Who to start · 2025-26
Brandon Montour vs Nathan MacKinnon
Blending 2025-26 with 2026-27 so far, Nathan MacKinnon projects to 3.15 fantasy points per game under ESPN default scoring to Brandon Montour's 1.74.
Montour had 32 points in 64 games; MacKinnon had 127 in 80 games.
This week Montour has 3 games left; MacKinnon has 3 left with 1 soft and 1 tough matchups. In ESPN default points scoring we project MacKinnon for 9.1 to Montour's 5.0 over the games left.
Nathan MacKinnon has the better number in 25 of the 34 stats both are ranked on.
Montour's biggest edges: Turnover Ledger /60 −0.071, Ascension score 67, Hardest shot 101.6.
MacKinnon's biggest edges: Plus/minus +57, On-ice PDO 1054, Sequence xG 59.5%.
In standard categories (G, A, +/-, PPP, SOG, HIT), the default in Who Should I Start, Nathan MacKinnon rates ahead, +14.9 to +3.4 in summed category z-scores.
Role trend over the last 5 games: Montour is steady; MacKinnon is steady, On-ice xGF/60 3.02 (was 3.76).
- • 2026-27 so far: 8 GP, 0 G, 5 A, 1 PPP, 13 SOG.
- • 2026-27 so far: 9 GP, 6 G, 10 A, 2 PPP, 39 SOG.
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Fantasy value: your scoring
Brandon Montour
+3.4
category z-score total
Nathan MacKinnon
+14.9
category z-score total
Under Standard (6 categories), Nathan MacKinnon has the edge (Montour wins 1, MacKinnon wins 5 of 6 categories).
| Category | Montour | MacKinnon |
|---|---|---|
| Goals / game | 0.11 | 0.66 |
| Assists / game | 0.43 | 0.99 |
| Plus/minus / game | -0.21 | 0.53 |
| Power-play points / game | 0.13 | 0.32 |
| Shots on goal / game | 2.34 | 4.36 |
| Hits / game | 1.07 | 0.58 |
Per-game rates from the selected sample; blended mixes last season with this season, weighting this season more as games are played. Categories are scored as z-scores against qualified players at the same position. Your scoring choice is shared with Who Should I Start: saved on this device, and on your account when you are signed in.
Head-to-head: Montour vs MacKinnon
Every event between them in NHL play-by-play, 2017-18 to 2025-26: games against each other, faceoffs, shots on goal, hits and penalties. Regular season and playoffs.
Montour 4G 5A, 43 SOG · MacKinnon 10G 23A, 59 SOG
Montour blocked 2 of MacKinnon's shots; MacKinnon blocked 1 of Montour's.
On the ice against each other (Montour's side)
5:10 at 5-on-5 over 2 games, 2025-26, from Montour's side
- Shot attempts
- 10–2
- 83.3%
- Expected goals
- 0.3–0.2
- 69.2%
- Goals
- 0–1
Games against each other
| Date | Score | Montour | MacKinnon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-12 | SEA 1–5 COL | 0G 0A 2S | 1G 3A 4S |
| 2025-12-16 | SEA 3–5 COL | 0G 0A 1S | 2G 1A 6S |
| 2024-12-22 | SEA 2–5 COL | 0G 0A 1S | 0G 2A 2S |
| 2024-11-05 | SEA 3–6 COL | 0G 1A 2S | 0G 5A 4S |
| 2024-10-22 | SEA 2–3 COL | 0G 0A 3S | 1G 0A 2S |
| 2024-02-10 | FLA 4–0 COL | 0G 0A 5S | 0G 0A 1S |
| 2024-01-06 | FLA 8–4 COL | 0G 0A 2S | 0G 1A 3S |
| 2023-02-11 | FLA 3–5 COL | 0G 0A 4S | 2G 1A 6S |
| 2023-01-10 | FLA 5–4 COL | 1G 1A 4S | 1G 0A 3S |
| 2021-12-12 | FLA 2–3 COL | 1G 0A 3S | 0G 2A 6S |
| 2021-10-21 | FLA 4–1 COL | 0G 0A 3S | 0G 1A 0S |
| 2020-02-26 | BUF 2–3 COL | 0G 0A 3S | 0G 1A 2S |
Latest 12 of 18 meetings.
Every stat, side by side
Season values; bars are percentiles at each player's position (longer is better). Click a stat for its explainer.
Fantasy box score
Possession & shot quality (5-on-5 on-ice)
Transition, turnovers & faceoffs
Usage
Special teams & discipline
This week's schedule
Oct 19 to Oct 25. More games usually wins a weekly start/sit. Chips show how many fantasy points the opponent allows to the player's position (soft or tough), the Schedule Edge from rest and travel, and the likely opposing goalie with his save percentage. Projections cover the games left: Edgehalla's rest-of-season rates per game, adjusted for each opponent's scoring allowed, in ESPN default points.
Scored in ESPN default points (G 2, A 1, PPP 0.5, SHP 0.5, SOG 0.1, HIT 0.1, BLK 0.5). Use your league's scoring
Brandon Montour
3games
5.0proj. ESPN default pts
- Tue, Oct 20 vs DET1.7 ptsOpp allows 14th-most FP to Dvs Daniil Tarasov (.895)
- Thu, Oct 22 vs UTA1.7 ptsOpp allows 16th-fewest FP to DLikely vs Karel Vejmelka (.897)
- Sat, Oct 24 vs MIN1.6 ptsOpp allows 14th-fewest FP to DLikely vs Jesper Wallstedt (.916)
Nathan MacKinnon
4games (3 left)
9.1proj. ESPN default pts
- Mon, Oct 19 @ PHIOpp allows 11th-most FP to CLikely vs Joseph Woll (.899)
- Fri, Oct 23 vs TBL2.5 ptsOpp allows 6th-fewest FP to CLikely vs Andrei Vasilevskiy (.912)
- Sun, Oct 25 @ NSH3.5 pts
Similar matchups
FAQ
- Should I start Brandon Montour or Nathan MacKinnon in fantasy hockey?
- Blending 2025-26 with 2026-27 so far, Nathan MacKinnon projects to 3.15 fantasy points per game under ESPN default scoring to Brandon Montour's 1.74. Montour had 32 points in 64 games; MacKinnon had 127 in 80 games. Check this week's games and your league's scoring in the fantasy panel above, since more games usually decide a weekly start.
- Who is better, Brandon Montour or Nathan MacKinnon?
- On 2025-26 numbers, Nathan MacKinnon leads in 25 of 34 stats where both qualify, from scoring and power-play production to on-ice shot share and NHL EDGE tracking.
- How have Montour and MacKinnon done against each other?
- In 18 games against each other in our data, Montour's team went 5–13. Montour had 9 points (4 goals) and MacKinnon had 33 (10 goals).
2025-26 regular season from NHL play-by-play, shift charts and NHL EDGE, processed by Edgehalla. Head-to-head covers every loaded season (play-by-play from 2019-20; on-ice matchups from 2025-26).Compare other players →