Sit Anthony Mantha vs Oilers in fantasy matchup

The Washington Capitals take on the Edmonton Oilers tonight. If you want to bet on the game, click here for all the betting odds. If you play fantasy read on as far as who to sit tonight which is easily Anthony Mantha.

Now before I go into why I suggest that, let’s be clear on this… I’m no Anthony Mantha hater. In fact I have a friend who hates Mantha and hates that trade from a couple seasons ago and every time he scores I troll said friend.

But lately Mantha has been in a slump and even the big dogs like Japers Rink and RMNB have written about those struggles.

Chris Morgan of Yahoo Sports said that Mantha is a winger to avoid. Here’s what he said:

Mantha had two points against Vancouver to close out November, but those are his only two points in his last eight games. I am also making this recommendation assuming, as projected, Stuart Skinner is in net for the Oilers, and he has a .914 save percentage.

My friend Luke Adomanis over at Japers Rink says the problem with Mantha is a lack of effort and a lack of production, the two of which go hand in hand.

Yes he’s a big dude and more physical than the fan favorite Jakub Vrana who the Caps dealt for Mantha’s services. But the problem in that argument is that he does have good advanced stats possession metrics.

He’s also played bottom six minutes more than top six minutes. Maybe it’s the lack of playing time for Mantha which is causing his low production. That’s what Ian Oland of RMNB wrote the other day.

According to Oland, the game against the Seattle Kraken last Thursday was the lowest number of minutes Mantha has played this season.

Mantha will be skating on the third line tonight with Marcus Johansson and Lars Eller.