FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays: February 16

Welcome back to FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays. This is the Friday, February 16th edition. We’re a daily fantasy hockey column focused on top FanDuel NHL plays for your lineups each day.

After three straight days of fantastic FanDuel NHL lineup results, last night was a bizarre outcome. To give you a sense for how unique last night was, Chicago Blackhawks veteran defensive-man Duncan Keith hadn’t scored since March 16th, of LAST season. So after 169 shots of no goals, Keith finally got one in last night. I can promise you, you’ll be hard-pressed to find many winning lineups with Duncan in there.

The Capitals had a great night in Minnesota, with Alex Ovechkin ($8,900) piling up 47.2 FanDuel NHL points with three assists, a goal, and seven shots on goal. That wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was Tom Wilson ($4,300) score two goals and adding an assist, three shots and two blocked shots for 40 points. This is only the third time in Wilson’s career when he had two goals in one game.

Some other misses on our part was Sean Monahan ($7,600) leading the Flames top line. We were high on Pekka Rinne, so we fading the usually hot Flames on the road. That turned out to be a mistake, as the Flames provided four goals, in a 4-3 outcome, and Monahan had two power play assists and six shots for 26.6 FanDuel NHL points. But, we did nail rookie Mathew Barzal ($6,400) who provided an assist in all three goals scored by the Islanders.

Speaking of the Islanders, Jaroslav Halak ($7,500) wasn’t on our radar for goaltending because the Isles have been so poor defending the net this season. But to our surprise, and the 97% of FanDuel NHL players who didn’t play him, Jaroslav grabbed 50 saves last night for a shutout win and landed an incredible 60 FanDuel NHL points. Our favorite goalie of the night was Antti Raanta ($7,400) who also had a great night with 34 saves, a win, and 31.2 FanDuel NHL points, but the Halak result was amazing and a big miss.

So, we’ve had mostly great nights this week, but we’ll take what we learned from last nights misses, and look forward to a four-game slate tonight. Let’s take a look at the NHL schedule for Friday, February 16th:

Flyers at Blue Jackets (7pm ET)

Islanders at Hurricanes (7:30pm ET)

Avalanche at Jets (8pm ET)

Blues at Stars (8:30pm ET)

The Flyers have won seven on their last ten games on the road. While they have a woeful 67.7% PK during that time, they also had a 31% power play scoring rate. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets only averaged two goals per game in their last eight home games, and also have a very bad PK rate, 63.6% at home lately. We don’t expect much defense in this match up, and penalties will blow the doors open for scoring tonight.

The Islanders are traveling to Charlotte, NC after shutting out the Rangers 3-0 last night. On the road, the Isles have been as ineffective on defense as they have been at home, so the shutout last night is alarming for anyone who may want to play some Hurricanes, but the Canes have also been more active on offense lately. We’re assuming the outcome last night had more to do with the Rangers offense, than the Isles defense.

While the Avs have won their last ten straight home games, they’re only 4-5-1 away from Denver. Meanwhile, the Jets are 9-2-1 in their last twelve games at home and have a 91.7% PK during that time. Also, with the Avs missing Nathan MacKinnon, they’re less attractive in Winnipeg tonight. Instead, we’ll likely stack the impressive Jets offense.

Finally, we end the night with a Blues and Stars team who look like a mirror image of each other on the road and at home. The Blues are struggling to score during the man advantage away from St. Louis, with a 10.5% rate over the last nine road-ice games. They’re also sub-80% on the PK. Meanwhile, the Stars have a solid 82.9% PK at home, but only a 19.5% power play scoring rate in Dallas over the last 13 games. So we may grab some top talent from that game, but mostly steering clear of the value opportunity.

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 16TH

One of our favorite centers for FanDuel NHL over the last couple of weeks has been Tyler Seguin ($8,400). The 26-year-old has 29 goals in 57 games this season, tied with John Tavares ($8,500) and Anders Lee ($6,800) for fifth most in the NHL. Tyler was quiet on Monday night against the Canucks, only getting three shots on goal for 4.8 FanDuel NHL points.

However, Seguin has six goals in the last six games, including three goals in his last four home games. The Blues are giving up just under three goals per game, over their last nine on the road. With a 12.8% scoring rate, we’re expecting Seguin to put another one in net tonight, and he may add points with a helper.

