FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays: February 22

Welcome to FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays, the Thursday February 22nd edition. We’re a daily fantasy hockey column focused on top FanDuel NHL plays for your lineups each day.

We weren’t able to get a FanDuel NHL Blue Line Power Plays column out for the three game slate on Wednesday night. However, we did tweet out some lineup suggestions. Our main focus was the Senators second line against the Blackhawks, in Chicago, and that paid off.

Derick Brassard ($6,100) lead the second line at center and had three shots on goal and one assist for 12.8 FanDuel NHL points. On the right side, Mark Stone ($7,400) added two asissts, a blcked shots, and a shot on goal for 19.2 FanDuel NHL points, and Zack Smith ($4,000) was our value play last night, with a shot on goal, for a goal, and blacked shot for 15.2 FanDuel NHL points. In total the Sens second line provided 47.2 FanDuel NHL points, and set us up perfectly for cash games.

Brandon Saad ($5,600) was a disappointing 3.2 FanDuel NHL result for the Blackhawks. Patrick Kane was a great play last night, but he would’ve limited your ability to grab plays like the Senators entire second line. But, Duncan Keith ($5,600) stayed consistently efficient last night with seven shots and a blocked shot for 12.8 FanDuel NHL points. We liked Brent Seabrook ($4,800) as well, even though there have been a lot of complaints about his play lately. Still, on a modest salary, Seabrook had three shots on goal and two blocked shots for a decent eight points.

To complete the Senators stack, we grabbed Matt Duchene ($6,300) from the top line to our centers in the lineup. This is another reason we didn’t want to grab more expensive players like Kane. Because we had modest salaries across the board, we were able to stack top two tier players and build a 130 to 160 FanDuel NHL score. Duchene ended the night with two blocked shots, four shots on goal, and a goal for 21.6 points.

Finally, we knew Marc-Andre Fleury ($8,700) had struggled in some games lately, even at home in Vegas. Also, the Flames offense has been scoring at a top-ten pace on the road. So playing Fleury was a risky move, but we hated the other options on the board. While Marc-Andre gave up three goals, reducing his point total by 12, he was still able to get 28 saves and the win for 22.4 FanDuel NHL points. So, it was a good night for cash games.

Now, Let’s take a look at the NHL schedule for Thursday, February 22nd:

Islanders at Maple Leafs (7pm ET)

Wild at Devils (7pm ET)

Blue Jackets at Flyers (7pm ET)

Rangers at Canadiens (7:30pm ET)

Lightning at Senators (7:30pm ET)

Sabres at Red Wings (7:30pm ET)

Capitals at Panthers (7:30pm ET)

Sharks at Predators (8pm ET)

Avalanche at Oilers (9pm ET)

Flames at Coyotes (9pm ET)

Stars at Kings (10:30pm ET)

There are a couple of great stacking opportunities which should jump out to you if you’ve been playing FanDuel NHL over the last several weeks. Starting with the Maple Leafs at home in Toronto, the Islanders defense and goaltending has been general terrible this season.

The Isles had back-to-back surprise shutouts (the only two this season) recently, but then followed that up with a 3-5 loss to the Wild at home. So with the expectation the Islanders shutouts were temporary, we can expect the Leafs offense to have a great night. But, they’ll be chalky!

The Ottawa Senators offense has been solid on home ice, so there could be value plays there. However, their defense has also been terrible in Ottawa. With the Lightning in town, one of the NHL’s best offenses this season, we should consider some Bolts plays tonight, even though they’ll be expensive and also part of the chalk.

The Capitals are supposedly a good team, and travel to Florida tonight. But the Caps have been dreadful on defense and minding the net lately. Meanwhile, the Panthers offense has been firing on all cylinders. The Panthers are a great stacking option, and may be sneaky enough to avoid chalk tonight.

Finally, a risky stacking play is the Flames in Arizona. On the surface, stacking the Flames should be obvious. The Coyotes have bad season-long stats and the Flames offense on the road has been tremendous. However, the Yotes have played great hockey over the last two weeks, and their goaltending has improved, thanks mostly to Antti Raanta. And now with Darcy Kuemper backing up Raanta, the Yotes could be a surprise play in goaltending tonight. Also, the Flames aren’t great on defense on the road.

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 22nd

We’ve already alluded to it, but Steven Stamkos ($8,800) and the Bolts top line is a very clear big play against the Senators in Ottawa tonight. The Sense are actually poorly defended both home and away, giving up 3.7 goals in their last ten away games, and 3.4 in their last ten home games. But over the course of the season, many par or above-par NHL offensive teams have decimated the Sens defense in Ottawa. This could be a 20-30 FanDuel NHL point night for Stamkos.

