FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays: March 15
By Matt Rogers
Welcome back to the FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays column. Today we’re going to target the ideal line for Wednesday, March 15th. We’re going to review several top plays of the night, and find value picks for affordability. Any salaries discussed in this article are set by FanDuel for Wednesday.
It’s Wednesday Night in the NHL, and that means its Rivalry Night. As we typically see each Wednesday, the NHL schedule is shortened. We only have four games to pick through for our lineups, but there are still several very good options and match ups to focus on tonight. Here’s a look at the schedule along with the games we’ll focus on for our lineups highlighted:
Penguins at Flyers (7:30pm ET)
Bruins at Flames (9pm ET)
Red Wings at Avalanche (9:30pm ET)
Blues at Ducks (10pm ET)
While I expect the Penguins to win in Philly, that rivalry is often very unpredictable and the Flyers have been all over the place lately. So we’re going to stay out of Philadelphia with our picks tonight.
The red-hot Flames are going for their eleventh win in a row, hosting another hot team, the Boston Bruins. The Red Wings and Avalanche are going to play terrible hockey together in Colorado, and the Blues are looking to continue streaking in Anaheim.
We’re going to start with two hot center picks:
Next: Top Centers
Top Centers
While the Detroit Red Wings have struggled all season, Henrik Zetterberg ($6,300) has been a consistent offensive force for the Red Wings. Over the last five games, Zetterberg is averaging almost three shots on goal per game, and has six assists. Henrik has 19+ FanDuel NHL points in three of the last five games.
Tonight, the Red Wings are visiting a very bad Avalanche team in Colorado. While the Red Wings will be on home ice, the only place the Avs have performed a tad better than normal all season, this should be a favorable match up for Detroit. The Red Wings should have multiple scoring chances, the their top-line leader should be involved in at least one or two of those scores.
The Calgary Flames are on fire, and Mikael Backlund ($5,300) is leading their top line. Backlund had a surprising zero points after 22 minutes of ice time against the Penguins on Monday. But Mikael does not consistently under-perform.
In the five games before that, he had 8+ FanDuel NHL points in each game, and three games between 14 and 20 points. The Flames should continue to roll hosting the Bruins in Calgary tonight, and Backlund should bounce back.
Next: Top Wings
Top Wings
Before we review two of our biggest plays for tonight, we’re going to stack Zetterberg with Gustav Nyquist ($5,300) and Backlund with Michael Frolik ($5,200).
Playing along side Henrik, Gustav has two goals and four assists in the Red Wings last four games. There’s a very good chance each of these players will be involved in a light lamp in Colorado. Frolik has two goals and four assists in five games, almost identical to Nyquist’s stats. And we expect Calgary to stay hot tonight.
Now for the big splashes at wing, we’re going to grab top options Brad Marchand ($8,100) and Vladimir Tarasenko ($8,000). Yes, we like the Flames to stay hot tonight, but the game will likely be a shoot-out, and Marchand is absolutely on fire, too. In the past three games, Marchand has five goals and an assist, with two games above 28 FanDuel NHL points.
Tarasenko has four goals and one assist in the last four games. The Blus are visiting Anaheim tonight. When the Ducks came into St. Louis five days ago, Vladimir welcomed them with a goal and assist, a 28 FanDuel NHL point night. Tarasenko should have another double-digit point night in Anaheim.
Next: Top Defense
Top Defense
With only one shot on goal, and a blocked shot, Dougie Hamilton ($5,600) had a quiet 3.2 FanDuel NHL points against the Penguins. But the Flames have won ten straight and Hamilton is often involved in the scores. In the past four games, Dougie has five assists, ten shots on goal, and two blocked shots. Hamilton had 22+ FanDuel NHL points in two of the last four games. Tonight, Hamilton should bounce back and could have multiple points (goals or assists).
For affordability, I’m gambling with Danny DeKeyser ($3,400) tonight. Manning the Red Wings 2nd line, DeKeyser is only the ice for around 20 minutes per game. DeKeyser usually gets some shots on goal and blocked shots, but hasn’t been involved in a score since February 3rd. That slump is going to end soon, and tonight is a great opportunity against a struggling Avs team.
Next: Top Goalie
Top Goalie
Jimmy Howard ($7,700) is likely going to be missed by a lot of FanDuel NHL players. The Red Wings have played bad hockey lately, but a lot of the results are due to poor defending and poor goal tending. But not when Jimmy is between the pipes.
Howard has spent most of his time since December off the ice due to an injury. Finally on March 10th, Jimmy got back on the ice but had to face a tough Blackhawks team in Detroit. Surprisingly, However and the Red Wings were able to pull of a 4-2 over a clearly more talented team. Howard certainly did his part with 24 saves and a win.
Tonight, Jimmy is on road ice, but he’s facing a much lesser team than the Hawks. Howard may not have a lot of saves from the Avalanche. But that’s due to the Avs shooting the lower number of shots per game in the NHL. But, taking 12 points for the win, and around 20-25 saves, this is a great play 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!