NHL Daily Plays: Wednesday, March 25th
Wednesday rarely offers a fantasy-friendly NHL schedule, and tonight is certainly no different. With only three games to choose from, roster overlap will likely be rather high, so differentiating yourself with solid value options is going to be the difference maker. While the grind of the NHL season may be approaching the six month mark, none of these teams were in action last night, so fresh legs shouldn’t be too much of a concern as you build your rosters.
Here are my top options for tonight’s rather ugly slate:
Goaltender
Corey Crawford – Chicago Blackhawks – With just six goalies to choose from tonight, Crawford stands out as the safest bet for cash game use. He’s posted a 6-1-1 record with a sparkling 1.61 GAA and .953 SV% in eight starts this month and now owns a 30-15-5 record with a very solid 2.19 GAA and .926 SV% on the season. Chicago cruised to an easy 4-0 shutout victory (With Raanta in net) when these two teams faced off against each other earlier this season. Philadelphia enters tonight’s game having dropped four straight games and appears to just be going through the motions at this point in their disappointing season.
Others: Semyon Varlamov
Center
Ryan O’Reilly – Colorado Avalanche – While his slow start to the season will definitely prevent him from matching last season’s production (28 goals, 36 assists), O’Reilly is heating up down the stretch and looks to be salvaging some positive momentum as he looks towards the 2015-16 season. O’Reilly brings a four-game point streak into tonight’s battle in Edmonton and has racked up three goals and added 14 assists over his last 17 games. The Edmonton Oilers are allowing more goals against per game than any other team in the NHL this season (3.34 GA/G) and have coughed up 42 goals during their current 3-6-3 skid. O’Reilly is still very reasonably priced across the industry and is an excellent option on such a short slate.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Edmonton Oilers – The raw skills that made Nugent-Hopkins the 1st overall selection in the 2011 NHL Draft have certainly been on display lately. “The Nuge” brings a six-game scoring streak into tonight’s game and has amassed seven goals and eight assists over the last eight games. Tonight he’ll take on a Colorado team that has lost two straight games and that is allowing the fourth-most shots on goal against per game this season (32.9 shots against per game). He’s one of the few bright spots on this Edmonton team and he can still be found at moderate price-points on several sites.
Others: Jonathan Toews, Tyler Seguin, John Mitchell, Antoine Vermette, Sean Monahan
Wingers
Johnny Gaudreau – Calgary Flames – With Dallas rating out as the fastest paced team in the NHL (with a 118 CP60), this matchup couldn’t be much better for the under-sized Johnny Hockey. With the Flames making a push to secure a playoff spot in the Western Conference, Gaudreau has raised his game lately, scoring five goals and dishing out eight assists over the last 11 games. He leads this Calgary team this season in power-play points (19) where he can put his offensive creativity to work against Dallas’ subpar 23rd ranked penalty kill.
Patrick Sharp – Chicago Blackhawks – If the Hawks can survive long enough to get a healthy Patrick Kane back into the lineup, then perhaps his injury was a blessing in disguise. After appearing completely lost on the ice for half of the season, Sharp has been forced back into a top-6 forward role with Kane in the press-box and the production has quickly followed. Over the last five games, Sharp has tallied three goals and three assists while skating at a +7. He picked up a pair of assists against the Flyers in that first meeting and should be able to use his power-play expertise to exploit the Flyers dreadful 29th ranked penalty kill.
Others: Marian Hossa, Jarome Iginla, Gabriel Landeskog, Jordan Eberle, Jiri Hudler, Jamie Benn (if healthy)
Defensemen
Tyson Barrie – Colorado Avalanche – On such a short slate, picking against the Edmonton Oilers is definitely a viable strategy. Not only are the Oilers the worst defensive team in the NHL, but they also sport the league’s 28th ranked penalty kill. The Erik Johnson injury opened up the door for Barrie to slide onto the Av’s top power-play unit and he hasn’t looked back since, scoring four goals and adding 10 assists over the last 14 games. He’s a near lock for 20+ minutes of ice-time tonight and picked up an assist against the Oilers in their only previous meeting, so give him a look tonight.
Dennis Wideman – Calgary Flames – With Mark Giordano out for the season, Wideman is routinely logging near 30 minutes of ice-time per game and has become a staple on the point of the Flames #1 power-play unit. He’s racked up one goal and 17 assists over his last 20 games and has a nice matchup on tap against this Dallas team that has allowed 3.26 goals per game on the road this season. Calgary desperately needs this win and Wideman is a rock solid cash game option tonight.
Others: John Klingberg, Duncan Keith, Kris Russell, Michael Del Zotto