Fantasy buzz: Impact of Scheifele, Kreider injuries

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.

Scheifele sidelined 6-8 weeks for Jets

Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele left their game against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday because of an upper-body injury. The injury will keep
Scheifele out of the lineup for 6-8 weeks
.
Scheifele (33rd in Yahoo) had an assist against the Oilers before getting injured and has been one of the best fantasy centers in the NHL this season with 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) and 84 shots on goal in 38 games. Scheifele had been skating on one of the most-productive first lines in the League with Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor (12 percent owned) since their formation in mid-October.
The Jets experimented with a number of line combinations after the injury, but forward Mathieu Perreault (C/LW, 18 percent owned) is the top in-house fantasy option. He had an assist Wednesday and has 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 26 games skating mostly in a bottom-six role this season. Joel Armia (RW, less than 1 percent owned) scored two goals and had five shots on goal in the game; he skated briefly with Wheeler and Connor.
READ:
Fantasy top 250 rankings
|
Top 100 forwards
Center Bryan Little (26 percent owned; 206th in Yahoo) now could be moved to the first power-play unit. Little played 21:33 and scored one goal on three shots on goal against the Oilers. He has been centering Winnipeg's second line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine for most of the season.
Winnipeg also could recall forward Jack Roslovic from Manitoba of the American Hockey League. Roslovic, the No. 25 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, is second in the AHL with 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in 31 games and may be worth stashing in deep and/or keeper leagues.

Kreider out indefinitely for Rangers

New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider
will be out indefinitely
because of a blood clot in his right arm.
Kreider left the Rangers' 1-0 shotoout win against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday late in the first period and didn't return.
Kreider (LW, 60 percent owned; 95th in Yahoo) played 5:04 and had two shots on goal before leaving. The forward was skating on the Rangers' second line with David Desharnais (C, 1 percent owned) and Jimmy Vesey (LW, 4 percent owned) and had five points (one goal, four assists) and 18 shots on goal in his past seven games. Kreider has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) and 93 shots on goal in 37 games with added value in hits leagues (75).
Forward Pavel Buchnevich (LW/RW, 33 percent owned) took Kreider's place on the line to begin the second period and is the top in-house option for fantasy owners to replace Kreider. Buchnevich is tied with forward J.T. Miller (C, 39 percent) for second on the Rangers with 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists).
Forwards Yanni Gourde (C/RW, 25 percent) of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Reilly Smith (LW/RW, 37 percent) of the Vegas Golden Knights, Oliver Bjorkstrand (RW, 8 percent) of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Alex DeBrincat (LW/RW, 28 percent) of the Chicago Blackhawks and
Danton Heinen
(C/LW/RW, 23 percent) of the Boston Bruins are other viable replacement options available in the majority of Yahoo leagues.

DraftKings value picks for Thursday

CENTER
Value pick: Tomas Hertl, SJS ($4,900 vs. CGY): The San Jose Sharks center remains a moderately priced value target against the Calgary Flames on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, SNW, NHL.TV). Hertl has four points (three goals, one assist) during a three-game point streak. In his past eight games, Hertl has eight points (five goals, three assists), 17 shots on goal and is averaging 3.6 DraftKings points per game. He is centering the Sharks' second line with Melker Karlsson ($3,300) and Kevin Labanc ($3,400) in the absence of injured forward Logan Couture.
Spend up for: Auston Matthews, TOR ($7,900 at ARI)
WING
Value pick: Danton Heinen, BOS ($4,300 at WSH): The Boston Bruins rookie scored his ninth goal of the season against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, and also had an assist and three shots on goal. Heinen has 12 points (five goals, seven assists), five power-play points and 21 shots on goal in his past 11 games. He is tied for fifth in the NHL among rookies with 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 31 games. Heinen is skating with David Backes ($4,100) and Riley Nash ($3,200) on the Bruins' third line. He has two assists and three shots on goal in two games against the Washington Capitals this season.
Spend up for: Patrick Kane, CHI ($7,500 at VAN)
DEFENSEMAN
Value pick: Colin Miller, VGK ($3,600 at LAK): He has been the Vegas Golden Knights' best offensive defenseman and is an underrated option against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Miller has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past 10 games and has provided strong category coverage during that span with seven blocked shots and 30 shots on goal. His 19 points lead Vegas defensemen and he is averaging 3.7 DraftKings points per game in his past 10 games, up from his 2.7 fantasy points per game average on the season.
Spend up for: Brent Burns, SJS ($7,200 vs. CGY)
GOALTENDER
James Reimer, FLA ($7,300 vs. PHI): The Florida Panthers goaltender went into the Christmas break with a solid performance against the Ottawa Senators, making 38 saves in a 1-0 shutout victory Dec. 23. He extended his winning streak to three games and has stopped 106 of 110 shots during the span. Reimer is 5-3-2 with a 2.58 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in his past 10 games, and 3-4-3 in 11 career games against the Philadelphia Flyers.
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