NHL Daily Plays: Tuesday, October 21st
As we enter the third week of the 2014-15 NHL Regular Season, we’re starting to get a better picture of how most of these teams are going to fair with a long season in front of us. Now that we have a decent sample size of stats to draw upon, we can finally start attacking teams that are taking too many penalties and giving up far too many shots for their own good. With a healthy 10 game schedule and plenty of action available throughout the industry, let’s take a look at some of the players I’ll be targeting tonight:
Goalies
Make sure to check the RotoGrinders Starting Goalies Page to confirm that the goalies listed below are starting prior to puck-drop
Pekka Rinne – Nashville Predators – One of the few established starting goaltenders that remains undefeated in regulation early this season is Pekka Rinne, who also boasts the highest SV% among available #1 goalies tonight. Rinne is well-rested and coming off a dazzling 31 save shutout in his last start against Winnipeg. Tonight he’ll be taking on an inconsistent Arizona Coyotes team that has been historically bad on the road and is only getting production from their top line. Home-ice advantage should allow Nashville to get lock-down defenseman Shea Weber on the ice as much as possible against the Coyotes’ top line, and as long as Nashville can stay out of the penalty box, Rinne should be the safest option in net tonight.
Reto Berra – Colorado Avalanche – If you’re looking for value in net tonight, consider taking Reto Berra, who appears to have recovered from a minor neck injury that kept him out of action for the last couple of games. I generally avoid taking goalies from Colorado because they are among the worst puck-possession teams in the league, but with a home matchup against the league’s worst offensive team, Berra makes for an intriguing tournament play given his near-minimum price tag across the industry. If he’s able to get some goal support tonight, Berra has the potential to post a monster game with the amount of shots he’ll likely see.
Defense
Disclaimer: Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, Mark Giordano, Zdeno Chara, and P.K. Subban are elite defensemen and are always in play.
Brent Burns – San Jose Sharks – After spending most of last season at forward, San Jose has moved Brent Burns back to the blue-line this season where he has transitioned nicely with seven points in his first six games. Burns won’t be cheap, but he has a knack for scoring with 13 shots on the year and his increased ice-time allows him more opportunities to score. Tonight Burns and the Sharks will be taking on the Boston Bruins, who are among the league’s most penalized teams, which should give Burns plenty of opportunities to light up the box score as the quarterback on San Jose’s lethal top power play unit.
Anton Stralman – Tampa Bay Lightning – With star defenseman Victor Hedman on injured reserve, the Lightning have given Stralman the first crack to be his replacement on Tampa Bay’s top power play unit. Stralman was largely an afterthought during his tenure with the Rangers, but he did post 34 points in his last major role in Columbus a few seasons ago. He doesn’t possess the scoring ability that Hedman does, but his discounted price and great matchup against a Calgary team that has allowed the most power play goals this season will have me targeting him heavily tonight.
Top Value Plays: Damon Severson (NJ), Nick Leddy (NYI)
Center
Disclaimer: Phil Kessel, Blake Wheeler, Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Henrik Zetterberg, John Tavares, and Patrick Kane are elite fantasy forwards and are always in play.
Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning – Finally healthy following a full recovery from a broken leg last season, Stamkos is back and looks as explosive as ever with five goals and a league-leading 32 shots to start the season. It may seem like an obvious pick, but “Stammer” will be on plenty of my lineups tonight with a juicy matchup against a Calgary team that has surrendered the most power play goals in the league thus far. Stamkos is a guy that can make you pay if you fade him and if you need any more reason to pay up for him tonight, take a look at his stat line in his last game against Montreal in which he recorded a hat-trick and recorded 12 shots.
Jason Spezza – Dallas Stars – One of the league’s most underrated players over the last decade with Ottawa, the veteran Jason Spezza has found a new home in Dallas and is off to a hot start with 7 points in his first 5 games. He now centers arguably the most lethal top line in the entire league with the dynamic duo of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn at his disposal, making him one of my top plays across the board tonight with his moderate price. It remains to be seen how long Spezza will remain on the top line, but there’s no mistaking how tremendous his fantasy value will be on a nightly basis, so jump all over him before his price skyrockets.
Top Value Plays: David Desharnais (MON), Mike Ribeiro (NSH)
Wing
Rick Nash – New York Rangers – After struggling throughout parts of his tenure with the Rangers, Rick Nash is starting the 2014-15 season off with a bang. He currently leads the league in goals with 7 and has 22 shots. His matchup against the once-stingy, defensive-minded Devils would present a great option to fade Nash in previous years, but the Devils have allowed close to 32 shots per game this season. Similar to Boston, New Jersey has taken far too many penalties, which should allow Nash plenty of opportunities to continue his strong play tonight.
Patrick Sharp – Chicago Blackhawks – Averaging close to 6 shots per game this season, Patrick Sharp continues to be one of the most dangerous scoring threats in all of hockey. Tonight he will be taking on his former club in the Flyers, who have perennially been among the league’s most penalized team seemingly since their existence. He won’t be cheap, but “Sharpie” should get plenty of looks tonight against a very slow Philadelphia defensive corps and should have no problems finding his way into Chicago’s scoring mix tonight.
Kyle Okposo – New York Islanders – The main beneficiary of prime scoring opportunities created by superstar John Tavares, Kyle Okposo registered nearly a point per game last season and is off to yet another hot start with seven points in his first five games for the surging Islanders. Tonight he will have the luxury of taking on a reeling Maple Leafs team that is back to their losing style of hockey. Okposo offers a cheaper way to get exposure to Tavares and has also torched the Leafs over the course of his career to the tune of 14 points in 21 games, including 63 shots during that span.
Filip Forsberg – Nashville Predators – If you’re looking for some value at winger tonight, take a peek at Forsberg, who has made the most of his early season promotion to Nashville’s top line with five points in as many games. A solid all-around player with no real deficiencies in his game, the Swede will be a guy to keep an eye on moving forward as a potential breakout candidate skating alongside the consistent Mike Ribeiro and goal-scorer James Neal. His price is expected to rise soon, so jump all over him while he’s still this cheap.
Top Value Plays: Matt Nieto (SJ), Cory Conacher (NYI), Jonathan Drouin (TB), Alex Tanguay (COL)