Fantasy Hockey Goalie Waiver Wire: Should Alex Nedeljkovic Be Considered?

Three consecutive wins could make Alex Nedeljkovic the goalie to own on the Penguins fantasy squad this season (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images). On every game day this season, THN Fantasy will highlight players and goalies to stream or roster for fantasy managers during that day’s contests. These recommended players and goalies can be utilized both in standard fantasy leagues as well as daily fantasy games. We anticipate 11 confirmed matches on Tuesday, Nov 5: * = Linus Ullmark of Ottawa will face Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of Buffalo (7 pm ET); * = confirmedJeremy Swayman from Boston will play against Joseph Woll of Toronto (7 p.m ET). Dustin Wolf of CGY will face Sam Montembeault of Mon (7 pm. ET). Alyeksei Kolosov from Philadelphia takes on Pyotr Kochetkov of Carolina (7 p.m. ET). Alex Nedeljkovic from Pittsburgh faces Ilya Sorokin of New York II*(7:30 p.m.ET). Andrei Vasilevskiy from Tampa Bay meets Jordan Binnington of Saint Louis (8 pm.ET), Darcy Kuemper from Los Angeles takes on Filip Gustavsson of Minnesota (8 pm. ET). These matches will take place today: UTA’s Connor Ingram takes on WPG’s Connor Hellebuyck (8 pm ET); Sea’s Joe Daccord will face Col’s Alexandar Georgiev for their match (9 p.m ET), VAN’s Kevin Lankinen will meet Lukas Dostal from Ana (9 p.m ET); while Elvis Merzlikins from CLB and SJ’s Vitek Vanecek in 10:30 pm match up (10:30 pm ET). Alex Nedeljkovic of Pittsburgh will face off with New York Islanders (12% rostered), in what represents an opportunity for Nedeljkovic to achieve three consecutive victories and secure his starting job for next season. As Nedeljkovic continues to show, I would find it surprising if the Penguins turned to Joel Blomqvist instead of Nedeljkovic in this crucial matchup against an adversary they loath. Make no mistake; though the Pens are terrible defensively, but here I like their chances because I believe they can generate enough offense to take care of business. The Isles have lost four straight and have already been shut out four times this season; without Mathew Barzal for this game they face significant risk against Nedeljkovic and his Penguins who have had trouble winning this year. However, Isles-Pens matchups have traditionally been hard fought but also high scoring affairs.Elvis Merzlikins from CLB will play for SJ (12% rostered).The Jackets have recently suffered two tough defeats that saw them outscored 13-4 by their opponent(s). Merzlikins should hardly bear all the blame; after stopping 38 shots in a 6-2 loss against league-leading Jets, his opponent should prove easier; Macklin Celebrini should join his Sharks teammates this evening and give their offense an additional boost. Though their recent match-ups have featured numerous goals, the Jackets have won five out of their past six meetings dating back to 2021-22 season.Dustin Wolf of Calgary at Montreal (42% rostered)has allowed nine goals in two starts (.855 SP), raising significant concerns. Plus, Flames offense hasn’t generated enough offense so Ryan Huska may need to change up lines regularly due to low output from Ryan. On the upside, Wolf and Cayden Primeau both face similar struggles on offense despite three straight losses for Montreal. Wolf made 36 saves against them last season at home ice while Cayden Primeau wasn’t very effective either game. This will mark Wolf’s second career game against them this time out; last March saw Cayden Primeau perform poorly enough that Wolf only need make 29. Flip a coin when selecting Wolf; there’s always the possibility he puts together an impressive performance and claims victory here. Alexander Georgiev of Colorado against Seattle (72% rostered) Georgiev has been featured in over 50% of leagues already and usually wouldn’t make my waiver wire pickup list, however over one quarter of Yahoo leagues still allow his selection as a player worth looking out for. Justus Annunen seems like the ideal candidate. Georgiev may still be preferred among Avalanche fans; Jared Bednar had yet to name Annunen as their starter at press time; with Kaapo Kahkonen struggling against Tampa Bay during his season debut and Georgiev having lost last time out against Annunen; Georgiev could very well get the nod as starter here. Georgiev could provide the Avs with much-needed confidence by winning this matchup and convincing their opponent of his worthiness as an Avs starter again. If Georgiev wins this one, that may give his club more motivation (and reasons!) to turn back towards him again. The Colorado Avalanche are an extremely talented team and any goaltender who takes over as starter will likely increase his or her fantasy value greatly. Please join the new THN Fantasy roundtable discussion here to join in the debate and mark The Hockey News Fantasy site as your go-to resource for all things fantasy hockey related, such as stats, news analysis rankings projections (and Sleepers and Keepers Fantasy Hockey Podcast!)!