Fantasy Hockey Picks 10-8-14
Start your NHL bankroll off right with these fantasy hockey picks!
Tis the season. The wait is finally over. The NHL has given us just enough games to “wet our whistles” and I couldn’t be happier. I will release an article Monday-Friday all season long to turn YOU into a winning player. This is the perfect time of the year to play with MLB fantasy in the rear-view mirror and NBA a couple weeks away. The NFL junkies will have money to spend and I am here to help you take it with my fantasy hockey picks.
Goalies
Tukka Rask $20,800 - The price will not be an issue tonight so go ahead and pay up. Boston posted an outstanding record at home last season of 31-7-3. I feel that Boston will be the safest bet for the W which is crucial in daily fantasy hockey.
Jonas Hiller $12,050 - Hiller is a fine play for tournaments only. Vancouver was abysmal offensively last season, and the departure of Ryan Kesler will certainly hurt. This will be a very strange night with only 4 games, and I will be targeting a Canuck or two on the opposing team of a goalie I am considering.
Centers
Patrice Bergeron $11,550 - Is a very consistent contributor to any fantasy lineup. He’s also the heart and soul of the Boston Bruins and an excellent two-way player. This may not sound relevant to fantasy but o contraire mon frere. This is an important skill for your players to have even though it does not show up on the stat sheet to the naked eye. Empty net goals are worth the same amount of points as a goal in the first minute of a game. The good two-way players are the ones who get the ice time trying to prevent the game-tying goal in the final minutes when the other team pulls their goalie. That makes for great scoring opportunities. Just like the national media I did not give Bergeron the respect he deserves by going off on a rant in his section of the article instead.
David Desharnais $7,750 - Desharnais comes in at a great bargain. Check out the morning skate reports to make sure P.A Parenteau is going to give it a go first though. Without Parenteau skating alongside Desharnais his value will decrease but is still very much in play. Randy Carlyle will try to have Dion Phaneuf on the ice against the top line of MTL as much as possible, but Phaneuf is known to have a meltdown or two.
Left Wings
Daniel Sedin $10,650 - Sedin will most likely be in all of my cash game lineups. There are no great matchups on this 4-game slate and we all know the Sedin twins are coming off a dreadful season. I love watching these two play together and am hoping the magic is back (for one game at least)
Matthew Nieto $6,550 - He will certainly help you pay for Tukka Rask. Nieto has a great opportunity skating with Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture. Normally I would not take any player when visiting the Staples Center but the options are very slim tonight with only 4 games.
Right Wings
Phil Kessel $13,100 - Kessel is the second most expensive skater tonight and for good reason. Another player I love to target in cash games, I am never suprised to see him contribute even when he doesn’t find the score sheet. Phil has a great wrist shot and loves to let the puck fly anytime he can.
Reilly Smith $5,000 - It looks like Smith slipped through the cracks when the salaries were posted. Get this guy on your team no matter what. Anyone on a skating line with Patrice Bergeron gets a boost automatically. At minimum salary don’t bother thinking twice.
Defensemen
Alexander Edler $8,350 - Edler has a monster shot from the blue line. Pair him with the Sedin twins if you want to stack in a tournament. There is no excuse why Vancouver’s power play shouldn’t be top-5 in the league, and Edler will play a big part in it. These teams hate each other and there will be tons of penalties as a result.
Bret Burns $7,350 - Burns is moving back to play on the blue line this year. That should work wonders for his fantasy numbers with all of the confidence he built last season as a goal scorer. I believe he will be caught trying to join the rush a few times early in the season and give up a few goals, but we don’t care about that.
Pingback: Fantasy Hockey Picks 10-8-14 - The DraftDay Blog
Pingback: MGT Sports Fantasy Hockey Picks 10-8-14 - MGT Sports
It’s funny you say that, I didn’t play Daniel but I am stacking edler vrabata and henrik in my tournies. Also big fan of Thornton and hertl tonight with burns.
I like all those Nucks too. It’s always tough to predict who is gonna score off a given scoring line. I will be playing those guys you listed in some GPP’s for sure. The SJ/LAK game should be low scoring and i’m staying away for the most part.