Matt Duchene Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Columbus is another team playing tonight with playoff implications on the line. They secured their playoff spot last night with a shoot out win, but they are also looking to avoid Tampa Bay in the first round. Artemi Panarin, Cam Atkinson, and Matt Duchene draw a great matchup as they visit Ottawa. Ottawa has been a defensive disaster all season and there is no reason not to keep targeting against them. Zach Werenski is the power-play quarterback on the top unit that correlates with this potent line stack.

Artemi Panarin is going to be looking to hit a home run this season with a new contract, so with two regular season games left and at least one round of the playoffs (hopefully), these are the final games for him to leave his mark and get ready to get a massive contract. The Columbus Blue Jackets control their own fate with regards to their playoff hopes, and they just have to win and they're in. Panarin is playing on the top line with Cam Atkinson and Matt Duchene as they visit the New York Rangers. The Rangers have struggled over the last month as they've given up a 60.02 CA/60 which is the 7th most in the NHL and now take on a Blue Jackets team that needs to win.

This line was dominant last game and there is some hope for them again tonight. Matt Duchene is centering Ryan Dzingel and Josh Anderson on the Columbus Blue Jackets second line. The one issue with this line is you are really counting on them at even strength. Dzingel doesn't play on the power play and Duchene and Anderson are on separate units. They have a matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes which is relatively neutral as of late, but Petr Mrazek in net gives some hope. He has struggled this season with a .908 save percentage and 2.53 goals against average. As the Blue Jackets continue to fight to keep their playoff hopes alive, the should be playing their best hockey.

Cam Atkinson has 35 goals this season which puts him just inside the top-10. He has been a very underrated goal-scorer over the last few years and playing alongside talent like Artemi Panarin has certainly helped him take another leap. They'll be centered by Matt Duchene tonight. This line also plays on the top power play unit together which gives them elite upside and full-game correlation. The matchup against the New Jersey Devils would be a great one in general, but if you go take a look at the Devils lineup for tonight with all of their injuries, this is a premium matchup for a Columbus team looking to crawl back into the playoffs.

Matt Duchene has two points in two games for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's centering the top line between Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson, and the entire line remains together on the top power play unit. This gives them elite upside as they have full-game correlation as the Blue Jackets host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Over the last month, the Pens have allowed 62.91 CA/60 which ranks 26th and their CF% of 48.07 ranks 24th. While the Blue Jackets possession numbers aren't great — their 51.81 CF% ranks 9th — it is still a plus-matchup for this line.

Matt Duchene was terrible when he was first traded to the Ottawa Senators earlier in the season. However, he has really turned his game around as of late. He is playing alongside Mike Hoffman and Magnus Paajarvi on the Sens top line as well as on the second power play unit. Duchene has scored four goals and picked up 12 points over his last 10 games while averaging three shots on goal per game. This is by far his best stretch of the season and although this isn't the best matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks, they are not the dominant team of years past, but their struggling defense and goaltending make for a solid matchup. Anton Forsberg is expected between the pipes for the Blackhawks tonight and he has put up a mediocre 2.96 goals against average and .908 save percentage. Stacking Duchene with Hoffman is a fine mini-stack as they stick together on the top power play unit. This is going to be a sloppy game as these two bad teams battle it out with poor defense and goaltending.

On this three game slate, the Ottawa Senators are easily the worst team. However, since Matt Duchene and Mike Hoffman were put together, they have been solid. With Marian Gaborik joining them, they could be able to get a couple goals. This is definitely just a long-shot tournament play as Nashville has one of the best defense core's in the NHL as well as elite goaltending. Duchene has seven points in his last five games and has been on fire. Pekka Rinne, who is expected to be in net tonight, has allowed 15 goals over his last five starts and hasn't been as good as he has been on the season. Again, this is a risky tournament play but their extremely low ownership could pay dividends if Rinne struggles.

Matt Duchene has been a big disappointment for the Senators as the former future of the Colorado Avalanche has just 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) in 29 games. With that said, his 8.8% shooting percentage with the Senators is well below his career 12.1% shooting percentage, so some puck luck is bound to bounce his way. We have seen this come to fruition this month, in fact, as Duchene has three goals and four assists in seven games to go along with 17 shots on goal. For whatever reason, the Senators have given the Leafs fits for years, and tonight could be no different. Frederik Andersen has dropped four straight starts, allowing 12 goals in the process as the Leafs have allowed almost 36 shots on goal per game in January. While the Leafs' penalty kill has been strong this month, Duchene has found a nice little rhythm recently. The Senators' center is too dangerous for cash games, but he makes for an interesting play in tournaments given his discounted price point.

Both Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene are criminally underpriced across the industry. Vegas may be 7-1, but they are down to an emergency option in net. Oscar Dansk (2.43 GAA, .929 SV%) finished last season in the SHL with Rögle BK and it was quite the struggle (3.00 GAA, .903 SV%). He has started admirably, but could be overwhelmed with an improved Colorado Avalanche team. Duchene especially has gotten off to a nice start with eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 9 games. MacKinnon & Duchene are cheap options at an otherwise underwhelming center position.