Tonight’s Optimal Lineups are geared more towards GPP tournaments and were posted around 4:30 PM ET. Even though it seems like it never happens, it is still a very good idea to come back to this page by the 7:30 PM ET roster lock in case there are any changes. We've had a few instances where information comes in late, forcing a pivot with less than 15 minutes to spare.
UPDATE #1: DraftKings (Updated: 8:47 PM ET)
OUT: John Gibson
IN: Jonathan Bernier
Definitely want to stay tuned on DK in case any changes are made prior to the Bruins/Ducks puck drop.
Tonight is going to be the final night of NHL action before the NBA resumes on Thursday. Yes, it’d be nice if we got another good-sized slate, but we will just have to do our best with the three games we have scheduled tonight.
As I mentioned last week, three games is just a very scary proposition when it comes to cash games. Yes, they are still playable, but playable with the understanding that your risk increases tenfold because there are less ways to differentiate your lineups from the rest of the pack.
Of course, with that said, I absolutely recommend shifting focus to GPPs with the shorter slates. Playing GPPs with the larger slates can be very overwhelming, but with a narrowed list of options available, it’s not as daunting a task to find the right combination.
Note: If you are playing the big guarantee tournaments (e.g. the FD Super Breakaway or DK Mega Forecheck), you can ABSOLUTELY leave money on the table. Last week, I left over $5k on the table when I stacked NYR3 and ARI3, and it differentiated my lineup enough to be the sole 2nd place finisher in the Forecheck. It's a better idea to use for funds wisely if you're doing smaller tournaments, but the big GPPs almost make it necessary to think a little more outside the box.
With only three games to work with, I am going to alter the write up a bit, and include projected lines for each team. Keep in mind, my favorite line stacks of the night will be in GREEN. Secondary line stacks will be in GOLD. Contrarian stacks will be in BLUE. Players who will be on the POWER-PLAY are going to be in BOLD CAPS.
EDMONTON OILERS at FLORIDA PANTHERS (FLA -140 favorites; 5.5 O/U u130)
Starting Goalies: Cam Talbot (Confirmed) vs. James Reimer (Confirmed)
Edmonton Projected Lines (Subject to Change)
EDM1: PATRICK MAROON - CONNOR MCDAVID - JORDAN EBERLE
EDM2: MILAN LUCIC - LEON DRAISAITL - Anton Slepyshev
EDM3: DRAKE CAGGULIA - RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS - Zack Kassian
EDM4: Matt Hendricks - MARK LETESTU - Iiro Pakarinen
EDMD1: OSCAR KLEFBOM - Adam Larsson
EDMD2: ANDREJ SEKERA - Matt Benning
EDMD3: Brandon Davidson - Kris Russell
EDMPP1: Lucic/McDavid/Letestu/Draisaitl/Klefbom
EDMPP2: Maroon/Nugent-Hopkins/Caggiula/Eberle/Sekera
Edmonton is 3-2-2 when playing without rest.
Florida Projected Lines (Subject to Change)
FLA1: JONATHAN HUBERDEAU - ALEKSANDER BARKOV - JAROMIR JAGR // should be chalky
FLA2: JUSSI JOKINEN - VINCENT TROCHECK - REILLY SMITH
FLA3: Michael Sgarbossa - NICK BJUGSTAD - JONATHAN MARCHESSAULT
FLA4: Shawn Thornton - Derek MacKenzie - Colton Sceviour
FLAD1: KEITH YANDLE - AARON EKBLAD
FLAD2: Michael Matheson - Jason Demers
FLAD3: Mark Pysyk - Alex Petrovic
FLAPP1: Huberdeau/Barkov/Jagr/Marchessault/Yandle
FLAPP2: Trocheck/Bjugstad/Smith/Jokinen/Ekblad
The Panthers are 6-1 since the return of Jonathan Huberdeau to the lineup. The Panthers are playing outstanding hockey and will probably have higher ownership than most of the other options available tonight. I think it can be easy to overlook the Oilers after their poor showing last night, but they performed a little better than the end result would suggest. The Bolts scored an empty-netter, and were bailed out with an offside challenge that took away an Oscar Klefbom "Klefbomb." The McDavid line will undoubtedly be the most popular Oilers stack, but I actually prefer Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' third line as the contrarian stack.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS AT PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (WSH -155 favorites; 5 O/U o135)
