There are a rare number of games on tonight’s slate in the National Hockey League. Normally a slow-ish day, there are seven games tonight as action ramps up before the Olympic break.

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Strategy Tips:

Often times when constructing a lineup in NHL, we feel the temptation to stack lines. While this is an excellent strategy for Guaranteed Prize Pool tourneys, it’s not advisable for cash games. Last night my cash game lineup was

C- Ryan Getzlaf, LW- Chris Kunitz, RW- Phil Kessel, D- Justin Braun, D- Jason Demers, G- Brian Elliott, U- Nathan Horton, U- Chris Stewart, U- James van Riemsdyk

This lineup gained me 38.4 points and cashes across the board. But let’s break down how I chose my lineup. First, in cash games I want to go with home teams as much as possible. They get the advantage of choosing the line matchups, and therefore are safer plays. I avoided stacking players from St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets because in cash games you want to start players who are some of the most consistent point scorers for their team — or they must be a bargain. 

Also, I wanted exposure to various lines, not stacking. I felt like the Blues would get scoring from their top line of Alex Steen – David Backes – Chris Stewart, and the Jackets would get scoring from the Ryan Johansen – Boone Jenner – Nathan Horton line. Both picks were correct, although Stewart was the only point scorer on that Blues line. The tiebreaker for selecting Horton and Stewart, rather than their linemates was mostly based on price. But of course, Horton — going against his former team the Florida Panthers — was most likely to get on the board due to the circumstances.

Players to Target, and Game Thoughts:

With this new and improved strategy in mind, let’s take a look at the lines I think will have the MOST success tonight.

Edmonton Oilers @ Buffalo Sabres: A+ Fantasy Value

This game should be an absolute barn-burner with Jhonas Enroth and Ilya Bryzgalov taking the respective spots in net for the two teams. Buffalo really struggles against teams with elite speed because their gritty style doesn’t fare well against teams that easily can create 2-on-1 fast breaks.  In GPP’s the Taylor Hall – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle line is a “must stack” for at least one of your lineups. In addition, I want to get exposure to one of these guys in a cash game. The player you choose will depend on your lineup. Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins are two least expensive. David Perron on the second line is also a good start, and he’s the guy I want exposure to from the Oilers #2 line. Cody Hodgson is a nice play at $5,100, and Linus Omark — who is slated to skate with Buffalo’s top line tonight against his former team Edmonton — is the minimum of $2,500. He’s in play tonight as a very cheap way to get exposure to the Buffalo top line. Edmonton wins: 5-3

Ottawa Senators @ Pittsburgh Penguins: A+ Fantasy Value

We would be correct to assume that this game will be high scoring. Assuming which line goes off for Pittsburgh is another story. I want exposure to both of Pittsburgh’s top lines tonight. I selected one player from each line, one of whom was Sidney Crosby. In Guaranteed Prize Pool tournaments, it’s tough to choose between these two lines. Pittsburgh contains extremely expensive players, so I would look to stack either just Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby OR the Hall – RNH – Eberle line from Edmonton. Obviously, doing both is impossible. I love Matt Niskanen today, as he’s just $4,100. He’s close to a must-play in cash games, and a good GPP choice as well. Pittsburgh wins 4-2

Sample Cash Game Lineup:

C- Jussi Jokinen – $5,200 – Pittsburgh Line 2 Exposure

LW- David Perron – $5,700 – Edmonton Oilers Line 2 Exposure

RW- Brent Burns – $4,800 – San Jose Sharks Line 1 Exposure

D- Matt Niskanen – $4,100 – Pittsburgh Penguins – Value, + #1 PP, #1 D-pair

D- Olli Maatta – $3,700 – Pittsburgh Penguins 

G- Eddie Lack – $6,200 – Vancouver Canucks

U- Jannik Hansen – $2,800 – Vancouver Canucks – Value (also Jonas Gustavsson starts for Detroit)

U- Sidney Crosby – $9,000 – Pittsburgh Penguins – Line #1 Exposure

U- Taylor Hall – $7,900 – Edmonton Oilers – Line #1 Exposure

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