NHL Daily Plays: Tuesday, December 23rd
As we approach the Christmas break in the NHL, we get a packed 11 game slate tonight. If there’s one thing we can expect on a night with so much action throughout the league, it’s goals; and I’m expecting plenty of them tonight with several key matchups to exploit. Fortunately for us grinders, there is plenty of value spread throughout the league tonight, especially at the goaltender position. Let’s take a look at some of my top plays tonight to help spread the holiday cheer:
Goalies
Make sure to check the RotoGrinders Starting Goalies Page to confirm that the goalies listed below are starting prior to puck-drop
Petr Mrazek – Detroit Red Wings – On a night where many of the established goaltenders in the league find themselves in tough matchups, backup Petr Mrazek easily becomes my top play of the night with a home matchup against the Buffalo Sabres. The Red Wings are currently mired in a 6 game losing streak, but they have averaged just 1.66 goals allowed during that span. Mrazek has been very good in relief of Jimmy Howard this season, posting a 3-2-1 record, to go along with a 2.24 GAA and a respectable .927 SV%. He’ll have the pleasure of facing a Sabres squad that is back to their losing ways; losers of 3 straight and has averaged just 1.53 goals per game on the road this season. Detroit should dominate possession throughout this game tonight, giving Mrazek plenty of cushion to breeze to an easy victory.
Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers – If you’re in the mood to spend at goalie tonight, especially in GPPs, Henrik Lundqvist is the guy I would look to. With a 14-7-3 record, a 2.46 GAA and a mediocre .912 SV%, “King” Henrik has not lived up to his name this season, but he’s still an elite goalie and is always capable of a great performance in marquee games. Tonight he’ll be up against a Washington Capitals team that is rolling, but will be playing on back to back nights on the road, a situation where they have struggled this season with a 1-4 record. If the Rangers can dictate the pace of this game and stay out of the penalty box, Lundqvist and his likely low ownership percentage could potentially carry you over the top in a GPP.
Defense
Disclaimer: Shea Weber, Victor Hedman, Duncan Keith, Kevin Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo, Kris Letang, Zdeno Chara, Dustin Byfuglien, Ryan McDonagh, and P.K. Subban are elite defensemen and are always in play.
Keith Yandle – Arizona Coyotes – The Coyotes entered the 2014-15 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 his last 10 games, averaging 3 shots per game during that span. Digging deeper into the stats mill, you will find that Yandle’s PDO (on ice SH% + SV%) of 96 suggests he has been the product of bad luck during the month of December as he ranks 10th in individual Corsi (sum of on-ice shot attempts) with 59. Yandle logs heavy ice-time and gets top power play minutes, making him an excellent target tonight in what should be an uptempo, high-scoring affair in Edmonton.
Dan Boyle – New York Rangers – If you’re looking for value tonight, consider taking Boyle, who is featured on New York’s top power play unit and will be taking on Washington and their 26th ranked penalty kill. With just two goals this season, Boyle has been a major disappointment in his first season with the Rangers, but he has struggled with injuries and illness and is an offensive-minded defenseman that is capable of posting monster games. He’s still averaging around 20 minutes of ice time per game and his price won’t get any lower than it currently is, so jump on him before he breaks out of his slump.
Top Value Plays: Brad Hunt (EDM), Jay Bouwmeester (STL)
Center
Disclaimer: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, John Tavares, Steven Stamkos, Pavel Datsyuk, Claude Giroux, Jonathan Toews, Henrik Zetterberg, and Nicklas Backstrom are elite fantasy centers and are always in play.
Tyler Seguin – Dallas Stars – I’m sure you’re getting tired of me writing up Seguin week after week, but simply putting this kid in the disclaimer above doesn’t do him justice. With 8 goals in his last 10 games, Seguin has now lit the lamp a whopping 25 times the season. It appears that head coach Lindy Ruff is selling out for scoring in tonight’s game against Toronto, reuniting Jason Spezza with Seguin and Benn on the team’s top line. Toronto has been a complete mess defensively during the month of December, allowing a league-high 36.7 shots per game and have surrendered 15 goals during their current 3 game losing streak. For obvious reasons, Seguin won’t be cheap, but he is fantasy gold night in and night out; fade him at your own peril.
Henrik Zetterberg – Detroit Red Wings – My top price play at the center position tonight is veteran playmaker Henrik Zetterberg. He has enjoyed most of his success at home this season where he has posted 18 points in 21 games. Now reunited with veteran playmaker Pavel Datsyuk on Detroit’s top line and top power play unit, it’s clear that head coach Mike Babcock is trying to get his most talented players back on track. Zetterberg will have a great opportunity to find the back of the net tonight as the Wings will be taking on the league’s worst team in the Sabres, who allow close to 37 shots per game on the road this season.
Top Value Plays: Antoine Vermette (AZ), Riley Sheahan (DET)
Wing
Disclaimer: Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Sharp, Phil Kessel, Patrick Kane, Rick Nash, Jakub Voracek, Filip Forsberg, Jamie Benn, Max Pacioretty, Patric Hornqvist, Vladimir Tarasenko and James Neal are elite fantasy forwards and are always in play.
Zach Parise – Minnesota Wild – Arguably the league’s hardest working forward, Parise is one of my favorite players to watch, as he never takes a shift off, which leads to his consistent production night after night. With 26 points in as many games this season, Parise will look to continue his terrific all around play against a Flyers team that is among the worst in the league defensively and rank near the bottom of the league in penalty kill percentage. Parise has one of the highest floors of any player in the league because he takes a high volume of shots each game and always seems to find himself involved with the Wild score. He won’t be cheap, but you won’t need to pair Parise with any of his teammates, since most of the Wild’s offensive production runs through him.
Alex Steen – St. Louis Blues – After an incredible breakout season last year in which he amassed 62 points in 68 games, many experts expected Steen’s production to tumble this year. And after a slow start to the 2014-15 regular season, the regression monsters rejoiced, if only for a short while. Now with 21 points in 33 games, Steen is starting to heat up, as the Blues are finally starting to get production outside of Tarassenko line. With 6 points in his last 9 games, Steen has been a decent mid-range salary play, but he has averaged close to 4 shots per game during that span, which is why I’m all over him tonight against an Avalanche team that allows the 2nd most shots per game this year.
Taylor Hall – Edmonton Oilers – In the midst of a disappointing season (by his standards) Hall finally broke out with two goals and an assist in his last game against Dallas. Tonight he will have a great opportunity to build upon that success against a Coyotes team that has allowed 4 goals per game during the month of December. If Edmonton can do one thing, it’s score goals in bunches, making Hall, who has 14 points in 17 home games a good bet for production tonight against a ‘Yotes team that will be playing on tired legs. Hall will be the best player on the ice in tonight’s game, and I expect him to take his frustrations this season out on the league’s worst goalie in Mike Smith.
Top Value Plays: Justin Abdelkader (DET), Michael Raffl (PHI), Brett Connolly (TB), Teddy Purcell (EDM)