Fantasy buzz: Pietrangelo's injury, Fleury's return

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.

Blues place Pietrangelo on injured reserve

Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was placed on injured reserve by the St. Louis Blues because of a lower-body injury sustained against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. Pietrangelo will not play against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV).
Pietrangelo has been the second most-valuable fantasy defenseman (46th overall) in Yahoo based on standard-category performance behind Drew Doughty (LAK, 24th). He ranks fifth at the position in points (23 in 30 games), tied for second in goals (seven), third in plus/minus (plus-14), tied for eighth in shots on goal (88) and sixth in ice time per game (25:45).
Colton Parayko has already seen a spike in fantasy value because of an increased workload in Pietrangelo's absence. Parayko played 27:32 and had one assist, a plus-3 rating and four SOG in a 3-2 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday. He played on the first power-play unit with forwards Vladimir Tarasenko, Paul Stastny, Vladimir Sobotka and Patrik Berglund.

Pietrangelo joins left wing Jaden Schwartz (16th overall in Yahoo), who will miss at least six weeks because of an ankle injury, on St. Louis' injured list. Forward Ivan Barbashev was recalled from Chicago of the American Hockey League to replace Schwartz on Sunday. The Blues also recalled defenseman Jordan Schmaltz from San Antonio of the AHL to replace Pietrangelo.
Another defenseman who will assume a greater offensive role in Pietrangelo's absence is Joel Edmundson (25 percent owned in Yahoo), who played 25:49 and had two assists, a plus-2 and four SOG against the Sabres on Sunday. He has 12 points (six goals, six assists), a plus-8 and 57 SOG but no power-play points with minimal usage in those situations. Defenseman Vince Dunn saw some second-unit power-play action against the Sabres, making him worth monitoring in deeper fantasy leagues.
From a DFS standpoint, Parayko is worth spending up for at $5,400 in DraftKings (fifth most-expensive defenseman). He did not have a point against the Lightning on Oct. 14 but still returned immense value with five blocked shots and five SOG for 5.0 DraftKings points. Parayko has been one of the most valuable fantasy defenseman League-wide the past month; he has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists), five PPP and 40 SOG in his past 13 games.
Edmundson ($3,900) and Dunn ($2,900) are cheaper options in DraftKings worth considering. Edmundson has scored nine of his 12 points at home and is averaging 3.0 DraftKings points per game.

Outside replacement options for season-long owners include Tyler Myers (WPG; 41 percent owned), Erik Johnson (COL; 27 percent owned), Dmitry Orlov (WSH; 21 percent), Gustav Forsling (CHI; 4 percent) and Esa Lindell (DAL, 10 percent).

Fleury expected to start for Golden Knights

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to start for the Vegas Golden Knights against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, FS-CR, NHL.TV) after missing 25 games with a concussion.
Fleury, who hasn't played since Oct. 13, is 3-1-0 with a 2.48 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in four starts. He's owned in 76 percent of Yahoo leagues and is priced at $7,800 in DraftKings, where he is the 10th most expensive goalie and has averaged 6.0 points per contest. If Fleury doesn't start, look for Malcolm Subban ($7,700; 2.33 GAA, .924 SV%) to get the call. Either way, the Golden Knights are in a great spot at home against the Hurricanes, who will be on the second leg of a back-to-back set.
The Golden Knights have won four straight games and were 16-8-1 in Fleury's absence. They used four goalies in those games; Maxime Lagace started 13 games (6-6-1), Subban started nine (7-2-0) and Oscar Dansk started three (3-0-0). Dylan Ferguson appeared in one game in relief.
READ: Projected fantasy goalie starters for Tuesday, Dec. 12

Ducks lose Perry; Getzlaf, Silfverberg return

Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry sustained a lower-body injury in a 3-1 win against the Hurricanes on Monday and is week to week.
Perry, who skated on a line with center Ryan Getzlaf and forward Rickard Rakell, was replaced by Ondrej Kase (1 percent owned in Yahoo), who could see regular time on the top line with Perry out for an extended period.

Getzlaf returned after missing 19 games with a facial fracture. He played 19:55 and had no shots on goal, one blocked shot and was minus-1. He also wasn't great on faceoffs, winning five of 15. He has seven points (one goal, six assists) in seven games and should be a top-line fantasy center when he returns to form.
Forward Jakob Silfverberg, who missed five games with an upper-body injury, played with Andrew Cogliano and center Adam Henrique. Silfverberg scored a goal and had three shots on goal in 18:39.

DraftKings picks for Tuesday

CENTER

Spend up for: Sean Couturier, PHI ($6,400 vs. TOR) --The Philadelphia Flyers center has scored 14 goals, one shy of his NHL career high in 2014-15. He has 28 points and is already nearing his career high of 39, accomplished twice (2013-14, 2015-16). Though Couturier hasn't scored in five games, he has excellent home splits (10 goals in 14 games) and faces the Toronto Maple Leafs, who rank 28th in shots against per game (34.3) and ninth against opposing centers in DraftKings.
Value pick: Yanni Gourde, TBL ($4,100 at STL)

WING

Spend up for: Artemi Panarin, CBJ ($6,400 vs. EDM) -- After a slow start, Panarin has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) and 25 shots on goal in his past 10 games. The Columbus Blue Jackets top line left wing has 26 points (seven goals, 19 assists) in 30 games, including a five-assist game in a 5-3 win at the New Jersey Devils on Friday. Panarin is averaging 3.5 DraftKings points per contest this season but has averaged 4.0 in his past 10 games. He'll face the Edmonton Oilers, who are allowing 3.26 goals per game, tied for 25th in the League with the Detroit Red Wings.

Value pick: Marian Gaborik, LAK ($4,400 at NJD)

DEFENSEMAN

Spend up for: Drew Doughty, LAK ($5,700 at NJD) -- The Los Angeles Kings defenseman is among the leaders in points at his position with 24 (five goals, 19 assists). Doughty has 10 points (goal, nine assists) in his past 10 games with 28 shots on goal and nine blocked shots. He has three multipoint games in his past seven and has taken four SOG in three of his past five games. Doughty has a good matchup against the Devils, who have allowed five goals in three of their past four games.
Value pick: Kris Russell, EDM ($4,100 at CBJ)

GOALTENDER

Spend up for: Frederik Andersen, TOR ($8,000 at PHI) -- Andersen is 17-8-1 with a 2.67 GAA and .922 SV% and is averaging 5.9 DraftKings points per contest. He is 7-2-1 with a 1.77 GAA, .951 SV% and two shutouts (7.9 DraftKings points) in his past 10 starts. He has faced the most shots in the League (896) and made the most saves (826), so you know he'll put up points based on saves alone. Andersen is 4-0-1 in games where he has faced at least 40 shots and is 6-1-0 in seven games against the Flyers.
Value pick: Mike Condon, OTT ($7,400 at BUF)
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