(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Welcome back hockey fans. After a quiet night on the ice on Wednesday, we are back with a huge 14-game slate on Thursday. There is only one team(OTT) playing on a back to back and four others(LAK, ANH, VAN, ARI) who are playing a third game in four nights. Let's jump in and take a look at some of the top plays at each position and then be sure to check out our projection system and lineup optimizer.
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Opponent - STL
Proj Pts FD - 0 DK - 3.73
Call me crazy for targeting a goalie in a game with a 6.5 Vegas total but there is a lot to like here. The Lightning are -190 home favorites against a Blues team that ranks 25th in road defense and while they have won four of their last five games, three of those wins came against teams in the bottom six of the overall standings. Despite giving up four or more goals three times(all on the road), Vasilevskiy has posted a .931 save % over the last 10 games with three shutouts and now sits 3rd in save % on the season. The price tag is high but is my clear #1 option in all formats.
Opponent - LA
Proj Pts FD - 19.08 DK - 4.77
If you are looking to pay down at goalie and load up on skaters in GPP formats, Stolarz is the man to target especially on DraftKings at only $7K. I was hoping rookie sensation, Carter Hart, was starting tonight but they decided to give him a rest as he has helped carry the team to an eight-game win streak. Stolarz has been very up and down this season giving up four or more goals four times in his 10 games but has also held opponents to two or fewer goals in four starts as well including a 33 save shutout against the Rangers in his last start. He not only has win potential tonight as the Flyers are -175 home favorites but he also has upside facing a ton of shots and matches up against a Kings team that ranks 30th overall on offense.
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 14.9 DK - 4.36
Eichel is heating back up and comes in with points in five of his last six games with 24 shots on goal and has also gone into beast mode over the last two games where he has logged 23:36 and 25:57 minutes of ice-time. He provides us with a high floor for cash games and also has a ton of upside for GPP formats and despite a price that is going back up I feel we are still buying low on a player who has spent time in the $8K range on both sites.
Stack Eichel with: Conor Sheary, Kyle Okposo
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 18.19 DK - 5.2
In the same game, Sebastian Aho is another player who stands out from a raw points and PTS/$ perspective. He has been red-hot with 15 points in his last 10 games and with 60 on the season, is on pace to crush his career high(65) from a season ago. The matchup also stands out as the Sabres have struggled defensively giving up 39 goals over their last nine games. I love either of these two players in all formats and will also have lineups where I game stack them together.
Stack with: Nino Niederreiter, Justin Williams
Also Consider: Evgeny Kuznetsov(WSH) as a GPP play on FanDuel but an all formats play on DraftKings as he is 26th in salary at the position
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 23.65 DK - 6.88
Kane is once again my top big money play on this slate. He extended his point streak to 12 games on Tuesday against the Oilers and more impressive is that he has tallied 28 points during the streak and is now tied with Connor McDavid for 2nd in the points race with 78, just two points behind Kucherov. Even beyond the elite upside, he is also providing a very high floor averaging over four shots per game with a 19.3 iCorsi/60. The Canucks aren't a matchup that jumps off the page(16th on defense) but they are playing a third game in four nights and fourth game on the road in February. Kane will be a core play in cash games and I will also be line stacking the Blackhawks top powerplay unit as well.
Stack with: Jonathan Toews, Alex DeBrincat(PP)
Opponent - PIT
Proj Pts FD - 12.5 DK - 3.62
There is a long list of value plays on this giant slate but one that stands out is Frank Vatrano. He comes in red-hot with 11 points in his last 10 games putting him on pace for easily his best season as a pro. He has also been providing a high floor with 31 shots in those 10 games and has a 10.9 shots/60 and 17.1 iCorsi/60 on the season. I don't love the matchup against the Penguins who have been a tad better defensively on the road(7th) but have struggled some lately allowing 41 goals over their last 10 games. All things considered, Vatrano is one of my top PTS/$ plays and a great play in all formats.
Stack with: Derick Brassard, Henrik Borgstrom
Also Consider: Nikita Kucherov(TB) as a buy-low option on DraftKings for all formats or Elias Lindholm(CGY) who has been excellent lately with points in 10 straight games while seeing his DK price drop
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 12.11 DK - 3.59
After seeing his price go up into the $6K range on DraftKings, it is back down in the mid $5K range and that feels like a buy low on a player who has been incredibly consistent for fantasy. He comes into tonight's matchup with points in three of his last four games and over his last 10 games, has seven points and has also provided a high floor with 29 shots and 21 blocks for an average of 4.0 DraftKings/14.2 FanDuel points per game. The Oilers are on the road tonight against a Top 10 defense but the Wild have struggled out of the ASB losing three straight while giving up 12 goals against. Nurse is a high floor cash game play and at these prices has some upside as well.
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 10.75 DK - 3.17
If you need a couple hundred in savings tonight to tie it all together, consider Ryan Ellis. He does provide some upside coming off a multi-point effort but what I like the most with him is the floor as he has tallied a combined three or more shots/blocks in 16 of his last 17 games while averaging just shy of 25 minutes of ice-time per game. That is more than enough value to consider him in all formats at these prices.
Also Consider: Brent Burns(SJ) or Mark Giordano(CGY) if you are wanting to pay up or Travis Sanheim(PHI) if you are looking for some value
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NHL sheet for tonight.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1phgjEzFMPg7-Kt6Cc0KdnKFUlz8dWfzvGSzsnjfgKxA/edit?usp=sharing