NHL Daily Plays: Tuesday, January 20th
Happy Tournament Tuesday Grinders! As we approach the final Tuesday slate before the All-Star break, we find ourselves with a lighter slate than we are used to, with just 8 games on the schedule. And while the smaller schedule creates some eventual overlap with more obvious plays, there aren’t necessarily any overwhelming matchups to exploit tonight (We can thank Buffalo for not being on the schedule).With that said, let’s take a look at some of the players I’ll be targeting in my lineups for Tuesday, January 20th.
Goalies
Make sure to check the RotoGrinders Starting Goalies Page to confirm that the goalies listed below are starting prior to puck-drop
Ben Bishop – Tampa Bay Lightning – One of the few established goalies I’ll be paying up for tonight is Bishop, who enters tonight’s game against Vancouver with a 16-3 record to go along with a 1.99 GAA and a .927 SV%. Vancouver will be playing on consecutive nights on the road, a situation in which they have struggled as a team midway through the season; entering tonight’s game with a 2-7 record, averaging just over 2 goals per game on the tail end of a back-to-back. Bishop won’t be cheap, but he is an elite goalie on an elite team, and should have no problems getting enough goal support to earn a victory heading into the All-Star break.
Petr Mrazek – Detroit Red Wings – Despite getting pulled in his last start against Buffalo (something that doesn’t occur often), the Red Wings will go back to Mrazek with an opportunity to take 1st place in the Eastern Conference. He’ll be taking on a Minnesota Wild team that is in a tailspin; entering tonight’s game with just 3 wins this month and will playing on back-to-back nights on the road. Detroit is especially effective at neutralizing one-line teams such as the Wild, which sets Mrazek and his moderate price up for a good opportunity for a victory tonight.
Defense
Disclaimer: Erik Karlsson, Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, Victor Hedman, P.K. Subban, Mike Green, and Keith Yandle 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 playing at an elite level for the Penguins this season. He enters tonight’s game with 9 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 Flyers who are dead last in penalty kill percentage 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 have no problems finding the stat sheet in a myriad of ways tonight.
Dan Boyle – New York Rangers – With 5 points in his last 10 games, Dan Boyle is starting to find his groove in New York after a miserable start to the season. With just four 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 is featured on the Rangers’ 11th ranked power play unit, making him a great mid-range option tonight against an Ottawa team that takes the 4th most penalties in the NHL.
Top Value Plays: Anton Stralman (TB), Seth Jones (NSH)
Center
Disclaimer: Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Backstrom, Jonathan Toews,Tyler Seguin, and Claude Giroux are elite fantasy centers and are always in play.
Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins – Malkin is off to yet another incredible start with 50 points through 44 games this season. Despite playing with numerous linemates throughout much of this season, he continues to get it done on a nightly basis and is also featured on the league’s best power play unit. He’s been a point per game player on the road this season and is averaging over 6 shot attempts per game. With all of the attention in this game likely focused on shutting Crosby and Pittsburgh’s top line down, Malkin should have no problems getting involved in his team’s scoring tonight.
Henrik Zetterberg – Detroit Red Wings – Another veteran center that I’ll be targeting heavily tonight is Zetterberg, who has 10 points in as many games and is fresh off his first hat-trick of the season. Unsurprisingly, the veteran playmaker leads the Wings in points and shots, but what does surprise me is very reasonable price tag across most of the industry. In a game Detroit should dominate from start to finish, look for Zetterberg to be heavily involved in Detroit’s offensive onslaught tonight.
Top Value Plays: Mike Ribeiro (NSH), Mark Arcobello (PIT)
Wing
Disclaimer: Rick Nash, Zach Parise, Taylor Hall, Jamie Benn, Max Pacioretty, Filip Forsberg, Jakub Voracek, and Patrick Kane are elite fantasy forwards and are always in play.
Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals – Perennially one the most productive forwards in all of hockey, Alex Ovechkin is a guy I will be doing everything I can squeeze into my lineups with a juicy home matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. Ovechkin enters tonight’s game playing his best hockey of the season; netting 9 goals in his last 10 games and is averaging a whopping 10.28 shot attempts per game. The Oilers are a team lacking in all defensive areas of the game and have a below average penalty kill percentage, which is where Ovechkin makes his bread and butter. Don’t get cute with this one tonight folks; fade Ovechkin at your own peril.
Patrick Sharp – Chicago Blackhawks – After a brief stint on Chicago’s second line, a move that paid dividends, head coach Joel Quenneville has moved Sharp back to the team’s third line alongside highly touted center Teuvo Teravainen. Regardless who “Sharpie” skates with, he is almost always a lock for production because of the high volume of shots he takes each game. Still featured on one of the most deadly power play units in hockey, Sharp should have plenty of opportunities to find the back of the net tonight against an Arizona team that has struggled immensely away from home ice this season, especially on the penalty kill. “His price is cheaper than you would expect to see, making him a relative bargain tonight with a juicy matchup.
David Pastrnak – Boston Bruins – Seldom does a low first round draft pick find his way on his team’s top line in the same year in which he is drafted, but such is the case for the hard-working 18 year old Czech native Pastrnak. He has parlayed his opportunity into 5 points and 28 shots in his first 9 games and just received news that he’ll be sticking with the big club for the rest of the season. It can be difficult to predict where the scoring will come from on a team like the Bruins, but Pastrnak presents a great low-cost, high upside option tonight that is in play for me in both cash games and GPPs.
Top Value Plays: Justin Abdelkader (DET), Marcus Johansson (WSH), Teuvo Teravainen (CHI), Colton Sceviour (DAL)