NHL Slate Summary: Sunday, February 19th
It’s Hockey Day in America, and the NHL delivers us another very robust 11-game schedule today. We literally have 12 consecutive hours of NHL coverage to soak up on the NBC networks, and today should be another fun time to play DFS hockey.
Playing on back-to-back nights can be tough, but with that being the case for 15 of the teams in action today, we may have little choice but to discount its importance. We have another split slate on our hands today, with three games of the matinee variety this afternoon and eight more to enjoy this evening. With most of the action centered around the evening slate, that’s where I’ll be focusing most of my attention. However, before digging deep into that slate, let’s take a quick look at how to attack these afternoon games.
Detroit shocked the DFS world by picking up a win against the Washington Capitals yesterday, but the scheduling gods didn’t do them any favors, as they’ll head to Pittsburgh for an afternoon battle against the Penguins. Pittsburgh is a huge Vegas favorite (-300) and therefore will be highly targeted this afternoon. Both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are elite options here, with Phil Kessel, Kris Letang and Patric Hornqvist also looking well worth their big-ticket asking prices. Thankfully, players like Chris Kunitz, Jake Guentzel, and Carl Hagelin are all reasonably priced, which helps make stacking the Penguins much easier.
Meanwhile, Washington will look to bounce back from their subpar performance yesterday in what should be a highly entertaining game at Madison Square Garden. Ovechkin disappointed yesterday, but he rarely stays quiet for long. Up north, the Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators will also do battle. That introduces some expensive blue-liners as top-tier targets in Dustin Byfuglien and Erik Karlsson; it’s quite easy to see that finding quality value options will be a common theme this afternoon. Thankfully, we do have several intriguing options to work with (several of whom were featured here yesterday, as well);
1)The three Pittsburgh forwards listed above (AKA: Chris Kunitz, Jake Guentzel and Carl Hagelin) – (You can also throw in Scott Wilson and Nick Bonino if you’d like). They have the luxury of playing alongside several of the most dangerous and creative hockey players on the planet now that Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust are M.I.A. They’re all still well under market price.
2)Trevor Daley – With Justin Schultz and Olli Maatta both sidelined, he’s going to see all the minutes he can handle. He’ll also grab the reigns as the point man on the second power-play unit.
3)Marcus Johansson – His four-game point streak was snapped yesterday, but he did at least still manage to rack up five shots on goal. Johansson gets exposure to Ovechkin on the Capitals’ top power-play unit and has posted four goals and four assists in seven games since the All-Star break.
4)Zack Smith – Smith was quiet in last night’s game, but playing alongside offensive gems like Mike Hoffman and Kyle Turris should benefit him plenty going forward. He also sees plenty of run with the second power-play unit, and Winnipeg happens to own an ugly 76.7 percent penalty kill.
5)Mathieu Perreault – He was mentioned here yesterday and came through with a goal and an assist. The Andrew Copp injury has pushed him up onto a line alongside Blake Wheeler and Mark Schiefele, and that’s created a terrific value opportunity.
Late Slate
Colorado is on this slate, and that’s where all eyes will likely immediately focus, but a bit more on that a bit later. Looking at the Vegas lines, aside from the Tampa Bay/Colorado matchup, none of these late games stand out as overly lopsided or have high goal totals. Toronto’s desire to push the pace will be put to the test against a Carolina team that possesses the puck well (51.56 CF%) and will look to clog up the neutral zone this evening. In Columbus, the Blue Jackets are fresh off of a huge victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins and will put their 21-8-1 home record on the line against the Nashville Predators in a game that looks like it could be very fantasy friendly. With some very expensive studs looking to be well worth the investment tonight (Brent Burns, Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews, Nikita Kucherov, etc), the seemingly constant search for value will once again be a key to success tonight.
Storylines
Narrative Street – A few “motivation” items to note tonight: 1.) Patrick Kane is from Buffalo. Tonight, he’ll put his elite talent on display at the KeyBank Center. He’s posted seven goals and six assists in 12 career games against his hometown team and has been on fire lately, and 2.) Ryan Johansen and Seth Jones both prepare to battle the teams that traded them away. For Johansen, his departure from Columbus was not overly friendly
The ineptitude of the Colorado Avalanche – Colorado is far and away the worst team in the NHL with just 34 points through 56 games (16-38-2 record). They’ve surrendered a league-worst 3.32 goals against per game this season and their -76 goal differential is dead last by a staggering amount. Sprinkle in their ugly 78.0 percent penalty kill, and Tampa Bay will be very popular tonight….for good reason.
