This is the Thursday, March 9th, addition of FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays. There’s a loaded NHL schedule tonight, so we have a plethora top scoring options. We’ll need to find a couple of top notch value picks for affordability. Salaries we discuss are set by FanDuel for Thursday night.
After only three games last night, the NHL is back, in a big way, with ten games. So there is an overwhelming amount of top scoring and value options to pick through for our FanDuel NHL lineups. We’re going to narrow our focus down to four games were we think we can grab the best scoring options and most value. Here’s a look at the games we’re targeting:
Devils at Avalanche (9pm ET)
Senators at Coyotes (9pm ET)
Islanders at Canucks (10pm ET)
Predators at Kings (10:30pm ET)
The Devils are visiting the Avalanche in Colorado tonight. On the surface, the Devils look attractive given this match up. But I think that’s a trap, and I suspect several FanDuel NHL players will mistakenly load up on Devils in their lineups.
The Avalanche are 1-1 since returning to home ice, and are coming from a 3-1 win over the Hurricanes. The Devils are a dreadful 1-7-2 over their last ten games. Schneider has struggled lately. So we may need to look at the Avalanche for an easy win tonight.
For scoring, we love the Senators and Isles match ups in Arizona and Vancouver. The Predators also have a few hot players we will look at, as well. Let’s start with our center picks:
Next: Top Centers
Top Centers
The Islanders are heading into Vancouver tonight for game eight of a nine-game road trip. The Isles haven’t played in New York since mid-February. That usually has an impact on the scoring of the road team, but John Tavares ($8,100) has mostly stayed hot for the past three weeks.
John has a goal and two assists in the last two games in Canada, Sunday in Calgary and in Edmonton on Tuesday. In each of those games Tavares had over 20 FanDuel NHL points. Tonight, in a favorable match up, John should be involved in another goal or two and likely hits the 20 point range again.
For value, we’re looking at the Senators 2nd line leader, Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($4,400). Pageau has a goal or assist in the last three games. Over the last five games, Pageau is averaging around 13 FanDuel NHL points-per-game. With the Senators facing a struggling Coyotes team tonight in Arizona, Pageau’s hot streak should continue.
Next: Top Wings
Top Wings
Filip Forsberg ($7,700) has been on a tear the past four weeks, and his streak continued this week. In Anaheim, on Tuesday, Forsberg had another goal, short-handed, on four shots and a blocked shot total 26.8 FanDuel NHL points. Filip had seven shots in the Predators last two games. In L.A. tonight, Forsberg should continue his tear and is very likely going to have double-digit FanDuel NHL points.
We love Tavares tonight in Vancouver, and we’re going to complete a full top-line Islanders stack with Josh Bailey ($5,200) and Anders Lee ($4,900). Lee had a couple of quiet games over the last week, but that ended with two goals in Edmonton on Tuesday.
Bailey has three assists over the last four games. Even when not involved in goals, Josh is usually putting the puck on net, often, and has selflessly provided a few blocked shots as well. With a couple of goals from the Isles top line, this group could offer a big score tonight.
Finally for value, we’re staying in Vancouver but grabbing a top-line Canuck Markus Granlund ($3,900). Granlund is a risky play, having a couple of quiet nights lately. But Markus also has two goals in the last five games, and the Islanders have struggled with defense and goal tending recently. If this value pick pays off, we’re going to have a big night!
Next: Top Defense
Top Defense
We’re coming back to dependable Erik Karlsson ($7,300) again tonight. After five straight games over 16 FanDuel NHL points, Karlsson disappointed us with only 8 points last night in Dallas. I expect Erik to bounce-back tonight with nearly 20 points in a juicy match up against the Coyotes in Arizona.
We’re going to pick another stud at defense, P.K. Subban ($6,000). As we indicated with our Forsberg pick, the Predators top-line is scoring often lately. Subban has six assists in the last six games, and is averaging around 16 FanDuel NHL points-per-game in that time. Against the Kings tonight, we expect Subban and Forsberg to be involved in another goal, or more, in Los Angeles.
Next: Top Goalie
Top Goalie
As a basic rule, we usually avoid picking any Avalanche players for defense or goal tending. The Avalanche is 18-44-3, already the only NHL team eliminated for the playoffs. One of the key issues for goal tenders on the Avs is the lack of shots-on-goal and scoring. But tonight, the Avalanche are on home ice welcoming a Devils team who’s only won one of their last ten games.
Calvin Pickard ($7,500) is between the pipes for the Avs tonight. Pickard has a reasonable .909 save percentage and is actually giving up less than three goals-per-game this season. You would expect his 11-21-2 record to be better with those save, and GAA, stats. Tonight is one of the best chances Pickard will have for a win this season.
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!