Fantasy buzz: Bailey to return; Spezza elevated; Ducks surging

All season long, NHL.com's fantasy hockey staff will have you covered with daily lineup news, production trends and injury notes from around the League. We will identify how these developments affect fantasy owners in year-long (Yahoo) and daily (DraftKings) formats.

Bailey to return for Islanders on Thursday

New York Islanders forward Josh Bailey will return to their lineup against the Boston Bruins on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN360, MSG+, NESN, NHL.TV). He has missed the past four games because of a lower-body injury.
He is expected to rejoin the top line with center John Tavares and left wing Anders Lee and the first power-play unit with Tavares, Lee, center Mathew Barzal and defenseman Nick Leddy.
Bailey (LW/RW, 82 percent owned, 41st in Yahoo) has been one of the biggest fantasy steals League-wide after a Yahoo average draft position of 137.1; he was not selected in most preseason drafts. He ranks seventh in points per game (1.19), fifth in assists (38) and tied for seventh in power-play points (21). Fantasy owners should activate Bailey in all season-long formats.
Priced at $6,400 in DraftKings (T-11th among wings), Bailey is worth spending up for because he has 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists) in 20 home games (4.4 DraftKings points per game). Bailey has five points (one goal, four assists) and nine shots on goal in his past five games against the Bruins dating to last season.

Spezza playing on Stars' first power-play unit again

Dallas Stars forward Jason Spezza will remain on their first power-play unit against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-SW, NHL.TV). He has played mostly on the second unit this season under coach Ken Hitchcock, but was promoted to the first unit and scored two power-play goals against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
Spezza (C/RW, 37 percent owned, 291st in Yahoo) has underachieved in fantasy but now gains exposure to elite forwards Tyler Seguin (15th) in Yahoo), Jamie Benn (14th), Alexander Radulov (30th) and defenseman John Klingberg (40th) on the first power-play unit. Spezza is averaging 13:29 per game, 2:05 on the power play, much lower than his NHL career averages (17:56; 3:39 on PP).
The 34-year-old was a healthy scratch against the Boston Bruins on Monday but bounced back with two goals and four shots on goal against the Red Wings on Tuesday. He has scored eight of his 18 points on the power play. In his prior three seasons in Dallas, Spezza combined for 69 power-play points (T-19th in NHL) on mostly the first unit with Seguin and Benn. Spezza ($3,300 in DraftKings) is a value center against the Blue Jackets, who rank 24th in penalty kill percentage (78.5).

Kase, Lindholm worth considering from Ducks

Anaheim Ducks wing Ondrej Kase (LW/RW, 4 percent owned in Yahoo) and defenseman Hampus Lindholm (18 percent) are making strong cases for fantasy ownership. Kase scored his 12th goal of the season, had one assist and three shots on goal in Anaheim's 5-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. Lindholm scored his seventh goal, was plus-3 and had four SOG in the game.
This was Kase's second multipoint game in the past three games. With the Ducks finally healthy, they have found their scoring stride with at least four goals in four of their past seven games. Over the past 10 games, Kase has nine points (six goals, three assists), 31 SOG and is also covering blocked shots (four) and hits (four) in the span. Kase plays on Anaheim's third line with left wing Nick Ritchie (4 percent) and center Adam Henrique (16 percent).

Kase ranks second on the Ducks in even-strength points per 60 minutes (2.95) behind center Ryan Getzlaf (3.32). He rarely sees any power-play time, but that should not deter potential fantasy owners with the Ducks power play underachieving (16.9 percent; 24th in NHL).
In season-long formats, Lindholm has emerged as a
top-50 fantasy defenseman
. He is tied for fourth in goals per game among defensemen (0.21) behind Zach Werenski (0.26), Shayne Gostisbehere (0.23) and Shea Weber (0.23). Despite missing 13 games because of injuries, Lindholm still leads Ducks defensemen in goals and is tied for first with Josh Manson (47 percent) in points per game (0.48). Lindholm has the edge compared to Manson in power-play points (Lindholm: five; Manson: none), but Manson is the better option in hits leagues (leads Ducks with 94).
From a DFS standpoint, Kase ($4,000) led the Ducks with 7.0 DraftKings points against the Penguins, and his linemate Henrique ($4,000) had one goal, four SOG and one blocked shot for 5.5 DraftKings points. Lindholm ($3,800) scored a goal, had four SOG and three blocked shots for 6.5 DraftKings points.

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