NHL Daily Plays: Saturday, January 10th
Happy Saturday Grinders! As we move through the last weekend of DFS NFL, the NHL continues to roll along with a healthy eight-game slate tonight. If last Saturday taught us anything, it’s that goals are aplenty in the NHL these days, as a whopping 72 goals were scored that day. I certainly don’t anticipate that many for tonight’s slate, but there are a few matchups that have some tremendous scoring potential.
Goalies
Make sure to check the RotoGrinders Starting Goalies Page to confirm that the goalies listed below are starting prior to puck-drop
Brian Elliott – St. Louis Blues – My top option across the board in net tonight is Elliott, who appears to have taken a firm grasp of the #1 job in St. Louis. With a 6-2 record to go along with a 1.63 GAA and an impressive .940 SV% at home this season, Elliott is the beneficiary of playing for a defensive-minded team under head coach Ken Hitchcock. Tonight he will have the luxury of facing a punchless Carolina offense that ranks 29th in the NHL in goals per game on the road this season. His price is starting to creep up, but when you factor in the plenty of goal support he has received recently, there isn’t a safer option for a win than Elliott tonight.
Craig Anderson – Ottawa Senators – If you’re looking for a high-risk, high-reward option in net tonight, Anderson is your guy. After a remarkable start to the 2014-15 season, Anderson’s numbers have predictably regressed of late but he still has a 5-3 record and a .921 SV% over his last 10 games. Tonight Anderson will be taking on the Arizona Coyotes, a team that has struggled offensively through much of the season and rank 27th in goals per game at home. Anderson remains a GPP-only guy for me because of Ottawa’s inconsistent defensive play, but if he’s able to stand on his head like we’ve seen so many times this season, he has the ability to carry you to the top of a tournament tonight.
Defense
Disclaimer: Kris Letang, Mark Giordano, Dustin Byfuglien, Kevin Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo, Brent Burns, P.K. Subban, Drew Doughty, and Keith Yandle are elite defensemen and are always in play.
Erik Karlsson – Ottawa Senators – My top defenseman on the board tonight is Karlsson, who has been one of the most productive fantasy defensemen in the NHL since entering the league 5 years ago. With just one goal since the start of December (17 games), Karlsson has been the product of terrible luck, as he has generated close to 9 shot attempts per game during that span; second only to Alex Ovechkin. Tonight presents a perfect opportunity to break out of his slump, as he will be taking on an Arizona team that is horrible defensively and will likely be trotting out the league’s worst goaltender in Mike Smith. His lack of production and steep price will drive his ownership percentage down, making him a terrific option in both cash games and GPPs for me tonight.
Johnny Boychuk – New York Islanders – After being acquired in a trade shortly before the start of the regular season, Boychuk has been everything the Islanders have hoped for in his first campaign in Long Island. With an absolute cannon of a shot from the point, Boychuk is also featured on the Islanders’ top power play unit. Tonight he’ll be taking on a Columbus team that ranks 22nd in penalty kill percentage and is one of the worst puck-possession teams in the NHL. In what figures to be a high scoring affair in Columbus, Boychuk should have no problems paying off his reasonable salary and getting involved in the Isles’ scoring mix tonight.
Top Value Plays: Jay Bouwmeester (STL), Matt Irwin (SJ)
Center
Disclaimer: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, John Tavares, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg are elite fantasy centers and are always in play.
Logan Couture – San Jose Sharks – The Sharks return to home ice after getting crushed by the Blues on Thursday and will have their work cut out for them against a Rangers team that has just defeated the Kings and the Ducks. The Sharks have been inconsistent throughout much of the season but they do remain of the most prolific teams on home ice. Heading into the Shark Tank is a matchup nightmare, making Logan Couture one of my top plays at center tonight. Without veteran playmaker Joe Thornton, Couture has stepped up for the Sharks with 9 points in his last 10 games. He’s the most dynamic all-around player the Sharks have and on a night with few great options at center, Couture and his moderate price make for a great play.
Jeff Carter – Los Angeles Kings – Back to centering “That 70’s Line” between two prolific young scoring threats in Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter will be finding his way into several of my lineups tonight. Since the start of December, the Kings lead the league on Corsi % (which is a percentage of total shot attempts per game and is a great way to measure a team’s puck possession abilities). The results have been mixed, especially for Carter, who’s 93.4 PDO (on ice SH% + SV%) is well below league average and indicates he is prime for a big breakout. Home ice advantage will allow head coach Darryl Sutter to pair the Carter line against Winnipeg’s weaker defensive pairings which should give “That 70’s Line” plenty of opportunities to score tonight. Additionally, Carter remains on the Kings’ top power-play unit and will be taking on a Winnipeg Jets team that leads the league in penalty minutes.
Top Value Plays: Jori Lehtera (STL), Melker Karlsson (SJ)
Wing
Disclaimer: Alex Ovechkin, Max Pacioretty, Rick Nash, Alex Steen, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Pavelski are elite fantasy forwards and are always in play.
Vladimir Tarasenko – St. Louis Blues – With 43 points in 41 games this season, Tarasenko continues to get it done night after night for the surging St. Louis Blues. There appears to be no end in sight for the extremely talented Russian superstar and it’s almost laughable how reasonably priced he remains in some parts of the industry. Not that Carolina has the ability to slow down Tarasenko, but with St. Louis getting goals from multiple lines of late, opposing teams no longer have the ability to focus their attention on Tarasenko and the “STL” line. He still gets ample power play minutes and should be heavily involved in the Blues domination over the Canes tonight.
Kyle Okposo – New York Islanders – The main beneficiary of prime scoring opportunities created by superstar John Tavares, Kyle Okposo registered nearly a point per game last season for the Islanders. With 36 points this season and 9 in his last 10 games, Okposo is once again proving he can be relied upon as a consistent option in a high-octane offense. Tonight he will have the luxury of taking on a Columbus Blue Jackets team that is among the worst puck possession teams in the NHL; entering tonight’s game with the third-worst Corsi % and averaging over 30 shots allowed per game since the start of December. Okposo offers a cheaper way to get exposure to Tavares’ line and has averaged close to 4 shots per game in his last 10 games, making him a perfect option to target in both GPPs and cash games tonight.
David Perron – Pittsburgh Penguins – If you’re looking for value on offense tonight, look no further than David Perron, who now skates with Sidney Crosby, yet is still priced like he’s skating with Nail Yakupov. Since being acquired from Edmonton last week, Perron has amassed 11 shots on goal in 2 games and is now featured on Pittsburgh’s top power play unit. Even with a tough matchup against the Canadiens, goals will be scored in this game tonight, making Perron the perfect option to get exposure to Sidney Crosby and the Pens’ top line.
Top Value Plays: Brock Nelson (NYI), Justin Abdelkader (DET), Alex Burrows (VAN), Tanner Pearson (LA)