Nick Leddy Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Nick Leddy is a frustrating player. One would think he could produce at levels like he has in the past, but it has not come to fruition this season despite the Islanders' surprising performance overall. Leddy has been on the team's top power play unit for nearly the entire season yet has collected just 20 points in 65 games, well off his three-straight 40 point seasons. However, at just $3,100 on DraftKings, he is hard to overlook in a matchup against a Senators' squad allowing 4.39 goals per game on the road. Leddy is worth a shot in tournaments to load up elsewhere.

I don't normally love Nick Leddy as a fantasy option, but the opportunity, matchup, and price make him a viable play this evening. The opportunity comes on the number one power play unit. Leddy is a pass-first skater, so he'll have the chance at some assists with the man advantage. The matchup couldn't be better as the Islanders face the league's worst defense in the Ottawa Senators. The price is right at just $2900 on DraftKings, near the minimum.

If you're looking to differentiate your lineup in tournaments tonight, consider taking the second line which features rookie standout Mathew Barzal, Jordan Eberle, and Anders Lee. With a combined 26 points over their last 10 games, this line should get plenty of quality scoring chances against a Nashville team that is a different team away from ice. With home ice advantage at their disposal, look for head coach Doug Weight to get this talented trio of skaters in prime offensive zone faceoffs and against one of the weaker defensive lines of Nashville throughout tonight's game.

There are three teams I am targeting heavily this evening (Nashville Predators, New York Islanders and the Florida Panthers), and we can look for defensive help on all three teams. However, with the Nashville Predators having so many options (Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm), it is difficult to figure out which blue liner to roster, so I am focusing more on Nick Leddy and Keith Yandle. Both Leddy and Yandle quarterback their teams top power play units, and neither the Panthers (20th ranked PK overall and 26th ranked PK in January) or the Islanders (30th ranked PK overall and 24th ranked PK in January) kill penalties well, putting both defenseman in a prime spot this evening on this 12-game slate.

Nick Leddy is on pace to smash his career totals in goals, assists and points. He is halfway to his career highs in all three stats in just 30 games. The New York Islanders are home to the Dallas Stars tonight, a team that has actually been very good at suppressing shots this season. The Stars are best in the league allowing just 52.52 CA/60, which could be difficult for the Islanders. However, the Islanders are one of the highest scoring teams in the league averaging 3.53 goals per game, which is the second highest in the NHL. It's uncertain which end of this spectrum will win out tonight, but I'm banking on the high-scoring home team in the Islanders and Leddy will be the main beneficiary on the back-end.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are not only one of the weaker defensive teams in the National Hockey League (ranking 22nd in CA/60, 26th in HDCA/60, 29th in SCA/60 and dead last in GA/60), they are also very heavily penalized, and their penalty kill has not been good. This brings our attention to the Islanders power play quarterback Nick Leddy. Regardless of the situation, Leddy is on the ice, averaging over 22 minutes per game, and he has multi-point upside on the power play alone tonight. Whether you are using him as a one-off, or adding him to an Islanders line stack, the moderately priced Leddy makes a great addition to any lineup, in a game where we should see plenty of goals.

An often forgotten superstar because of the team he plays for, Tavares is a guy that I really like tonight in a game that has plenty of scoring potential. He draws a sneaky good matchup against a Vancouver Canucks team that can be exposed away from ice and lacks the talent and depth to slow down the top line of the Islanders. Skating alongside talented playmakers Anders Lee and Josh Bailer on New York's top line and top power play unit, this trio should get plenty of opportunities to breakout on the man advantage tonight against a Vancouver squad that ranks 27th in penalty kill percentage on the road this season. Further increasing this line's potential tonight is the fact that home ice advantage will allow head coach Doug Weight to get his most talented playmakers in key offensive zone faceoffs and matched up against any number of weaker defensive lines of Vancouver, making them a solid line stack with arguably the most potential on tonight's slate.

The veteran defenseman draws an excellent matchup against an Avalanche team whose legs should be like jelly for this tilt at the Barclays Center. Colorado has won three games in a row, but they are giving up a plethora of scoring chances. They survived a 60 shot onslaught from the Hurricanes and then came away victorious in the shootout last night in Philadelphia. Bernier is a decent net minder, but most of his success comes when playing on home ice. Leddy was pointless against Washington, but prior to that he picked up points in three consecutive games, including two multi-point games. Leddy is a great complement to Oscar Klefbom in cash games and tournaments.

An often forgotten superstar because of the team he plays for, Tavares is a guy that I really like tonight in a game that has plenty of scoring potential. He draws a juicy matchup against the league's worst team in Arizona, who have allowed the fifth most EV shot attempts and have surrendered the third most scoring chances per game on tonight's slate. Skating alongside talented playmakers Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle on New York's top line and top power play unit, this trio should get plenty of opportunities to breakout on the man advantage tonight against an Arizona squad that ranks 28th in penalty kill percentage this season. Further increasing this line's potential tonight is the fact that home ice advantage will allow head coach Doug Weight to get his most talented playmakers in key offensive zone faceoffs and away from two-way center Derek Stepan for much of this game, making them a solid line stack with arguably the most potential on tonight's slate.