Fantasy buzz: Marchand to return; Rantanen misses game

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.

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Marchand back for Bruins after suspension; Heinen remains valuable

Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand will return against the New York Rangers on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV) after a five-game suspension.
Marchand (26th in Yahoo), who leads the NHL in points per game (1.32), will rejoin the top line and first power-play unit with fellow elite forwards Patrice Bergeron (C, 20th) and David Pastrnak (RW, 35th). Rookie forward Danton Heinen (C/LW/RW, 30 percent owned, 131st in Yahoo) filled in at even strength and with the man-advantage during Marchand's suspension, totaling five points (two goals, three assists), two power-play points and 14 shots on goal in the five games.
Heinen loses some fantasy appeal considering the Bruins will move him back to an even-strength line with David Backes and Riley Nash, but the rookie could stick on the first power-play unit with Boston's top-line forwards and defenseman Torey Krug. Heinen ranks third among rookies in points per game (0.79) behind Mathew Barzal (NYI; 0.98) and Brock Boeser (VAN; 0.92), and will compete with Ryan Spooner (C/LW, 8 percent) for the fifth spot on that power-play unit.

The Bruins will be on the second leg of a back-to-back set after a 3-2 road win against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. That said, Marchand ($7,400 in DraftKings) should be fresh and is a lineup lock against the Rangers, who have been outscored 53-32 over their past 14 games (4-10-0). Heinen ($4,900) is a middle-range target for this favorable matchup.

Rantanen day to day for Avalanche; Compher, Jost step up

Colorado Avalanche wing Mikko Rantanen missed their game against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday because of a lower-body injury, joining center Nathan MacKinnon (upper body) on the injured list.
Rantanen (LW/RW, 39th in Yahoo) is day to day with no further update regarding an injury timetable. He has played most of the season on the top line and first power-play unit with MacKinnon (8th) and left wing Gabriel Landeskog (83rd).
Alex Kerfoot (C/RW, 10 percent) centered Colorado's top line with Landeskog and Colin Wilson on Tuesday, but it was the second line of J.T. Compher (C/LW/RW, 1 percent) centering Tyson Jost (C/LW, 2 percent) and Nail Yakupov that produced in the 3-1 win against the Sharks. Jost and Compher each had one goal and one assist, and Yakupov had one assist.
The Avalanche have a three-game road trip to close out the week against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday and Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, making Jost, Compher and Kerfoot relevant in deep leagues and DFS formats if MacKinnon and Rantanen remain out.

Sateri has four-game winning streak for Panthers

Florida Panthers goaltender Harri Sateri earned his fourth-straight win against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. He has stopped 114 of 120 shots faced (.950 save percentage) during the winning streak and has become a viable fantasy streaming option in all formats.
Sateri (8 percent owned in Yahoo) has now started seven straight games for the Panthers, who have been without injured goaltenders Roberto Luongo (lower body) and James Reimer (groin). Florida is suddenly six points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with two games in hand.

Reimer (23 percent, 282nd in Yahoo) could potentially return as early as Friday against the Los Angeles Kings, but Sateri's strong play has earned him at least a share of the workload until Luongo eventually returns.
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