Islanders’ revenge? – Their comeback efforts fell short last night, but with the scene shifting to Brooklyn, they should be eager to get back on the ice tonight. Both teams are quite poor by puck possession standards, but the Islanders did outshoot the Devils 42-21 in yesterday’s game. They’ve also been far more successful at the Barclays Center this season (19-8-6 record).
Southern California Showdown – While the San Jose Sharks lead the way in the Pacific Division, Anaheim is still within striking distance. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Kings are still on the outside of the playoff race in the Western Conference, and therefore both teams will be extremely hungry for two points this evening when they clash at the Honda Center. They’ve split their first two meetings this season, but Anaheim’s 17-7-3 record at “The Pond” gives them the advantage.
The continued dominance of Brent Burns – If you faded him yesterday, you probably regret it, as he potted his 26th and 27th goals of the season. He’s now third in the entire NHL in scoring (63 points) and his 235 SOG is easily the highest mark in the NHL.
Top Targets
Brent Burns – San Jose Sharks – I’ll spare further analysis; just use him in cash games.
Patrick Kane – Chicago Blackhawks – He looks poised to climb back into the NHL scoring race. Some added home-town motivation is just the icing on the cake.
Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lighting – If you can find a way to play both Burns and Hedman on your blue-line, I advise you to do it. Hedman scored two goals and added an assist last night, is locked into 20+ minutes of ice-time per game, and has the best matchup on the board.
Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning – He was a disappointment last night, but he’s Tampa’s most dangerous offensive weapon, and that matchup against Colorado just doesn’t get any better.
Cam Atkinson – Columbus Blue Jackets – He’s slowed down a bit lately, but still leads CBJ with 50 points in 57 games. He’s also unloaded a team-high 173 SOG and has posted 13 goals and 16 assists in 30 games at Nationwide Arena.
William Nylander – Toronto Maple Leafs – He’s been overshadowed by some of his rookie teammates, but Nylander deserves some Calder Trophy consideration as well. The Marner injury has landed him on a line with Auston Matthews, and he capitalized with a goal and an assist last night. He has six goals and three assists in nine games this month.
Brandon Dubinsky – Columbus Blue Jackets – His slow start to the season is a now officially long in the rear-view mirror. Dubinsky extended his point streak to four games with the game-winning goal in Pittsburgh on Friday night and has now tallied four goals and six assists in just eight games this month. Oh, and he’s still very reasonably priced across the industry.
Value Options
Josh Leivo – Toronto Maple Leafs – Leivo came through with an assist last night and should benefit from playing alongside Nazem Kadri while Mitch Marner is sidelined. He’s posted a goal and five assists in the last three games and, perhaps more importantly, has seen nearly 15 minutes of ice time in each of the last two games with extended run on the top power-play unit.
Travis Zajac – New Jersey Devils – He scored a goal and added an assist against these Islanders last night and has the luxury of centering Taylor Hall on the Devils’ top forward line and power-play unit.
Bo Horvat – Vancouver Canucks – He let me down last night, but I just can’t ignore his dirt-cheap asking price. The former first-round pick has posted four goals and three assists in eight games this month.
Kevin Labanc – San Jose Sharks – Line combinations are often the catalyst to creating value in DFS hockey, and that’s certainly the case for Labanc. He has the luxury of playing alongside Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski on San Jose’s top forward line and has promptly dished our four assists in his last four games.
Adrian Kempe – Los Angeles Kings – Kempe hasn’t done sh*t in either of his first two games with the big-league club, but the former first-round pick is still slated to play alongside Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli on the Kings’ top forward line.
Peter Cehlarik – Boston Bruins – Sticking to the theme of favorable line combinations, Cehlarik needs to be included here as well. He looked very comfortable alongside David Krejci and David Pastrnak in their last game, where he picked up a pair of assists against the Montreal Canadiens.
Morgan Rielly – Toronto Maple Leafs – His teammates Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev seem to garner more attention, but every time I watch the Maple Leafs, it’s Rielly who stands out the most dangerous offensively. He scored a goal and unloaded five shots on goal last night and even saw 1:12 of power-play ice-time.