On every game day this season, THN Fantasy will highlight players and goalies for fantasy managers to stream or roster for the rest of the season. The recommended players and goalies are rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues and can be selected in standard fantasy leagues and/or for daily fantasy games.
Evgeni Malkin, C/LW, PIT vs. NYR (24% rostered) – FanDuel $4,900
Malkin, who may be in his final season with the Penguins, had a poor 2024-205 campaign in Steel City. He fell to just 16 goals and 34 assists in 68 contests, the second straight season his production has declined. Malkin is off to a solid start, notching a pair of assists on Opening Night followed by a trio of helpers Thursday. Ride the wave while Geno is hot.
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Gage Goncalves, C/RW, TB vs. NJ (2% rostered) – FanDuel $2,600
Goncalves, in his first full season with the Lightning, provided eight goals, 20 points, 71 hits and a plus-7 rating over 60 regular-season appearances. The 24-year-old, selected in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft, is slated to open the season as the team’s second-line right winger. Goncalves with have Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel as his linemates, giving him a strong chance to score.
Andrei Kuzmenko, LW/RW, LA @ WPG, (30% rostered) – FanDuel $4,400
Kuzmenko re-found his first season form after arriving in LA last season. Thrown on the first line and first unit power play, Kuzmenko notched five goals and added 12 assists in 22 games as a King. Kuzmenko is skating in the same place this season and had a fine Opening Night with a power-play goal and an assist.
Matthew Coronato, RW, CGY vs. STL (19% rostered) – FanDuel $5,200
Coronato, selected 13th overall in 2021, notched 24 goals and 23 assists in 2024-25, his first full season in the NHL. He parlayed that performance into a seven-year, $45.5 million contract with the Flames in May. Coronato will skate on one Calgary’s top-two lines and first unit power-play, giving him a chance at 30 tallies this season.
Pavel Zacha, C/LW, BOS vs. BUF (9% rostered) – FanDuel $4,800
Zacha went from 59 points to 47 last season, partially driven by a decline in shooting percentage from 14.2 to 10.6 percent. Firmly entrenched as the second-line right winger, Zacha also will see time on the top power-play unit. Zacha tallied an assist Opening Night on the man-advantage, which is where he should do substantive damage.
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Bobby McMann, LW, TOR @ DET (4% rostered) – FanDuel $4,200
McMann is certainly not the first name that pops into your head when thinking about the Maple Leafs. But his line placement makes him a value add in most leagues. McMann opened the season on the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander, who both assisted on his goal one minute into Toronto’s win Opening Night. Take advantage of his relatively low FanDuel salary.
Trevor Zegras, C, PHI @ CAR (21% rostered) – FanDuel $4,800
Zegras and Anaheim needed a divorce this offseason with Zegras desiring to head back to the East Coast. Both parties got what they wanted as the Ducks traded Zegras to the Flyers. Zegras gets a fresh start playing for Rick Tocchet, centering Philly’s second line while manning the middle on the first power-play unit. Look fr a return to form from the talented forward.
Frank Nazar, C, CHI VS. MTL (20% rostered) – FanDuel $4,2000
Nazar, profiled by Jason Chen on Thursday, should see his rostered percentage and FanDuel price rise accordingly. He opened the season with a goal and an assist, then tacked on a helper Thursday. Nazar is coming off a 12-goal, 14-assist, 91-shot season in 2024-25 (53 games) and is prime to have a breakthrough campaign in the Windy City.
Andrew Mangiapane, LW/RW, EDM vs. VAN (9% rostered) – FanDuel $2,600
Mangiapane, after posting at least 40 points for three straight seasons, saw the wheels fall off last season. He notched just 28 points in his lone campaign with the Capitals. Mangiapane, who signed a two-year, $7.2 million contract with the Oilers in July, is skating on the second line next to Ryan-Nugent Hopkins. He got ff to a good start with a goal in the opener Wednesday.
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Ivan Barbashev, LW/RW, LV @ SEA (31% rostered) -FanDuel $4,200
All Barbashev does is produce, He has posted at least 45 points each of the last four seasons, notching 51 in 2024-25. The same with 100+ hits, though he dropped from 179 to 104 last season. Barbashev is skating on the top line next to Jack Eichel in the Desert, notching a goal and assist while dishing out five hits Opening Night on Wednesday.
All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted.