NHL Daily Plays: Wednesday, March 18th
It’s “Rivalry Wednesday” in the NHL tonight, which basically means another slow night on the ice with some false hype of random rivalries. However, unlike some of the recent ugly Wednesday slates, the two NBCSN games are quite important and should be very entertaining to watch.
Here are my top cash game options for tonight’s action.
Goaltenders
Make sure to check the RotoGrinders Starting Goalies Page to confirm that the goalies listed below are starting prior to game time.
Editor’s Note: John Gibson has been confirmed in goal for Anaheim. This obviously takes Andersen off the table.
Frederik Andersen – Anaheim Ducks – With just six goalies to choose from tonight, getting comfortable with a netminder is going to be tricky. However, Andersen sports a 16-6-2 record at the Honda Center this season and is still reasonably priced on many sites. In six career starts against the Los Angeles Kings, Andersen owns a 4-0-1 record with a 2.29 GAA and .925 SV%. While he hasn’t been overly sharp lately, he finally looks to be fully recovered from his neck injury.
Others to Target: Cam Talbot
Forwards
Disclaimer: Ryan Getzlaf, Jonathan Toews, Corey Perry and Rick Nash are all elite options tonight. Target them as you see fit.
Ryan Kesler – Anaheim Ducks – For Anaheim to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they’re going to need plenty of secondary scoring from the Kesler line. While he may never approach the 40 goal plateau again, Kesler looks to be heating up at the right time and has now scored two goals and added five assists over the last nine games. He’s torched Los Angeles thus far this season; scoring four goals and adding two assists (and is a +5) in their four previous meetings. He’s very reasonably priced, so give him a look.
Jordan Eberle – Edmonton Oilers – With a goal and two assists against Toronto on Monday Night, Eberle extended his point streak to five games and has amassed four goals and seven assists during his current “heater”. With 21 power-play points already this season, Eberle should find plenty of scoring opportunities against the Blue Jackets’ 25th-ranked penalty kill and he posted a goal and an assist against Columbus when they squared off last week. While this may be another disappointing season for the Oilers, Eberle’s 7 goals and 18 assists in 23 second-half games once again proves that he’s one of the games brightest young offensive weapons. It’s a short slate, he’s scorching hot, the matchup is nice and he’s still reasonably priced on most sites.
Nick Foligno – Columbus Blue Jackets – Foligno’s breakout season just keeps on rolling; he’s picked up points in six of his last seven games and now sports 25 goals and 37 assists (and a +10) in 66 games. Tonight the former first-round pick will get a crack at an Edmonton team that is allowing a league-worst (yes, worse than Buffalo) 3.33 goals against per game this season and who he dished out a pair of assists against last week. The Oilers own an abysmal 77.5% penalty kill and Foligno has already tallied a team-high 25 power-play points this season.
Others to Target: Marian Hossa, Chris Kreider, Benoit Pouliot, Cam Atkinson, Patrick Maroon, Tyler Toffoli
Defensemen
Ryan McDonagh – New York Rangers – McDonagh has been somewhat quiet offensively lately, but he’s still the heart and soul of this New York team and has a knack for coming up big in important games. He’s a mortal lock for 20+ minutes of ice-time and should benefit from some potentially tired Chicago legs tonight. He’s an extremely well-rounded defenseman and is capable of putting up fantasy points in a myriad of ways.
Justin Schultz – Edmonton Oilers – While his Plus/Minus liability is certainly a concern, Schultz is still one of the top options on the blue line in tonight’s short slate of games. He’s routinely logging 25+ minutes of ice-time per game and picked up four assists over the last four games. He’s a fixture on the point of Edmonton’s #1 power-play unit and he should have success tonight against the Blue Jackets poor penalty kill. He posted two assists against Columbus in their only previous meeting and can still be found for a reasonable asking price.
Others to Target: Drew Doughty, Cam Fowler, Keith Yandle, Duncan Keith, Oscar Klefbom, Kevin Connauton