Welcome to the Tuesday, March 7th, edition of FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays. With a big schedule of NHL games tonight, the goal of this article is to isolate top scoring options paired with value picks for affordability. The salary options we discuss are set by FanDuel for Tuesday.
With nine NHL games on the schedule tonight, we have plenty of options for our FanDuel NHL lineups. We’ll have to sift through several top scoring options. Also, we’re going to grab two value plays to afford those many top scoring picks. We’re going to narrow down our focus to six of the nine games scheduled. Here’s a look at those games:
Devils at Blue Jackets (7pm ET)
Flyers at Sabres (7:30pm ET)
Red Wings at Maple Leafs (7:30pm ET)
Islanders at Oilers (9pm ET)
Hurricanes at Avalanche (9pm ET)
Predators at Ducks (10pm ET)
The Blue Jackets are hosting a struggling Devils team, and we’re going to grab a player or two in Columbus. The Sabres host a Flyers team who’s struggled in the last two months. But the Flyers defense and goal tending is taking a turn for the better, so we won’t lean too much on Buffalo.
In Toronto we like defense and goal tending against the Red Wings, and the Oilers have a juicy match up against the Islanders. The Hurricanes are the lucky team to get the Avalanche next.
And finally, the Ducks host the Predators on the road. Nashville was on a scoring surge, but is struggling to keep up that momentum off home ice.
Next: Top Centers
Top Centers
Connor McDavid ($8,800) continues to have an amazing season for the Edmonton Oilers. McDavid is leading the NHL in total points (goals & assists) with 74, in just 65 games. That’s at least one goal or assist per game. So we know McDavid is a lock for double-digit points almost every night.
Over the last five games, Connor has two goals and five assists. Tonight on home ice, McDavid and the Oilers have a favorable match up against the visiting Islanders. Unfortunately, Connor’s salary is very expensive, but we’re going to find value to afford McDavid tonight.
With our second pick at center, we immediately find the value we need. Leading the Hurricanes 3rd line, Derek Ryan ($3,400) has six shots on goal and two goals, including a power play goal, in the Canes last three games. Ryan and the Hurricanes have a favorable match up in Colorado against the Avalanche tonight, and Derek is a solid low-salary candidate for scoring tonight.
Next: Top Wings
Top Wings
With Ryan at center, it makes sense to stack young veteran Jeff Skinner ($6,300) at the wing position. The Hurricanes will have many scoring opportunities, and this veteran line was involved in three goals over the last five games. The Hurricanes have been cold over the last two weeks, but their 3rd line remains consistently productive. Against a bad Avalanche defense and goal tending, I like this line the most tonight.
Cam Atkinson ($6,900) was red-hot in December, which carried over into January. The 27-year-old is a rising start on the Blue Jackets. In February, Atkinson was still productive, but cooled off a bit with some sub-10 FanDuel NHL point results.
Over the last five games, Atkinson scored two goals and has two helpers. Being on the ice for around 19 minutes per game, Cam is also getting several shots on goal and has blocked a few shots as well. On home ice tonight against a struggling Devils team, Atkinson is likely to produce a double-digit FanDuel NHL result.
Pivoting back to the Oilers, who are on home ice in a favorable match up against the Isles, we’re going to add Jordan Eberle ($5,600) to the lineup. Eberle plays on the Oilers 2nd line, a different line from McDavid, but Jordan has been on fire lately. Over the last five games, Eberle has two goals and two assists, more than two shots on goal per game, and a couple of blocked shots. 15 FanDuel NHL points is a reasonable expectation from Jordan tonight.
Until now we’ve stay away from the Ducks hosting the Predators, but there are two attractive options for winger and defense we’ll visit. Patrick Eaves ($5,300) is averaging nearly 20 FanDuel NHL points-per-game over the last five games. Since being traded to the Ducks by the Stars, Patrick has been a key contributor on their top line. In a favorable match up on home ice tonight, Eaves will be involved in another lamp lighter.
Next: Top Defense
Top Defense
Cam Fowler ($4,700) is an underrated high-value FanDuel NHL point option from the Ducks tonight. Fowler isn’t consistently involved in scoring, like Brent Burns, but he’s on the ice for the Ducks around 25 minutes per game. With so much ice time, Fowler is getting around four shots on goal and is consistently blocked three shots per game. So Cam is a bargain 10+ FanDuel NHL point option tonight on home ice against the Predators.
Rasmus Ristolainen ($5,400) has two assists and twelve shots on goal, and three blocked shots over the last three games for the Sabres. Like Fowler, Ristolainen is heavily involved in each game played, on ice for almost 30 minutes per game. Rasmus should be heavily active again tonight hosting a struggling Flyers team in Buffalo.
Next: Top Goalie
Top Goalie
The Toronto Maples Leafs are becoming an offensive juggernaut. The Leafs defense has struggled though. Fortunately, Frederik Andersen ($8,500) has been in net for Toronto this season and has helped the Leafs stay in, or win, many games this year. Andersen deserves some credit for the Maple Leafs making a late season playoff push.
One of the reasons I consistently like to pick Andersen for FanDuel NHL lineups, is that he’s servicing around 30 saves per game, leading to positive outcomes even in losses. But tonight, the Maple Leafs have a favorable match up on home ice, against the Red Wings. Andersen should be a 20+ FanDuel NHL point result for Andersen tonight.
Always check NHL lineups throughout the day when playing FanDuel NHL. The NHL isn’t overly forthcoming with injury news, and players are often scratched at the last-minute with little information. Also, goaltenders are never a sure-thing. Follow us on twitter, @fantasycpr, for updates as we get closer to lineup lock time. Good Luck today FanDuelers!