Fantasy Spin: Replacing injured D-men

Injuries on the blue line are piling up Monday, so here's the latest on each situation along with replacement options depending on the severity of each player's injury and your league's structure.
St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (knee) has been placed on injured reserve. He is expected to miss at least three weeks, opening the door for rookie Colton Parayko (60 percent owned) to see greater ice time and offensive involvement. Parayko has been held without a point in five straight games, but thrived earlier in the season when Kevin Shattenkirk was injured and is tied for the second-best plus/minus (plus-17) among 'D'. He has 10 points in 20 games of at least 20 minutes of ice time, as opposed to nine in 32 games of fewer ice time.

New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh (concussion) won't play Monday and could miss more time in his recovery. Any absence will place the onus on offensively capable defensemen Keith Yandle (95 percent) and Dan Boyle (35 percent) to shoulder the power-play load. Dan Girardi has assists in back-to-back games but only sees a value spike in leagues that count blocked shots (117; eighth in NHL). Boyle is tied with McDonagh for the Rangers lead among defensemen in power-play points (nine). Play this situation by ear until we know more about the severity of McDonagh's injury.
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green (groin) is out Monday against the Florida Panthers. With Niklas Kronwall also sidelined because of injury, this could turn into a problem for the Red Wings if Green misses an extended period of time. Danny DeKeyser (six percent) and Brendan Smith (one percent) have offensive upside if either earns power-play minutes, but this injury comes at a time when Green was finally picking up his offensive game (past two games: two power-play goals, four penalty minutes, five SOG). Green's injury seems to be less severe than the injuries to Pietrangelo and McDonagh, so stash him on your bench for now.

-- If you're in a shallow league, Nick Leddy (51 percent owned) should be added ASAP to spell relief for any of the aforementioned injured defensemen. He has two goals, six assists and five power-play points in his past eight games, and had a monster performance Sunday with three assists, a plus-4, one PPP and one SOG against the Edmonton Oilers. He sees top power-play minutes for the Islanders and is still due for positive goal-scoring regression down the stretch (10 goals on 120 SOG last season; three on 75 SOG this season).
-- It's a crowded blue line in Anaheim, but Hampus Lindholm (36 percent owned) is certainly worth a look. Seven of his 14 points this season have come with the man-advantage, and he's approaching 100 SOG (98) for the season. Since Cam Fowler returned from injury Feb. 2, Lindholm has three goals, a plus-3, one PPP and 13 SOG.
-- Sticking in California, Alec Martinez (29 percent) dips below the 30 percent ownership mark and has been strong over his past three games (two goals, one assist, plus-5, two PPP, seven SOG). Martinez provides notable coverage in each of the six standard Yahoo categories, with even more value in hits leagues (106 in 51 games).
-- Matt Dumba (nine percent) has emerged from the Minnesota Wild's struggles with power-play points in three straight games, with a total of four points and seven SOG in that span. It's certainly worth seeing if he's incorporated more into the power-play equation as a result of his success, because the Wild and fantasy owners of these injured defensemen need all the help they can get.
-- Dmitry Orlov (three percent) is a nice option for deep-league owners, offering exposure to the Washington Capitals -- the NHL's best offense (3.25 goals per game). The 24-year-old tied his career-high in points (19) with a goal Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers (fifth point in past 10 games), and has a strong rating (plus-11) in 51 games this season. He's a third-pair defenseman and only has two power-play points because of a limited role (0:26 on PP per game), but does enough damage at even strength to assist in fantasy leagues where the 'D' waiver wire market is slim.