Mitchell Marner Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Ottawa has been a team we’ve picked on all season, (with decent results) and tonight is no different. Ottawa will host a dangerous Toronto team. While all the Toronto skaters are playable, I will be focusing on the top line of John Tavares, Mitchell Marner, and Zach Hyman. Ottawa has given up 13.94 HDCA in the month of March. That is the second highest in the NHL and the most of all teams playing tonight. I will be prioritizing defenseman Morgan Rielly over Hyman tonight, as I like the Leaf’s power-play matchup. However, Hyman is a fine play for salary relief.

These guys are probably going to be pretty popular after their last game in which John Tavares scored four goals and is now chasing down his first 50-goal season. However, Tavares, Mitch Marner and Zach Hyman are in another fantastic spot tonight. While they are on the road, they take on a Philadelphia Flyers team that not only has nothing to play for, but they have been pretty brutal over the last month. They have allowed a 64.97 CA/60 which is the second-worst mark in the NHL. The Leafs on the other hand have been dominant at generating chances with a league-best 68.37 CF/60. This should be a high-paced, back and forth game that the Leafs tend to play and with Tavares and Marner playing on the same power play unit they make for an intriguing two-man mini-stack as well.

Over the past month, Ottawa has allowed the most HDCA/60 while giving up 3.55 GA/60 in the process. We know Ottawa is a team we can always target against and tonight is no different. Toronto has three lines we can play here, but after the second line’s big game last night, I give the edge to John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and Zach Hyman in GPP’s. I would expect them to be slightly less owned, and you get two-thirds of the top power-play unit. Morgan Rielly makes a great addition in a great special teams matchup.

When choosing core players one must look at match-ups and current production to come to a quality decision on who to choose. With 12 games on tap today there are plenty of quality players to choose from this evening so narrowing down the field is almost imperative. John Tavares has a plus/plus match-up here as the 47 goals the Maple Leafs have scored since February 23rd is the most in the league while the Ottawa Senators have given up 34 goals over their last 10 games. Ottawa is also the only team in the league to not reach the 10 win plateau when skating as the road team. The last time these two teams met Tavares chipped in a goal and an assist while skating on the top line with Mitchell Marner and Zach Hyman. They will be his line mates here again this evening as he will look to be the fourth player to join the 40-goal club.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are fresh off a blowout win against the Calgary Flames as they continue their Western Canada road trip. In Vancouver to take on the Canucks, the Leafs have plenty of upside. John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Zach Hyman have been a fantastic line this season and this is a great matchup. Over the last month, the Maple Leafs have a 63.43 CF/60 while the Canucks have allowed a 60.28 CA/60. Tavares and Marner make for a great mini-stack as the duo play on the top power play unit together. However, Hyman certainly tags along at even strength and can chip in from time to time so the full-line stack is in play.

Tavares is another guy that may be coming into this one with a chip on his shoulder especially after his team got boat-raced by the New York Islanders by a score of 6-1 on Thursday night in New York. To say that Tavares’ return to Long Island was cordial would be a stretch as the long-time Islander came up with five shots on goal but nothing to show for it. Tonight he and his line mates in Mitchell Marner and Zach Hyman are back on home ice where they take on a Buffalo team that is fresh off an emotional 4-3 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins last night. Tavares leads the team with 36 goals so thinking that he won’t get on the scoresheet against a tired Buffalo team may be a mistake here.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the tail-end of a back-to-back after destroying the Edmonton Oilers last night. Tonight is the return to Long Island for John Tavares and this game is probably going to go one of two ways. Tavares is going to be booed out of the building, in all likelihood and he will either be affected by it and struggle or want to prove something and utterly dominate. I believe Tavares is going to rise to the occasion and have a fantastic game. He is playing alongside Mitchell Marner and Zach Hyman at even strength, but the key is perhaps a mini-stack with Marner here as they are both on the top power play unit. This games them full-game correlation and elite upside as a pair. The Leafs have been dominant as of late as they have a 51.95 CF% which is the 7th best over the last month and their 66.98 CF/60 is tops in the league over the same time frame.

John Tavares was the biggest free agent signing over the summer and he landed with Toronto. He has had instant chemistry with Mitchell Marner all season long and they continue to dominate the competition both at even strength and on the power play. Because of that, they make for the perfect two-man stack as they'll have full-game correlation and elite upside. Zach Hyman is the third-wheel on this line at even strength and while he is an OK option to complete the full-stack, his offensive upside is very limited and he relies on Tavares and Marner to get him on the scoresheet.

Auston Matthews always draws a good matchup on home ice. He saw almost 60% of his ice time against Washington’s second line, and 20% against their third line in their last home game. With Mitchell Marner and Patrick Marleau on his wings, you get 2/3 of the team’s top power-play unit. With one of the highest projected goal totals on the slate (3.54), look for Matthews and company to stay hot on home ice. I prefer to use power-play quarterback Morgan Rielly in place on Marleau in this stack, however Marleau provides great value and brings the overall price of the complete line stack down.

With just two goals and eight points in his 10 games prior to the All Star break, Auston Matthews is looking to get back on the scoresheet with some regularity. He's going to once again be playing with Mitch Marner and Patrick Marleau on the Toronto Maple Leafs, and as their first game after the break they should be plenty rested. They are in Detroit to take on the Red Wings which is a solid matchup for them. Going with a Matthews/Marner mini-stack is an elite play as they also play on the top power play unit together and having the two best Leafs in a stack with full-game correlation is ideal.