James Neal Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

The Flames' lines are still in a blender, though that could change, which makes this slate more interesting overall. James Neal has been skating on the third line with Sean Monahan and got power play time with Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Giordano last time out. Given the Anaheim Ducks' problems staying out of the box (second-most times short-handed), and the Calgary Flames' ability to draw penalties (third-most times with a power play opportunity), James Neal makes for an intriguing source of salary relief, particularly on DraftKings where he is just $2,800. Neal has been a huge bust this season, but tonight is as good of a spot as he will get.

James Neal had scored 20-plus goals in each of his last eight seasons, even when missing a bunch of games. However, in his first season with the Flames, Neal has been a bust, collecting just 12 points in 48 games. However, Neal has shown signs of life recently with four points in his last five games while taking 13 shots on goal. Given the Carolina Hurricanes' goaltending woes, it would not be a surprise to see Neal take a couple shots and find the back of the net. In one of the best game environments of the night, Neal is a way to save salary and load up elsewhere.

The price for James Neal on DraftKings ($3,400) really stands out for a shooter like him. Neal has been buried on the third line, but it appears he will skate with Mikael Backlund and Matthew Tkachuk, two guys who are fantastic drivers of play. After logging a season-low of 10 minutes on 10/29, Neal has seen a big uptick in minutes (17, 16, 18) over his last three contests. While the Flames have struggled in Anaheim for a long time, they are in an advantageous position tonight as the Ducks are back-to-back and sport the National Hockey League's worst Expected Goals Against Per 60 minutes (2.95 xGA/60) at 5v5. Neal makes for a nice tournament target on this three game slate.

The second best offense to target tonight resides in Sin City, where the Vegas Golden Knights will host a Vancouver Canucks squad that has completely tanked since the beginning of February, losing 17 of their last 22 contests, including six straight loses, while allowing 19 goals against in the process. In other words, the Canucks are ripe for the picking, and with the way Vegas scores at the T-Mobile Arena (third-most goals per game in the National Hockey League on home ice this season), I would not look to fade them tonight in any format. For cash game purposes, the Golden Knights have solid options in every price tier. In the high-dollar tier, the entire Golden Knights top line (Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and James Neal) is cash game viable, along with moderately priced options David Perron, Tomas Tatar, Erik Haula and Colin Miller, and finally, value plays Alex Tuch, Nate Schmidt and Shea Theodore. As far as tourneys go, both of the Golden Knights top two scoring lines need to be stacked tonight, with Shea Theodore being paired up with the top line and number one power play unit, and Colin Miller and Nate Schmidt skating with the second line on the second power play unit.

If you're looking to differentiate your lineup without fading the league's hottest team in a great spot, consider the second line of Vegas which features veterans James Neal, David Perron, and Erik Haula. With a combined 28 points over their last 10 games, this trio has found instant chemistry for the upstart Golden Knights. They draw a juicy matchup against one of the league's worst defensive team in Edmonton, who own the third worst adjusted xGA/60 over their past 15 games. Also featured on a red hot power play for Vegas, this trio should be very active on the man advantage tonight against an Edmonton penalty kill that ranks dead last in the NHL this season.

The Capitals have been a mess defensively, struggling mightily to suppress shot attempts and scoring chances at 5v5. They now sit second in highest expected goals allowed per hour at 5v5. This is a plum matchup for Neal and his line, a trio of castoffs that has been outstanding at 5v5 to the tune of a 52.84% adjusted CF%. With teams finally -- and correctly -- shifting attention to the Marchessault line, Neal and his line should work against the Kuznetsov line for Washington. Though the Washington line features Tom Wilson, a forward that has had a positive defensive impact this year, in its current form the Ovi-Kuznetsov-Wilson line has struggled. They are allowing close to 20 high-danger shot attempts per hour at 5v5 (in a small sample of 60 minutes). Ovi and Kuznetsov have struggled together all year, so this is a game in which Neal should rack up a healthy complement of shot, including many from high probability parts of the zone.

If you're looking to differentiate your lineup without fading the league's hottest team in a great spot, consider the second line of Vegas which features veterans James Neal, David Perron, and Erik Haula. With a combined 25 points over their last 10 games, this trio has found instant chemistry for Vegas this year. They draw a juicy matchup against the league's worst defensive team in the Islanders, who have allowed the second most shot attempts, the second most scoring chances, and own the league's worst adjusted xGA/60 since December 1st. Also featured on the top power play for Vegas, this trio should be very active on the man advantage tonight against an Islanders penalty kill that ranks 30th in the NHL this season.

James Neal is in his 10th NHL season and he has reached the 20 goal mark in each one. He is on pace for 36 goals this season which would be his second-highest. He has been mostly playing on the second line with Erik Haula and David Perron and with most likely looking at the top line tonight, this second line stack makes for a potentially lower owned play. Neal is fifth on the team in points but second in goals behind only William Karlsson. This trio sticks together on the second power play unit, although both units play just about the same amount per game. Vegas is in Carolina taking on a Hurricanes team that has had struggles in net and with Carolina on a back to back and Vegas a more rested team, the Golden Knights should be able to come out flying offensively and score in bunches.

It seems that most people don't truly appreciate how consistent of a goal scorer James Neal is. This is his 10th season in the NHL and he has scored at least 20 goals in each and every one. With 17 goals in 39 games, Neal is on pace for his second 35 goal season of his career and while that pace may not continue, there is no reason to believe he cannot at least get to 30. The Vegas Golden Knights are not in the most ideal matchup as they visit the Chicago Blackhawks, but assuming Jonathan Toews' line is matched up against the Golden Knights other line, Neal and Co. should be able to take advantage of the Patrick Kane line's inferior defence. With Jeff Glass in net, who has played much better than expected, this is just another bounce going in favour of Neal on this Friday night slate.

After a lull following his torrid start, Neal is starting to heat back up again. Over his past five games, Neal has three goals, two assists, and 23 shots on goal. He should avoid being out against the top line of Florida, which has been strong defensively. Outside of that group, the Panthers can be prone to allowing a high volume of shots, and James Reimer has been struggling in net this season (.896 save percentage). As an added bonus, Neal sees a healthy clip of power play time, and the Panthers have been of the worst teams defensively while shorthanded.