Rasmus Ristolainen Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

If you can afford to pay up tonight, John Klingberg is my top option. The Ottawa Senators inept defense and weak penalty kill should allow Klingberg to post a multi-point game. The Buffalo Sabers are weak offensive team, but they will have plenty of chances tonight against a Toronto Maple Leafs team that plays high-event hockey, and that puts Rasmus Ristolainen on the radar for all formats. The Sabres power play quarterback checks all the DFS boxes and he logs over 26 minutes of ice time per game. I rarely target the overrated Alexander Edler, but I will definitely have some shares tonight as the Vancouver Canucks host the National Hockey Leagues worst defensive team. The New York Islanders inability to play defense or kill penalties, opens up the door for Edler to have a big game.

Rasmus Ristolainen continues to pile up the minutes as he has now logged 27-plus minutes in six consecutive games. Last night Rasmus iced a surprising win in Boston with an empty net goal. Defense is crowded today with a number of high-powered offenses taking on poor defenses, but Rasmus should not be overlooked, especially on FanDuel where he is just $4,600. Earlier this season against the Avalanche, Rasmus went pointless, but he logged 30 minutes of ice time and was a stellar +4. Perhaps tonight is the night he gets a little more involved offensively, especially if Jack Eichel is unable to lace up the skates.

The New York Islanders are a defensive dumpster fire (sitting 29th overall in CA/60, and 31st overall in both HDCA/60), which puts all of the Buffalo Sabres offensive weapons in play tonight, but it is their awful penalty kill (30th overall while short-handed) that has me on Sabres offensive defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, and I think we see the 23-year-old Finn post a big game tonight at the KeyBank Center. Buffalos power play quarterback logs a ton of minutes in all situations (averaging over 26 minutes of ice time per game), including a ridiculous 32:29 last game out, and I just cant see the Islanders keeping him of the scoreboard this evening.

One of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing season for Buffalo, future superstar Jack Eichel has quietly put up a point per game pace for the Sabres. Tonight Eichel draws a juicy matchup against a struggling Islanders team that surrenders the most shot attempts and the most scoring chances on the road this year. The Islanders have also struggled on the penalty kill this year; entering tonight's game 30th in penalty kill percentage. This bodes well for Eichel, who should be very active on the man advantage where nearly half of his production has come from over his last 10 games. In a game where Buffalo should be able to control the pace of play, look for Eichel to play an instrumental role in his team's scoring tonight where home ice advantage will allow head coach Phil Housley to match his most talented playmaker against one of the softer defensive lines of the Islanders.

Rasmus Ristolainen may be pointless in seven games, but that does not mean he has not been productive as the Finnish defenseman has a nose for blocking shots and does not mind shooting the puck either. Rasmus is set to rejoin the team's top power play unit that should like their chances against an Ottawa team that has been lost all season long. Ottawa sports the National Hockey League's worst save percentage (.892) and is allowing 3.36 goals per game. Rasmus is $1,000 cheaper than he normally is because it has taken him some time to get back to speed after an injury. With a number of studs worth paying up for at forward, namely Patrick Kane and Alex Ovechkin, Rasmus is an excellent source of saving salary on defense tonight.

Buffalo is taking on the NY Islanders, who are playing on a back to back tonight. With Halak in net, I like Buffalo a lot. Halak had been pretty bad the last couple years. Islanders do have some offensive talent and one bonus to Ristolainen is that he blocks a bunch of shots too. He has offensive talent playing on the PP but the addition of blocked shots gives him more upside.