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Week 14 fantasy hockey winners and losers: Malkin remains a fixture

MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 18: Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates during the NHL game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on January 18, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin completed a hat trick last week and has a seven-game points streak. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Victoria Beaver
Special to Yahoo Sports

As week 15 starts and players get ready for the All-Star break, we review who was worth your money in fantasy hockey and who fell short of expectations.

Winners:

Left/Right Winger: Nino Niederreiter, Minnesota Wild

Last week’s stats: 4 games, 2 goals, 3 assists

With the Wild looking down on the west from their high northern tower, fantasy owners scramble to claim any shooter they can get from the team. Left/right winger Niederreiter was the most active addition this weekend in many leagues.

In the past week, he scored two goals and three assists. Two goals came against Arizona in a tight 4-3 game, including the game winner. Both were scored on power-plays. Entering All-Star weekend, the Wild have interdivisional matchups with Dallas and St Louis. Niederreiter has a combined three goals and two assists against these teams.

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Center: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins

Last week’s stats: 4 games, 4 goals, 1 hat trick, 4 assists

There is no bigger current rivalry in the NHL than the Penguins and Capitals. These are the best games to watch. Clearly Malkin agreed this week. He completed a hat trick against the Capitals, including one power-play goal. Entering the week the Penguins lost three in a row, but Malkin netted a point in each. This week the Penguins played four games and Malkin scored in all. Three were multi-point games, which gives him a seven-game points streak and makes him a fantasy fixture.

Defenseman: Brooks Orpik, Washington Capitals

Last week’s stats: 3 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, +5 rating, 2 shots on goal

While it is always nice to find well-rounded defensemen who can put the puck in the net, sometimes it is nice to highlight defensemen for doing that which they are paid. Orpik has a +5 for the past week, so he was on ice in a series of high-scoring Capitals games. Last Sunday, he added his 10th assist of the season and is on a pace that should equal 20 goals. In his 10 assists, he has helped eight different shooters. He clearly adjusts to anyone on the ice.

Goalie: Ondrej Pavelec; Winnipeg Jets

Last week’s stats: 2 games, 2 wins, .914 save percentage

Fantasy owners are scrambling to pick up Pavelec, who until Wednesday was chilling in Manitoba with the Moose on the Jets’ AHL affiliate. Pavelec played his first two games of the season this week, edging out Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson. These two younger goaltenders pushed the veteran to a waiver position at the start of the season, but before putting Pavelec back in between the irons, the Jets lost four straight.

Given his current momentum, it is likely he will get the next start against Anaheim on Monday. If he continues to match or exceed his current .914 save percentage, the Jets could be looking at a very different second half of the season.

Losers:

Winger: Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild

Last week’s stats: 4 games, 0 goals, 1 assist, seven shots on goal

Before Saturday’s assist against Anaheim, Parise went five games without a point, making him a low value pick on a high value team. Parise only has 21 points this season, which is significantly under his pace from the past three when he finished with more than 50. He has a -2 ranking for both the week and season-to-date and is neither helping his team score nor getting much assistance.

Parise is currently only ninth in points on the team, placing him behind four centers, three fellow wingers, and a defenseman. Players needing to make a bold move might wish to get ahead of the competition and replace Parise now.

Center: Andrew Shaw, Montreal Canadiens

Last week’s stats: 4 games, 0 goals, 0 assists

Shaw returned to action last Saturday and was unable to score a goal or assist. He had a -3 for the week. The only notable stat Shaw accumulated was 22 penalty infraction minutes (PIM), most of which were drawn in a single fight with the Rangers’ JT Miller. If a center is only giving fantasy points based off PIM, there will be better options. Fantasy owners are giving up on Shaw in deference for centers who are actually trying to score.

Defense: Nathan Beaulieu, Montreal Canadiens

Last week’s stats: 4 games, 0 goals, 1 Assist, -4 ranking

This week Beaulieu spent too much time on ice watching the other team score. Perhaps the only silver lining was that his single assist this week came during a power play, which gave him some extra fantasy value. That lining was overshadowed by a huge black cloud, however, because Beaulieu’s -4 rating came without a single positive game. This week is just one in a long line of lackluster performances for the first round pick who currently has only two goals and 15 assists.

Goalie: Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning

Last week’s stats: 3 games, 2 losses, 8 goals against, .886 save percentage

The Lightning started Bishop in three of four games this week. The last of these was his worst performance of the season. In a game against Arizona Saturday night, Bishop gave up five goals on 17 shots for a save percentage of .706. Fantasy owners went into this matchup with the promise of a low score since the Coyotes struggle to net points, while Bishop seemed to be returning to his pre-injury rhythm.

This game serves as a reminder of why Bishop is not ready to reclaim his role as the primary goalie and will continue to share the net with Andrei Vasilevskiy.