Oscar Klefbom Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Kassian will host the Anaheim ducks tonight. The ducks are another team whom struggled mightily this season and we have been able to pick on a lot. Draisaitl and McDavid have both eclipsed the 100-point mark on the season, which shows us their extreme upside. Anaheim has given up 12.43 HDCA/60 in March. Oscar Klefbom is the power-play defenseman you want in this stack.

For whatever reason, Derrick Pouliot's price has plunged from $4,300 on 11/13 to $2,700 tonight on DraftKings. Perhaps it's his six consecutive games without a point, all of which came on the road, that is the reason for the price drop. Whatever the reason may be, such a price tag on a defenseman seeing top power play minutes with super talent Elias Pettersson has to be taken advantage of. Pouliot is still reasonable on FanDuel ($3,700), but there are other guys roughly $1,000 more (e.g. Thomas Chabot, Ryan Ellis, Oscar Klefbom, Seth Jones) that rate as better plays. Vancouver is surprisingly averaging 3.57 goals per game on home ice and will get a crack at Carey Price, who despite turning in a gem last time out, has really struggled on the season. As always with someone like Pouliot, temper your expectations, but his price is really attractive now that he's back on home ice against a beatable opponent.

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.

The minutes are piling up for Oscar Klefbom as last time out the Swedish blue liner logged a season high of over 30 minutes of ice time as the Oilers were silenced 3-0 by the Nashville Predators. Klefbom did not find the scoresheet, but he took five shots on goal. Last season, Klefbom averaged at least three shots on goal and two blocked shots per game. At $4,500 on DraftKings and $4,800 on FanDuel, Klefbom is a strong option in all formats given his role on the team's top power play unit with Connor McDavid.

There is nothing flashy about Darnell Nurse, but he has had a solid start to the new season. Last time out, he buried the game winner in Winnipeg as the Edmonton Oilers, powered by the best player on the planet, erased a 4-1 deficit to win 5-4 in overtime. Nurse is logging heavy minutes on the Edmonton blue line and has averaged 3+ FP on DraftKings and 13 FP on FanDuel through the Oilers' first four games. His price ($4,400 on both DraftKings and FanDuel) is reasonable given his heavy workload on the Oilers' back end. Teammate Oscar Klefbom, who sees minutes on the team's top power play unit, is also a viable option, though he has had a slow start to the season.

The New York Islanders are not only the National Hockey Leagues worst defensive team by far (ranking 29th overall in CA/60, and 31st overall in both HDCA/60 and SCA/60, resulting in them allowing a league high 3.57 goals against per game), they are also terrible when it comes to killing penalties, toting the leagues 30th ranked penalty kill on the season, while registering the 22nd ranked penalty kill in the month of February. In other words, this is a prime spot for the Edmonton Oilers moderately priced power play quarterback Oscar Klefbom. The 24-year-old Swede continues to play huge minutes for the Oilers and he has multi-point upside on the power play alone tonight.

There are plenty of fine blue-line options on the board today, but with some very appealing expensive option on the board at center, finding some salary relief on the blue-line will help greatly with roster construction. With that in mind, Oscar Klefbom is going to be a common plug into my lineups. Klefbom's had a very disappointing season, but the former 7th overall draft pick did 38 points last season and his miniscule 1.7% shooting percentage is simply destined for better fortune. Tonight, he'll face a New York Rangers team that has allowed a troubling (and NHL worst) 3.92 goals against per game during the second half of the season. Klefbom is locked into as many minutes as he can handle and holds the reigns as the quarterback of the Oiler's #1 power-play.

There are not a ton of high-end defenders in great spots, so on slates like this, paying up for Brent Burns makes sense. However, if he is not in your price range or you do not like his matchup, Klefbom is a nice step down. It is another season of shooting at a ridiculously low rate, just 1.7% despite getting the puck to the net over three times per game. Quality has been an issue, but the volume should count for something on the power play tonight. The Ducks go shorthanded at a good clip so Klefbom and the Oilers should get their top power play unit on the ice a few times. Anaheim has also struggled defensively. Despite needing the Hubble Telescope to look back through Klefboms game log to find his last goal, his shot volume and role on the top power play keep him interesting.

While we're looking for upside more than high floor for tournaments, Oscar Klefbom is a bit unique. The offense hasn't been there this season, but on nights where he does get on the score sheet, he puts up big numbers. His high floor is important because if he doesn't get on the scoresheet, he is not going to kill your team. He is averaging 2.38 blocks per game along with 3.38 shots per game, despite having only one goal and four points in 16 games this season. Klefbom is averaging over 23 minutes per game and is quarterbacking the top power play unit for the Oilers. As a team, they have struggled to score goals (dead last in the NHL in goals per game) and once the team gets going, I expect Klefbom to get going as well. Tonight is not the easiest matchup as they are in Washington, but this could also lead to lower ownership due to his offensive struggles, which is always something we're looking for in tournaments.

Entering tonight's game dead last in goals per game, Edmonton's top line of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Patrick Maroon are due for a major breakout game. This trio has found instant chemistry this season, entering tonight's game generating the most scoring chances in the league this season. A matchup on the road against a formerly stingy Devils team may seem risky, but this team has surrendered the most shot attempts and scoring chances among available teams on tonight's slate. In what should be one of the highest scoring games of the night, look for Edmonton's top line to break through on the road and easily pay off their steep price tags.