FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays: February 15
By Matt Rogers
Welcome to FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays for Thursday, February 15th. We’re a daily fantasy hockey column focused on top FanDuel NHL plays for your lineups each day.
With another three game slate last night, like Monday night, it wasn’t hard to have yet another great night of FanDuel NHL lineups. Our top two two-player stacks at center did well. On the low-end, we liked Aleksander Barkov ($7,100) and Vincent Trocheck ($7,300), who had a combined 30.4 FanDuel NHL points. Although, we were expecting around 40 points, so the stack fell just short. Still, it was one of several plugs into a lineup which performed very well in cash games.
If you played GPP, hopefully you had Nazem Kadri ($6,100) in your lineup at center. With a hat-trick (three goals) and two assists, along with four shots on goal, Kadri has a monstrous 58.4 FanDuel NHL points last night. Our suggestion was to stack Kadri with Auston Matthews ($8,300). Unfortunately, Matthews was quiet last night with only two shots on goal and 3.2 points.
Still, because of Kadri, you had over 60 FanDuel NHL points combined, leading to a very good shot at over 200 FanDuel NHL points, and a higher potential for a GPP win. With Kadri in your lineup for cash, you were very likely winning money.
Two wingers were were high on last night were Evgenii Dadonov ($5,100) and Mitchell Marner ($6,600). The later has been outstanding on home ice, and he continued to contribute last night with a goal and assist for 24.8 FanDuel NHL points. Dadonov was a cheap way to land over 15 points. In addition to Dadonov, we recommended Nick Bjugstad ($4,500) as a top two value winger, and with another goal and assist, he had over 28 FanDuel NHL points.
For the most part, our defensive picks were quiet last night, but Petry had four shots on goal and two blocked shots for a modest 9.6 FanDuel NHL points. Also, our top two goal picks, along with our center stacks and winger suggestions, made winning GPP or Cash fairly easy.
Frederik Andersen ($8,500) was our top goalie pick. While he gave up three goals, he also had an amazing 54 saves and the win for 43.2 FanDuel NHL points. Meanwhile, Semyon Varlamov ($7,700) had 44 saves and a shutout over the Canadiens for an awesome 55.2 FanDuel NHL points. Our example lineup totaled just under 150 FanDuel NHL points, landing you in the winning spot for most cash games, and some GPP.
Hopefully we can continue this week’s winning streak with a bigger eleven game slate. Let’s take a look at the NHL schedule for Thursday, February 15th:
Hurricanes at Devils (7pm ET)
Rangers at Islanders (7pm ET)
Kings at Penguins (7pm ET)
Sabres at Senators (7:30pm ET)
Red Wings at Lightning (7:30pm ET)
Flames at Predators (8pm ET)
Capitals at Wild (8pm ET)
Ducks at Blackhawks (8:30pm ET)
Canadiens at Coyotes (9pm ET)
Oilers at Golden Knights (10pm ET)
Canucks at Sharks (10:30pm ET)
The Hurricanes travel to New Jersey to take on a Devils team who just won a shootout in Philly. But the Canes have some momentum of their own, scoring seven goals on home ice recently, including a hat-trick from Justin Faulk. The Rangers and Islanders stay local tonight, but both teams are struggling to win lately. The Islanders could be a good offensive target against the Rangers on home ice, but the Rangers also have potential given the lack of defense from the Isles this season.
The Kings and Penguins are two teams heading in opposite directions. After struggling in the first half of the season, much like last year, the Penguins are starting to regain control over their division. Meanwhile, the Kings had a strong defensive start, but are now allowing too much offense from their opponents.
The Sabres may be without Jack Eichel, but in Ottawa any team is capable of five or more goals against a horrendous Senators defense this season, on home ice. So Sabres players may provide some fantastic value opportunity tonight. Meanwhile, the Lightning are expensive this season, but have a great offensive opportunity on home ice against the Red Wings.
The Flames are playing well on the road, scoring in the top ten of the NHL this season with this type of scenario. But the Predators, with Pekka Rinne in net tonight, could be a buzz saw to their offensive potential tonight. And the Caps visit the land of ten thousand (frozen) lakes, were the Wild have won nine of their last ten games.
