(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Welcome back hockey fans. Another busy Thursday night with 10 games on the ice with just two teams(CHI, COL) playing on a back to back. Let's jump in and take a look at some of my core plays at each position.
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Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 22.46 DK - 16.78
Despite the Bruins struggling lately, Halak sits atop the raw points projections tonight and I have to agree here. He is a part of a 60/40 split with Tuukka Rask and has been the better of the two lately coming off a 31 save win over the Panthers. I am speculating he will start tonight as Rask has allowed 3+ goals against in four straight but either way, both are in good spots here as the Bruins are -150 favorites at home where they have slightly better defensively allowing just 2.4 goals per game. The Isles also fit the splits narrative as they have scored about .8 goals per game less on the road. All things considered, Halak is my top goalie in cash games tonight.
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 21.21 DK - 15.86
The Wild are another team that has a wide gap when looking at their home/road splits. At home, they are ranked 3rd scoring 3.77 goals per game but on the road, they rank 19th scoring just 2.6 per game. That is good news for the Pacific division-leading Coyotes who are Top 5 defensively no matter where they play. Kuemper is likely to start with Raanta dealing with an illness and that is great news as he has been terrific lately going 6-2-2 in his last 10 games with a .933 save %. Halak is the chalk choice on FanDuel at a $600 discount ut on DraftKings it is dealer choice as both are in play in all formats.
Also Consider: David Rittich(CGY) as an upside GPP play
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 18.31 DK - 14.17
The Jets are in a great spot tonight as a -190 home favorite in one of two games with a monster 6.5 total. On the season, they have been slightly better offensively on the road but have been rolling at home lately winning seven of their last 10 while scoring an average of 3.5 goals per game. Leading the charge has been Mark Scheifele who has tallied 14 points in his last 10 games and see a huge uptick in shot volume with 35 in those games. Facing a Blackhawks team that ranks 20th in road defense and playing on back to back nights, Scheifele is easily my top center in all formats.
Stack with: Kyle Connor, Patrick Laine
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 22.68 DK - 17.92
The price is finally back down below $8K on DraftKings and while it hasn't budged on FanDuel, Eichel is still an elite play. He extended his point streak to 17 games on Tuesday and during that streak he has tallied 31 total points on the back of nine multi-point efforts. He also adds the safety of elite shot volume as he has averaged 3.9 shots per game during the streak and a combined 4.3 shots/blocks per game on the season. The Flyers have been much better on home ice but Eichel is pretty much matchup-proof and in play in all formats.
Stack with: Victor Olofsson, Sam Reinhart
Also Consider: Sebastian Aho(CAR)
Opponent - LA
Proj Pts FD - 14.04 DK - 10.91
I wrote up Jenner at center on Tuesday and mentioned he and Bjorkstrand as one of my top two-man stacks. It ended up paying off and I will be going back to the well on tonight but this time let's talk about Bjorkstrand. He is much more of the traditional cash game play as he comes in with a whopping 48 shots on goal in his last 10 games and that isn't a huge surprise considering his 19.4 iCorsi/60(shot attempts) on the season. Pairing him with Jenner on the top line gives us a ton of salary relief to stack pretty much any line or team we want. Full go in all formats.
Stack with: Boone Jenner, Gustav Nyquist
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 13.22 DK - 10.16
After missing three games due to a concussion, Konecny picked up right where he left off in his return on Tuesday picking up an assist in a 4-1 win over the Ducks. He leads the team with 29 points on the season and is well on his way to career-highs across the board in his fourth NHL season. He isn't going to provide a ton of shit volume(2.3 per game) but skates on the top line and powerplay unit and gets a plus matchup against the Sabres who have dropped two straight, giving up eight total goals, and rank 23rd in road defense on the season. I will have exposure to TK in all formats tonight before his price takes another jump.
Stack with: Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux
Also Consider: Taylor Hall(ARI), Brendan Gallagher(MON), or Jeff Carter(LAK)
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 14.6 DK - 11.22
I am going to start in the mid-tier on defense tonight as the PTS/$ value for Ryan Ellis jumps off the page. First of all, he is producing at a very close level to teammate Roman Josi yet comes at a greater than $1,000 discount on both sites. He comes in with points in three of his last four games giving him 25 on the season but the floor is what stands out as he also has a combined 48 shots/blocks in his last 10 games while averaging 4.3 per game on the season. All things considered, Ellis is my top D-man in all formats tonight.
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 13.07 DK - 10.45
Speaking of PTS/$ value, we have Ben Chiarot who falls into the same"why won't they raise his price" category as his teammate Joel Armia. It has finally crept over $4K on both sites but still a ton of room to grow and that is with him not providing much if any upside. He is averaging 3.9 shots/blocks on the season which is Top 25 among D-men but he has been even better lately with 5+ shots/blocks in nine of his last 11 games. At these prices, he is a near lock for me in cash games on both sites.
Also Consider: Connor Murphy(CHI) who has also been a very high floor play with a combined 47 shots/blocks in his last 10 games
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