There is a big slate of games tonight; eleven to be exact. Let’s get to work.

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Thoughts and Musings:

The New York Islanders strand the Florida Panthers 4-2. The John Tavares – Kyle Okposo – Thomas Vanek line has been incredibly hot of late. Over the past three games the trio has combined for five even-strength goals. Against the Florida Panthers, it should be all systems go for this trio. I’m using them everywhere. Kevin Poulin, is a sneaky good value option as well, as he is getting the start in goal tonight.

The Minnesota Wild filibuster the Senators 3-1. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who was called up from the AHL to join Niklas Backstrom in net after Josh Harding went to injured reserve yet again. He is a solid start tonight, at just $6,000. My other favorite line combo (and it is clearly in a different tier than the Tavares line), is the combination of Dany Heatley – Charlie Coyle – Jason Zucker. This trio has been excellent the past three games, combining for three goals. This trio has found some excellent chemistry, and since the Wild have last change advantage (home-ice), Head Coach Mike Yeo will be able to find the matchup he wants for his third line. The Senators don’t have a quick third line, so I am confident with these guys tonight. They are all relatively cheap: Heatley (who will also have an ax to grind against his former team) is $4,500, Coyle is $4,200, and Zucker is $3,300.

The St. Louis Blues lull the Coyotes to sleep with their lovely music, by a score of 3-1. I have it on good authority that Thomas Greiss will start for the Yotes after Mike Smith‘s horrendous showing in Winnipeg. The Blues are white-hot and the Coyotes are ice cold, but Griess (although he gave up five goals in his last game against Anaheim) is a pretty darn good goaltender. I’m not quite sure I’d be willing to stream the Blues tonight, but in our never-ending search for goals scored, I’m going to pick Jaden Schwartz because his price is nice and low at $4,100. I won’t lie though, something about the Martin Hanzal vs. David Backes matchup (between the teams’ top line centers) strikes me as a “wash”, so scoring should come from either Schwartz, Tarasenko or the Blues third and fourth lines.

The Edmonton Oilers go dancing with the Stars 4-3. Look, this pick is going to surprise a lot of people, but with Taylor Hall white-hot (and yes I’m definitely using him tonight for only $6,600), and Ilya Bryzgalov in net, the Oilers are in a perfect position to pull an upset against the struggling team from Texas that has lost five straight. In addition to Hall, I like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and David Perron. From the Stars, I like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, both of whom are basically impossible to not start, given their low prices. 

Believe it or not, I’m concerned about the idea that usually is present when the Chicago Blackhawks play: streaming them. The Blackhawks are in a bit of a tizzy with their depth lines, and I’m worried about a Colorado Avalanche team that is known to slow the pace of play to a crawl when they get a lead. If you must, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, and Jonathan Toews are fine plays tonight, but as long as we are playing a percentage game, I think there are better plays tonight than streaming the Blackhawks. This game will probably be a one-goal game, and will probably be 3-2.

More on risk factors: The Boston Bruins come home after a very long west-coast road trip to play the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs are a horrendous team, but something about this game tells me that Bernier stands on his head. I expect the Bruins to win, but I’m not entirely confident that there is an offensive explosion. David Krejci – Jarome Iginla – Milan Lucic is the only line I am confident gets on the score-sheet. Tuukka Rask is an excellent play though.

The Montreal Canadiens turn the Devils into deviled eggs by winning 2-1:  Carey Price is a great play at home against the New Jersey Devils. Price may not face many shots, but then again, the Devils did fire 36 on net against the Leafs — but that’s the Leafs. The good news for Price is that this game should end 2-1 or 2-0, and if it goes into overtime and nobody scores, the Canadiens will win in a shootout. The Devils haven’t won a game ending in a shootout this season, so that’s a nice tiebreaker. Price’s price is $8,500

The Calgary Flames burn the Predators 2-1: This game is a game I’m not confident in, but if you want a cheap goaltender and for some reason don’t trust my Darcy Kuemper pick, Karri Ramo isn’t the worst choice in the world.

Official Lineup:

C- John Tavares

LW- Thomas Vanek

RW- Kyle Okposo

D- Zdeno Chara

D- Andre Benoit

G- Tuukka Rask

U- Dany Heatley

U- Jason Zucker

U- Taylor Hall

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