ICYMI: Week 16 Fantasy Hockey winners and losers

Victoria Beaver
Special to Yahoo

Week 16 provides a look at the players that led their teams to great wins and some who need to be dropped after lackluster performances. This week’s highs include significant milestones and the lows include a season ending injury.

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Winners:

Center: Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks
Last week’s stats: 3 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, owned in Yahoo: 54%

Last week, Marleau reached the 500-career goal mark. Fantasy owners celebrated as well while he recorded at least a point in each game. His current streak got kicked off by four goals scored in the third period against the Avalanche on January 23. The center has scored in every game since that night, resulting in a six-game points’ streak.

Left Wing: Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils
Last week’s stats: 3 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, owned in Yahoo: 96%

Hall had a productive week that ended Saturday with two goals in a win over the Blue Jackets. That came on the heels of assists in the two previous games.

The week got off to a modest start otherwise. Hall failed to get a shot on goal against the Red Wings, but he earned 13 shots on goal in the last two games. The left winger is the current scoring leader for Jersey with 35 points, which puts him three ahead of Kyle Palmieri.

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Defenseman: Adam Larsson, Edmonton Oilers
Last week’s stats: 4 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 15 hits, owned in Yahoo: 17%

Larsson earned his third goal and eighth assist of the season. His performance, which includes those four points, four penalty infraction minutes, and 15 hits, should have players scrambling to pick him up as he is woefully underappreciated. Larsson had eight hits for the week entering Sunday’s game against the Canadiens, but he almost doubled that by the time the buzzer sounded and surged to 15.

Goalie: Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings
Last week’s stats: 2 games, 2 wins, 1 shutout. , .949 save percentage, owned in Yahoo: 57%

Mrazek is beginning to shine when his team needs him most. By this point in most years, the Red Wings are flirting with a playoff berth: a position they secured in the last 25 seasons. This is a very different season for them, as they battle to stay out of last place in the Atlantic.

Mrazek faced 36 shots on Friday and gave up four goals, but earned the win. He was much better Saturday against the Predators, stopping all 42 shots to earn his first shutout of the season.

Goalie: Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings

Pay close attention to the Wings’ goalie situation. Howard is finally off injured reserve and is warming up in Grand Rapids with their AHL affiliate. Howard is rumored to return to Detroit after losing 5-4 Saturday to Milwaukee. He has one more game to play with the Griffins, but after that one should be careful in choosing the netminder later in the week as the position will be much more fluid. Even while he was on IR, Howard maintained his position on 35% of Yahoo’s leagues.

Losers:

Center: Charlie Coyle, Minnesota Wild
Last week’s stats: 3 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, owned in Yahoo: 55%

Fantasy owners are dropping Coyle after he suffered through a week with no points—a lackluster performance that cost him a position on the top line.

Coyle has been on a downward spiral even before his pointless efforts. He had only four assists over the previous two weeks. The Wild center will have to prove himself if he wants his old position on the top line back. He was also replaced on the power-play by Jason Zucker.

Winger: Robby Fabbri, St Louis Blues
Last week’s stats: 3 games, 0 goals, 1 assist, owned in Yahoo: 25% (Out for the remainder of the season)

After a hard blow dealt by Penguins forward Carter Rowney, Fabbri will be out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury to his left knee. He ends the week with the team’s fifth-most goals (11) and points (29).

Defenseman: Jeff Petry, Montreal Canadiens
Last week’s stats: 3 games, 0 points, 3 hits, owned in Yahoo: 59%

Petry was sluggish all week and sat out of Tuesday’s tilt with the flu. In the three contests he participated in he had zero points and only one hit per game. Petry’s last point came from an assist January 24 against the Flames. This was also the last time that the defenseman racked up fantasy points for penalty minutes. His poor performance should allow him to be dropped with little consequence: wait a few weeks and then re-add him if he starts to show improvement.

Goalie: Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
Last week’s stats: 2 games, 2 losses, 8 goals allowed, .871 save percentage, owned in Yahoo: 93%

There is no slump as surprising this week as that of Bobrovsky. Four games ago he was well ahead of the other goalies with 28 wins. After Saturday’s loss to the Devils, he is now tied with the Wild’s Devan Dubnyk and in jeopardy of slipping further.

Bobrovsky has lost four in a row, allowing four goals each time. Before this slump, it took eight games to reach that same number. Bobrovsky has fallen to fifth in the league in GAA with a 2.19. While his struggles should subside, it was obviously a rough week and something to monitor.