The Ducks are the latest to get a crack at the terrible Blackhawks right now, in Chicago. And the Canadiens shouldn’t bee too confident heading into Arizona to play an emerging young Coyotes offense. The Oilers have better penalty kill on the road, but they’re facing a Golden Knights team in Vegas who could be on a surprise Stanley Cup run. And finally, the Canucks solid offense on the road likely struggles in San Jose.
As always, we’ll look to update our picks and final lineups prior to lock on our twitter account @FantasyCPR so make sure to give us a follow for all the late breaking lineup news.
Now let’s start building our NHL DFS optimal lineup by looking at the top centers for this slate…
Top FanDuel NHL Centers: Feb 15th
Jonathan Quick is likely starting for the Kings tonight, and after a very good first half of the season he’s been terrible. Quick has only won two of his last ten starts, and in his six games on road-ice, he’s giving up 4.17 goals per game (that’s very, very bad). Don’t expect Quick and the Kings to bounce back against the Penguins in Pittsburgh tonight. In their last home games, the Penguins have won all six games and scored an average of 5.33 goals per game, that’s insanely high.
So while they’ll be chalky tonight, Evgeni Malkin ($9,200) or Sidney Crosby ($9,100) are each great plays at center. Because of their expensive salary, stacking Malking and Crosby together at Center will be very difficult.
While Crosby is the better known player and can pile up goals or assists in one game, he’s more inconsistent than Malkin. Evgeni is giving us nearly one goal and assist per game lately, averaging around 20 FanDuel NHL points-per-game. Especially in cash games, try to plug Malkin into your lineup. For GPP, if you want some top Penguins talent, go with Crosby.
In what will likely be a display of terrible defense, the Rangers and Islanders are both great offensive stacks tonight. John Tavares ($8,500) is a great Isles play in these situations, but we like the value rookie Mathew Barzal ($6,400) brings to the lineup. In the last three games, Barzal has six assists. That’s because Mathew had five assists against the Red Wings in Brooklyn on Friday. We may not see that great of a result tonight, but with nearly 20 minutes of ice time at home against a struggling Rangers defense, Barzal is likely to land around 20 FanDuel NHL points tonight.
Likewise, the Rangers are facing an Isles home defense who has given up 106 goals in just 29 games, the most in the NHL. So it’s likely the Rangers score four or more goals tonight, even if they lose, and Mika Zibanejad ($6,400) and Kevin Hayes ($5,600) are your top two center options from the Rangers. Between the two, again we like the value. But also, Hayes on fire right now, with three assists and two goals in the last three games. During that period, he’s averaging over 20 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, well over his average for the season.
We’ve been riding Anze Kopitar ($7,400) all week, and we’re not going to stop now against the Penguins. Kopitar isn’t the reason the Kings are struggling on defense, he’s one of the better defensive centers in the NHL. And while they’re struggling with wings, Anze is doing more than his part with four goals and four assists in the last five games. In fact, Kopitar has at least one goal or assist in eleven of the last two Kings games. With that type of consistence, he’s a very strong play for only $7.4K at center.
There isn’t much chatter about the Sabres and Senators starters at the time of writing this article, with makes us nervous playing them with the Trade Deadline looming. It’s possible there both mum because they’re each making a move today. However, if they’re playing, Ryan O’Reilly ($6,500) and Matt Duchene ($5,700) are both seeing more minutes on the ice lately, and are using their time effectively.
With Jack Eichel on the IR, O’Reilly is seeing around 25 minutes of ice time over the last week, and O’Reilly has over 40 FanDuel NHL points in each of his last two games. Also, while those were both home games, he scored a power play goal and added two assists against very solid Lightning and Avalanche teams. Tonight, Ryan plays in Ottawa were the Senators have given up 98 goals in 28 games, third most in the NHL.
Duchene and the Senators are dealing with some line shifts due to a recent trade with the Kings. So there’s risk playing Matt tonight. But over the last seven games, Duchene has three goals and our assists, and is seeing around 20 minutes of ice time per game. The Sabres have given up 96 goals in 29 road games this season, the fourth most in the NHL. Like the Isles/Rangers game, this match up could be a defensive blood-bath, so playing O’Reilly and Duchene could work out well.
