Nikita Kucherov Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

The Tampa Bay Lightning have switched up their lines a bit with Yanni Gourde joining Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov as the Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Ottawa Senators. Kucherov has just two points in three games against the Sens this season, but that is fluke more than anything. He's running away with plenty of offensive categories as he has an eight point lead on the Art Ross, nine assist lead over second and eight more power play points than the next. He's also put up 39 goals in the process. Kucherov has been an absolutely dominant offensive force this season.

These two teams have met twice over the past few weeks that had seen Tampa take both games by a cumulative score of 11-7. The myth is always that if two good teams go head-to-head then it will be a low scoring game. While that may be the case in some instances it is not in this one as both sides have plenty of firepower. Alexander Ovechkin and Nikita Kucherov are the first players to jump off of the page as both have had phenomenal years in terms of production. You could pair Nicklas Backstrom with Ovechkin or Brayden Point with Kucherov if you want a lot of exposure to this game. If you just want to garb a one-off then Steven Stamkos is your guys as he skates on the team’s second line and joins the top line when the team has the man advantage. Over the past nine games Stamkos has lit the lamp seven times to go along with another seven assists. All that has done is add to his seasonal totals of 52 assists and a team leading 41 goals. This would give you more than enough of a reason to put Stamkos in your line-up this evening.

It's a four-game slate and the Tampa Bay Lightning are taking on a Washington Capitals team that is on the tail-end of a back to back. It's difficult to ignore the best offensive player in hockey this season. Nikita Kucherov is lapping the field with a 12-point lead in the Art Ross race. Additionally, he has a 13-assist lead and an 8-point lead in power play points. His offensive dominance has been fascinating this season and center Brayden Point has been along for the ride. Don't get me wrong, Point is an incredible talent, and the two of them definitely play off each other, but I don't think Point is putting up 38 goals, 87 points — 33 with the man advantage — without playing with Kucherov.

Tampa Bay is simply in play every night. A home matchup against a Washington team isn’t anything to shy away from here. Washington has given up 13.95 scoring chances per 60 minutes of play in their past seven road games. I usually prefer the Stamkos line in GPP’s on home ice. However, with Tampa bay likely hard matching Nikitia Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Tyler Johnson against the Cap’s top line, this is the line I prefer here. Nicklas Backstrom is Washington’s best defensive center, and this line should see minimum ice time against him.

Patrice Bergeron has suited up for 55 games this season and has done a fabulous job in those games that he has played in. 65 points is what he has been credited with which ranks him 13th in the league where points-per-game are concerned. A funny thing happens though when you toggle the venue from all to just home games as the 46 points he has registered in the 30 home games he has played in has him behind only Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov with a whopping 1.53 points-per-game on home ice. Evidently the Bruins know how to line-match pretty well as their 27-7-3 record in front of the home crowd is second only to the league leading Tampa Bay Lightning. Brad Marchand has been his line mate for most of the 55 games that Bergeron has played in while David Backes, provided he stays on that top line this evening, will surely help you out salary-wise.

Nikitia Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Tyler Johnson are in an excellent spot tonight, as well as the entire Tampa Bay Lightening roster. Detroit will likely be without their most talented player Dylan Larkin. Detroit has given up 23 goals in their past five games. I expect Tampa Bay to come out strong after getting shutout at home against Minnesota the other night. Victor Hedman is the defenseman you want to correlate this trio with as he skates with Point and Kucherov on the top special teams unit.

When talking about core plays you usually talk about some of the best players in the league. In other words, it’s the chalk players that will make up the core of your roster. While there are many decent players in action tonight, some may not have the best match-up while others may have a superb match-up. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s easy to say that the NHL’s leading scorer is a good play tonight. In fact he’s probably a good play on any night but tonight is the night of all nights. Take into consideration that the Tampa Bay Lightning took the Minnesota Wild for granted on Thursday night as the visitors handed the Lightning their sixth home loss of the season. One has to think that regardless of opponent that they will come out on fire this evening. Next up is the fact that Detroit comes into this one giving up 39 goals over their last nine games. Kucherov comes at a high price tag but not paying up for him may be a costly mistake on home ice this evening.

Brayden Point has increased his goal, assist and point total in three consecutive seasons and is going to get a huge raise this summer. He's benefited greatly from playing alongside Nikita Kucherov, but in the same breath, Kucherov has benefited from playing with Point. The two have been dominant together. Tyler Johnson rounds out their line for this evening as the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Winnipeg Jets. Everybody knows how great Tampa has been, but over the last month the Jets have struggled from a possession standpoint. He has a 48.15 CF% which ranges 24th and a 64.23 CA/60 which is the third-worst in the NHL over the same time frame.

Nikitia Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Tyler Johnson are in an excellent spot tonight, as well as the entire Tampa Bay Lightening roster. Tampa Bay has the highest projected goal total tonight at a whopping 4.64. Ottawa continued to be sellers at the recent trade deadline, and have now fired their head coach Guy Boucher. Since the trade deadline Ottawa has allowed 14.72 HDCA/60. Victor Hedman makes a nice addition to the stack, as he quarterbacks the team's top power-play unit against an Ottawa team who has continued to be poor on the penalty kill.

When talking about core plays I try to deviate from the very best players to give you another angle on how to get more money in your bankroll. I can’t do that with Nikita Kucherov today. Yes, I know he is leading the league in scoring with 74 assists and 104 points but if you aren’t on him today you just may lose. There are a few reasons for this as not only is Tampa coming in after a humbling 4-1 loss at Boston but the Senators come in as the most decimated team in the league after the trading deadline. If you still think that his salary isn’t worth paying up for then I’d take a look at the five times that he has put up three or more points over the team’s last game. With the Lightning being favored at -400 even Vegas thinks this will be a blowout. Even if it isn’t I’d expect the Lightning to put up a lot of goals tonight in which the Senators would have to match. Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson are his line mates on the top line but really and Lightning player is in play this evening. Again, it’s easy to say that the best player in the league will score this evening but we may get way more than that out of Kucherov this evening.