Welcome to the FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays column. Thursday, March 16th, is a big night for the NHL. We’re going to dig through 24 lineups to find our top plays of the night, and value picks for affordability. All salaries discussed in this article are for FanDuel Thursday Night, March 16th.
After an exciting four-game Wednesday night Rivalry Night slate, the NHL is back in a big way Thursday, with twelve games scheduled. With so many teams on the ice tonight, there are so many value and top play options, it’s probably overwhelming for many FanDuel NHL players. We’re going to focus on some stacks, and reduce our picks to only five games. Below is the schedule of games we’re targeting, with our stack focus highlighted:
Jets at Islanders (7pm ET)
Predators at Capitals (7pm ET)
Maple Leafs at Lightening (7:30pm ET)
Stars at Canucks (10pm ET)
Sabres at Kings (10:30pm ET)
The Jets and Islanders is likely a shoot out, with both teams playing poor defensively and between the pipes, but each team’s offense has shown flashes of brilliance this season. The Capitals are looking to bounce back against the Predators, and the Lightening will take advantage of struggling goal tending for the Leafs.
Another clash of struggling teams occurs in Vancouver tonight. The Canucks will look to ramp up their offense against a Stars team struggling to defend their own blue line. And the Sabres are visiting a Kings team who has their top play between the pipes against tonight.
Let’s start in Tampa and New York for our center picks.
Next: Top Centers
Top Centers
As we’ve already alluded to, we’re going to focus on stacks for the Jets visit to New York tonight. But expecting a shoot-out we’re not just stacking one team. We’re going to start one of our stacks with the Islanders top scorer, and overall player, John Tavares ($8,300).
Tavares is one of the top talents in the NHL, and is the Isles leader on the ice. After struggling during parts of the season this, John has been on fire since the Islanders made a coaching change. Over the last two weeks, Taveres has remained hot.
In the last six games, John has three goals and three assists. Along with several shots on goal and blocked shots in that time, he’s averaging around 20 FanDuel NHL points-per-game lately. With a juicy home ice match up against the Jets, Tavares should be able to keep up his 20 point average.
Brayden Point ($4,200) has manned the center position on the top line for the Bolts since Tyler Johnson was off-ice with an injury. Playing along side Kucherov and Palat, Brayden has been on fire. Over the last two games, Point has three goals, averaging over 20 FanDuel NHL points per game. The Lightening are hosting a Maple Leafs team who just gave up seven goals to the Panthers this week. This is a fantastic value opportunity for Thursday night.
Next: Top Wings
Top Wings
We’re completing our Islanders stack with the top line wings playing along Tavares, Josh Bailey ($5,300) and Anders Lee ($4,900). Lee has been quiet lately, scoring only between 1.6 and 3.2 FanDuel NHL points in the last three games. But, Anders had two goals and an assist playing against the Oilers and Canucks earlier this month.
Against the Jets, Lee should bounce back and hit the double-digit point mark again. Not surprisingly, Bailey has very similar results and we’re stacking our chips on this line tonight.
Staying in New York, we’re going to stack two Jets playing on separate lines, Patrik Laine ($7,400) and Blake Wheeler ($6,900). Yes we expect the Jets to give up several goals to the Islanders, but we’re not expecting the Islanders to play great defense either.
Playing on the Jets 2nd line, Laine is now the top scoring rookie in the NHL this season, and has two goals and two assists in the Jets last five games. He’s getting almost three or more shots on goal each game, and is a solid bet for around 15+ FanDuel NHL points tonight.
Manning the Jets top line, Wheeler had a three-game cold spell from March 6th through 11th, averaging under 6 FanDuel NHL points against the Flames, Penguins, and Sharks. But each of those teams are now hot. When the Jets visited the Predators, Wheeler was able to bounce back with a power play goal and 17.3 FanDuel NHL points. Blake stays hot tonight.
Next: Top Defense
Top Defense
The Caps might be in the middle of a losing streak, but John Carlson ($5,100) is still playing great hockey. Over the last two games, Carlson has a goal and two assists, nine shots on goal, and four blocked shots. John is averaging around 24 FanDuel NHL points-per-game in the past week. Tonight, the Capitals are hosting a Predators team who should allow them to finally bounce back with a win.
The Canucks are hosting a Dallas Stars team who just gave up seven goals. While I’d love to load up on some Canucks, the Jets and Islanders were a better bet. Still, Alexander Edler ($4,100) is an appealing value option tonight with this match up. Edler has a goal and assist in the last four games, and with 25 minutes of ice time each game, he’s getting a few shots on goal and several blocked shots. Edler should exceed 10 FanDuel NHL points tonight.
Next: Top Goalie
Top Goalie
As you look through the list of goal tender options tonight. You’ll likely notice not many stick out as solid options for wins tonight. There are several tight match ups, and a few likely shoots outs on tonight’s schedule. But I think we found a good one.
Jonathan Quick ($8,700) has been injured for the majority of the Kings season. Since his return in late February, Jonathan Quick-ly (pun intended) provided better play in goal for the Kings, and has allowed L.A. to stay in games and beat out teams in close ones.
Quick has is now 4-1-1 since returning to the ice. Jonathan is a solid bet for 12 FanDuel NHL points with a win each game. Tonight, the Kings host the Sabres who have struggled all season. But the Sabres do have enough offense to get over 20 shots on goal. With Quick saving nearly 20 to 25 tonight, and the win, I expect Quick will have a 25 FanDuel NHL point night.
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!