Now let’s take a look at the wings we want to stack along with our centers…
Top FanDuel NHL Wings: Feb 15th
If you have Malkin or Crosby in your lineup, you’ll definitely want to fade the majority of expensive top picks. Regardless, we’re fading many with the exception of Taylor Hall ($8,100). On Tuesday in Philladelphia, Hall was a major reason the Devils were able to stay in the game against the Flyers. With two goals, one within the final two minutes, Hall took the game into OT and the Devils were able to win during a shootout.
Over the last give games, Taylor has at least one goal in four games, five total. Even when not scoring Hall is on the ice over 20 minutes per game and is providing helpers as well. Since the start of the 2018 calendar year, Hall has at least one goal or assist in 15 straight games. That’s quite a run, and it won’t stop at home against a Hurricanes team giving up 3.14 goals-per-game on road ice.
If Hall is too expensive for your line, stay in Jersey and grab Sebastian Aho ($7,000). During the Canes slaughter of the Kings, Aho had a goal and two assists with three shots on goal for 33.8 FanDuel NHL points. In the last six games, Sebastian has four goals and four assists, a goal or assist in five of six games. While the Devils are scoring around three goals per game at home, they’re giving up just as many goals, and the Canes should have another strong offensive night tonight.
With the Islanders offense in play against the Rangers tonight, either Josh Bailey ($7,000) or Anders Lee ($6,700) are great plays at winger tonight. Lee is the goal scorer and Bailey is the helper, so Josh is more likely to have double-digit points between the two. If you already have Barzal in your lineup, you can stack both to get exposure to the Isles top line without paying up for Tavares at center.
Reilly Smith‘s ($6,200) salary is finally climbing, but he’s still somewhat cheap. Since December, Smith has emerged as a crucial part of the Golden Knight’s offense, and since late January, Reilly has been on fire. Smith has a goal or assist in seven of his last eight games, with a total of five goals and six assists during that time. The Oilers have been better on defense away from Edmonton, for some odd reason, but they’re still giving up over three goals per game on road-ice. Smith stays hot tonight!
With the Blackhawks struggling on defense and in goal over the last month, the Ducks should be on your radar for offense. At wing, our favorite two picks are Rickard Rakell ($6,600) and Corey Perry ($5,700). Perry has been quite over the last two games, but he has three goals and four assists in the last six games. Rakell had an assist against the Red Wings on Tuesday, and was quiet int he two games prior, but Rickard has also been hot lately with four goals and six assists in the last eight games. Either will have a good night in Chicago.
By far our favorite pick at wing for WEEKS now is Yanni Gourde ($5,600). Now playing on the Bolts top offensive line, one of the most productive in the NHL, the 26-year-old winger has a goal or assist in ten of the last eleven games. For under $6K per night, that’s incredible offensive consistency. We’ve talked about playing Yanni every night he’s on the ice, and we’ll continue to ride him while he’s hot.
Finally, for value we love Sam Reinhart ($5,000). Again, there’s risk with this pick with little communicated about the Sabres starting lineup before noon ET today, and the trade deadline looming. But if the Sabres lines stay the same tonight, Reinhart should be on the top lines for the Sabres with O’Reilly.
In the last five games, Sam has three goals and five assists. Reinhart piled up two goals and 30.9 FanDuel NHL points against the Bolts on Tuesday. In Ottawa, Sam has potential for another big night on a fairly cheap salary.
Top FanDuel NHL Defense: Feb 15th
All week we’ve been playing an expensive defensive pick with a cheap/value option. Tonight, there are many expensive picks to choose from, and we’re mostly fading them all. There are too many great expensive options at center, goalie, and some at wing, making an expensive pick at defense less desirable.
But if you’ve got salary to burn, grab either Brent Burns ($7,400) or Victor Hedman ($6,900). This may seem obvious as they’re the two most expensive, but Burnsy is a game-changing offensive player at the defensive position, and Hedman has a great home match up against the Red Wings. Lately, the Sharks have actually played Brent at the wing position, where he played historically before moving to defense. Regardless of his role tonight, he’s going to be on the ice for 25+ minutes, and he should have over ten points even if he doesn’t have a goal or assist.
