NHL Daily Plays: Wednesday, February 4th
Last night’s exciting 11-game NHL schedule is behind us, and tonight we’re faced with just three games on the ice. The night is highlighted by an important game between the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, which could help mold the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. Here are my top plays for tonight’s short slate.
Goaltender
Tuukka Rask – Boston Bruins – I usually like to target a “W” with my goalie selection, but that’s not the case tonight. After treading water for most of the first half of the season, Rask and the Bruins look to have finally “flipped the switch” back to Stanley Cup contenders. Rask has posted a 7-1-2 record with a sensational 1.47 GAA and .954 SV% over his last nine starts and he shut out this Rangers team in their only other meeting this season. Rask has given the Rangers fits in the past, posting a 1.91 GAA and .937 SV% in 13 career starts against them.
Others: Marc Andre-Fleury, Antti Niemi
Centers
Evgeni Malkin/Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins – The Oilers have allowed the third-most goals against in the NHL, so it’s not a secret that you’ll want one (or both) of these guys in your lineup. They’re expensive, but should be used with confidence.
Joe Pavelski – San Jose Sharks – Pavelski erupted for a pair of goals and an assist against the Oilers on Monday night and now owns six goals and three assists over his last eight games. Pavelski’s taken over as the Sharks’ team leader in points this season and his 14 power-play goals has him tied for the NHL lead with Alex Ovechkin. Pavelski picked up a pair of assists against the Flames in their last meeting and should be able to use his power-play expertise to take advantage of Calgary’s rather weak (77.3%) penalty kill.
David Krejci – Boston Bruins – I’m not expecting the game to be overly fantasy friendly, but Krejci’s recent production shouldn’t be ignored; over his last 14 games he’s scored two goals and picked up 11 assists. He lit the lamp against the Rangers when they squared off last month and had three assists in three meetings against them last season. With the Bergeron/Marchand line likely being asked to try and slow down Rick Nash, the offensive burden will fall firmly on the laps of Krejci and Lucic, both at even strength and on the power play.
Others: Joe Thornton, Sean Monahan, Logan Couture, Derek Stepan
Wingers
Melker Karlsson – San Jose Sharks – Solid value plays may be the key to success tonight, and Karlsson is one of my favorites. After several seasons of professional hockey in Sweden, Karlsson has come out of nowhere and quickly posted eight goals and five assists over his first 22 NHL games. His strong play was recently rewarded with a move to the Sharks’ top line, where he skates alongside two great playmakers in Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton. He scored a goal against Calgary in their only other meeting and his speed creates a whole other dimension of fear for these Flames defensemen tonight.
David Perron – Pittsburgh Penguins – Both the revenge factor from playing against the team who traded him away earlier this year and his deflated salary make Perron one of the best plays of the night. Perron’s current asking doesn’t reflect his current situation (skating alongside Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz on the team’s top scoring line) and he’ll be a fixture in my cash game lineups. The former first-round pick racked up 28 goals and 29 assists for Edmonton last season and should have no trouble matching that production in Pittsburgh. In 12 games with the Penguins, he owns six goals and has added three assists while logging over 19 minutes of ice-time per game.
Others: Mark Arcobello, David Pastrnak, Milan Lucic, Chris Kunitz, Johnny Gaudreau, Patrick Hornqvist, Jordan Eberle, Jiri Hudler
Defensemen
Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins – If you’re paying up for one defenseman tonight, make it Letang. He just wrapped up a month of January that saw him score one goal and rack up 15 assists in just 11 games and is proving, once again, to be a dangerous weapon from the point of the Penguins’ top power-play unit. Edmonton enters tonight’s game sporting the 24th ranked penalty kill in the NHL and their willingness to play a wide-open style of hockey plays right into the strengths of Letang’s game.
Matt Tennyson – San Jose Sharks – With so many expensive options on the board, it may be necessary to “punt” one of your defensive spots tonight. Tennyson is extremely cheap around the industry, but is starting to see an expanded role on the blueline for the Sharks. He scored a goal against Edmonton in their last game and now has points in three straight games while logging 20+ minutes of ice-time in all three contests. His solid play has been rewarded with some playing time on the point of the team’s second power-play unit which further solidifies him as a nice value option.
Others: Brent Burns, Mark Giordano, Justin Schultz, Paul Martin, Torey Krug, Ryan McDonagh, Dougie Hamilton