Fantasy buzz: Impact of MacKinnon injury on Avalanche

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.

MORE FANTASY COVERAGE:
Top 250 rankings
|
Top 100 forwards
|
Top 50 D-men

MacKinnon expected to miss 2-4 weeks for Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon will miss their game against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, ALT, NHL.TV) and is expected to be out 2-4 weeks because of a shoulder injury.
The 22-year-old is ranked fourth overall in Yahoo based on standard-category performance behind right wing Nikita Kucherov (first) and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (second) of the Tampa Bay Lightning and right wing Phil Kessel (third) of the Pittsburgh Penguins. MacKinnon has 61 points (24 goals, 37 assists) in 49 games, second in NHL scoring behind Kucherov (64 points in 50 games).
This lengthy absence for MacKinnon could be devastating to the Avalanche, who are in Stanley Cup Playoff contention after finishing last in the NHL standings last season. The injury should negatively affect forwards Mikko Rantanen (32nd in Yahoo) and Gabriel Landeskog (72nd), who play with MacKinnon on the top line and first power-play unit.
The short-term impact of MacKinnon's injury is that low-ownership rookies Alex Kerfoot (C/RW, 10 percent owned, 203rd in Yahoo) and/or Tyson Jost (C/LW, 2 percent) should take on an expanded role with first line and/or power-play usage. Kerfoot ranks third on the Avalanche in power-play points (14) and points per 60 minutes (3.09) behind MacKinnon and Rantanen, making him a valuable replacement option.
For DraftKings contests on Thursday, the Avalanche have bounce-back potential against the Oilers, who have allowed 88 goals in 25 home games (second-most in NHL).

Elliott placed on injured reserve; Neuvirth could start Wednesday

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, meaning fantasy owners should target backup Michal Neuvirth as a potential replacement.
Neuvirth (15 percent owned, 158th in Yahoo) has been day to day with an illness but could start against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV). He is 3-1-0 with a .926 save percentage in his past five games and has a .918 SV% in 14 games overall. He is favorably priced ($7,100 in DraftKings) against the Capitals with against-the-grain value in three-game contests; he has a .927 SV% and one shutout in four road games (three starts).
Season-long fantasy owners could lean on Neuvirth later this week with favorable games against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday and Ottawa Senators on Saturday that he could potentially start as well.
READ:
Fantasy projected lineups, starting goalies for Wed. Jan. 31

DraftKings value picks for Wednesday

CENTER
Value pick: Henrik Zetterberg, DET ($4,700 vs. SJS):The Detroit Red Wings center has a great track record against the San Jose Sharks entering their game Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-D, NBCSCA, NHL.TV). Zetterberg has 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists) in 44 career games against the Sharks. He will center Detroit's top line with wings Gustav Nyquist ($4,200) and Anthony Mantha ($4,800).
Spend up for: Auston Matthews, TOR ($7,100 vs. NYI)

WING
Value pick: Tom Wilson, WSH ($3,700 vs. PHI):The Washington Capitals right wing packs a scoring punch during home games. Wilson has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) and 41 shots on goal in 24 home games. He is projected to skate on the Capitals top line with elite left wing Alex Ovechkin ($7,900) and center Evgeny Kuznetsov ($6,600), making for a great all-in stacking option.
Spend up for: Alex Ovechkin, WSH ($7,900 vs. PHI)

DEFENSE
Value pick: Jake Gardiner, TOR ($4,700 vs. NYI): Any price under $5,000 is value for the surging Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman. In the past five games, he has nine assists, eight SOG and 10 blocks. With Morgan Rielly set to miss his fifth-straight game with an upper-body injury, Gardiner will skate on Toronto's top pair with Ron Hainsey. The Leafs have a favorable matchup Wednesday against the Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; SN, TVA Sports, MSG+, NHL.TV), who have allowed the most goals in the League (184; 3.6 per game).
Spend up for: John Carlson, WSH ($6,400 vs. PHI)

GOALTENDER
Value pick: Petr Mrazek, DET ($7,200 vs. SJS):The Detroit Red Wings goaltender is taking full advantage of increased playing time recently. In his past four games, he is 2-0-1 with a .965 save percentage. Mrazek has averaged 6.95 DraftKings points per game over the same span and is tied for the shutout lead (three) among backup goalies with Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators.
---
Check out DraftKings.com to play 1-Day Fantasy Hockey today. Entering is quick and simple: sign up for one free entry with first deposit (min $5) into a $3 1-Day Fantasy Hockey contest and set your lineup, catch the games and win!
For entertainment purposes only. Winning a contest on DraftKings depends on knowledge and exercise of skill. Available to play for free. Not a gambling website. See www.ncrg.org for information regarding responsible gaming. Must be at least 18 years or older. Higher age limits may apply in some states. Residents of AL, AZ, GA, HI, ID, IA, LA, MT, NV and WA not eligible to play in paid contests. Offered in IL and TX pending litigation. Void where prohibited. See www.draftkings.com/help/terms for details.