Seven NHL games today. Here are your start / sit fantasy recommendations for the February 18th games.
Please note that you should always start your star players. This list is here to help you if you have two similar players and are debating on which one to start. It can also help when deciding on whether or not to pick up a certain FA on days with a light schedule.
The list will also include key players who may miss a game due to injury or healthy scratch and/or a player who is returning from injury.
While a player may be a “sit” recommendation, he should still be put in your lineup over a player without a game. Accumulating stats takes priority over no stats at all.
Different factors go into picking start / sit candidates including strength of opponent, scoring categories, history vs opponent and sometimes, gut feelings. Take that into consideration before making your final decision.
NOTE: These recommendations are posted before the first game of the day. Some changes may be made if any major changes occur to NHL lineups such as injuries, scratches, or especially, starting goalies, once new information is received. Check back often for any changes, especially for late games.
Forwards
File Photo: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
| Start | Sit | |
| Patric Hornqvist – NSH | Radim Vrbata – PHX | |
| (Expected to make his return to the lineup tonight) | (Could miss tonight’s game. Monitor his status) | |
| Michael Cammalleri – CGY | Tomas Fleischmann – FLA | |
| (Still rolling. 4 G, 9 pts, 13 SOG during 4 gm pt streak) | (Just 3 pts in his last 7 games) | |
| Jiri Tlusty – CAR | Mike Fisher – NSH | |
| (Has 9 points in his last 7 games) | (Just 4 pts this season. Sit for better options) | |
| Jamie McGinn – COL | Brandon Dubinsky – CBJ | |
| (9 points, 27 SOG in his last 7 games) | (Misses tonight’s game) | |
| Jonathan Huberdeau – FLA | Mikhail Grabovski – TOR | |
| (3 goals, 11 SOG last 3 games) | (Just 1 point in his lat 10 games) |
Defensemen
File Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
| Start | Sit | |
| Lubomir Visnovsky – NYI | Derek Morris – PHX | |
| (Has 4 points in his last 3 games) | (Misses another game tonight) | |
| James Wisniewski – CBJ | Raphael Diaz – MON | |
| (Returns to the lineup tonight) | (Recorded just his 2nd pt in last 8 games last night) | |
| Joe Corvo – CAR | Dmitry Kulikov – FLA | |
| (All of his points – 2 G, 6 pts – in his last 5 games) | (Pts in just 3 games, and 4 pts in 13 games overall) | |
| Marek Zidlicky – NJ | John-Michael Liles – TOR | |
| (3 pts in last 4, getting lots of shots) | (2 points in his last 9 games) | |
| Francois Beauchemin – ANA | Andrei Markov – MON | |
| (6 pts in his last 7. Helps with other categories) | (Just 2 pts in his last 8 after a red-hot start) |
Goalies
File Photo: Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images
NOTE: Some goalies for the later games have not been confirmed yet. Check back later as the Start / Sit for the goalies will be updated once goalies have been confirmed.
| Start | Sit | |
| Chris Mason – NSH | Ben Bishop – OTT | |
| (Not a bad spot start vs a struggling team) | (Gets the start for a banged up team. Tough matchup) | |
| Ben Scrivens – TOR | Peter Budaj – MON | |
| (Pretty good matchup vs struggling FLA team) | (Good last game, but tougher matchup tonight) | |
Remember, use this list as a guideline if you are debating between a few players to round out your lineup. Just because a star player appears on the “sit” list doesn’t necessarily mean you should sit that player if your other options aren’t overwhelmingly better.
If you have any questions about your fantasy lineup, don’t hesitate to ask.
Good Luck!
Carlos Figueiredo
NHL Rankings & Content Editor
Dynasty Sports Empire
@SpeakoftheDevs
