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The Rangers travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers and we should be treated to a very exciting game. New York played last night, but there is still a ton of value to exploit.
Your lineup should probably start with Chris Kreider and Frank Vatrano. Kreider is the first Rangers’ player in a long time to score 50-goals and he could easily add to that total tonight. He’s finally over $7K on DraftKings but is worth every dollar. Vatrano has three points in his last three games and continues to skate on the top line, but is only $3800 on DK. Playing them together is the best value.
On the back end, Jacob Trouba continues to be the defenceman to target. Adam Fox is more expensive and only has three points in his last ten games. Trouba has the same amount, but the salary savings on a short slate is going to be needed.
On the flip side, The Flyers’ entire top line is worth considering. Kevin Hayes and Joel Farabee and great options, but Bobby Brink is who I want to get into my lineup. He’s also skating on the top power play unit and is $2500 on DK. At that price, just one point is enough for him to hit value. Alexandar Georgiev is expected to get the call tonight and we know he’s nowhere as good as Igor Sheterkin. The Flyers are a great sneaky stack in a GPP.
If you want to go with a full four-man stack, Cam York is the way to go. The Rangers are 29th in shots per game, so it’s unlikely that Ivan Provorov will hit the blocked shots bonus. It’s unlikely any defenceman does, so York is the cheapest and has the ability to get on the scoresheet.
Vegas has this game sitting with a total of 6-7 goals and that might be too low. Neither team is that good at keeping the puck out of their own net and each team has forwards who can score goals.
For Columbus, Oliver Bjorkstrand is where we should be spending our money. He’s skating on the third line and only has two goals in his last ten games, but the upside for him is there and we should be able to get him at low ownership. If you want to get some exposure to the top line, Gustav Nyquist is the way to go. He’s affordable and has six points in the last ten games.
On the blue line, Zach Werenski is by far the best option on the slate. He finished with three assists, six shots on goal and five blocked shots in his last game against Detroit. He managed to hit all three bonuses and completely blew past his expected value. Montreal is a below-average team and Werenski should have no problem dominating them from start to finish.
In goal, Elvis Merzlikins is an option to consider if you want to go bold. Montreal doesn’t score a ton of goals, but Merzlikins has been awful this season and this game does have the highest total of any game. He’s a risky option but one that could work out.
For Montreal, it’s all about Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. They are by far the two best players on the team and they will get a ton of scoring chances tonight. If any Montreal player is going to score, it’s going to be one of those two.
If you’re looking for just a single-bullet option, Josh Anderson is making his return to Columbus and is back on the top line with Caufield and Suzuki. Anderson had a lot of success earlier this season on that line and his price tag is reasonable at $4000. He’s also skating on the top power play unit, so there are a ton of chances for him to hit value.
On defence, Jeff Petry has blocked three or more shots in four of his last five games. We know Montreal has decided to go with five forwards on the power play, so that does limit Petry’s upside, but he’s still the most offensive defenceman on the team. If salary is an issue, Alex Romanov is a good alternative. He’s cheaper, but the offensive upside just isn’t there. He does have nine blocked shots in the last two games, so hitting that bonus tonight would almost be enough for him to hit value.
In goal, Sam Montembeault is expected to get the call tonight and he does have some upside. The Canadiens aren’t very good at suppressing shots, so it’s likely that he will see a ton of action in this game. He could get lit up like a Christmas tree, but he could also hit the save bonus. He’s worth considering depending on the stack you go with.
The matchup on paper doesn’t look good for either team, but we could see a lot of goals in this game. Colorado at home has been really good, and the Kings just haven’t been that great over their last ten games.
For Colorado, Nathan MacKinnon is the obvious choice down the middle, but J.T. Compher might be the best bang for your buck. He’s skating on the second line and is affordable. Is he going to finish with more points than MacKinnon? Probably not, but he also doesn’t have to deal with Anze Kopitar.
On the wing, Mikko Rantanen is the way to go, but again, if you can’t afford him, Artturi Lehkonen is the next-best option. He’s skating on the second line with Compher but has found a spot on the top power play unit. Lehkonen finished with five shots on goal against Edmonton and could have himself another really strong game.
On the back end, Cale Makar is the player to target. It might be hard to fit him and Werenski into the same lineup, but both defenceman have an elite matchup on paper. Makar is going to get a ton of opportunities to shoot the puck and the Kings are top-5 in shots per game, so he can also block a few shots. He hit the double-bonus last game and could do the same here tonight.
Darcy Kuemper is by far the top goalie option on the slate. As mentioned earlier, Los Angeles is capable of shooting the puck, but that doesn’t mean they are going to score a lot of goals or win the game. Kuemper could easily pick up the win and the save bonus.
For L.A., the only two forwards worth considering are Viktor Arvidsson and Blake Lizotte. Arvidsson is a shooting machine, but his price tag on DK is $6500 and that’s a steep price to pay for a player that may not register a point. We should get him at low ownership, so at least there’s that. For Lizotte, he doesn’t have to worry about facing Colorado’s top-six. Kopitar and Philipp Danault will be focused on slowing down MacKinnon and company, so Lizotte will get a better matchup and is a cool $2500. He’s not seeing any power play time, so that does limit his upside, but he’s an option to consider if you’re desperate to save salary.
When it comes to defencemen, Sean Durzi, Matt Roy and Alex Edler are all in play. Edler is the best value because he can block shots and is only $2700. Roy and Durzi are about the same, but Durzi’s upside is he plays on the power play and can rack up points. He’s been blocking fewer shots with the other two back in the lineup, but he could still find a way to block at least three shots. He’s the most expensive of the gang, so this may come down to which player you can fit into your lineup.
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