Fantasy buzz: Spurgeon returning for Wild

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.

2:30 p.m.

Spurgeon returning to lineup for Wild

Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon will return play against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, FS-N, NHL.TV). He has been out since Nov. 25 with a groin injury.
Spurgeon (44 percent owned in Yahoo) is worth activating in most formats ahead of his return and is a good target to be added off the waiver wire in most leagues. Spurgeon has been getting great category coverage; he has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists), five power-play points, 45 shots on goal and 51 blocked shots in 23 games.
He will play on the second defensive pair with Matt Dumba and will be paired with Ryan Suter on the point of Minnesota's first power-play unit with forwards Nino Niederreiter, Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund. Spurgeon is a very good value option on Sunday in DraftKings with a $4,500 salary. He is averaging 3.2 DraftKings points per game on the road, but is averaging 4.0 DraftKings points against the Blackhawks in two prior games this season.

2 p.m.

DraftKings value picks for Sunday

CENTER
Value pick: Henrik Sedin, VAN ($3,600 vs CGY): Sedin had three assists in the Canucks' 4-3 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks on Friday to extend his point streak to three games. Sedin has five assists, three on the power play, and seven shots on goal in his past three games. He is centering the first line with twin brother Daniel Sedin ($3,800) and Thomas Vanek ($3,200). Henrik has nine assists in 16 homes games this season.
Spend up for: Eric Staal, MIN ($6,500 at CHI)

WING
Value pick: Nick Bjugstad, FLA ($4,400 at VGK): Bjugstad has been one of the Florida Panthers' more consistent forwards during the past 10 games and is skating on the first line with Aleksander Barkov ($6,700) and Jonathan Huberdeau ($6,800). Bjugstad has five points (three goals, two assists) and 28 shots on goal in his past 10 games. He had kept his spot on the first line despite the return of forward Evgenii Dadonov from injury. Bjugstad has seven points (four goals, three assists) and 44 shots on goal in 17 road games.
Spend up for: Brock Boeser, VAN ($6,700 vs CGY)

DEFENSE
Value pick: Colin Miller, VGK ($3,800 vs FLA): Miller had an assist and two shots on goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 2-1 win on Thursday, giving him points in back-to-back games. He has two assists, one blocked shot and eight shots on goal in that span. Miller has six points (one goal, five assists), five blocked shots and 21 shots on goal in his past seven games. He is averaging more than 3.5 DraftKings points per game in that span.
Spend up for: Ryan Suter, MIN ($5,400 at CHI)

GOALTENDER
Value pick: Alex Stalock, MIN ($7,400 at CHI): Stalock will start his second straight game for the Wild after making 26 saves in a 3-2 home loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. It will be Stalock's fifth appearance in the past week. He is 3-1-0 with a 1.85 goals-against average and .935 save percentage in those games. Stalock is 2-2-1 in six games (five starts) on the road.

1 p.m.

Landeskog powers Avalanche top line to huge night

Forward Gabriel Landeskog came up big for the Colorado Avalanche in a 6-5 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, fueling a huge night for his line. Landeskog has been skating with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the top line for the Avalanche.
Landeskog (LW, 60 percent owned in Yahoo) scored three goals for his second NHL hat trick, assisted on the other two and finished with five shots on goal. He has seven points and 11 shots on goal in his past six games and 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 28 games. Landeskog is on pace for 66 points, which would be an NHL career high, and is the 91st-ranked player in Yahoo standard leagues. Landeskog is available in 40 percent of Yahoo leagues and is a must-own for fantasy owners.

MacKinnon is a well-established fantasy asset, owned in 87 percent of Yahoo leagues. He scored two goals, one on the power play, with one assist and seven shots on goal. He has four goals and 11 shots on goal in his past two games. MacKinnon is tied for ninth in the NHL in scoring with 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) in 32 games. He is on pace to set NHL career highs in all major offensive fantasy categories.
Rantanen (44 percent owned) is dual-eligible (LW/RW) had an assist to push his point streak to three games totaling three assists, one on the power play, and 10 shots on goal. He has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past eight games and 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) and 13 power-play points this season. Rantanen should be a top waiver priority for fantasy owners.
Defenseman Tyson Barrie (74 percent owned) had three assists, two on the power play, and one shot on goal. Barrie has points in back-to-back games and has nine assists in his past 12 games and continues to be one of the best offensive options among defensemen for fantasy owners. Barrie has been getting elite category coverage with 33 blocked shots and 72 shots on goal in 31 games.

Lower-ownership goalies have big performances

There were a number of strong fantasy performances from goaltenders who are available in a large number of Yahoo leagues and should be on fantasy owners' radars.
Brian Elliott of the Philadelphia Flyers made 27 saves in a 2-1 overtime victory against the Dallas Stars to extend his winning streak to six games. Elliott (70 percent owned) is 12-6-6 with a 2.61 goals-against average and .915 save percentage and is working his way back to fantasy relevance after a subpar start to his season. He has allowed two goals or less in each of the six games during his winning streak. Elliott is available in a large number of leagues and is a must-add for fantasy owners.

Scott Darling made 35 saves in the Carolina Hurricanes' 2-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, ending his personal five-game losing streak. Darling (60 percent owned) has split time with Cam Ward (5 percent owned) this season, but has made 22 starts to 10 for Ward. He is 8-9-6 with a 2.64 GAA and is a solid fantasy target for owners in deeper leagues and keeper leagues going forward.
Carter Hutton of the St. Louis Blues made 48 saves in a 2-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets for his first shutout of the season. Hutton (13 percent owned) has been one of the best backups in the NHL this season. He is 5-2-0 with a 1.63-goals against average and .949 save percentage in nine games (seven starts). Hutton is firmly entrenched behind Jake Allen in the Blues' goaltending rotation, but is a top option for a spot start or for DraftKings DFS lineups every time he starts.

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