Fantasy Hockey Picks 2-17-14
Our expert fantasy hockey picks will be your guide to cashing in BIG tonight!
The GPPs are still increased in size during this NBA break and I love it. Hopefully some of the new players have enjoyed playing NHL and will continue to do so when the NBA resumes.
Goalies:
Cory Schneider ($21,000) - Despite losing 3 consecutive games I love Schneider tonight. He has been great this season with only 2.21 goals allowed per game this season. Buffalo is on pace to be the worst scoring team in the NHL in over 80 seasons. This one is a no brainer for me.
Ray Emery ($15,000) - If you want to save salary at the goalie position, Emery is your guy. Columbus is playing terrible as of late and the Flyers should have no trouble giving Emery goal support to get the crucial points for the win.
Centers:
Anders Lee ($12,400) - Lee is on fire with 8 points in his last 4 games. Skating with John Tavares certainly has its benefits and Lee is taking full advantage. The price has more than doubled in the last two weeks but for good reason. It is hard to fade the Islanders top line as of late and Lee is a great way to get exposure.
Evgeni Malkin ($12,100) - This price drop is making it hard for me to look past Malkin tonight. This game is crucial for playoff seeding and a game I think Pittsburgh will be fired up for. Malkin is still one of the top 5 players in the league and the fact that there is 10 centers priced higher than him blows my mind.
Others: Claude Giroux, Tyler Bozak
Left Wing:
Jaden Schwartz ($11,750) - The Blues are one of the best home teams in the league and Schwartz has 9 goals 9 assists at home in 23 games this season. Dallas is really hurt by the injury bug right now and STL should dominate this entire game. Dallas ranks 27th in the league in goals against per game and STL has the 5th ranked offense.
James Neal ($12,250) - I like the fact that Neal is skating with Mike Ribiero now. Ribiero loves to set up his line mates with scoring chances more than he likes to shoot. This should bode well for Neal as he is not shy to shoot the puck any chance he gets. He can easily contribute to your team without finding the scoresheet which is a great quality to have in fantasy hockey.
Others: Alex Steen, Michael Cammalleri
Right Wing:
Wayne Simmond ($13,000) - 5 goals and 6 assists in the last 8 games Simmonds comes in on fire. He is 3rd in the league in power play goals and the Blue Jackets can’t seem to stay out of the box these days. With the scoring rewarding more points for power play points Simmonds makes for a fantastic play.
David Perron ($10,350) - As I mentioned before, Pittsburgh should come out on fire this game. Perron is a great way to benefit from Sidney Crosby for a fraction of the price. Perron skates with Crosby on both even strength and the teams top power play.
Others: Phil Kessel, Ryan Johansen
Defense:
Mark Streit ($8,800) - Again I will be looking at the Flyers power play unit against the Blue Jackets. The production has been down as of late for Streit but the price has also dropped significantly. He is still getting plenty of ice time night in and night out and it is only a matter of time until the points come. At this price I am willing to take a chance tonight.
Marek Zidlicky ($8,200) - Marek should be getting the ice time with the top power play unit tonight. It seems to be a rotating door as to who is on the Devils power play but whomever it is against Buffalo is in play for me. It is nearly impossible to predict where the scoring comes from for the Devils so I will take a defensemen getting over 20 minutes of ice time and some power play time. Buffalo will give up some goals and I want some exposure to this game.
Others: Kris Letang, Aaron Ekblad