Key Three Skaters
Jack Eichel (BUF)
Jack is on pace to have his best season of his career from a points standpoint for an improved Sabres team. Again the Rangers in 11 games, Buffalo’s captain has four goals and seven assists. With 61 points on the season, Eichel has points in six straight games and brings a lot of upside with him considering how often he shoots the puck. When taking into account both even strength and man-advantage situations, Eichel is fifth in the league with 11.74 shots per 60, second among centers. Jack has flashed as a playmaker, more so this season than any other with a career-high 43 assists and is fourth among centers in total assists per 60. When you combine all of that along with how good he’s been at home (11 goals, 18 assists) in 27 games, Jack is in a very good situation tonight.
Patrice Bergeron (BOS)
The Bruins lost David Pastrnak for at least a couple of weeks which is no secret by now but the Bruins and Bergeron have not slowed down a bit. PB34 has points in five consecutive games and has accumulated four goals and five assists over that span. It’s been no secret that picking on the Ducks is something worth considering no matter who their opponent may be a. With a tremendous effort in his debut on Monday against the Canucks, Kevin Boyle minded the net en route to a 35-save shutout. This, however, is not the Canucks playing on a back to back. This is the Bruins and Patrice Bergeron who have scored four or more goals in three of their last four games. Look for the Bruins to come out and control this game tonight with Bergeron being at the forefront.
Zach Parise (MIN)
There’s not much of a revenge narrative here for Parise as it’s been years since he left the Devils, the team that drafted him for his hometown Wild in the summer of 2012. After a couple of injury-riddled seasons, Parise is back and playing some of the best hockey he’s played since signing with Minnesota. His 23 goals are the most since the 2015-16 season (25) and he still has time to surpass that number. The Devils have putrid defensively of late, specifically allowing 19 goals in their last four games, 13 in their last two which both came on the road as they travel to Minnesota tonight. New Jersey allows an average of 3.97 goals per game on the road, third-most in the league. Parise has three goals and 21 shots over his last five games and I would expect a productive night from him tonight.
Favorite Line Stacks
Buffalo Sabres
Skinner – Eichel – Pominville
Jeff Skinner and Jack Eichel have played together for the majority of the season, outside of a few games here and there where they were split up, for some ungodly reason. Skinner is taking advantage as he heads into free agency with 34 goals, the most he’s had since 2016-17 (37), a number he will likely surpass when all is said and done. Paired up with Eichel at even strength and on the power-play has proven productive in spot this season. Pominville, the veteran who saw some time with Eichel and Skinner earlier this season is back with them and has been good with three goals and 14 shots over his last six games at a great value. His value makes his lack of power-play correlation acceptable in this case making the Sabres top line much more affordable than they should be. The Sabres’ success is more or less predicated on the scoring of their top line as they aren’t blessed with depth scoring among the second, third, and fourth lines outside of Sam Reinhart, who’s third on the team in points.
Boston Bruins
Marchand – Bergeron – Heinen
This line stack has been heavily owned over the last week or so, specifically with the value of Danton Heinen highlighted and producing. Bergeron and Marchand’s expensive salaries are offset with that value that Heinen has brought with him and the production has been staggering. I mentioned Bergeron above, but Marchand has been a machine with three goals and nine assists over his last five games and Heinen has three goals and three assists over his last five contests. Now, with Heinen’s salary jumping from $2,900 earlier in the week to $3,900 in his last game, and now $5,200 tonight this line is getting a little expensive. While we may not see this line at 40-plus percent across the board tonight, they’ll still be popular is a very good matchup against the sorry ass Ducks.
Minnesota Wild
Parise – Granlund – Coyle
I really like how the Wild have put this line together and hope it sticks. Minnesota’s hand was somewhat forced here with the Mikko Koivu injury and thus we have Mikael Granlund manning the center spot on a line where all three skaters have experience playing center. Granlund is reasonably priced at $5,800 and has points in back to back games. Charlie Coyle brings a lot of value at $4,600 but does not have the power-play correlation with Granlund and Parise as he’s penciled in on the second unit. I still like his chances to produce here as the Devils have allowed the most fantasy points to right-wingers over the last four weeks. For my money, the production on this line starts with Parise, the most expensive player on the line. The value of Granlund and Coyle makes it easier to pay for Parise in a potential smash spot at home tonight.
Top Positional Plays
Center
Connor McDavid (EDM) – Don’t ask “why?”
Sebastian Aho (CAR) – The Oilers have been PUTRID against centers over the last four weeks.
Nico Hischier (NJ) – He’s scuffling a bit but as one of the only offensive options and plenty of high-danger scoring chances for the Devils, he should find himself on the scoresheet at potentially low ownership.
Mika Zibanajad (NYR) – Leads the Rangers in points and has five goals in his last five games.
Eric Staal (MIN) – No points in his last six games but look for him to be involved in a potential onslaught for the Wild tonight.
David Krejci (BOS) – Great value, especially if you consider stacking the Bruins’ second line.
Wing
Chris Kreider (NYR) – Going through a bit of a cold spell with just one goal in his last six games. I think he gets one tonight.
Kyle Palmieri (NJ) – The number one scoring option on the Devils and team leader in goals with 24.
Sam Reinhart (BUF) – He’s the only scoring option on the second line and an asset on the power play.
Justin Williams (CAR) – Good as a pairing with Aho on the top line and top power-play unit.
Jake Debrusk (BOS) – Stepping in for Pasta on the second line and top power-play unit at a good value.
Jason Zucker (MIN) – Paired up with Staal on the second line and top power-play unit he’s a great value with 14 goals on the season.
Defense
Darnell Nurse (EDM) – The Hurricanes have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to defensemen over the last four weeks.
Rasmus Ristolainen (BUF) – Loses a bit of juice being bumped down to the second power-play unit, but he accumulated points in a number of ways while skating a ton of minutes.
Dougie Hamilton (CAR) – The Oilers have allowed 21 points over their last 10 games to defensemen.
Torey Krug (BOS) – Points in seven of his last eight games and a good matchup against the Ducks who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to the position over the last four weeks.
Ryan Suter (MIN) – One goal and seven assists over his last nine games while skating over 25 minutes in each contest. Added upside on the top power-play unit against a brutal Devils penalty kill.
Value
Charlie McAvoy (BOS)
Jaccob Slavin (CAR)
Rasmus Dahlin (BUF)
Cam Fowler (ANA)
Damon Severson (NJ)
Top Goalies
Jaroslav Halak (BOS) – Solid option if you’re looking simply for a win even though the upside might not blow you away as he may be limited due to the potential lack of shots he sees.
Devan Dubnyk (MIN) – Upside is a bit higher than that of Halak as the Wild have been more prone to allowing pucks to the net. Dubnyk has been a little boom or bust this season and has had some really poor effort, but I like him in this spot at home against a bad Devils team.
Mikko Koskinen (EDM) – Higher upside play with some bust potential against the Hurricanes who generate a lot of pucks to the net. The win is surely in doubt for the underdog Oilers, but the price is right.
