(AP Photo/John Locher)
The crazy NHL trade deadline has come and gone and now we get prepared for a huge 11 game slate on Tuesday night. Let's jump in and take a look at some of the top players at each position and then make sure to check out our projection system and lineup optimizer.
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Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 20.97 DK - 5.24
Holtby has definitely not had his best season(21-16-4, .908 save %) but has everything in his favor tonight putting him at the top of the projections tonight. It starts with being a -300 favorite facing a Senators team that just finished trading away their three top scoring forwards in Mark Stone, Ryan Dzingel, and Matt Duchene. After five straight starts on the road, Holtby will get a home start where he and the Caps have been slightly better on the season. This is a smash spot for the Caps so I am willing to take the risk with an underperforming goalie who is a proven #1 option and will be using him in all formats tonight.
Opponent - LA
Proj Pts FD - 21.53 DK - 5.38
The goalie you are likely to see in 100% of lineups on our optimizer is McElhinney as he is actually projected for more raw points and comes at a $400 discount on both sites. He has also been playing at an elite level lately coming off a shutout of the stars and has won five of his last six and eight of his last 10 starts while posting a .922 save %. Tonight, he and the Canes are big -240 home favorites against a Kings team that has dropped eight straight and will be playing on a back to back and third game in four nights, all on the road. Fire up McElhinney in all formats.
Opponent - MON
Proj Pts FD - 17.39 DK - 5
For an offense that ranks outside the Top 25 on the season, I sure love turning to Larkin in fantasy and will again tonight. Over his last 10 games, he has tallied 12 points and leads the team with 61 points on the season but what stands out the most is the high floor he provides. In those 10 games, he has 42 shots on goal which is backed up by an elite 10.6 shots/60 and 18.2 iCoris/60 and with Gustav Nyquist traded away he could also see some added ice-time in the short term. Montreal does sit in the top half of the league in defense but on a back back and third game in four nights will most likely be starting Antti Niemi which is a big upgrade for the Red Wings offense. Larkin is in play in all formats and can also be paired with Mantha making a very high floor two-man stack with upside.
Stack with: Anthony Mantha
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 11.99 DK - 3.34
There isn't usually too much value at the center position, at least from a cash game perspective so when it shows up it makes sense to get some exposure. Overall, Backlund has been way more of an asset to the Flames in real life as he leads the league in +/- and has been a huge reason the Flames sit atop the Western Conference standings and own a +45 goal differential, second to only the Lightning. For fantasy, he has been trending lately with points in five straight with 11 shots on goal and is in the sub $6K range on both sites, warranting our attention in all formats.
Stack with: Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett
Also Consider: Sebastian Aho(CAR) who has been consistent lately with nine points(5 on PP) and 30 shots in his last 10 games
Opponent - PIT
Proj Pts FD - 16.73 DK - 4.76
The Blue Jackets flipped the script at the trade deadline and instead of trading pending free agents Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky the became buyers and loaded up for a playoff run. They picked up two fo Ottawa's top scorers in Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel and in his first game, Duchene skated between Atkinson and Panarin. No offense to Pierre-Luc Dubois but this is quite an upgrade for the top line and it showed in the first game where both Atkinson and Duchene tallied a goal and an assist. Atkinson is almost always in consideration with his elite floor as he sits with a 12.1 shots/60 and 18.9 iCoris/60 on the season and is also on pace to set career high's across the board as he enters the night with 34 goals and 58 points. Fire up Atkinson in all formats tonight against a Penguins team that has given up 16 goals over their last four games.
Stack with: Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 10.35 DK - 2.99
The Flyers traded away Wayne Simmonds at the deadline yesterday and that could open up some more winger minutes, especially on the powerplay. One player who could get a usage bump is Travis Konecny who is already skating on the top line with Claude Giroux and comes in with seven points in his last 10 games and while he isn't super consistent he does have two multi-point efforts in that time and three or more shots in each of his last three games. I would normally reserve him for GPP formats but at these prices combined with a matchup against the Sabres who have given up 24 goals while losing five of their last six games, I will be rolling out TK in all formats as one of my top value plays.
Stack with: Claude Giroux, Nolan Patrick
Also Consider: Zach Aston-Reese(PIT) as a punt value who is skating on the 2nd line with Malkin and Kessel or Blake Wheeler(WPG) who has points in three straight, gets a plus matchup at home vs. the Wild and has verys trong hmoe/road splits with 42 points in 32 home games
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 13.05 DK - 3.8
Weber has always been considered a top D-man in the NHL and his fantasy production matches that of Roman Josi, John Carlson, Mark Giordano, and others but comes at a discount putting him at a PTS/$ edge. Over his last 10 games, he has not only provided us with some upside with six points but more importantly is providing a very high floor with 25 shots and 24 blocks while skating over 23 minutes per game. At a price under $6K on both sites, he is an elite play in all formats facing a weaker Detroit defense and will surely see his salary jump into the $6K mark by next game.
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 11.22 DK - 3.3
The price is going up but is still somehow below $5K on both sites making Ryan Pulock a core play on defense tonight. He has been extremely consistent in his second full season and with eight points in his last 10 games, he now sits with 30 on the season but it's the floor I am most interested in as he has also tallied 26 shots and 18 blocks in those 10 games and is averaging four combined shots/blocks per game on the season. At these prices, Pulock is a great play in all formats.
Also Consider: Travis Sanheim(PHI), Rasmus Ristolainen(BUF), Travis Hamonic(CGY)
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View Comments
I like ARI2 as real cheap line stack and CBJ3 is another cheap stack!
Schultz on D is gonna be on all my lineups if possible.