NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Player Pickups Nov. 16 - Lekkerimaki Encore, Noesen's Steady Rise

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 can be used in standard fantasy leagues or for daily fantasy games.

Forwards

Stefan Noesen, LW/RW, NJ at TB (42% rostered) - L3, PP1

At this rate, Noesen will be rostered in more than half of Yahoo leagues before long. With nine goals in 20 games, including two against the Panthers on Thursday, Noesen has been a goal-scoring, hitting machine. His shot volume is a little low and I do fear some regression, but he's been so effective as a net-front presence and cleaning up all the plays set up for him that it's hard to ignore. The Lightning PK ranks 22nd in the league.

Kirill Marchenko, RW, CLB at MON (29% rostered) - L1, PP1
Sean Monahan, C, CLB at MON (28% rostered) - L1, PP1
Yegor Chinakhov, LW/RW, CLB at MON (19% rostered) - L2, PP1
Dmitri Voronkov, LW, CLB at MON (1% rostered) - L1, PP2

This has the potential to be a high-scoring matchup after the Jackets found their scoring touch again and pumped six goals against the Pens on Friday. Monahan faces his former team and he has the highest ceiling of them all with faceoff wins and plenty of shots.

Marchenko would be next for offensive ceiling, followed by Chinakhov, who's slightly better in multi-category leagues because he dishes out hits. Voronkov's only an option in really, really deep leagues, but worth mentioning with his L1 role and two-point performance against the Pens.

Josh Norris, C, OTT at CAR (27% rostered) - L2, PP1

I like Norris even as a season-long hold. He's on a three-game goal streak and facing the Canes who are starting their third-string goalie in Spencer Martin. In multi-category leagues, Norris has been overlooked all season.

Fabian Zetterlund, LW/RW, SJ at PIT (25% rostered) - L2, PP2

The Pens are playing the second half of a back-to-back and their defense and goaltending have been so horrendous it's hard to avoid this matchup even if the Sharks offense isn't very good. But if you're going to stream a Shark, it might as well be Zetterlund, who's on a two-game points streak and trails only Mikael Granlund and Tyler Toffoli in shots.

Dylan Cozens, C, BUF at PHI (24% rostered) - L2, PP2
Ryan McLeod, C, BUF at PHI (1% rostered) - L1

If we consider Alex Tuch as the team's top forward in Tage Thompson's absence, then McLeod is indeed the 1C. But in the Sabres' most recent game, Cozens trailed only Tuch and linemate Jack Quinn in ice time among forwards, and he's getting PP minutes that McLeod isn't. For that reason, Cozens is the better streaming option, though it's worth noting McLeod scored two points and averaged over 17 minutes over the past two games.

Kyle Palmieri, RW, NYI at SEA (22% rostered) - L2, PP2
Anders Lee, LW, NYI at SEA (17% rostered) - L1, PP1
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, C/RW, NYI at SEA (9% rostered) - L1, PP1

The Kraken are normally quite stingy on defense but Palmieri, Lee and Pageau are scoring so often that it's hard to ignore. The Isles don't have any high-end offensive players but they're getting it done; over their past five games, they've at least managed to score at least three goals, a far cry when they were shut out three times in a two-week span. Palmieri's the steadiest of them all, but Lee offers up a lot of shots and he's got the hottest hand right now with four goals in four games.

Marco Rossi, C, MIN vs. DAL (19% rostered) - L1, PP1

With Joel Eriksson Ek potentially not available, look for Rossi to play a lot of minutes as their top center. His play has seen ups and downs but certainly more ups than downs. He's up to 14 points in 16 games, and if Eriksson Ek is out longer term, Rossi is worth holding.

Anthony Cirelli, C, TB vs. NJ (15% rostered) - L1, PP1

The absence of Brayden Point has pushed Cirelli up the depth chart, and consequently his minutes have gone way up. He's played at least 20 minutes in four straight games. While his scoring remains very modest, the exposure to Nikita Kucherov at both even strength and on the power play gives Cirelli's fantasy value a boost in the right direction.

Jonathan Lekkerimaki, RW, VAN vs. CHI (7% rostered) - L1, PP1

Lekkerimaki scored his first NHL goal with a wicked shot off the rush, and that's the type of potential the Canucks are looking for from their top prospect. Their overall showing against the Isles was embarrassing, and surely they'll come out with a better effort to spoil Connor Bedard's hometown debut. If Lekkerimaki can stay in the lineup, he's a sneaky hold in deep leagues.

Anthony Beauvillier, LW, PIT vs. SJ (2% rostered) - L1

No power play minutes for Beauvillier, but lots of ice time with Sidney Crosby as his left winger. Beauvillier's very boom-or-bust but note he's on a three-game goal streak and Mike Sullivan seems to really like him on Crosby's left wing, which makes his job relatively safe.

Defensemen

Bowen Byram, D, BUF at PHI (31% rostered) - L1, PP2

At this point in the season, quality 'D' is hard to find. But Byram's seen significantly more usage lately skating on the top pair with Rasmus Dahlin, and his scoring production has consequently ticked up. He's scored five points in his past five games even though his shooting volume remains incredibly sparse, and averaged over 25 minutes per game over the past three games. There might be lots of rest-of-season value here.

Travis Sanheim, D, PHI vs. BUF (40% rostered) - L1
Emil Andrae, D, PHI vs. BUF (1% rostered) - L1, PP2

The Flyers is pretty thin, and consequently John Tortorella is leaning on his top pairing a lot. Sanheim's the safe play because he offers broad category coverage and he's coming off a three-point game while averaging close to 29 minutes per game lately.

Andrae's more dynamic, though it's a bummer that Egor Zamula has taken his spot on the top power play. Andrae is still the far better fantasy play, given that he's expected to play significantly more minutes than Zamula and riding a two-game points streak.

Honorable mention:

Pavel Zacha, C/LW, BOS vs. STL (12% rostered) - L1, PP1
Brayden Schenn, C/LW, STL at BOS (15% rostered) - L2, PP1
Matthew Knies, LW, TOR vs. EDM (46% rostered) - L1, PP1
Dawson Mercer, C/RW, NJ at TB (21% rostered) - L1, PP2
Jesper Boqvist, C, FLA vs. WPG (0% rostered) - L2
Mason Marchment, LW, DAL at MIN (31% rostered) - L2, PP2
Logan Stankoven, C/RW, DAL at MIN (41% rostered) - L3, PP2
Tyler Seguin, C/RW, DAL at MIN (28% rostered) - L2, PP2

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