NHL Daily Plays: Saturday, November 29th
The NHL follows up yesterday’s entertaining 11-game schedule with a plump 12-game slate today.
While the Flyers and Rangers get things started early with their second straight matinee game this afternoon, these picks will focus solely on the 11-game schedule this evening. Grab some leftover turkey and then get in on the action.
Goalies
Make sure to check the RotoGrinders Starting Goalies Page to confirm that the goalies listed below are starting prior to game time.
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens – He won’t come cheap, but Price is easily the safest cash game option in net tonight, as a home date with the Buffalo Sabres awaits him. While Buffalo may have defeated Price and the Canadiens last night, the scene shifts to Montreal tonight. He owns a 9-3-1 record at the Bell Center this season and posted a 22-11-4 with a 2.05 GAA and .936 SV% there last season. Buffalo is averaging just 1.70 goals per game this season and Price dominated them in all three meetings last season. Since he was in net last night, be sure to check the RotoGrinders lineup page to make sure he’s back between the pipes tonight. If Dustin Tokarki gets the nod, simply enjoy the $3,100 discount.
Other Goalies To Target (Cash Games): Pekka Rinne, Ben Bishop
Other Goalies To Target (GPPs): Jaroslav Halak, Jonathan Quick, Jake Allen, Niklas Backstrom
Centers
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars – With six goals and a pair of assists (and a +7) over the last five games, it’s safe to say that Seguin is one of the hottest players in the NHL right now. He’ll head to Denver to take on a Colorado team who he lit up last season for four goals and four assists in their five meetings. He’s already racked up 18 goals and added 12 assists this season in just 23 games, which puts him second in the NHL scoring race (behind only Sidney Crosby).
John Tavares, New York Islanders – Tavares has lit the lamp in two straight games and finds himself in a nice spot tonight against a New Jersey team who lost a hard fought overtime game to Detroit last night. Tavares has already posted 10 power-play points this season and should thrive on the point of the #1 power-play unit against the Devils’ abysmal 73.6% penalty kill. The Islanders have won 10 of their last 12 games and, after having their five-game winning streak snapped last night, should be highly motivated tonight.
Other Centers To Target (Cash Games): Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Steven Stamkos, Mike Ribeiro, Nicklas Backstrom
Other Centers To Target (GPPs): Matt Duchene, Ryan Getzlaf, Jonathan Toews, Tyler Bozak, Jason Spezza, Nick Spalding
Left Wing
James Neal, Nashville Predators – Neal’s scoreless drought has now extended to five games, but he’s way too talented offensively for this to last long. With the league’s worst defensive team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, coming to the Music City, I expect the drought to end tonight. He’s routinely logging over 20 minutes of ice-time per game with a large dose of those minutes coming on the wing of the Predators top power-play unit. With the Blue Jackets really struggling on the penalty kill (74.7%), Neal is a very solid cash game target.
Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning – The Tampa Bay Lightning seem to be a much more effective team when they’re playing on home-ice, and things have been no different for Palat. Last season Palat scored 18 goals, added 17 assists and was a +24 in 41 home games. He also feasted on this Ottawa team last season, tallying one goal and eight assists in their five meetings. He looks to be developing a nice rapport with linemates Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov and should have plenty of opportunities tonight as the Senators focus on slowing down Steven Stamkos.
Other Left Wings To Target (Cash Games): Jamie Benn, Alexander Ovechkin, Chris Kunitz, Alexander Steen, Max Pacioretty
Other Left Wings To Target (GPPs): Patrick Marleau, James van Riemsdyk, Zach Parise, Alex Killorn, Alex Galchenyuk, Matt Beleksey
Right Wing
Patrick Hornqvist, Pittsburgh Penguins – We all expected a career year from Hornqvist when he was traded to Pittsburgh, but he’s out-performing even some of the more lofty expectations thus far. Playing alongside Sidney Crosby, he’s racked up 11 goals and 14 assists and is on pace for nearly 100 points this season. He scored a goal and logged nearly 21 minutes of ice-time against the Hurricanes last night, and you can pair him with the third piece of this line, Nick Spalding, for some very reasonably priced exposure to Sidney Crosby.
Jiri Hudler, Calgary Flames – Hudler is on fire right now, tallying five goals over the last five games. His offensive abilities have never been in question and he now owns ten goals and ten assists through 23 games and has posted 12 points in 12 games during the month of November. The Coyotes have dropped four of their last five games and are allowing 3.09 goals against per game this season. Hudler logs big minutes on the wing of the Flames’ top power-play unit and is one of my favorite value options on the board.
Other Right Wings To Target (Cash Games): Corey Perry, Phil Kessel, Kyle Okposo, Filip Forsberg, Ryan Callahan, P.A. Parenteau
Other Right Wings To Target (GPPs): Patrick Kane, Joe Pavelski, Jeff Carter, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jarome Iginla
Defense
P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens – Subban has been rather quiet lately, but at least that’s brought down his asking price a bit. He’s a workhorse on the blue-line for the Canadiens, as he’s logged over 20 minutes of ice-time in every single game this season and is now averaging nearly 25 minutes per game. He’s one of the game’s best offensive defensemen and is a weapon on the point of Montreal’s #1 power-play unit. With the Buffalo Sabres being by far the worst team in the NHL by Fenwick/Corsi standard and also averaging 13.2 PIM/GP, Subban should encounter an abundance of offensive opportunities.
Keith Yandle, Arizona Coyotes – Yandle’s vision and passing abilities make him one of the better fantasy options on the blue-line when the matchup is right. He thrived at home last season, posting five goals and adding 27 assists in 41 games at the Gila River Arena. He also torched the Calgary Flames for one goal and five assists in their five meetings. No other player in the NHL logs more time on the power-play than Yandle does (5:23 minutes/game) and he’s rarely ever utilized on the penalty kill, which is an added bonus by fantasy standards.
Other Defensemen To Target (Cash Games): T.J. Brodie, Shea Weber, Kris Letang, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Nick Leddy, Roman Josi
Other Defensemen To Target (GPPs): Alex Pietrangelo, Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty, John Klingberg, Erik Karlsson, Matt Niskanen, Sami Vatanen, Brent Burns