Connor Carrick Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been forced to experiment a bit more with their defense pairings as both Morgan Rielly and Nikita Zaitsev are on the shelf. The pairing of Connor Carrick and Travis Dermott has been incredible, albeit in extremely sheltered minutes. Carrick has taken the role of the dman on the power play unit with Auston Matthews and scored in his first game without Rielly (though it was at even strength). Carrick is incredibly cheap across the industry and with the easy minutes he's getting as well as power play time, he makes for a great punt on this short slate.

I expect a plethora of goals to be scored tonight at the United Center, and there is plenty of value to be had on the Toronto Maple Leafs blue line. I will be targeting them heavily this evening in all formats. With Morgan Rielly still remaining out due to injury, both Jake Gardiner and Connor Carrick have seen an increase in both role and ice time. The Chicago Blackhawks have struggled with their defensive game all year long (19th in CA/60, 28th in HDCA/60 and 25th in SCA/60), and I think we see similar results tonight. When deciding between the two, keep in mind that Gardiner has the higher ceiling, but Carrick may just be the best point-per-dollar play on defense tonight. Also note that Gardiner is skating with JVR and company on the Maple Leafs so-called second power play unit, while Carrick has been with Auston Matthews and Maple Leafs top unit.

Finally healthy after missing time due to injury, second year superstar Auston Matthews has picked up where he left off last year with 35 points in 38 games this season. The first overall pick in last year's draft, Matthews is a generational talent that draws comparisons to Oilers top center Connor McDavid. Skating alongside Nylander and Hyman on Toronto's top line, Matthews draws a sneaky good matchup against a Colorado team that can be exposed away from ice; entering tonight's game allowing the seventh most goals per game on the road this season. This bodes well for Toronto's top line, which has generated the most scoring chances on home ice this season and will not be tasked with shutting down Colorado's dangerous top line with home ice advantage on their side.