Tampa Bay Lightning
Schedule This Week
Monday: vs. New York Rangers
Wednesday: vs. Philadelphia
Friday: vs. Pittsburgh
None of these match-ups are particularly great: The Rangers are hot, as are the Flyers, and Pittsburgh is just Pittsburgh.
Since Steven Stamkos was injured on Remembrance Day, the Lightning have averaged just two goals for/game. This is a team still scrambling to replace what they lost, and that makes me nervous. A desperate team is unpredictable, and that’s bad for fantasy.
I’m avoiding this team altogether this week, but if you’re not, look for value plays on Wednesday.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Schedule This Week
Monday: vs. Columbus
Wednesday: at Pittsburgh
Friday: at Buffalo
Saturday: at Montréal
In seven of nine games this month, the Leafs have scored two goals or fewer, and they haven’t cracked 30 shots for in four straight games.
If you want Leafs, take them early in the week. You don’t want to rely on them skating through Pittsburgh and Montréal hoping for a good plus/minus.
Keep an eye on the defensemen; Paul Ranger was a recent scratch, which could mean an expanded role for the kids Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly.
Vancouver Canucks
Schedule This Week
Monday: vs. Los Angeles
Thursday: at Ottawa
Saturday: at New York Rangers
Sunday: at Carolina
There’s an East Cost road trip ahead and who knows what that really means.
The Canucks have scored one goal or no goals in five of their last seven games. This stall in the offense makes me a bit leery of spending my money on their skaters in the hopes for production.
The lineup jumble is a problem because a value pick like Mike Santorelli could get top six forward minutes on any given night, and he could also get 11 minutes of ice time. Until I see the Canucks scoring rebound, I’m not putting my daily hockey fate in the hands of the high-priced players.
Washington Capitals
Schedule This Week
Wednesday: vs. Ottawa
Friday: vs. Montréal
Saturday: at New York Islanders
Ottawa doesn’t have a very good penalty kill and the Islanders are the worst in the league in efficiency. That means great opportunities for the Great 8.
Aside from that, I worry about Holtby this week. I like him as a goalie but all three are not easy starts: All of these three teams are in the top 20 of goals for/game and Montréal and Ottawa are both in the top half of the league on power play efficiency.
It may be expensive, but Ovechkin might be worth the price against the Isles.
Winnipeg Jets
Schedule This Week
Monday: at New Jersey
Wednesday: at New York Islanders
Friday: at Philadelphia
Three road games, all in the East. None of the games are incredibly difficult in and of themselves, but I don’t feel particularly good about any of them.
Surprisingly, the Jets goaltending hasn’t been that bad recently, but the team has given up 30+ shots in eight straight games. If you need a cheap option on Monday, Winnipeg isn’t a bad direction to look in. Other than Dustin Byfuglien, Toby Enstrom and their first line, though, there’s not a lot to get excited about in daily fantasy. If you put their depth players on your roster, you’re gambling at best.
