Fantasy buzz: Ekholm, Karlsson putting up big numbers

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.

7:30 p.m.

Ekholm continues stellar play

Nashville Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm had an impressive game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. He scored a power-play goal and had an assist in a 4-3 shootout loss. He had solid category coverage with three blocked shots and four shots on goal.
Ekholm (59 percent owned in Yahoo) has been a fantasy beast in November. He has at least a point in seven of his 12 games, totaling five goals, five assists and five power-play points. Ekholm plays on the Predators' first defense pair with Roman Josi and mans the point opposite Josi on the second power-play unit. He is averaging 24:56 of ice time this season and is a must-add for fantasy owners in all formats.

Low ownership fantasy studs of the week

-- Two Vegas Golden Knights linemates, William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault, are the top value players of the week.
Karlsson (C/LW, 49 percent owned) scored six goals on 17 shots in his past four games. He has seven goals and three assists during a five-game point streak. He has one power-play point and 19 shots on goal during the streak.
Karlsson is playing center on the first line with Marchessault and Reilly Smith (21 percent) and on their second power-play unit.
Marchessault (C/LW, 45 percent) had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his past five games, including three straight with three points. He had one power-play assist in each of those three games.
Marchessault's 13 assists are tied with Smith and David Perron for the Vegas lead, and his 21 points are second behind Karlsson's 22.

-- Mathew Barzal is starting to break out thanks to his exposure to Jordan Eberle and Andrew Ladd on the New York Islanders' second line, as well as time on the first power-play unit. Barzal (C, 39 percent) extended his point streak to six games with an assist in a 2-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. He had four points (two goals, two assists) in three games this week. Barzal's 17 assists and 23 points lead NHL rookies.
-- New Jersey Devils forward Adam Henrique (C, 12 percent) had a very solid week, helping the Devils to three wins in four games. Henrique had at least a point in three games, totaling one goal, four assists, one power-play assist and 12 shots on goal. He is skating at left wing on the second line with Travis Zajac and Drew Stafford, and is center on the first power-play unit. Henrique has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) and 47 shots on goal in 23 games.

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11 a.m.

Cammalleri skating with McDavid; DeBrusk heating up for Bruins

Edmonton Oilers forward Michael Cammalleri will skate on their first line with Connor McDavid and Milan Lucic against the Boston Bruins on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; NHLN, TVAS, SN, NESN, NHL.TV). Cammalleri was acquired by the Oilers from the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 14.
Cammalleri (C/LW, 7 percent owned in Yahoo) has no goals, one assist and nine shots on goal in five games with Edmonton since the trade and eight points (three goals, five assists) in 20 games between the Oilers and Kings this season. Cammalleri skated alongside McDavid and Lucic on Friday against the Buffalo Sabres and is expected to get an extended shot there Sunday. At $3,600 in DraftKings, Cammalleri is a glaring DFS value wing.
The 35-year-old could still be effective in a top-six role, especially alongside a player of McDavid's caliber. Cammalleri scored 111 points (51 goals, 60 assists) in 171 games over three seasons with the New Jersey Devils from 2014-15 to 2016-17.

On the Bruins' side, forward Jake DeBrusk has a three-game point streak and points in four of his past five games totaling two goals and four assists entering Sunday. DeBrusk (LW, 5 percent owned) is skating on the second line with David Krejci and Peter Cehlarik and is quietly fourth on the Bruins with 12 points (five goals, seven assists). He has had solid category coverage over his past five games totaling four blocked shots and 18 shots on goal. DeBrusk is priced at $4,000 in DraftKings for Sunday, making him another great value target for DFS lineups.

Low-ownership goalies have big performances Saturday

There were a number of strong fantasy performances Saturday from goaltenders who are largely available in Yahoo leagues.
Malcolm Subban of the Vegas Golden Knights had his second win in as many nights. Subban (30 percent in Yahoo) stopped 24 of 26 shots faced in the Golden Knights' 4-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes -- his first start since returning from injured reserve. He also got the win against the San Jose Sharks on Friday in relief of starter Maxime Lagace. Subban improved to 4-0-0 with a 1.87 goals against average and .935 save percentage in five games (four starts) this season. Fantasy owners in all leagues should take notice of Subban's surprising start, at least until Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion) returns.

Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins earned his first win of the season, stopping 33 of 35 shots faced in a 5-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. He has a .918 SV% in three starts and is worth targeting in deeper leagues because of the Penguins' heavy back-to-back schedule. Those who have starter Matt Murray may want to consider adding Jarry as a fantasy handcuff.
Ryan Miller of the Anaheim Ducks made his first start since sustaining a lower-body injury on Nov. 9. Miller (17 percent owned) stopped 33 of 34 shots faced in a 2-1 shootout loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. In five games (four starts), Miller is 2-0-3 with a 1.63 GAA and .950 SV%. The 37-year-old remains a streaming option and should be handcuffed by Gibson's owners in case the starter deals with injury at any point.
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