This four-game slate still has plenty of big names to choose from as it should be some fun afternoon hockey. Keep an eye on the lines during pregame skate, as a bunch of these teams played back-to-back, and new lines could open up some value (which is hard to come by). We’ll have Awesemo weigh in on each skater, and then I (Tommienation1) will provide some additional notes.
Top-Tier
Taylor Hall ($7,600 DK/$8,300 FD)
“Hall’s Devils will take on the Canadiens with an implied team total of 3.3 on the road. He should see near 20 minutes of ice time as well as top power-play duties tonight.”
The Devils continue to ride Hall (“A” points grade) offensively, playing him 19-21 minutes in most games, and he keeps producing. He should get a hard-match with the Drouin line, which is pretty brutal defensively, allowing almost 30 Scoring Chances Against per 60 minutes and over 14 High-Danger Chances Against per 60 minutes at even-strength. Add in the Canadiens’ league-worst penalty-kill (73.8%) and you’ve got yourself a perfect pay-up option in all formats tonight in Hall.
Sidney Crosby ($7,200 DK/$9,000 FD)
“Crosby, like Hall, will get a great even-strength matchup and his team has a healthy 3.2 implied team total against the Capitals at home.”
Crosby should see a lot of time against the Ovechkin line in a “shutdown” role, but WSH1 surrenders over 13 High-Danger Chances Against per 60 minutes at even-strength this season. He makes for a great one-off since there isn’t much correlation with his linemates on the power-play. He’s a guy that is tough to pass up on DK (“A” points grade) at this price in a pretty solid matchup.
Value
Kevin Fiala ($4,700 DK, $4,300 FD)
“Fiala provides some nice value on both sites at these prices, as he plays on a good even-strength line and his team still has a decent team total for a road back-to-back.”
Fiala’s price never seems to rise no matter well he plays and you get get him ultra cheap tonight. He should get the Tampa top line, which allows over 28 Scoring Chances Against per 60 minutes and 12.5 High-Danger Chances Against per 60 minutes. This is a tough spot for the Preds as a whole, but Fiala and his linemates have a sneaky-good offensive matchup if they can avoid extended time in their own zone tonight.