Nathan MacKinnon ($7,900) was quiet in his first game back from injury, at home, against the Oilers. But MacKinnon followed that up with a power play goal and three assists for 49.2 FanDuel NHL points in Vancouver. The Avs are playing the Oilers again, but this time in Edmonton. That’s actually better for Nathan, as the Oilers have a horrendous sub-60% penalty kill on home ice and are giving up more goals in Edmonton than on the road this season.

MacKinnon is a sneakier play, as a lot of FanDuel NHL players will probably be more focused on Auston Matthews ($7,900) and Stamkos considering their match ups tonight. Auston has been somewhat cold lately, with inconsistent great nights over the last couple of weeks. But with the Islanders defense likely back to it’s woeful ways in Toronto tonight, Matthews is well within play for all formats.

Anze Kopitar ($7,400) has nine-straight 11+ FanDuel NHL point games. He’ll cool off one of these games soon, but he’s still a great play on home ice against the Stars. If Ben Bishop is in net for the Stars, that isn’t a problem. Ben started the season well, but has been dreadful over the last two weeks.

We’re hopeful many FanDuel NHL players don’t see the potential from the Panthers tonight, but they’re likely still on everyone’s radar given their incredible offensive production lately. The Caps have given up four goals per game in their last six road games. That includes two games were they gave seven goals, and one of those opponents was the Blackhawks, who is struggling to score against everyone else. Something is wrong with the Caps defense, and Holtby. With that in mind, we love Aleksander Barkov ($7,300) and Vincent Trocheck ($6,800). Both are averaging 16 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, but of the two we like Trocheck’s match up against the Caps second line, the best.

While we highlighted Stamkos already, Brayden Point ($6,300) could be the better value tonight. Point has three goals in his last two games, and three goals and three assists in the last five games. Considering the match up in Ottawa tonight, Point could have multiple scoring results and over 30 FanDuel NHL points on a cheaper salary than Stamkos.

For value plays, we think Derek Stepan ($5,900) could slip under the radar tonight. Leading the emerging Coyotes top line, Derek only has one goal in the last seven games, but he also has six assists during that time. And with the Flames struggling on defense on the road, and the Yotes playing better hockey lately, this could be a great play tonight.

Finally, if you’re really desperate for salary and need to get some back with your second center pick, Flyers rookie and second-line center Nolan Patrick ($4,300) has a goal in each of the last two games and had an assist in Columbus last week. Patrick gets the Blue Jackets again on home ice tonight.

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

Top FanDuel NHL Wings: Feb 22nd

Of all the nights you should try to pay up for Nikita Kucherov ($9,100), tonight is one of the best nights. The 24-year-old Russian star winger is averaging nearly 19 FanDuel NHL points-per-game, and he’s been doing so consistently lately. In fact, going back to February 8th, Kucherov has 14+ FanDuel NHL points in every game since. And with the Senators giving up around four goals per game on home ice, he’s nearly a slam-dunk for a two point night and over 25 points tonight. However, keep in mind he’s the chalk, and not ideal for GPP.

The positive juices are flowing around the Philadelphia sports area’s since the Eagles won the super bowl. That seems to be helping Claude Giroux ($7,800) as well. In the last seven games, Giroux has five goals and seven assists. That’s nearly two points in every game! Sergei Bobrovsky is starting tonight for the Blue Jackets. He’s a solid goalie who had a fantastic year last season, but the Jackets are struggling across the board right now.

With MacKinnon back in the lineup for the Avs, we could see Mikko Rantanen ($6,700) re-emerge as a top FanDuel NHL play at wing. Mikko has quietly been on fire for most of the season, and just as he was finally getting some notice, Nathan went down with an injury and Rantanen’s production backed off a bit.

However, in Vancouver, Rantanen enjoyed MacKinnon’s return to the ice with a power play goal and two assists, 32.7 FanDuel NHL total points. If you can, stack MacKinnon with Rantanen for a 40 to 60 point result. If you have enough salary with value picks, Gabriel Landeskog ($6,300) completes the Avs top-line stack.

We initially liked the idea of Travis Konecny ($5,800) tonight on home ice, but take him off your list. Konecny tried to skate during practice today, a good long-term sign, but in the short term the concern should be that he didn’t put weight on his left foot and almost immediately skated off to the locker room. Doubtful Travis is on the ice tonight.

So with the disappointing Konecny news, we like Yanni Gourde ($5,700) to continue his tear on a cheap salary tonight in Ottawa. The 26-year-old Canadian now has a point in 12 of the last 14 Bolts games, and Gourde is skating with some of the best NHL players this season on ice giving up some of the most goals this season. This bodes well for Yanni’s production tonight.

