Fantasy top 60 'D': Flyers' Streit thrives on power play

Every Wednesday during the season, NHL.com fantasy hockey correspondent Brian Metzer will provide you with in-depth defensemen analysis. From updated weekly top 60 rankings to trending players and more, Metzer will be your go-to guy for fantasy blue line advice all season long.

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Mark Streit had a career-high 62 points during the 2007-08 season with the Montreal Canadiens. He had 54.8 percent of those points while his team was on the power play. That production was good enough to place him third among all defensemen in scoring and earned him a five-year, $20.5 million contract with the New York Islanders after that season.

He had 179 points in 286 games with the Islanders, with 85 of them coming on the power play.

Streit's history prior to joining the Flyers last season is important because it shows just how effective he has been on the power play. He has scored 47.4 percent of his career points while his teams have been on the man-advantage, and that production is making Streit a standout performer for the Flyers this season.

The Flyers' power play scored three times in a 7-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. Streit scored one of the goals and assisted on the others. That gives the unit goals in five straight games and six of seven to move to fifth in the League entering play Wednesday.

Streit is joined on the Flyers' top power-play unit by the League's leading scorer Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn. Those four players have combined for 27 power-play goals and 65 power-play points.

Many thought that signing Streit was a mistake for the Flyers based on his age; he was 35 when he signed with the Flyers in the summer of 2013 and turned 37 on Dec. 11, but he's having one of the most productive seasons of his career.

His three-point game Monday has him tied for fourth among all defensemen with 31 points; he's six points behind League leader and our new No. 1-ranked fantasy defenseman, Kevin Shattenkirk of the St. Louis Blues.

Mark Streit

STATS PRIOR TO JAN. 14 GAMES

GOALS: 5 | ASST: 26 | PTS: 31
SOG: 68 | +/-: 2

His play has mirrored the performance of the team; when the Flyers have played well he has been productive; when the Flyers have struggled, so has he.

He had 13 points in Philadelphia's first 24 games this season, a span that saw them post a record of 8-13-3. In their past 19 games they have gone 9-6-4, and Streit has 18 points.

Streit is on pace for his highest shot total in three seasons, averaging 1.58 per game. Those shots are going to turn into points for him, especially playing with the gifted finishers he skates with. If there is a drawback to owning Streit it's that he no longer is scoring goals the way he once did.

He should finish with around 10 goals, which would be a nice bonus to go along with his 60 points. Streit probably is not available on the waiver wire, as he is owned in 81 percent of Yahoo standard leagues, but it's worth a look because he should be owned in many more than that.

Roman Josi

STATS PRIOR TO JAN. 14 GAMES

GOALS: 7 | ASST: 20 | PTS: 27
SOG: 100 | +/-: 12

Roman Josi, Nashville Predators

Josi plays on the Predators' top pairing and first power-play unit alongside Shea Weber and he is taking full advantage of that situation. Even after being held off the score sheet for two games in a row, Josi has four goals and 12 points in his past 12 games. He also has 33 blocked shots, 27 shots on goal and has three points on the power play in that span. Josi, owned in 72 percent of Yahoo leagues, has become a player that should be owned in all formats.

TRENDING DOWN

Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild

The Wild have lost six straight and fallen to last in the Central Division. It's taking a toll on Suter, their No. 1 defenseman. Suter has one point, an assist, in his past 10 games. He was a minus-4 in the Wild's 7-2 loss to the Penguins on Tuesday and is a minus-12 in his past 10 games. Suter also will have a hearing Wednesday with the NHL Department of Player Safety because of an elbowing incident Tuesday involving the Penguins' Steve Downie. Regardless of the result of the hearing, it may be time to move on from this former fantasy standout.

Brian Campbell

STATS PRIOR TO JAN. 14 GAMES

GOALS: 3 | ASST: 8 | PTS: 11
SOG: 66 | +/-: 2

Brian Campbell, Florida Panthers

Campbell hasn't had a very good season in terms of offensive production, with three goals and 11 points in 41 games, but he is a talented defenseman worthy of ownership in deeper formats. He demonstrated that fact with goals in two of his past three games. Campbell could seem like a more attractive commodity if the Panthers stay hot; they've won three of four and four of six. He is owned in 49 percent of Yahoo standard leagues.

TOP 60 FANTASY DEFENSEMEN

These rankings are based on expectations for the season ahead. Value is quantified by defense pairings, overall upside and past performance in standard Yahoo categories (goals, assists, plus-minus, penalty minutes, power-play points and shots on goal). NOTE: Players with D/RW eligibility in Yahoo leagues (Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Burns) have been ranked as defensemen.

1	Kevin Shattenkirk, STL (+1)	31	Alex Goligoski, DAL (-1)
2	Mark Giordano, CGY (-1)	32	Toby Enstrom, WPG (NR - IR)
3	Brent Burns, D/RW, SJS (SAME)	33	Dennis Wideman, CGY (SAME)
4	Shea Weber, NSH (+1)	34	Jake Muzzin, LAK (SAME)
5	Erik Karlsson, OTT (+1)	35	James Wisniewski, CBJ (-3)
6	P.K. Subban, MTL (-2)	36	Nick Leddy, NYI (-1)
7	Kris Letang, PIT (SAME)	37	Aaron Ekblad, FLA (+2)
8	Keith Yandle, ARI (SAME)	38	Marek Zidlicky, NJD (-1)
9	Troy Brodie, CGY (+2)	39	Trevor Daley, DAL (-1)
10	Duncan Keith, CHI (SAME)	40	Torey Krug, BOS (+2)
11	Sami Vatanen, ANA (+1)	41	Erik Johnson, COL (SAME)
12	Victor Hedman, TBL (-3)	42	Jason Garrison, TBL (-6)
13	Dustin Byfuglien, D/RW, WPG (+1)	43	Justin Faulk, CAR (+3)
14	Drew Doughty, LAK (+1)	44	Justin Schultz, EDM (-4)
15	Alex Pietrangelo, STL (+2)	45	Dion Phaneuf, TOR (-2)
16	Mark Streit, PHI (+5)	46	Anton Stralman, TBL (+2)
17	John Carlson, WSH (+2)	47	Mike Green, WSH (+4)
18	Tyson Barrie, COL (-2)	48	Dougie Hamilton, BOS (-3)
19	Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI (-1)	49	Matt Niskanen, WSH (-5)
20	Ryan Suter, MIN (-7)	50	Hampus Lindholm, ANA (-3)
21	Niklas Kronwall, DET (-1)	51	Zach Bogosian, WPG (NR - IR)
22	Zdeno Chara, BOS (+1)	52	Danny DeKeyser, DET (-3)
23	Roman Josi, NSH (+4)	53	Kevin Klein, NYR (+4)
24	Ryan McDonagh, NYR (-2)	54	Brian Campbell, FLA (+4)
25	Johnny Boychuk, NYI (-1)	55	Jack Johnson, CBJ (-5)
26	Andrei Markov, MTL (-1)	56	Andrej Sekera, CAR (-3)
27	Cam Fowler, ANA (-1)	57	Jared Spurgeon, MIN (-3)
28	Cody Franson, TOR (+1)	58	Alexander Edler, VAN (-2)
29	Christian Ehrhoff, PIT (-1)	59	John Klingberg, DAL (SAME)
30	Brent Seabrook, CHI (+1)	60	Marc-Edouard Vlasic, SJS (SAME)

Key injuries: Jacob Trouba, Ryan Ellis, Marco Scandella, Olli Maatta, Ryan Murray, Damon Severson, Lubomir Visnovsky, Kimmo Timonen

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