Toronto Maple Leafs Vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
There is a lot to like from this matchup tonight, especially on the Toronto side. With Columbus playing back-to-back games, lots of people will be looking to load up on Toronto forwards. It’s important not to get too carried away with trying to fit all the big names from this game into your lineup.
Let’s start with the obvious-- John Tavares and Mitch Marner. The duo play together on the top line and on the top power play unit. They are joined by Andreas Johnsson five-on-five, so that entire line is worth a look in a GPP. You can also look at Auston Matthews and William Nylander as a second option, but the fact that they don’t play together on the same power play makes them less attractive. The Matthews/Nylander is less expensive to roster thanks to Nylander being below 5K on FanDuel, so there is value if you want to go with them.
On the blue line, Morgan Rielly is the obvious choice, but he’s more of a GPP option on this slate. There’s no reason to pay $6700 for a defenceman on this short slate. There is too much value to be had elsewhere. If you do go with the Matthew/Nylander option, Jake Gardiner is only $4800 on FanDuel and is playing on the second power play unit. That would be a nice three-man stack in cash games.
No goalies are confirmed as of this moment for tonight, but assuming Frederik Andersen gets the start, he would be the top goalie play of the night. He’s north of 9K on FanDuel, so it’s going to be a challenge to fit him into your lineup. The gap on DraftKings is much less, so that would be the best place to use him.
Looks like Sparks is confirmed to get the start for Toronto. His price tag is below 8K on FanDuel, so he's a nice GPP or cash game option tp consider.
For Columbus, there isn’t much to get excited about. Their top line is always an option, but they just don’t seem worth it tonight. Artemi Panarin would be a nice single-bullet option on FanDuel if you wanted to go the other way, but that’s about all.
Ottawa Senators Vs. New York Islanders
Craig Anderson is out of the lineup due to a concussion, so there’s a good chance we see Mike McKenna in goal for the Senators. If that is the case, you’ll want to get as much exposure to the Islanders as possible, because they are going to fill the net.
Their second line of Anthony Beauvillier, Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey is where most of the value is. Beauvillier is going to be extra chalk tonight because he’s only $3500 on DraftKings, but even if he’s over 50% owned, it’s going to be hard to pass up on that value. You can stack the entire second line for less than 15K, so there is no reason not to get a piece of all three in your lineups.
You can also look at their top line of Andres Lee, Brock Nelson and Jordan Eberle as a way to go against the high ownership of NYI2. Both Eberle and Lee play on the top power play unit together and their ownership should be just low enough to play them in a GPP.
On the back end, Nick Leddy continues to see time on the top power play unit, so he’s an option to consider. He $2900 on DraftKings, so again, it’s going to be really hard to pass up on his value in cash games. At that price point, he doesn’t have to do much to hit value.
On the Ottawa side, Matt Duchene is back in the lineup playing at a high level. He’s $6500 on FauDuel and his matchup against the Islanders isn’t a bad one. His linemates (Chris Tierney and Mikkel Boedker) aren’t really that great, so you could go with Duchene as a single bullet and call it a day.
My favourtie play of the night is an Ottawa Senators’ defenceman. Thomas Chabot has been as absolute stud this season and he continues to be way underpriced on FanDuel. He’s $5700 to roster, which is way too low considering his production this season. If you want to go Duchene/Chabot as a mini-stack and get exposure to the top power play unit, go for it!
Montreal Canadiens Vs. Florida Panthers
It’s that time of year when Montreal heads down south for the Christmas holidays to help the Panthers fill their arena with fans. Since forever, Montreal hasn’t always had a ton of success this time of year, and that shouldn’t change tonight. Carey Price suffered a lower-body injury before the break and didn’t travel with the team, so if Niemi get’s the call for the Habs, Florida is going to have a field day putting pucks past him.
There is no reason to get cute with Florida tonight. Their top line is elite and they are very much in play. Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov are all great options to consider. They aren’t cheap to roster, but with everyone being so focused on Toronto, you could get all three players at a very low ownership. It’s also worth noting that all three play together on the top power play unit.
You can complete the four-man power play stack with Keith Yandle. The veteran defenceman is reasonably priced on FanDuel, so that would be the best place to use him.
There’s a good chance that we see Roberto Luongo start for the Panthers, which would make him the second best goalie option on the slate. The Habs generate a ton of shots per game (4th, 34.4 S/GP), but their GF/GP on the road is below average (18th, 2.78 GF/GP). Luongo is relatively cheap on both sites, so he’s an option where ever you want to use him.
As for Montreal, there really isn’t anything to like. Montreal’s top line doesn’t have a great matchup and there’s no real value in playing their second line. You could go with Gallagher as a single-bullet option in cash games, but even that is a reach.