Each day throughout the NHL season I am going to be recommending players to target in your DFS lineups with the focus on tournament lineups (with DraftKings prices). I will try to avoid posting the obvious plays on a given night — for example Tyler Seguin is an automatic play for me every day he plays.
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C – Mathieu Perreault ($3,900) – WPG & RW – Nikolaj Ehlers ($4,800) – WPG
The Jets are on the road tonight facing the Maple Leafs. James Reimer turned one of the best performances of his career on Monday versus the Dallas Stars as he made 44 saves in the 4-1 win. I do not expect Reimer, who has a career save percentage of .913, to have that same type of performance tonight. Winnipeg possess more talent on their roster than the Leafs and should be able to score a few goals tonight against the Leafs who give up a league worst 33 shots on 5v5 per 60 minutes. Perreault and Ehlers play on the second line with Mark Scheifele ($4,700). The trio have played together throughout the season and are performing well. Perreault has eight points in twelve games and the Danish rookie Ehlers has nine points. Perreault plays the point of the first power play unit and Ehlers plays on the second PP. These two forwards give you exposure to the second line and both power plays against a team that penalty killing percentage is in the bottom five of the league.
C – Sidney Crosby ($7,800) – PIT
I know this seems like it is obvious but many people have been discouraged with Crosby this season in daily fantasy. Crosby is still one of, if not the best, players in the league. Due to him not performing to his usual self it is possible that his ownership percentage will remain at a lower level simply because people do not want to spend $7,800 to be burned by him again. I like the matchup tonight vs the Canucks. Especially on a four game slate Crosby is a “must roster” for me tonight. He has been held pointless in nine of eleven games this season but he is bound to find his game (and a little luck) and have a huge night sooner or later, so why not tonight?
LW – Teuvo Teravainen ($3,900) – CHI
With the injury to Marian Hossa the Blackhawks have been forced to shuffle their lines. Teravainen has bounced back and forth from center and the wing this season but he has found himself back on the wing. He is skating alongside Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov on the Blackhawks second line. Chicago plays another strong team tonight in St. Louis. Jake Allen who has played exceptional as of late is getting the net off and the Blues are turning to veteran Brian Elliott. Elliot has a 4-0-1 record this season with a 2.18 goals against average which looks great at first glance but his save percentage is only .908. Rostering Teravainen alongside Kane ($7,900) is a solid high-end stack to that won’t break the bank to roster.
Other forwards I like: V. Tarasenko ($7,500), A. Ladd ($5,500), B. Little ($5,200), N. Kadri ($5,000), R. Rakell ($3,00)
D – Morgan Rielly ($4,200) – TOR
Rielly’s exceptional play this season as been the highpoint for the Leafs. He is tied for the Leafs team lead in points with nine. He is coming off a three point night against the Stars. I certainly expect Winnipeg to beat the Leafs tonight but the Leafs should be able to find the back of the net. Rielly seeing first pairing minutes and he anchors the Leafs PP.
Other defensemen I like: K. Letang ($5,600), J. Trouba ($3,9000), C. Parayko ($3,700), B. Hutton ($2,900)
G – Frederik Andersen ($6,900) – ANA
The Ducks play host to the Panthers tonight. Anaheim has struggled but that has not been because of the play of their starting netminder. Andersen enters this game tonight with a 1-5-2 record but he boasts a .935 save percentage and a .205 goals against average which both rank top ten among NHL goalies this season. The Panthers are getting a boost tonight with Jaromir Jagr likely returning to the lineup but I still lean towards starting Andersen over the other goalies on this small slate.
Hope this can be a help to you guys tonight, let’s have a great night in DFS! Feel free to comment and ask questions below or on Twitter (@XNSports, @doshjaniels). Best of luck!
Featured Image Credit: By Elliot from Castro Valley, California, USA (Sidney Crosby) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
