Erik Karlsson Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Brent Burns has everything you want in a fantasy player. He has a consistently high floor due to his shots on goal and blocked shots, while also having a high ceiling due to his ability to find the scoresheet. He has 10+ DK points in three straight games, a ridiculous feat. Injuries to the blue line for the Sharks has led to even more of a dependence on Burns and teammate Erik Karlsson, who have both logged about 30 minutes over the last two games. They face a Kings team who has struggled mightily on the penalty kill with the 3rd worst percentage in the league. San Jose should have no problem tallying a power play goal or two, and their defensemen should be right in the middle of the action.

Check the recent game logs on both Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson and you will realize why they are both priced in the top four on both FanDuel and DraftKings this evening. Burns and his 13 points over the last nine games leads all NHL defenseman in scoring over the last three weeks while Karlsson’s 12 points is right behind him despite missing two games along the way. I’m not saying that the Sharks can beat the best team in the league but their 12-4-4 record on home ice would surely indicate that they will be in the game. Burns leads the team with 37 assists and 44 points while Karlsson has just recently come up to the standard that he is used to playing at.

After a slow start it would appear that Erik Karlsson is starting to fit in on the San Jose blue line. After finding the score sheet just seven times in the first 18 games Karlsson has not only scored his first two goals of the season over the last five games, he has also had three multi-point games as well. Although Vegas has been playing better of late it will still be a tough task to keep the division leading Sharks off the board this evening.

Erik Karlsson had a relatively slow start by his standards, but has been heating up lately. He finally found the net for his first goal. He now has five points in his last four games, including 25+ minutes in three of those four. A matchup at home against Vancouver should be a recipe for more production and opportunities to get on the score sheet. Vancouver has allowed the second most goals in the NHL this year and are just 5-8-2 on the road.

If you want to go for the hot hand then Timo Meier just may be your guy. The addition of Erik Karlsson and the return of Joe Thornton have given the Sharks a lot of leeway. So much so that they look like they have abandoned the one-line power play attack and have gone to a more practical two line approach. This allows Meier some flexibility as he has notched two power play goals over the last six games. This is important because their opponent in the Philadelphia Flyers have given up a whopping eight goals in the last 21 attempts at killing off a penalty. Sure his linemates in Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton are the more recognizable names but Meier is at the top of the heap with nine goals where the Sharks scoring is concerned.

The San Jose Sharks play host to the New York Islanders tonight. The Sharks currently have the highest implied goal total set at 3.71. Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane were reunited on the top line last game, along with Kevin Labanc. They looked great together last game posting a combined one goal, three assists, and nine shots on goal. However, they were over shadowed by Logan Couture’s hat trick. While both Shark’s top lines are definitely in play, I expect the first line to go slightly lowed owned given the second line’s recent performance. With Kane and Pavelski, you also get two-thirds of the team’s top power play unit. Pairing them up with Erik Karlsson or Brent Burns, gives you elite upside in this matchup.

Speaking of that firepower on the San Jose back line Brent Burns now has another partner that can easily lead all defensemen in points this season. Of course I am talking about Erik Karlsson who was traded to the Sharks over the summer. The only question we have here is whether or not either player will have their workload cut because of each other’s presence. Karlsson has logged over 26 minutes per game over the last year while Burns checks in at more than 24 minutes per game over that same time frame. Even if either player's minutes drop they will stay man the points on what could be the best power play unit in the league. Both players have high floors and high ceilings, making them the cream of the crop on the blue line.

Erik Karlsson may be having a down season by his standards, but his price has come down way too low across the industry. Karlsson has picked up 13 points in his last 10 games and has looked much more like the elite Karlsson we have come to love. Picking on Ben Bishop in his first game back may not necessarily be the best play since he only missed about 10 days, but that's okay. Karlsson has been playing over 27 minutes per game over his last 10 and with the amount of offensive opportunities that could come his way this evening, and his time on the top power play unit, he should be able to put up a nice score.

Erik Karlsson was the most talked about player around the NHL Trade Deadline on Monday but when all was said and done, he stayed in Ottawa. Who knows if he remains there heading into next season but for now, he stays. Ottawa visits Arizona to take on the Coyotes, the worst team in the NHL. Although Ottawa has been terrible defensively, Arizona has not been much better allowing a 62.90 CA/60 over their last 10 games. After struggling a bit early in the season, Karlsson has turned it around and picked up 15 points over his last 15 games and looks to continue that tonight. He averages 2.64 shots and 1.66 blocks per game which give him a pretty high floor if he doesn't get on the score sheet offensively.

Again, it's hard to use Ottawa Senators players because they cannot score and Andersen has been playing great for the Leafs. But again, it's a two game slate so everybody is in play. Erik Karlsson is still arguably the best offensive defenseman in the NHL. Tonight is another great spot to use him because with just two games, it makes complete sense to find value elsewhere and pay up on the back end. Now, Karlsson is going to garner plenty of ownership tonight because of the fact that there is not much to pay for on the back end. Karlsson is still second in the NHL in points per game despite having a down season for him. The price is not as high on him as it has been in the past, so take advantage of the slightly reduced price while you can.