As we’ll discuss soon, we may stack the Jets in some of our lineups tonight, and a great pivot from Seguin would be Mark Scheifele ($8,100). Mark was injured during a game in late December, and was hot at the time. Since returning to the ice on February 9th, Scheifele already has two goals and two assists in just three games. We’re expecting the Jets to have another great offensive night on home ice tonight, and Mark’s line likely leads the team in scoring.

Since the start of the season, Flyers head coach David Hakstol made a surprise decision to have Sean Couturier ($7,500) lead their top line. So far, it’s working. Couturier has 57 points in 57 games, 28 goals and 29 assists. Sean has a favorable match up tonight in Columbus, and has two goals and five assists over the last six games. If you need to some some money for a top pick, Sebastian Aho ($7,000) should remain hot tonight on home ice against a bad Isles defense. Aho has four goals and four assists in the last seven games, and is playing on the Canes top line.

As we’ll see later, it’s possible to play any one of these top center picks with Mathew Barzal ($6,400). The rookie’s salary continues to climb, but given his offensive production lately, he’s still affordable. Barzal now has nine assists over the last four games, 11 over the last seven games. Mat goes on scoring runs too, which could happen tonight, but his multiple assist games have been making him a huge DFS NHL play each night.

Finally, if you’re looking for a value play tonight at center, we like Bryan Little ($5,400) leading the Jets second line or Alexander Kerfoot ($4,700) playing on the Avs top line. Little is streaky, but he just scored a goal in the Jets last game on Tuesday, and could continue to run tonight. Kerfoot is only a good play if you’re fading Hellebuyck tonight. But with MacKinnon off the ice, Kerfoot is getting more ice time and has a goal in each of the last two Avs games.

Now let’s take a look at the wings we want to stack along with our centers…

Top FanDuel NHL Wings: Feb 16TH

At the wing position, our two favorite plays tonight are Claude Giroux ($7,800) and Blake Wheeler ($7,300). These veteran wingers provide consistent fantasy value each week, and rarely have a bad night. Wheeler has an assist in five of the last seven games, seven total assists during that time. With Scheifele back in the lineup, Blake’s value surges. Giroux is a big reason the Flyers are winning lately, scoring a goal in four straight games, five of his last seven, and adding an addition four assists. The both have match-ups we can exploit, but they’re difficult to play together unless you grabbed a value pick at center.

Jakub Voracek ($7,200) and Josh Bailey ($7,000) are both great picks if you’re looking for a high probability assist scoring in your lineup. Voracek leads the NHL with 54 assists in 57 games, and Bailey has 47 in 55 games, tied for third most in the NHL and just behind Jake for most assists per game.

If you’re playing Seguin, consider stacking him with Alexander Radulov ($6,700). Radulov can also offer a lot of assists each week, but he can go off on scoring runs too, sometimes getting multiple goals per game. Alexander has five 30+ FanDuel NHL point results over the last month and a half. If you have around $6.5K of salary to spend with your second wing pick, and you don’t want to bank on the Radulov assist, consider Jeff Skinner ($6,500) who has four goals in the last three games. With the Canes hosting the Isles, it’s feasible for Skinner to continue his scoring rampage tonight.

Moving back to the stacking discussion, all three of our favorite value plays tonight are on the Jets top two lines. Kyle Connor ($5,100) plays with Scheifele and Wheeler on the Jets top regular line and their elite power play unit. Connor has three goals and three assists in the last seven games, and even when not involved in scoring he’s getting nearly five shots on goal. Connor’s salary is shockingly cheap tonight, so take advantage of the opportunity.

Mathieu Perreault ($4,500) has been a streaky scorer for the Jets this season, but he has five assists in the last seven games too. Perreault plays on the second line with Little and Jack Roslovic ($3,700). The later has earned time on the Jets roster as they auditioned positions with Scheifele on the shelf recently. Roslovic scored his first NHL goal on January 25th in Anaheim and added his second and third goals recently in Winnipeg.

