the Avalanche’s situation with uncertainty surrounding elite players Philipp Grubauer and Mikko Rantanen and the day-to-day injury for Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals. Players covered on this episode include Jakub Vrana, Nick Foligno, Sam Bennett, Cody Ceci, Andre Burakovsky, Alex Nedeljkovic, Braden Holtby, Anthony Duclair, Jeremy Swayman, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Casey Mittelstadt, Yegor Sharangovich, Anthony Stolarz, Kasperi Kapanen, Jared McCann, Jeff Carter, Oliver Bjorkstrand and more, plus a couple of sledgehammer picks for the Monday slate.

Pete and Rob are joined by guest Michael Leboff from the Action Network to discuss all the biggest NHL betting trends down the stretch of the season. The guys run through various division title races, most notably the four-team race atop the MassMutual East, the hot Calder Trophy debate of Kirill Kaprizov of the Wild vs. Jason Robertson of the Stars and potential spoiler teams in the final weeks of the season. The guys react to Nick Foligno’s debut for the Maple Leafs, Kasperi Kapanen’s return for the Penguins and the Avalanche’s return from NHL COVID-19 protocol. Other topics discussed are the chances of the Maple Leafs and/or Panthers to end their long playoff series win droughts, the hosts' consensus pick for coach of the year, Vegas or Colorado being built for a deeper playoff run and the Predators-Stars and Blues-Coyotes debates for the fourth spot in their respective divisions. 

Pete and Rob are joined by guest Chris Wassel to discuss all the biggest storylines in the fantasy playoffs and betting landscape down the stretch of the season. The guys react to Spencer Knight winning his NHL debut and debate how quickly he can find fantasy relevance as the third goalie in Florida behind Sergei Bobrovsky and Chris Driedger. Other players mentioned include Mike Reilly of the Bruins, Nick Foligno ahead of his upcoming debut with the Maple Leafs, Alex Tuch, Braden Holtby, Tanner Pearson, Nils Hoglander, Alex Goligoski, Matt Duchene and more. Chris also discusses the chances of Boston winning the MassMutual East Division.

Pete and Rob are joined by guest "Waiver Wire" James Harding to identify the best pickups for what is the first week of the fantasy hockey playoffs in many leagues. The guys touch on the Canucks' return to the ice after a long break because of COVID-19 protocol and whether they can rally around the situation and make a Stanley Cup Playoff push. The hosts also discuss ways to tap into the Stars, who still have games in hand, are playing well and have four upcoming games against the Red Wings, and also the Panthers, who are rolling three strong lines after some sneaky moves and have players worth adding at every position. In addition to the Monday slate, players and topics covered in this show include Sam Bennett, Anthony Duclair, Brandon Montour, Denis Gurianov, Chandler Stephenson, Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, Nick Foligno, Taylor Hall, Anthony Mantha, Esa Lindell, Cole Caufield, Anton Khudobin vs. Jack Campbell, Braden Holtby, the Avalanche's COVID-19 protocol situation and the competition for the Calder Trophy.

Pete and Rob are joined by NHL.com’s David Satriano to cover all the fantasy and sports betting trends after the NHL Trade Deadline. The guys react to the debuts of Anthony Mantha with the Capitals, Taylor Hall with the Bruins, Jakub Vrana with the Red Wings, Devan Dubnyk with the Avalanche, Nikita Gusev and Brandon Montour with the Panthers and more. The guys also discuss the long-term absences of Steven Stamkos (injury) and Philipp Grubauer (COVID-19 protocol) and weigh the upside of Cole Caufield with the Canadiens and some potential drop candidates for the forward prospect. Other players discussed include Anthony Duclair, Jonas Johansson, Jacob Markstrom, Colin Blackwell, Alexander Volkov, Andrei Svechnikov, Adam Erne, Alex Killorn, Nazem Kadri and strategies for rostering Canucks players during their pause in their season and the fantasy playoffs. The show concludes with a preview of the Friday slate, a golf clap to producer Bob Bender for his Hideki Matsuyama pick at the Masters and where everyone’s baseball allegiances lie.