NHL Daily Plays: Wednesday, February 11th
On the eve of the NBA All-Star break, things slow down across the NHL today as we’re faced with just three games on the ice tonight. However, all three matchups feature teams that appear to be headed for the playoffs. Many of the games brightest stars are in action, so finding some quality salary relief will likely be a central theme when setting your lineups tonight.
Goaltenders
Make sure to check the RotoGrinders Starting Goalies Page to confirm that the goalies listed below are starting prior to game time.
Corey Crawford – Chicago Blackhawks – After earning an All-Star appearance for his solid work during the first half of the season, Crawford has settled back in and sports a 3-1-0 record with a 1.73 GAA and .938 SV% over his last four starts. He enters tonight’s game as the biggest favorite on the board by Vegas’ standards and will look to avenge a loss earlier this year to this Vancouver team who he was terrific against last season (2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .956 SV% in two starts). Barring the unexpected news of a value goaltender getting the nod tonight, he’s my top cash game option.
Others: Antti Niemi, Marc Andre-Fleury
Centers
Henrik Zetterberg – Detroit Red Wings – The Red Wings enter tonight’s game having won nine of their last ten games and having defeated the Penguins 4-3 in their only previous meeting this season. In that game, Pittsburgh simply had no answer for the Detroit Captain as Zetterberg scored a goal and added a pair of assists. Zetterberg centers the best power-play in the NHL where he’s already picked up 19 power-play points on the season. Hank has tallied four goals and six assists over his last eight games and still carries a fairly reasonable asking price.
Joe Pavelski – San Jose Sharks – When these two teams squared off earlier this season, we were treated to an entertaining 6-5 shootout victory by the Sharks. Pavelski lit the lamp in that first meeting and has now amassed six goals and four assists over his last ten games. Pavelski routinely logs 20+ minutes of ice-time and is a staple on the Sharks’ dangerous #1 power-play unit. His 15 power-play goals is tied with Alex Ovechkin for the NHL lead and should bode well for him against the Capitals 19th ranked penalty kill.
Others: Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby, Logan Couture, Niklas Backstrom, Joe Thornton
Value: Andrew Shaw, Stephen Weiss, Brandon Sutter, Evgeny Kuznetsov
Wingers
Alex Ovechkin and Patrick Kane are expensive, but well worth the investment. Fire them up with confidence.
David Perron – Pittsburgh Penguins – Perron’s asking price just remains too low on several sites, making him an excellent option on such a short slate. Perron has posted eight goals and four assists in 15 games since being acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins and is averaging nearly 19 minutes of playing time per game with his new team. He’s joined by Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz on the Penguins’ top scoring line and is also part of their lethal #1 power-play unit. Detroit has really struggled with their penalty kill down the stretch, and Perron and Co. can make them pay in a big way if they find themselves short-handed.
Alex Burrows – Vancouver Canucks – I really don’t usually like to recommend a player going against my goalie recommendation, but sometimes you have to do strange things on three-game nights. Burrows is extremely affordable ($4,300 on FanDuel, for instance) and has once again found himself alongside the Sedin Twins on the Canucks top forward line. He’s thrived in this spot in the past, scoring at least 25 goals in four straight seasons from the 08-09 season through the 11-12 season. He’s tallied two goals and added an assist over the last three games and is a solid value option despite the tough matchup.
Others: Gustav Nyquist, Daniel Sedin, Patric Hornqvist, Tomas Tatar, Marian Hossa
Value: – Melker Karlsson, Marcus Johansson, Tommy Wingels, Darren Helm
Defensemen
Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins – I touched on Detroit’s recent struggles on the PK, which immediately makes Letang a strong target on the blueline. He’s expensive, but he’s already racked up nine assists in seven games since the All-Star break and see’s big minutes on that #1 power-play unit that also contains Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz and Perron. He leads the Penguins in average ice-time per game at 25:11/game with nearly four minutes per game coming on the point of the power-play.
Matt Tennyson – San Jose Sharks – If you’re looking for a “punt” option on the blueline, then give Tennyson a look. With Marc-Edouard Vlasic out of action for the next week, Tennyson stands to face a much bigger workload and will also slide onto the point of the team’s #2 power-play unit. Tennyson has been solid defensively and has scored one goal and added five assists over his last seven games.
Others: Brent Burns, Duncan Keith, Mike Green, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Kronwall
Value: Danny DeKeyser, Paul Martin, Matt Irwin