Top FanDuel NHL Defense: Feb 16th

Obviously they’re the two most expensive defensive options tonight, but Shayne Gostisbehere ($6,600) and John Klingberg ($6,400) consistently earn their salary. Ghost is a sharp-shooting defender who’s on the Flyers top lines, but is very active during the man-advantage. Over the last seven games, Shayne has a goal and ten assists, more than one assist per game. With the addition of several shots on goal and as many as six blocked shots in a game lately, Gostisbehere is a solid shot at 20 FanDuel NHL points in a game.

Klingberg doesn’t provide as much offensive consistency as Gostisbehere, but he also consistently takes several shots on goal and will have multiple blocked shots in most games. So even when he’s not involved in a scoring play, you’ll see Klingberg often get 10+ FanDuel NHL points in a game.

If you can’t afford either Ghost or Klingberg, Seth Jones ($5,800) and Nick Leddy ($5,600) are cheaper top picks on defense. Like Gostisbehere, Leddy has been very active with the Islanders offense lately, and they’re one of the better offensive teams in hockey. Nick just isn’t quite as consistent with offense as Shayne. Jones hasn’t been as offensively active, but he can get you points with shots and blocked shots as well, just not as many as Klingberg, with less ice time.

Finally on Defense, our favorite value play of the night is Jaccob Slavin ($4,300). Playing on the Hurricanes top line against a terrible Islanders defense tonight, Jaccob has an opportunity to keep his four-game streak of points going. In the last four games, Slavin has a goal and three assists, at least one point per game. During that time, Jaccob averaged around 13 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, which is about what we expect tonight.

Top FanDuel NHL Goalies: Feb 16th

Finding the right net-minder in smaller slates for NHL DFS it typically easier. We have four games tonight, so eight total goalies. The Islanders are likely to start Thomas Greiss ($7,200) after just starting Jaroslav Halak ($7,500) last night. However, if the Isles do start Halak, he’s worth a flier to keep his hot-streak going after last night’s shutout win. On the other hand, Greiss has been terrible and should be avoided in all formats.

The Hurricanes will go with either Cam Ward ($7,700) or Scott Darling ($7,300). Between the two, Ward is significantly better this season, five wins in his last seven starts. If Ward starts, he’s worth a consideration as a cheap GPP goalie, but you’re taking a big risk against a very good Islanders offense, even on the road.

Ben Bishop ($8,800) was one of our favorite goalies over the last couple of weeks, leading the Stars to multiple home wings. But on Sunday, Bishop gave up four goals in a surprise loss to the Canucks, with a horrible -3.2 FanDuel NHL point result. Ben faces the Blues Jake Allen ($8,100) who has been inconsistent lately. Given these two are mirror images of each other lately, we feel they are a ‘wash play’, and should be avoided.

Sergei Bobrovsky ($8,700) has struggled this season, but looked great in his last two starts. He is a decent play at home, but we don’t like how well the Flyers offense has played over the last several weeks. There’s too much risk for this high of a salary price.

Meanwhile, Flyers Michal Neuvirth ($7,900) gave up a late goal against the Devils at home last outing, eventually losing in a shootout. But, Neuvirth has only giving up five goals in his last 86 shots on goal, a .938 save percentage. That’s impressive, considering one of those outings was in Vegas, against a very good Knights offense. Michal is definitely a great value or GPP play tonight, with the Jackets offense struggling.

We’ve narrowed our top options down to Jonathan Bernier ($8,300) or Connor Hellebuyck ($8,100). Both of these teams are great this season, but the Jets have played very well at home this season, and the Avs are struggled on the road, and without Nathan MacKinnon.

Hellebucyk has played so-so over the last two weeks, but that includes a shutout of the Avalanche at home on February 3rd. In that game, Connor piled up 40 FanDuel NHL points with a shutout win and 25 saves. So, Hellebuyck gives you the best odds for the most points from the goalie position, and is your best play in all formats.

So, after reviewing all of our favorite options, here’s an example of a lineup we put together for Friday, February 16th:

C     Seguin (DAL $8,400)

C     Barzal (DAL $6,400)

W   Giroux (PHI $7,800)

W   Connor (WPG $5,100)

W   Perreault (WPG $4,500)

W   Roslovic (WPG $3,700)

D    Gostisbehere (PHI $6,600)

D    Slavin (CAR $4,300)

G    Hellebuyck (WPG $8,100)

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.

Next: Perfect Landing Spot for Kirk Cousins?

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!