FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays: March 26

Mar 22, 2017; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing Patrick Eaves (18), center, celebrates with teammates, and FanDuel NHL studs, Ryan Getzlaf (15) and Rickard Rakell (67) after scoring a goal in the first period against the Edmonton Oilers during a NHL game at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Welcome to the FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays column for Sunday, March 26th. After a big Saturday schedule, the NHL cools of a bit on Sunday with only five games scheduled. We’re going to focus on the MAIN slate of games for our lineup today. All salaries mentioned are for FanDuel NHL on Sunday, March 26th.

The struggling Minnesota Wild are visiting Detroit to face the Red Wings at 12:30pm ET today. But we’re going to focus only on the FanDuel NHL MAIN slate of games which start at 5pm ET in New Jersey. We’re only focusing on three of the four games available this evening. Here’s a look at the schedule with the games we’re interested in highlighted in bold:

Stars at Devils (5pm ET)

Flyers at Penguins (7pm ET)

Canucks at Jets (8pm ET)

Rangers at Ducks (9pm ET)

I’ve followed the Flyers and Penguins rivalry for decades, now, and noticed they often lead to unpredictable results. So when these two square off, I usually fade both teams for my FanDuel NHL lineup. Also, keep in mind the Penguins are very banged up right now, if you’re considering them for your lineups.

The Devils just lost to the Hurricanes at home, and are vulnerable against a solid Stars offense. But the Stars are also banged up and usually play poorly on road ice. We may try to grab a Devil for our lineup.

The Jets and Ducks each have a favorable match up on their own ice. I’m feeling more comfortable with the Ducks odds over the Rangers, than I am with the Jets over the Canucks. But Vancouver and Winnipeg should turn into a shootout, so we’re going to grab several players from that game.

Let’s start at center with the Ducks and Canucks…

Next: Top Centers

Jan 23, 2017; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Anaheim Ducks center, and FanDuel NHL stud, Ryan Getzlaf (15) celebrates his goal after scoring on Winnipeg Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec (31) during the third period at MTS Centre. Anaheim wins 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports /

Top Centers

Ryan Getzlaf ($7,800) and the Anaheim Ducks are heating up as the approach the end of the season and head into the playoffs. Ryan disappointed our lineup with only 6.4 FanDuel NHL points on Friday night against the Jets. But Getzlaf still has two goals and eight assists in the Ducks last seven games. He was due for an off night and is likely to bounce back against the Rangers on home ice tonight. This should be a solid double-digit FanDuel NHL point play.

Bo Horvat ($4,700) has been on of my favorite value plays at center all season. The 21-year-old Canucks all-star can cool off at times with single digit FanDuel NHL point results in several games in a row. But Horvat has three helpers in the last five games and is likely to be involved in a few goals for the Canucks top line in Winnipeg tonight.

Next: Top Wings

Mar 24, 2017; Anaheim, CA, USA; Winnipeg Jets right wing, and FanDuel NHL stud, Patrik Laine (29) during the game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center. Ducks won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Top Wings

We’re going to start our winger picks with two center-wing stacks. First, we’ll grab top-line winger from the Ducks Rickard Rakell ($6,200). Like Getzlaf, Rakell was quiet on Friday night. But Rickard had five goals and three assists heading into the Jets game on Friday and was due for a cool-off soon. I expect the Ducks top line to bounce-back against the Rangers tonight and Rakell and Getzlaf should be involved in one or more scoring results.

With Horvat on the Canucks 2nd line, we’re going to stack Sven Baertschi ($4,300) with Bo. Sven is a 24-year-old who was drafted 13th overall in the 2011 draft by the Calgary Flames. He’s faded a bit since the draft but quietly scored 17 goals and has 17 assists this year. This could be a dangerous line for the Canucks in the future. Baertschi has a goal and two assists in the last five games and should be involved in a scoring result, along with Horvat, in Winnipeg tonight.

With our final two picks at wing, we’re going to spend big with Patrik Laine ($7,200) and Taylor Hall ($6,700). Laine is the leading scorer among all rookies this season. The 19-year-old has become a rock star for the Jets and should be one of the reasons the Jets and Canucks game turns into a shootout.

UPDATE: Laine is a game-time-decision (Illness), so we’re flipping our Laine pick to Blake Wheeler ($7,300) instead of Laine.

Hall is the lone Devil we’re grabbing for tonight’s match up. I’m not sure who’s going to come out with the win in New Jersey tonight. But I do expect the Stars to give up several goals. Taylor has three goals and four assists over the last seven games and has been very active even when not involved in a goal. Over the last seven games, Hall is averaging nearly 20 FanDuel NHL points-per-game.

Next: Top Defense

Mar 4, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Vancouver Canucks defenseman, and FanDuel NHL value play, Alexander Edler (23) looks on during the second period against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

Top Defense

We’ll begin at defense with our third Anaheim Duck, Cam Fowler ($4,800). We’re investing heavily on a Ducks top line stack. We are expecting the Ducks to score multiple goals from their top regular or power play lines and Fowler, Rakell, and Getzlaf should each have points (goal or assist) tonight. While Rakell and Getzlaf were quiet against the Jets on Friday night, Fowler did have an assist and 12.8 FanDuel NHL points. He continues to roll tonight.

We have great exposure to the Canucks 2nd line, to get some play from their top line we’re going to plug-in Alexander Edler ($4,400). Edler has zero points yesterday against the Wild. So I’m hoping most FanDuel NHL players fade Alexander today. Prior to Saturday’s match up, Edler had an assists in the two games last week. Alexander should get a goal or helper again tonight and bounce back in Winnipeg.

Next: Top Goalie

March 17, 2017; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks goalie, and FanDuel NHL value stud, Jonathan Bernier (1) defends the goal against the Buffalo Sabres during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

Top Goalie

We now have three Canucks and three Ducks in our lineup. So there’s only room for one more of each team. To complete our Ducks stack, we’ll plug-in Jonathan Bernier ($8,600) as our goalie for tonight.

We already discussed how we think the Ducks have the best chance of winning tonight. I don’t like the match ups of any of the other goalies. Even with a loss, Bernier could still have around 20 FanDuel NHL points because the Rangers are likely to unload a bunch of shots on goal.

Bernier has been on a roll since March 9th. In seven games, Jonathan has only given up nine goals, we is only just over one goal per game. With that goals against average (GAA), your team is likely to win often. Also in that time, Bernier averaged around 30 saves per game, setting himself up for at least 20 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, and often over 30 points with the win.

Next: March Madness Elite Eight Picks

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!