Kris Letang Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Ottawa continues to be one of the top teams to pick on. They own a CA/60 of 68.59 and a 71.8% penalty kill. A case can be made for either of Pittsburgh’s top two lines, as a team they have scored a whopping 12 goals in the past two games. I will have exposure to both, however I will be keying in on Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, and Jake Guentzel. This line gives you two pieces of the team’s top power-play unit. Kessel and Crosby were reunited last game and produced a multi-goal game. Adding power-play quarterback Kris Letang is ideal, especially with Ottawa’s poor penalty kill numbers. Watch for updates on Pittsburgh’s line combinations as well, Patric Hornqvist left the game in the first period last game as well, and this may cause the Penguins to shuffle their lines.

Evgeni Malkin and line-mates Patric Hornqvist, and Bryan Rust, draw a great matchup tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers on home ice. Pittsburgh comes into the night with the highest implied goal total on the slate at 3.69. Philadelphia is also allowing the third most GA/60 at 3.56. They might be chalky tonight, but this is a line I will not be fading. Adding defenseman Kris Letang to the stack gives you three pieces of the team’s elite top power-play unit.

-Please not that Hornqvist is a game time decision, but is expected to play. Information should be out before any games lock at 7:00 pm est to allow lineup edits.

Evgeni Malkin has quietly put together a six game point streak, and I expect his line-mates, Phil Kessel, and Tanner Pearson to help him extend that tonight. Patric Hornqvist left last nights game with an injury after taking a hard hit and didn’t return. So I will be focusing on the line that provides two members of the teams top-power play unit, and a line that has been consistently producing goals. Columbus is expected to start goaltender Joonas Korpisalo tonight. While he hasn’t lost in regulation this year, he has looked far from good, posting a 3.38 GAA and a save percentage of .885%. Kris Letang is the blue liner you want to add to this stack, as he is the man on the top power-play unit.

Evgeni Malkin and line-mates Patric Hornqvist, and newly acquired Tanner Pearson, will host the Ottawa Senators tonight. With Sidney Crosby expected to miss tonight’s game, Malkin will likely see an increased role, as he picked up 24 minutes of ice time last game. Ottawa remains to be a top team to pick on with a CA/60 of 68.95, and allowing 3.38 goals per game. To add to the problems, they own the worst penalty kill percentage in the NHL, at 68.3%. We will need to keep an eye on Pittsburgh’s projected lineup as they were mixing up lines during practice yesterday, but I expect this trio to stay together. Kris Letang makes a great addition to the stack, and adds power-play correlation against this weak penalty kill.

Evgeni Malkin and line-mates Phil “The Thrill” Kessel, along with Carl Hagelin will host the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. As we know both these teams play high event/fast paced hockey. When these teams met back on the 18th of October, Malkin went off for two goals and an assist. While both of Pittsburgh’s top lines are in play, along with the top six forwards on the Toronto side, I will be looking to get Malkin and company in my stacks first. The correlation between Kessel and Malkin on the top power play unit increases their ceiling. Hagelin is not a must play in this stack, however he comes at a significant discount, freeing up salary elsewhere. Fitting in power play defenseman Kris Letang is optimal if salary allows it.

The Montreal Canadiens have been able to score a few goals this season which has helped the team jump out to a 5-2-2 record. Another thing that has helped Montreal has been the play of defenseman Jeff Petry as he is not only filling in for the injured Shea Weber he has been productive while doing so. Petry has seen four of his nine points come with the extra attacker while firing off 16 shots on net. Unless you want to pay up for Kris Letang, Dustin Byfuglien or Morgan Rielly you are probably better off going with the cheaper Petry this evening.

Kris Letang's production is often overpowered by some of his teammates, but he's off to a terrific start this season with four goals and seven assists in eight games this season. He's racked up a goal and four assists during his current three game point streak and looks primed for another big night as the Vancouver Canucks own an ugly 41.60 CF% this season and struggled their way to a 78.3% penalty kill last season.

Kris Letang is off to a hot start as he racked up three points in the first game, albeit a 7-6 loss to Washington. Letang is the quarterback of the top power play unit form a year ago as the Penguins cashed in 68 times with the man advantage last season. You may as well just add Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel to the mix as they are his cohorts on the team's top power play unit. It just so happens that Montreal gave up 68 goals while trying to kill a penalty last season which means it's full steam ahead for this defender this evening. It also doesn't hurt that Pittsburgh is expected to score 3.77 goals as well.

Ideally, Letang would not be ceding so much power play time to "(player-popup #justin-schultz)Justin Schultz":/players/justin-schultz-14297, but that does put Schultz in play if you are looking to save some salary. The spot is good for both, particularly Letang, who has the superior skill level and sees more overall time on ice. Washington remains a low quality defensive team, as evident from their high rate of expected goals allowed at 5v5. Letang should be on the ice for well over 20 minutes tonight, including several on the power play, and his puck moving skills will be paired with the high octane key contributors of Pittsburgh.

In a high variance sport like hockey, there are times when fading star players can pay off, especially in tournaments. One such superstar that should not be faded tonight however is Sidney Crosby. Skating alongside playmakers Jake Guentzel and Patric Hornqvist on Pittsburgh's top line, Crosby has shaken off a poor start to the year with 13 points over his last 10 games. A matchup against a stingy Detroit team may seem risky, but they have been showing cracks defensively of late; entering tonight's allowing the second most goals per game during the month of March. Also featured on the league's top overall power play, expect Crosby and Hornqvist to stay hot on the man advantage against a Detroit penalty kill that has dipped to 23rd in the NHL this season.