Starting Goalies: Braden Holtby (Confirmed) vs. Michel Neuvirth (Confirmed)
Washington Projected Lines (Updated: 3:55 PM ET)
WSH1: ALEX OVECHKIN - NICKLAS BACKSTROM - T.J. OSHIE // should be chalky
WSH2: MARCUS JOHANSSON - EVGENY KUZNETSOV - JUSTIN WILLIAMS
WSH3: Brett Connolly - LARS ELLER - Zachary Sanford
WSH4: Daniel Winnik - Jay Beagle - Tom Wilson // ultra-contrarian + high risk
WSHD1: DMITRY ORLOV - MATT NISKANEN
WSHD2: Karl Alzner - JOHN CARLSON
WSHD3: Brooks Orpik - Nate Schmidt
WSHPP1: Ovechkin/Backstrom/Oshie/Johansson/Niskanen
WSHPP2: Kuznetsov/Eller/Williams/Orlov/Carlson
Philadelphia Projected Lines (Updated: 3:55 PM ET)
PHI1: BRAYDEN SCHENN - CLAUDE GIROUX - WAYNE SIMMONDS
PHI2: Dale Weise - SEAN COUTURIER - JAKUB VORACEK
PHI3: Michael Raffl - NICK COUSINS - MATT READ
PHI4: Chris Vandevelde - Pierre-Marc Bellemare - Roman Lyubimov
PHID1: IVAN PROVOROV - Brandon Manning
PHID2: Radko Gudas - Michael Del Zotto
PHID3: MARK STREIT - SHAYNE GOSTISBEHERE
PHIPP1: Schenn/Giroux/Simmonds/Provorov/Gostisbehere
PHIPP2: Read/Couturier/Cousins/Voracek/Streit
The Capitals are on a rare two game losing streak, dropping their last two contests to the Red Wings and Rangers this past weekend. Dropping two games in a row has just not been in Washington's DNA this season. They are well-coached and have too much offensive firepower to not come out hot against the constantly up and down Flyers. The Flyers have had their fair share of struggles, and especially so at even strength. But after dropping two tough ones in Alberta, they were able to rebound on Sunday against the Canucks, thanks to two big power-play goals, which came about after some changes were made. This includes the promotion of Ivan Provorov to the top unit and demotion of Jakub Voracek to the second unit. The history between these two teams suggests that tonight is really anyone's game even though Vegas seems to favor the Caps.
BOSTON BRUINS AT ANAHEIM DUCKS (Vegas has the game as a pick ‘em; 5 O/U o140)
Starting Goalies: Tuukka Rask (Confirmed) vs. Jonathan Bernier (Likely)
Boston Projected Lines (Updated: 3:55 PM ET)
BOS1: BRAD MARCHAND - PATRICE BERGERON - DAVID BACKES
BOS2: PETER CEHLARIK - DAVID KREJCI - DAVID PASTRNAK
BOS3: Jimmy Hayes - RYAN SPOONER - FRANK VATRANO
BOS4: Matt Beleskey - Riley Nash - Dominic Moore
BOSD1: Brandon Carlo - Zdeno Chara
BOSD2: TOREY KRUG - Adam McQuaid
BOSD3: COLIN MILLER - Kevin Miller
BOS PP1: Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak-Spooner-Krug
BOS PP2: Cehlarik/Backes/Vatrano/Krejci/C. Miller
Anaheim Projected Lines (Updated: 3:55 PM ET)
ANA1: Andrew Cogliano - RYAN KESLER - JAKOB SILFVERBERG
ANA2: NICK RITCHIE - RYAN GETZLAF - Ondrej Kase
ANA3: Nic Kerdiles - RICKARD RAKELL - COREY PERRY
ANA4: Logan Shaw - Nate Thompson - Joseph Cramarossa
ANAD1: CAM FOWLER - BRANDON MONTOUR // ANA1 w/Fowler
ANAD2: HAMPUS LINDHOLM - Kevin Bieksa
ANAD3: SAMI VATANEN - Josh Manson // ANA2 w/Vatanen
ANAPP1: Kesler/Getzlaf/Silfverberg/Vatanen/Fowler
ANAPP2: Ritchie/Rakell/Perry/Lindholm/Montour
The Bruins continue their road trip in Anaheim, where they haven't won since March 25, 2012. I would say that their most popular stacking option will likely be Bergeron's top line. While I think there's always a possibility of BOS1 going off, it's the fact that they're very likely going to see Kesler's extremely tough line throughout the game that is a big turnoff for me. I would go with Boston's secondary lines if you're looking for a GPP option. As for the Ducks, I'd say any of the top three lines are in play. While technically, Kesler's line has the toughest matchup, it always seems like they're able to produce when you least expect it. Even though I have ANA1 and ANA2 listed as secondary plays, I probably prefer ANA2 a bit more thanks to the more favorable matchup.