Weekend Outlook: Back-to-backs and Edmonton's tandem

We have a decent Friday slate upcoming here in a few hours and a loaded Saturday to look forward to this weekend. Plus maybe a goaltender that could help this weekend and potentially next week? Let’s dive in!

Antti Raanta, Carolina Hurricanes (Rostered in 10% of ESPN leagues, 30% Fantrax, 27% Yahoo)
2 starts, 1 win, 1 OTL, 1.93 GA/G, .922 SV%, 0 SO.

Carolina will be on a back-to-back today vs NY Islanders and tomorrow vs Philadelphia, and with the Canes confirming that Freddie Anderson will go tonight, that leaves us with Raanta tomorrow. I like this spot for him here and across all three prominent fantasy platforms he should be available to add to your fantasy team. The offense that’s in front of him alone is enough to potentially earn him a win and as far as backup’s go, Raanta is perfectly suitable for a weekend start.

So far on the season Raanta has allowed four goals on 51 shots, looking excellent in his first start of the season versus San Jose, but shaky in his second start last Saturday against the Flames, where Carolina lost in overtime. Philly might not shoot enough to warrant his value in DFS this weekend (most likely at a high price point as well), but for fantasy adding Raanta for a spot start here might be a good play on the Saturday slate.

Casey DeSmith, Pittsburgh Penguins (Rostered in 2% of ESPN leagues, 17% Fantrax, 35% Yahoo)
2 starts, 0 wins, 0 OTL, 3.42 GA/G, .907 SV%, 0 SO.

I wrote up DeSmith for part of Monday’s Goalie Ramblings and I stand by that now that he is still a good lower rostered addition coming into the weekend, and that’s partially because of Pittsburgh’s schedule. The Pens had a back-to-back earlier in the week, and they find themselves with the same situation now, playing Vancouver tonight and Seattle tomorrow, both coming at the tail end of a west coast road trip. Even looking further down the line here for the Pens, they will also have a back-to-back next Tuesday and Wednesday at home vs the Bruins and Sabres, where we’ll likey to see DeSmith take the net versus Buffalo. Adding him this weekend for a spot start can also be part of your matchup next week, so the add/drop or claim may have more value in that aspect alone.

DeSmith has allowed four goals on 35 shots to start the season and while I like him in net versus Seattle because of how much Pittsburgh’s offense is producing early to help earn a win, this is a Seattle team that has really shot the puck this season, leading the entire NHL in shots for. A strong start here seeing decent volume makes him not only a good play in fantasy but in DFS as well.

Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers (Rostered in 4% of ESPN leagues, 44% Fantrax, 22% Yahoo) 2 starts, 2 wins, 0 OTL, 1.44 GA/G, .957 SV%, 0 SO.

I call it as I see it, and so far in two starts, Stuart Skinner has looked outstanding for the Oilers, most recently in his last outing on Wednesday versus St. Louis, where he stopped all 29 even-strength shots that he saw come his way. It’s a small sample but in all of his games played (three) he is third in goals saved above average in the NHL with 5.14 as well as third in save percentage.

Now, Jack Campbell is still this club’s starter who has also looked fine, but Skinner is a goalie I want to highlight in the event that we see him in net tomorrow against the Flames. Skinner last played on Wednesday this week and with that being the first game of a back-to-back, Campbell got the Thursday start versus Chicago. It’s going to be interesting to see if the Oilers go back to Campbell tomorrow or potentially go with Skinner who will be on more day’s rest. If Skinner is in net tomorrow, I think he becomes a really good start in fantasy and while in DFS I can only imagine he will be one of the higher priced goalies on the slate, as I think he is absolutely in consideration in single entry or multi-lineups. Keep in mind, tomorrow’s game for Edmonton is a 10 EST puck drop so we may not know who is starting in net until closer to game time. Keep an eye on GoaliePost for any updates as to who will get the start tomorrow for Edmonton.

For continued fantasy news and notes throughout the season, follow me on Twitter @ndySanz