FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays: March 17
By Matt Rogers
Welcome to the Friday, March 17th (Shamrock) edition to FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays column. We’re going to review several top plays for tonight, and look for value picks to afford them. The salaries discussed in this article are for FanDuel Friday, March 17th.
Last night was an action-packed night of hockey. Jonathan Quick saved our lineup with over 40 FanDuel NHL points. Tonight, we only have four games to choose from. But there are several juicy match ups for FanDuel NHL players. Let’s take a look at tonight’s schedule:
Devils at Penguins (7pm ET)
Panthers at Rangers (7pm ET)
Stars at Flames (9pm ET)
Sabres at Ducks (10pm ET)
The Penguins are hosting the Devils, which is a confusing match up to gauge. The Penguins were blanked by the Flyers this week, then the Devils came into Philly and crushed the Flyers. However, assuming the Devils will roll through Pittsburgh as well may be foolish.
The Panthers have struggled recently and should continue struggle in New York against the Rangers. The Stars are struggling too, and have a tough match up in Calgary against a red-hot Flames team. Finally, we finish the night in Anaheim with a good Sabres and Ducks engagement. The Ducks goaltending has been locked in lately, but the Sabres are an emerging offense in the NHL.
Next: Top Centers
Top Centers
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been banged up lately and really struggled in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. Tonight, the Penguins head back home to host a Devils team who just destroyed the Flyers in Philadelphia. But the Devils have had a few flash-in-the-pan moments this season only to quickly fall apart later.
Tonight, we expect the Penguins to bounce back against the Devils. Sidney Crosby ($9,000) and the Penguins top line should be involved in more than one scoring opportunity. In the last three games, Crosby has a goal and three assists, involved in four goals over a two game period. Tonight should look very similar to those games. We may even stack this line.
In Florida, the Panthers looked incredible against the Maple Leafs, but in Columbus they fell flat in a 1-2 loss to the Blue Jackets. Derek Stepan ($5,500) and the Rangers 2nd line likely get a few lamp-lighters tonight. The Panthers are going to struggle again on road ice against a very good offensive team.
Next: Top Wings
Top Wings
For three of our four wing picks, we’re going to use stacking options. First, we really like the Penguins to bounce back tonight, and we already have one of the top NHL players in our lineup, Crosby. So we’re going to stack Conor Sheary ($6,000) and Jake Guentzel ($4,600), each on Crosby’s top line, with our first two winger picks.
Guentzel is the value pick of the two, but he has three 18+ FanDuel NHL games over the last five games. Over the past two months, Jake has proven a high ROI. Sheary has been even better. In the past give games, Connor has three games over 19 FanDuel NHL points, and two of those games exceeded 31 points. This line has the potential to pile up 60+ FanDuel NHL points for us tonight.
Next, we’re going to stack our Stepan center pick with Chris Kreider ($6,000). Kreider is one of the most consistently dominate scorers for the Rangers this season. In the last four games, Chris has two goals and three assists. In that time, he averaged around 18 FanDuel NHL points-per-game.
Finally, we’re rounding out our four winger picks with the Calgary Flames Matthew Tkachuk ($5,000). Tkachuk hasn’t been as dominate as our first three wing picks, but the Flames have a juicy matchup on home ice against the Stars tonight. And Tkachuk will be manning the Flames top line. The Flames have been on fire lately, and Matthew has two assists in the last four games.
Next: Top Defense
Top Defense
We’ll start off our defense picks completing a three-man Rangers top line stack. Ryan McDonagh ($5,700) is the top scoring option on defense from the Rangers for FanDuel NHL. Ryan has been consistently strong in March, averaging double-digit FanDuel NHL points. McDonagh has two goals, two assists, thirteen shots on goal, and eight blocked shots in the Rangers last five games. Ryan is a good bet for 10-15 FanDuel NHL points tonight.
Cam Fowler ($4,600) is the lone Duck on our roster. The Sabres and Ducks game provides an uncertain outcome, so I’m going to avoid the game much like we avoided the Flyers and Penguins game on Wednesday. It feels too unpredictable which isn’t ideal for FanDuel NHL plays. But, Fowler is consistently a solid FanDuel NHL point scorer. Cam is on the ice around 25 minutes per game, and is often getting shots on goal or blocked shots. Add that to his assists and he’s going to get us 8-15 FanDuel NHL points tonight.
Next: Top Goalie
Top Goalie
A red-hot Brian Elliott ($8,600) had to sit out the other night due to an illness. Elliott is expected by many to start between the pipes for the Flames tonight. But until Brian’s confirmed in goal, continue to check the status of the Flames goalies for tonight’s match up, and be ready to flip to Jonathan Bernier ($8,500) if he’s unavailable.
The Stars have struggled on the road this season and they’re heading into Calgary tonight. The Flames are a heavy favorite. The Stars will get a lot of shots on goal, but Elliott should still get the win, giving us an opportunity to pile up around 30 FanDuel NHL points.
If Elliott can’t go tonight, I’d prefer to flip the goalie play to Bernier over Johnson. Bernier has also played well lately and is on home ice in a similar situation to Elliott.
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!