Equally as attractive as Gourde, Clayton Keller ($5,700) has been on a tear lately, and with the Yotes finally emerging on offense, Keller’s production is forcing his FanDuel NHL point-per-game average above 12 per game on a sub-$6K salary. Keller has three goals and five assists in his last six games, and a favorable home ice match up tonight.

Speaking of favorable and home ice, Mitch Marner ($6,400) is on home ice again tonight! Yes, we’ve talked about Marner at nausea lately, but the winger is very good when playing in Toronto. For example, on February 10th, Marner had two goals and three assist for 56.5 FanDuel NHL points. He was quest against the Panthers on Tuesday, but we think Mitch stays hot at home tonight.

Finally, there are two value plays we love at wing tonight. One, Mikkel Boedker ($3,800) we’ve already mentioned recently and he paid off. The other is Denis Malgin ($3,900) who you’ve likely rarely heard of this season. With around 13 minutes of ice time each game, Malgin actually has ten goals and seven assists in just 37 games. Playing with Trocheck on the Panthers second line tonight, Denis is a sneaky way to take advantage of the Caps struggles on that line.

Top FanDuel NHL Defense: Feb 22nd

Frankly, we don’t recommend spending a lot of your salary on the defensive position tonight. Brent Burns ($7,200) is on the ice, and is a dominate player, but in Nashville against the Predators isn’t an ideal set up. And while Erik Karlsson ($7,200) is a tremendous player, he’s facing off against Victor Hedman ($7,000) who could cancel-out Karlsson’s fantasy effectiveness.

If you are spending big, Shayne Gostisbehere ($6,600) is most worth the salary, now with ten assist in the last seven games. The Flyers may also need more shooting on net tonight from Ghost, with Konecny on the mend. For a cheaper top pick, John Carlson ($6,000) and Dougie Hamilton ($5,900) are both solid plays tonight.

But, we actually like Ryan Ellis ($5,300) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic ($4,600) facing each other on the ice tonight. Ellis has a goal and five assists in the last five games, and is often getting two to three blocked shots. Ryan will have many blocked-shot opportunities tonight. And Vlasic is benefiting from Burns playing the wing, now with six assists in the last five games. In some ways, Marc-Edouard is eating up Burnsy’s missing productivity at the point.

Don’t look now, but Dion Phaneuf ($4,900) somehow has three power play goals in his first four games with the Kings. Clearly the transition is working out well with Dion so far. Meanwhile, Jake Gardiner ($4,900) has a goal and three assist in his last five games. Gardiner could’ve had more in that time, but he came out of the game against the Blue Jackets after only five minutes of ice time. Still, he’s heating up.

Top FanDuel NHL Goalies: Feb 22nd

There’s a total of eleven games tonight, putting 22 starting goalies on the ice. Typically when this happens, it’s hard to pick the top goalies because there are too many great options. Tonight is an exception. Braden Holtby ($9,000) has struggled lately and is a hard-fade against the Panthers in Floirda. Neither Pekka Rinne ($8,900) or Jonathan Quick ($8,800) have a great home match up, so they feel over-priced. However, Quick is heating up and could be a solid play if you can afford him.

Sergei Bobrovsky ($8,7000) has struggled this season and is facing a Flyers team who’s on fire right now, even with crucial injuries. But, while the Islanders have a scary offense, we love Frederik Andersen ($8,700) for that very reason. In just 51 games, one less than Henrik Lundqvist, Andersen has 1,746 saves this season, the most in the NHL. That’s 137 more saves than Lundqvist, who’s second in the NHL and in one less game.

Frederik is an underrated goaltender who appears to give up a lot of goals but is really making a ton of saves, while letting a few goals in. Against the Blue Jackets on Valentines Day, Andersen gave up three goals, however, he also had 54 saves and the win for an awesome 43.2 FanDuel NHL points. Anderseon also just shutout the awesome Panthers offense on Tuesday, with 40 saves and 52 FanDuel NHL points. So yes, even against the Islanders tonight in Toronto, we love Andersen in goal.

However, if you need a better value option, Petr Mrazek ($7,800) is a sneaky play in Philadelphia. Mrazek is a streaky goaltender who can be too aggressive at times. But Petr is also a fantastic puck handler and tends the net for a Flyers team on a roll heading into this game, and on their home ice. Flyers fans will likely welcome Mrazek, who was just traded from the Detroit Red Wings, with open arms tonight.

So, after reviewing all of our favorite options, here’s an example of a lineup we put together for Thursday, February 22nd:

C     Point (TB $6,300)

C     Trocheck (FLA $6,800)

W   Kucherov (TB $9,100)

W   Marner (TOR $6,400)

W   Malgin (FLA $3,900)

W   Boedker (SJ $3,800)

D    Ellis (NSH $5,300)

D    Vlasic (SJ $4,600)

G    Andersen (TOR $8,700)

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.

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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!