NHL Daily Plays: Tuesday, February 17th
Happy Tournament Tuesday Grinders! The NBA All-Star Break has the industry focused on NHL and there are some unprecedented tournaments scattered throughout the industry this week.
With a balanced NHL schedule this week, there are only seven games to pick from Tuesday, a slightly smaller slate than we are normally accustomed to seeing. Despite the smaller slate, there are still some great matchups to exploit, so let’s take a look at some of the players I’ll be targeting tonight:
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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 10-3 record to go along with a 1.94 GAA and a solid .929 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 banged up Dallas Stars team that will be without their best goal scorer Tyler Seguin, who sustained a nasty injury two games ago. Elliott’s price is starting to creep up in some places throughout the industry 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.
Roberto Luongo – Florida Panthers – Another established starting netminder that makes the list for me tonight is Luongo, who has been a key component to Florida’s success this season. He’ll have the luxury of facing a Toronto Maple Leafs team that is in shambles; winning just two games and averaging a measly 1.68 goals per game since the start of January. With few reliable options to choose from tonight, Luongo presents a slightly cheaper alternative to Elliott with similar upside in game Florida should have no problem winning.
Defense
Disclaimer: Shea Weber, Roman Josi, Alex Pietrangelo, Brent Burns, and Mark Streit are elite fantasy defensemen and are always in play.
Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins – One defensemen I’ll try my hardest to pay up for tonight is Letang, who is fully recovered from a frightening heart condition and back to playing at an elite level for the Penguins this season. He enters tonight’s game with 12 points in his last 10 games, and has averaged close to 6 shot attempts per game over the last month of the season. Letang is also featured on one of the league’s best power play units and should be very active tonight against the Capitals who have had their struggles killing penalties this season. He won’t be cheap, but he is one of the league’s preeminent offensive scoring threats from the blue line and should be heavily involved in the Penguins scoring in a marquee matchup tonight.
Aaron Ekblad – Florida Panthers – The first overall pick in last year’s draft, Ekblad is putting together a terrific rookie season for the Panthers with 32 points in his first 55 games to start his career. The 18-year-old standout has 5 points in his last 10 games and has taken advantage of the opportunity the organization has given him on the team’s top defensive pairing and top power play unit. Despite a juicy matchup against the Maple Leafs, Ekblad likely won’t light the world on fire, but his discounted price across most of the industry makes him an excellent option if you’re looking for a mid-range salary defenseman tonight..
Top Value Plays: Brian Campbell (FLA), Lubomir Visnovsky (NYI)
Center
Disclaimer: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Logan Couture, John Tavares, Ryan Johansen, and Nicklas Backstrom are elite fantasy centers and are always in play.
Claude Giroux – Philadelphia Flyers – With 55 points in as many games this season, Giroux and his linemate Jakub Voracek have been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise forgettable season for the Flyers. And despite cooling off recently, Giroux finds himself in a great position to get back on track tonight with a matchup against a Columbus team he has faired well against with 6 points in his previous 4 meetings against the Blue Jackets this season. In a game that should produce plenty of scoring (notably on special teams), Giroux should have no problems paying off his reduced salary across most of the industry.
David Backes – St. Louis Blues – Another reliable center I’ll be targeting tonight is Backes, who is having another solid campaign for the surging Blues with 40 points in 55 games this season. His production has regressed this month after an insane month of January, but Backes is a guy that contributes in multiple categories on the ice and always seems to get involved when the Blues have great matchups. Tonight he’ll be taking on a punchless Stars team that allows the fifth-most shots on goal per game away from home and ranks in the bottom third of the league in penalty kill percentage.
Top Value Plays: Jori Lehtera (STL), Aleksander Barkov (FLA)
Wing
Disclaimer: Alex Ovechkin, Jamie Benn, Phil Kessel, Joe Pavelski, Filip Forsberg, Alexander Steen, Patrick Marleau, Patric Hornqvist, Jaden Schwartz and Jakub Voracek are elite fantasy forwards and are always in play.
Vladimir Tarasenko – St. Louis Blues – With 55 points in 56 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, who ranks fifth in goals (29), 5th in SOG (198), and is 3rd in the league with a +27 rating. For whatever reason, his price never seems to rise in some parts throughout the industry and he will be taking on a Dallas Stars team that he has torched for 5 points, including 4 goals in just two games this season.
James Neal – Nashville Predators – Another prolific goal scorer I’ll be targeting tonight is James Neal, who has settled in nicely with the Predators with 32 points in his first 50 games with Nashville after being shipped out of Pittsburgh during the offseason. Much of Neal’s value is tied to the high volume of shots he takes each game, and a home matchup against the Sharks will allow head coach Peter Laviolette to keep Neal and Preds’ newly formed top line away from two-way forward Joe Thornton for most of this game.
David Perron – Pittsburgh Penguins – If you’re looking for value on offense tonight, look no further than David Perron, who has been a nice find for the Penguins with 8 goals in just 16 games since being acquired from Edmonton. He’s also featured on Pittsburgh’s lethal top power play unit, further increasing his potential and will be up against an average Washington penalty kill. Even with a tough matchup against the Capitals, goals will be scored in this game tonight, making Perron a perfect low-cost option to get exposure to Sidney Crosby and the Pens’ top line.
Mike Cammalleri – New Jersey Devils – Another value option that will likely fly under the radar tonight is Cammalleri, who has been one of the few bright spots in a lost season for the Devils. He has a 20% shooting percentage this season, which is insanely high and indication of unsustainable production, but the regression monsters will have to wait at least one more game to criticize Cammalleri’s performance this season as he has the pleasure of taking on the lowly Buffalo Sabres tonight. The Sabres are dead last in nearly every statistical measure, notably shots allowed and penalty kill percentage, making the veteran Cammalleri a solid option tonight as a member of New Jersey’s top power play unit.
Top Value Plays: Jimmy Hayes (FLA), Anders Lee (NYI), Brayden Schenn (PHI), Steve Bernier (NJ)