Fantasy Hockey Picks 1-8-14
These fantasy hockey picks will give you an edge on tonight’s HUGE slate of NHL action!
We have a 10-game slate to break down after a surprisingly good 4 games last night. Nobody is here for small talk. Time to get to business.
Goalies:
Tukka Rask ($16,950) - Make sure he is in net, but he has played the last 5 games and this price tag is much lower than it should be. Rask is an elite goalie and is priced beneath his own backup. This baffles me, but I won’t complain if he is in and just take the huge advantage it provides if anyone does not roster him. I believe he should and will be 100% owned in every game on the site at this asking price. Boston is one of the toughest venues to go into and steal a win for road teams and New Jersey won’t be up to the task.
Cam Ward ($17,150) - Ward is playing lights out over the past 2 months but his team is not providing him goals for the win. This should change tonight as they host Buffalo who doesn’t play very good hockey to put it nicely. Ward has a .915 save percentage and only allows 2.36 goals per game. If the team in front of him plays decent at all he will get the win tonight and most likely give up only 1-2 goals. Should be a very safe option for the win.
Others: Corey Crawford, Braden Holtby
Centers:
Patrice Bergeron ($11,350) - Bergeron has 3 goals in his last 2 games and 8 points in his last 7. “Bergy” appears to finally be playing like himself and the matchup is great as I mentioned earlier talking about Tukka Rask. This could be a low scoring 2-1 game heading into the final minutes and with Bergeron being one of the best defensive centers in the game he is usually on the ice in empty net situations. That is a huge bonus that not many seem to think about.
Niklas Backstrom ($11,900) - After being held pointless when the team scores 6 goals I think he wants in on the action. The Flyers defense has been terrible this season and Backstrom and Ovechkin should have a field day against the 29th ranked penalty kill.
Others: Mike Ribiero, Eric Staal
Left Wing:
Andrew Ladd ($14,650) - The price tag seems very high for Ladd but that makes me believe that others will not be willing to pay the price. Ladd has 4 multi-point games in his last 6 and comes in as one of the hottest players in the league. Arizona doesn’t like to stop anyone from scoring and is a great matchup for Ladd. I hope he is low owned because of the price tag.
Alex Tanguay ($6,850) - Sakting with O’Reilly and Iginla will provide many scoring chances for Tanguay tonight at a very cheap salary. Patrick Roy has been a headache for daily fantasy owners as no forward on Colorado averages 20 minutes of ice time. Over the last few games Tanguay’s line seems to be stepping up and getting more ice time as a result. This salary will let you fit some of the big guns into your lineup.
Others: Jaden Schwartz, Brandon Saad
Right Wing:
Filip Forsberg ($12,950) - The runaway favorite for the Calder trophy is playing like an all star this year. The only concern here is that his ice time has gone way down for some unknown reason. He is still producing at an elite level and rarely disappoints with the amount of shots he puts on goal night in and night out. Very safe for cash games.
Alex Burrows ($8,200) - Reunited with the Sedin twins on the top line for the Canucks should provide plenty of opportunities for this value play. The Sedins love to share the puck and all 3 forwards are usually in on the scoring when they get a goal. You don’t need much to pay off this price and I think Burrows gets the job done.
Others: Reilly Smith, Jakub Voracek
Defense:
Mike Green ($9,500) - The Flyers penalty kill is ranked 29th in the league and Washington’s power play unit comes in as the 4th most effective. Green is on the top power play unit and that’s where he does most of his damage. That is a huge plus considering you get more points for power play points than even strength for some reason. Take advantage of the scoring system any time you can.
Dustin Byfuglien ($13,800) - The price tag is very high but well worth it tonight. This is another play that is targeting a very weak penalty kill as the coyotes rank dead last in the league. Byfuglien loves to shoot any chance he can get and should have plenty of chances against a weak Coyotes team.
Others: Dougie Hamilton, Michael Del Zotto