NHL Daily Plays: Wednesday, October 22nd
After an entertaining 10-game slate last night, the NHL delivers another typically slow Wednesday night schedule tonight, with just eight teams hitting the ice. There are still plenty of nice matchups to exploit, and with the NBA still a week away from tip-off, the NHL is pretty much the only show in town tonight. Despite the slow schedule, several of the game’s biggest names are in action tonight so finding nice value options may very well be the key to victory.
Editor’s Note: The game between Toronto and Ottawa has been postponed. Adjust your lineups accordingly.
Goalies:
Frederik Anderson – Anaheim Ducks – With the offensively inept Buffalo Sabres heading west to take on the Ducks at the Honda Center, Anderson becomes the very clear #1 choice in net for your cash games. He’s fresh off of a 28 save shutout against the St. Louis Blues in his last start and sports an impressive 5-0-0 record with a 1.38 GAA and .950 save percentage thus far this season. He cruised to an easy victory over these Sabres when they met last week and is an enormous favorite by Vegas standards to walk away with the very important “W”. Obviously make sure to check his status for this game, but if John Gibson were to get the nod in net than he becomes a near must play with his reduced asking price.
Others To Target: Craig Anderson, Marc-Andre Fleury
Centers
Ryan Getzlaf – Anaheim Ducks – I’m not really going out on a limb here, but it’s quite possible that I’d rather have Getzlaf today than Crosby or Malkin. He had an assist against the Sabres when they played last week and absolutely brutalized them last season, posting four goals, three assists and a +5 in just two meetings. He was also sensational on home ice last year, putting up 15 goals, 31 assists and a +24 in just 38 games. While he’s certainly not cheap, the matchup is about as good as it can get.
Nicklas Backstrom – Washington Capitals – With the Edmonton Oilers doing their best Philadelphia 76ers impression on defense thus far this season, it’s wise to target some Washington players tonight. While his line mate Alex Ovechkin may be the most appealing option, he’s also very expensive. For some salary relief, Backstrom is an excellent option. Backstrom lit up this Edmonton team last season, scoring a goal and adding four assists in just two meetings. He’s logging over 20 minutes of ice-time per game with plenty of exposure to the Capitals lethal #1 power-play. Pair him with the line’s third wheel, Troy Brouwer, and you have relatively inexpensive exposure to Ovie.
Others To Target: Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux, Ryan Kesler, Tyler Bozak
Values To Target: William Karlsson, Brandon Sutter, Nazem Kadri, Mika Zibanejad, Andre Burakovsky
Wingers
Patric Hornqvist – Pittsburgh Penguins – As expected, Hornqvist is thriving in Pittsburgh alongside Sidney Crosby. He’s racked up four goals and four assists over the teams first four games and fired a ridiculous 12 shots on goal in their last game versus the Islanders. His offensive talent has never been questioned, but he looks poised to shatter his career high offensive numbers now that he’s been fully unleashed in Pittsburgh. Vegas is calling for this game to be a bit of a shootout and, while his price is certainly on the rise, Hornqvist still seems like a value on many sites.
Alex Chiasson – Ottawa Senators – Obviously you’re going to want to target some of these superstars tonight, but that means finding value on the board. One of the best options of the night is the highly underpriced Alex Chiasson. He’s not off to a flying start in Ottawa, but he showed plenty of offensive ability as a rookie in Dallas last season and was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Jason Spezza to the Stars. He’s logging solid minutes on the wing of the Senator’s second scoring line (alongside Bobby Ryan and Mika Zibanejad) and also sees a healthy dose (3:09/game) of time on the point of the teams #2 power-play unit. Toronto owned an ugly 78.4% penalty kill last year and may have some tired legs after a hard-fought win in New York last night.
Editor’s Note: The game between Toronto and Ottawa has been postponed. Adjust your lineups accordingly.
Others To Target: Alexander Ovechkin, Chris Kunitz, Corey Perry, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Bobby Ryan, Taylor Hall
Values To Target: Devante Smith-Pelly, Mark Stone, Michael Raffl, David Clarkson, Benoit Pouliot
Defense
Sami Vatanen – Anaheim Ducks – With Sheldon Souray on the shelf, it looks like Vatanen is poised to step up and fill the offensive void from the blue line for the Ducks. He scored his first two goals of the season, both on the power-play, in the Ducks last game and is seeing major minutes (4:30/game) on the point of the teams #1 power-play unit. His offensive abilities have never really been in question and it looks like he’s taking full advantage of his increased responsibilities this season.
Mike Green – Washington Capitals – Green was once one of the games best fantasy defenseman before struggling over the last three or four years. However, he showed signs of a reemergence last season by posting a solid 38 point campaign. He’s gotten out of the gates nicely this season, scoring a pair of goals and adding three assists over the first four games. He QB’s the Capitals very capable second powerplay unit, and while he may never approach his career high of 31 goals, he looks to have some jump back in his legs and a 50 point season is not unreasonable.
Others To Target: Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Cam Fowler, John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Francois Beauchemin
Values To Target: Olli Maatta, Nikita Nikitin, Cody Ceci, Morgan Reilly, Justin Schultz
Best of luck tonight!
JMBWngFn (@JBritt2 on Twitter)