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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Looking back at several of my recommended plays from last night … Sam Bennett was a great play as he was very low owned, in my tournaments at least. He scored his first goal of the season along with an assist and 3 shots. He provided great value for his $3,300 price tag. Ottawa’s top line didn’t do as much damage as I had hoped but Kyle Turris had a great performance. What in the world is up with Crosby? He was held pointless for the eighth time in nine games which didn’t help Pascal Dupuis. Pekka Rinne was a solid play in net as he backstopped the Predators to a 3-1 win over the Sharks.
There are eight games on tonight’s slate so there are a lot of great options to choose from. I’m expecting some very high scores tonight fantasy-wise.
C – Vladislav Namestnikov ($2,600) – TBL
The Lightning are hosting the Avalanche tonight. Colorado is quickly becoming one of everyone’s favorite teams to pick on this season. I expect Tampa Bay’s top two lines of Drouin-Stamkos-Callahan and Palat-Johnson-Kucherov to be highly-owned tonight. While I will most likely use them in some lineups I am really interested in Tampa’s third line — mainly Namestnikov — because of his super cheap price tag, which will allow you to roster some of the bigger names on the slate tonight, and C – Valtteri Filppula ($3,300). The sophomore Namestnikov has four points in ten games this season but the majority of those games he has skated on the fourth line therefore seeing limited minutes. Last game he was moved up to the third line, as Alex Killorn moved down, and he saw a season high 14:12 of time on ice. At $2,600 we aren’t expecting a lot out of Namestnikov so if he manages to get a point we will be in good shape.
LW – Max Pacioretty ($7,700) – MTL
Montreal vs Edmonton. This one is pretty much self-explanatory. Pacioretty is one of the premier players in the league and he gets a great matchup. I know I won’t be overthinking this one and will be rostering Pacioretty.
LW – Artemi Panarin ($4,700) – CHI
I like Chicago’s matchup versus the Jets tonight and if you are looking to get exposure to Patrick Kane without paying his high price tag Panarin is a great option. The first year NHL’er from Russia has not showed any signs on struggling to transition to the North American style of hockey. He has eight points in nine games and averages 3:37 of power-play time a game. He is a great option tonight at a reasonable price. DraftKings is slowly realizing how good he is as they have raised his price by $1,000 since his first game but I still think $4,700 is too cheap for him so let’s capitalize on it while we can.
RW – Dmitrij Jaskin ($3,100) – STL & C – Robby Fabbri ($2,500) – STL
The Blues are facing the struggling Ducks tonight. If you are looking for cheap plays at the forward position both Jaskin and Fabbri, since he has returned from injury, have and will continue to see an increased role on the team due to injuries to Jaden Schwartz and Paul Stastny. Jaskin and Fabbri are likely to skate on the 2nd and 3rd line respectively. Both of these players I would consider “punt” plays but they will both be low owned and are well worth a shot at their cheap prices.
Other forwards I like tonight: T. Seguin ($8,500), J. Tavares ($8,400), P. Kane ($7,800), C. Giroux ($6,800), A. Lee ($4,900), A. Henrique ($4,800), M. Scheifele ($4,700), R. Strome ($4,600), S. Reinhart ($2,700).
D – Victor Hedman ($4,900) – TBL
Hedman has been playing this season just like the likely Norris Trophy candidate that everyone expected. He has yet to score this season but he has nine assists in nine games. The Lightning draw a favorable matchup against the Avalanche who are struggling defensively. The Avalanche committed three penalties against the Panthers on Tuesday and they did not successfully kill off any of them. I fully expect the Lightning to find success on the power-play as well. Hedman, who anchors the PP that ranks 17th in the league this season, should be involved offensively in this game.
D – Jake McCabe ($2,700) – BUF
If you are looking for a really cheap play on defense McCabe is a decent option. The young defenseman for the Sabres has seen his ice time increase drastically since the start of the season. He played just over 20 minutes in his last game against the Flyers as it is clear coach Dan Bylsma is beginning to trust him more. The Sabres are facing the Penguins who are coming off a 3-1 win over the Capitals yesterday. The Penguins are turning to Jeff Zatkoff in net tonight and are giving Fleury the deserved day off. I like the Sabres chances to score a couple of goals with Zatkoff in net and McCabe, who has two goals on the year, certainly has a chance to be involved. Zatkoff’s last NHL appearance was December. 14th, 2014 when he came in for relief and stopped 16 of 17 shots he faced vs the Lightning. The Sabres will be low owned tonight.
Other defenseman I like: PK Subban ($6,000) J. Klingberg ($4,700), R. Ristolainen ($4,100), A. Larsson ($3,300), C. Parayko ($3,300).
G – Jake Allen ($7,200) – STL
Allen, coming off a 26 save shutout against the Lightning, faces the Ducks at home tonight. Anaheim scored a season high three goals versus the Dallas Stars last game but they will still be without captain Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks lack of scoring is mind-boggling but we should try to continue to capitalize on it while we can. Allen, who is a competition with Brian Elliot for the number one job in St. Louis, has a .922 save percentage and a 2.26 goals against average through four starts this season.
Other goalies I like tonight: C. Price ($8,500), B. Bishop ($7,300).
ALWAYS check the status of goaltenders before setting your lineups.
Featured Image Credit: By Lisa Gansky (Flickr: IMG_2786) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
