NHL Daily Plays: Saturday, October 25th
Happy Saturday Grinders! There are several marquee matchups throughout the league tonight, which should provide plenty of excitement. We have witnessed some unexpected teams rise to the top of the standings early this season while several of the league’s top teams have struggled out of the gates to open the year. Various injuries and line changes are likely the result of so much early-season parody throughout the NHL, but it’s only a matter of time before things get back to normal. With a nice 10-game slate tonight, let’s take a look at some of my top plays for Saturday, October 25th:
Goalies
Make sure to check the RotoGrinders Starting Goalies Page to confirm that the goalies listed below are starting prior to puck-drop
Darcy Kuemper – Minnesota Wild – The Wild have historically been one of the league’s better teams on home ice and that trend has continued this season. Led by lockdown defenseman Ryan Suter, the Wild boast one of the league’s highest shot differential totals in the NHL, as they are averaging 13.2 more shots than they allow each game. This has really benefitted Darcy Kuemper, who enters tonight’s game with a 3-1 record to go along with a 0.50 GAA and a sparkling .980 SV%. All three of his victories this season have come by way of the shutout, and he appears to have a firm hold of the starting netminder due to his strong play early this season. He doesn’t have the greatest matchup in the world against a potent Tampa Bay offense, but the Lightning will playing on consecutive nights on the road at the tail end of a long road trip which should allow Kuemper the opportunity to earn his 4th win of the season.
Robin Lehner – Ottawa Senators – The Senators will be playing their first game following the shooting near the Canadian Parliament building on Wednesday. Head coach Paul MacLean will turn to the hot-hand in net with Lehner, who has had a terrific start to the season; posting a 2-0 record to go along with a 1.92 GAA and a stellar .950 SV%. Tonight he will be taking on a New Jersey Devils team that has lost their defensive ways; surrendering over 3 goals per game and having one of the league’s worst penalty-kill percentages. Ottawa continues to allow too many shots for their own good, but if Lehner is sharp, he should have no problem paying off his cheap price tag, making him an excellent GPP play tonight.
Defense
Disclaimer: Erik Karlsson, Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, Mark Giordano, Kris Letang, and P.K. Subban are elite defensemen and are always in play.
Keith Yandle – Arizona Coyotes – The Coyotes enter the season with a new team name, but find themselves in a familiar place near the bottom of the Western Conference Standings. Arizona’s troubles have not been Yandle’s fault however; who enters tonight’s game with 6 points in as many games to open the year. Much of Yandle’s production comes on Arizona’s top power play unit, and he should be active on the man-advantage tonight against a Panthers team that is among the worst teams in the league in penalty-kill percentage. He won’t be cheap, but Yandle is always capable of posting monster games which is why I’ll be paying up for him tonight.
Trevor Daley – Dallas Stars – Another defenseman I’m all over tonight is Trevor Daley, who is off to a blazing start for the new-look Dallas Stars. Currently featured on the Stars’ top power play unit, only Corey Perry has more power play goals than Daley, who should have plenty of opportunities to improve upon his strong play from the blue-line tonight against an Islanders team that is dead last in penalty kill percentage to start the year. Daley has posted positive numbers in all but one game this season and should have no problem finding himself involved in the scoring mix again tonight.
Top Value Plays: Cody Franson (TOR), Cody Ceci (OTT)
Center
Disclaimer: Sidney Crosby, Henrik Zetterberg, John Tavares, Claude Giroux, and Niklas Backstrom are elite fantasy centers and are always in play.
Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins – Malkin is off to yet another incredible start with at least on point in every game this season. After starting the season at right-wing with an undisclosed injury, Malkin is back to his normal position as Pittsburgh’s second line center and is also featured on the league’s best power play unit. With the majority of Nashvilles defensive focus aimed towards Crosby and the Penguin’s first line, I expect Malkin to fly under the radar as Pittsburgh looks to get back on track after losing their last two games.
Tyler Seguin – Dallas Stars – After being held pointless in his first two games to open the year, Seguin has responded with 5 goals in 6 assists in his last 5 games. Paired alongside his best buddy Jamie Benn, the Seguin-Benn duo was one of the most prolific scoring lines in all of hockey last year. Veteran playmaker Jason Spezza has been bumped up to the top line with Benn and Seguin, forming on of the most prolific scoring lines in the entire NHL. In what expects to be a high scoring game in Long Island tonight, I’ll be doing whatever it takes to squeeze Seguin in my lineups.
Top Value Plays: Antoine Vermette (AZ), Sean Monahan (CGY)
Wing
Phil Kessel – Toronto Maple Leafs – Kessel received plenty of criticism for not showing up to camp this year in shape, but has rebounded from a slow start with 8 points in his last 5 games. One of the league’s best pure goal-scorers, Kessel has a great matchup tonight against his former team in the Boston Bruins who will be without their star defenseman Zdeno Chara for the the next 6 weeks. Even before Chara’s injury, Boston had been struggling defensively and the Bruins remain the league’s most penalized teams which should give Kessel plenty of opportunities to find the back of the net on tonight as a member of Toronto’s top power play unit.
Jame Neal – Nashville Predators – Another prolific goal scorer taking on his former team tonight is James Neal, who was shipped out of Pittsburgh during the offseason and has been on fire of late. Neal is coming off a hat trick in his last game against Chicago and will be very motivated to stick it to his former club tonight in what should be a very chippy game. If you don’t buy into the “Revenge Game” narrative, knowing that all 5 of Neal’s points this season have come on goals and Pittsburgh has struggling entering this game is more than enough reason to consider Neal tonight.
Gustav Nyquist – Detroit Red Wings – After starting the season with a goal in each of his first four games, Nyquist has cooled off recently with no points in his last three games. I expect him to get back on track tonight against a Flyers team that is among the most penalized teams in the NHL and has a slow and unathletic defensive corps that will not be able to stop Nyquist. His manageable price, top power play time, goal-scoring ability, and Ray Emery in net is a formula for success as the Red Wings look to continue their strong play tonight.
Mikkel Boedker – Arizona Coyotes – One of the few bright spots for the ‘Yotes this year has been the strong play of Mikkel Boedker, who enters tonight’s game with 5 goals and an assist in his first 6 games this season. He’s been held off the score sheet in his last three games, but he is still taking plenty of shots and receiving first-line minutes. Tonight he’ll be up against a terrible Florida Panthers team that has struggled on special teams, making Boedker one of my top plays at forward with his very moderate price tag.
Top Value Plays: Jiri Hudler (CGY), Filip Forsberg (NSH), Jonathan Drouin (TB), Mark Stone (OTT)