FanDuel NHL blue line power plays: Oct. 4 all day or main slates
By Matt Rogers
Top FanDuel NHL Defense: Oct. 4
There are several great two-man pairings to consider for this slate, at defense, but I usually like to narrow my options down to about four to five players I’ll pick from at this position. And everyone is going to immediately consider Brent Burns ($7,400) and John Carlson ($6,400). And, they should!
Burnsy is a former winger who somehow plays great defense, as a defensive-man, but still finds a way to get incredibly involved in the scoring side of the game. Not only will he have several blocked shots for points each game, but he has a high volume of shots, and therefore a higher volume of goals and assists.
Brent will be chalky, but that’s why he and Carlson or great options. Depending on how my spending plays at out the winger position, I may flip up to Burns or Carlson as a top pick, leaning heavily toward Burnsy.
But, I’m frankly not that inclined to spend that much money on this position. So I’m first going to look at some of the best value plays.
Devon Toews ($3,800), who is NOT related to Jonathan Toews, jumped off this list immediately. The young defensive-man had a great finish to the season for the Islanders, last year, and he’s likely playing on a power play this season.
His salary, in my opinion, isn’t indicative of how fantasy value this year. I’m going to snag this dude while he’s still cheap!
So, with cash back in my pocket for a bigger play, I can’t help but immediately want Tyson Barrie ($6,300) in my lineup as my top defensive play. He’s cheaper than Carlson and Burns, but I also think his fantasy value is similar to each.
Barrie is an incredibly talented defensive-man, who was playing on a decently talented Avalanche team. But, he cooled off last season. However, this year, Barrie is playing on a Maple Leafs team who has incredible talent spread fairly evenly through all of their lines.
It’s hard to even imagine the Leafs not winning the Stanley this season, which means they probably won’t. Regardless, Barrie’s fantasy value is climbing quickly, and it’s a great time to use him while he’s affordable, and hot out the gate.