For our top pick though, we like either Nick Leddy ($5,600) or Justin Faulk ($5,100) tonight. The Islanders are set up for a great offensive night, and Leddy is one of the best defenders to haveo n the Isles in this type of match up. Leddy has three goals and two assists in the last six games, and is on the ice more than most of the Islanders.
Faulk had been quite, and disappointing, for most of this season. Last year, Justin had 17 goals and 20 assists in 75 games. Faulk was scoring on 7.6% of his shots. Before Tuesday, Justin only had four goals and 15 assists in 56 games, and was only scoring at a 2.6% rate. Many felt Faulk was due for some ‘positive shot regression’, but we weren’t paying attention.
Then, on Tuesday, Justin had a hat-trick, the first of his career, including two power play goals and 46.6 FanDuel NHL points. Don’t expect that today. However, it got our attention and we do believe Faulk will remain hot for the remainder of the season, and could have several more goals over the next couple of weeks, including tonight.
For value picks, Jeff Petry ($4,700) and Alex Goligoski ($4,500) are two of our favorites. They’re playing each other in the same game, and we’d only play Petry if you’re fading Antti Raanta in goal tonight. Jeff is one of those rare players who’s on the ice for nearly 30 minutes, and he gets you nearly ten points each night, even if not scoring. With a goal tonight, he’ll have between 15 and 25 FanDuel NHL points.
Goligoski is another defender we’ve recommended several times this week. While Alex is also on the ice for 20+ minutes, he doesn’t always pile up as many shots on goal and blocked shots as Petry does. But, Goligoski has a goal or assist in each of the last five games, and three goals and four assists total during that time. The Yotes have played better offense at home lately, and the Canadiens don’t have many answers on defense, even with Carey Price in net.
Top FanDuel NHL Goalies: Feb 15th
Unfortunately there are many great goalie options tonight. But the upside is the ownership across the board should be low. Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9,400) is very likely to get the win on home ice against the Red Wings tonight. Vas hasn’t lost in Tampa since January 18th against the Golden Knights. But, Andrei is giving up around three to four goals per game lately, and without 40+ shots on goal from the Red Wings, we’re likely not getting more than 30-40 points from Vasilevskiy. With such a pricey salary, this pick feels like a rip-off.
Instead, we recommend saving some money and pivoting to Pekka Rinne ($8,800). We love this pick for many reasons. The Flames are a hot goal-scoring team on road ice. So there is risk with this play. But, Rinne hasn’t given up more than three goals on home ice since December 21st, and we know the Flames will have a lot of shots on goal. So, with a win over the Flames, Pekka has 40 to 50 FanDuel NHL point potential, on a cheaper salary than Vas.
Are sneaky value pick of the night was our favorite pick on Monday against the Blackhawks. In that game, the Hawks peppered 38 shots on goal and Antti Raanta ($7,400) made 37 saves. Along with the win, Raanta had 37.6 FanDuel NHL points on a cheap salary, one of the cheapest of the night among all goalies. Facing Carey Price may seem like a daunting task for Raanta, but the Habs only have four goals in their last four road games. That is terrible offensive production! We like Raanta in all formats, especially GPP.
So, after reviewing all of our favorite options, here’s an example of a lineup we put together for Thursday, February 15th:
C Kopitar (LA $7,400)
C Hayes (NYR $5,600)
W Hall (NJ $8,100)
W Smith (VGK $6,200)
W Gourde (TB $5,600)
W Reinhart (BUF $5,000)
D Faulk (CAR $5,100)
D Golisgoski (ARI $4,500)
G Raanta (ARI $7,400)
Note: This is a recommended lineup after discussing our top options for the week. You should use this as a guide, and provide your own input when building FanDuel NHL lineups. We are not telling you, or selling you, to use this lineup.
Best of luck in your FanDuel NHL contests and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all your DFS news and analysis across NHL, NBA, EPL, and NFL this fall!