Mark Giordano Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

While most will make the Calgary forwards (Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan) their first priority, I think Mark Giordano might be an even higher priority for me tonight. Fitting all of them is possible, but it requires some value across the rest of your lineup. Giordano has been on an absolute tear lately with eight points in his last four games, including two three-point games. He should see 25+ minutes of ice time, including all the time he can handle on the number one power play.

The Flyers have one of the worst defenses in the NHL, allowing 3.60+ goals per game on the season. Tonight, they face a Calgary team 5th in goals scored. This is a recipe for fantasy goodness, and it starts with the top line for the Flames. Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, and Elias Lindholm are an elite line stack, especially on a short slate. They also play together on the number one power play unit. Stacking these three with Mark Giordano is expensive, but few possess their massive upside.

Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and Elias Lindholm will be back on home ice again, and may go under owned in this matchup. Connor McDavid will continue to garner ownership, and rightfully so, but Edmonton remains to be a team we can pick on. Edmonton owns the NHL’s fifth worst penalty kill at 74.1%. Calgary has the fifth highest xGF rate, coming into tonight’s game. I like the full power-play unit correlation this line stack provides, against a weak penalty kill unit. Adding Mark Giordano, gives you four of the five skaters, on the top power-play unit.

We know how much Johnny Hockey, (Johnny Gaudreau) and his line-mates Sean Monahan, and Elias Lindholm love to play on home ice. Although we have seen Gaudreau and his line-mates home/road splits even out some in the past year, he tends to skate against opponent’s weaker lines on home ice. Chicago comes in on the tail end of a road trip, in what seems to a “let down” spot. Chicago also brings in a team xGA/60 (Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes) of 2.73, ranked 29th in the NHL. Adding Mark Giordano to the stack gives you four pieces of the team’s top special teams unit.

Brent Burns is an obvious choice this evening for many of the same reasons that make a strong case to play Timo Meier. Instead of writing Burns up let’s go with another defenseman that has been hot of late. Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames has registered nine of his 14 points over the last seven games while getting 26 shots on net over the last two weeks. That’s the most of any defenseman not named Oscar Klefbom who has ripped 29 shots on goal over Edmonton’s last seven games. The difference between Giordano and most defensemen that have got a lot of shots to the net is the fact that he is actually getting the points to go along with the high shot volume.

Sometimes you don't need the most offensive player on the back-end to put up a good score. Often times, using a good not great offensive option that picks up a lot of blocked shots and shots on goal is the best option. Tonight, Mark Giordano fits the bill. He averages 2.05 blocks per game and 2.53 shots on goal per game and averages a total of 3.4 DraftKings points per games. While his price does match his average output, Vegas shoots the puck a ton so he could pick up a few extra blocks than normal and if he can get on the scoresheet his upside is as high as anybody on this short, three-game slate.

Getting a piece of the Flames will be smooth move today, and Giordano is a great option on the blueline. He gets exposure to the Calgary top six at 5v5 and works the blueline on the highly effective top power play unit. The Islanders defensive woes carry over to the penalty kill, as they sport the second highest ratio for shot attempts allowed and the highest ratio for scoring chances allowed per hour shorthanded. Goal output from Giordano individually leaves a bit to be desired, but it is hard to argue with his setup tonight.

With T.J. Brodie _finally_ taken off the top power play unit, Gio at last has the blueline to himself. Though Chicago does not go shorthanded at an extraordinary rate (3.2 times per game), the Hawks have struggled when they have been on the ice. Overall, Chicago has allowed the eighth most shot attempts, fourth most scoring chances, and sixth most high-danger shot attempts per hour on the penalty kill to opposing power plays. As Calgary ranks as a top five power play team in generating all such attempts, this sets up to be a highly productive man advantage. Add in that Chicago will have a steep drop off from the absence of their best penalty killer (Corey Crawford), and it becomes a mouth watering matchup for Giordano and the Calgary power play. The 5v5 draw is not unwinnable, either, setting up Giordano to be productive in all phases of the game tonight.

If you're looking to differentiate your lineup without completely fading the Flames in a great spot at home, look to the second line of Calgary which features Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk, and Michael Frolik. Known more for their "shutdown" capabilities, this line has produced a combined 19 points over their last 10 games together. They draw a juicy matchup against the league's worst team in Arizona, who continue to struggle on the road this year. In a game Calgary should dominate from start to finish, there's no reason to assume this trio won't be able to pay off their very manageable prices tonight.

Flames captain Mark Giordano is priced up on FanDuel at $6,100, but he checks in at a wonderful price of $4,800 on DraftKings and $9,800 on FantasyDraft. The Flames were crushed by Connor McDavid the other night, but back at the Saddledome, they will have an excellent matchup against Steve Mason and a Winnipeg defense that was torched by the Toronto Maple Leafs in their season opener. While the Jets should put forth a better defensive effort tonight, Giordano can contribute not only in the scoresheet, but also via shots on goal and blocked shots as we saw last game when the blue liner took four shots on goal and blocked three shots. Mark should have several opportunities on the power play along with Dougie Hamilton to exploit a porous Jets' penalty kill. Take advantage of this defenseman before his prices moves to where it belongs.