Yesterday wasn’t exactly the greatest for us, thanks to the Minnesota Wild playing their worst game of the season. In addition, the New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks both blew leads in the third period with style and grace.

Let’s see if we can right the ship today, and get back to our usual winning ways. As always, we play our Daily Fantasy Hockey with the good folks over at DraftKings.com

The Games:

Buffalo Sabres @ Montreal Canadiens: Confirmed Goalies:

Buffalo- Jhonas Enroth (1-5-2, 2.63 GAA, .911 Save Pct.) confirmed by @BillHoppeNHL

Montreal- Carey Price (13-8-2, 1.95 GAA, .938 Save Pct.) confirmed by @JohnLuTSNMtl

Our pick- Montreal

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Boston Bruins: Confirmed Goalies:

Pittsburgh- Marc-Andre Fleury (16-7-1, 2.01 GAA, .922 Save Pct.) confirmed by @penguins

Boston- Tuukka Rask (14-7-2, 1.90 GAA, .934 Save Pct.) confirmed by @ESPNJoeyMac

Our pick- Boston

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Ottawa Senators: Confirmed Goalies:

Toronto- James Reimer (6-4-1, 2.62 GAA, .931 Save Pct.) confirmed by @jonastsn1050

Ottawa- Craig Anderson (7-8-2, 3.42 GAA, .897 Save Pct.) confirmed by @SunDoniB

Our pick- Toronto

Winnipeg Jets @ Tampa Bay Lightning: Confirmed Goalies:

Winnipeg- Al Montoya (3-2-1, 2.42 GAA, .916 Save Pct.) confirmed by @WiebeSunSports

Tampa Bay Lightning- Anders Lindback (2-5-0, 3.26 GAA, .876 Save Pct.) confirmed by @WiebeSunSports

Our pick- Tampa Bay Lightning

Florida Panthers @ Detroit Red Wings: Confirmed Goalies:

Florida- Tim Thomas (7-10-1, 2.91 GAA, .906 Save Pct.) confirmed by @GeorgeRichards

Detroit- Jonas Gustavsson (8-0-1, 2.04 GAA, .928 Save Pct.) confirmed by @wingsfrontman

Our pick- Florida

Nashville Predators @ Washington Capitals: Confirmed Goalies:

Nashville- Marek Mazanec (5-6-1, 2.31 GAA, .922 Save Pct.) Mazanec is PROBABLE but unconfirmed, due to the Predators not having a morning skate.

Washington- Braden Holtby (12-9-1, 2.75 GAA, .922 Save Pct.) confirmed by @AdamVingan

Our pick- Washington

New Jersey Devils @ New York Rangers: Confirmed Goalies:

New Jersey- Martin Brodeur (7-7-2, 2.25 GAA, .906 Save Pct.) confirmed by @NHLDevils

New York Rangers- Henrik Lundqvist (9-11-0, 2.43 GAA, .919 Save Pct.) confirmed by @NYRangers

Our pick- New York Rangers

Anaheim Ducks @ St. Louis Blues: Confirmed Goalies:

Anaheim- Frederik Andersen (7-1-0, 1.70 GAA, .939 Save Pct.) Andersen is 75% likely to start the game, this off a hunch from @lkorac10

St. Louis- Jaroslav Halak (15-4-2, 2.11 GAA, .915 Save Pct.) confirmed by @lkorac10

Our pick- St. Louis

Calgary Flames @ Edmonton Oilers: Confirmed Goalies:

Calgary- Reto Berra (3-6-2, 3.51 GAA, .888 Save Pct.) confirmed by @NHLFlames

Edmonton- Devan Dubnyk (8-12-1, 3.31 GAA, .892 Save Pct.) confirmed by @TheChrisWestcott

Our pick- Edmonton Oilers

New York Islanders @ Los Angeles Kings: Confirmed Goalies:

New York- Kevin Poulin (3-10-0, 3.24 GAA, .887 Save Pct.) confirmed by @StapeNewsday

Los Angeles- Ben Scrivens (7-2-4, 1.56 GAA, .943 Save Pct.) Scrivens is PROBABLE but unconfirmed at this time.

Our pick- Los Angeles Kings

Daily Fantasy Picks

Center:

Our pick- David Desharnais– Montreal Canadiens | $3,600 | vs. BUF: The 27-year-old native of Laurier-Station, Quebec has been great since pairing up with linemates Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher.  Desharnais, who went undrafted, has nine points in his last nine games. He doesn’t shoot much, but given how hot Montreal is, and how terrible the Buffalo Sabres are, the diminutive forward should score at least one point tonight.

Center/Utility Alternate Options:

Luxury Range ($7,500+)- David Backes– St. Louis | $7,600 | vs. ANA: The Anaheim Ducks are coming off a hard fought shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks last night and will likely be exhausted. Anaheim is too talented to just roll over, but that being said, they obviously will have less energy than normal. Backes’s line typically faces off against the other team’s top line, but with rumors circling that Alex Steen is going to be a game time decision, we wouldn’t be surprised to see some mixing and matching as Jaden Schwartz moves to the top line, therefore opening up a possibility where head coach Ken Hitchcock decides to put Patrik Berglund ‘s line against the beefy checking/scoring/star line of Corey Perry – Ryan Getzlaf – Dustin Penner.

$5,900-$7,500 Range- Jason Spezza– Ottawa Senators | $5,900 | vs. TOR: With a storybook rivalry, comes a chippy hockey game. This is the second meeting between the Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs this season, so we should expect quite a bit of “after the whistle” shenanigans. Multiple power-plays will bring multiple scoring opportunities for both teams and their top units.

Mid-level $4,900-$5,900 Range- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins– Edmonton Oilers | $5,900 | vs. CGY: This is another rivalry game that should see its fair share of penalty minutes. However, there is more here than just that aspect for RNH. The 20-year-old phenom will be skating with David Perron and Jordan Eberle, and therefore will likely see the Mikael Backlund – Jiri Hudler – David Jones line. Backlund has the speed to keep pace with Nugent-Hopkins, but this line lacks a bit of chemistry, due to line shuffling. Said line shuffling is attributed to the injury of Sean Monahan.

$3,600-$4,800 Range: David Desharnais (see above)

Bargain Bin ($3,500 and under) Range: Trevor Smith– Toronto Maple Leafs | $2,500 | @ OTT: Smith is now playing on the second line with David Clarkson and Mason Raymond. Since Ottawa head coach Paul MacLean likes to match Clarke MacArthur – Kyle Turris – Bobby Ryan against the other team’s top line, Smith will see Milan Michalek, and his woeful minus-13 rating, standing next to him when they line up for face-offs.

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Left Wing:

Our pick- Max Pacioretty– Montreal Canadiens | $7,600 | vs. BUF: Same reasoning as with Desharnais; Pacioretty should have a field day with shots and points against a woeful Sabres team.

LW/Utility Alternate Options:

Luxury Range ($7,500+) – See Above (Pacioretty)

$6,000-$7,400 Range: Bobby Ryan– Ottawa Senators | $6,400 | vs. TOR: Ryan has been one of the best players all year for Ottawa. Expect some points on the ledger of the 26-year-old former number two overall pick from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Mid-level $4,900-$5,900 Range: Mats Zuccarello– New York Rangers | $5,700 | vs. NJ: This game should get ugly pretty quickly since the Devils already had one foot out the door in the third period last night against the Detroit Red Wings. The Devils, behind Cory Schneider, blew a 1-0 lead heading into the third. As always, expect the second and third lines to flourish against the non-existent defensive skills of Michael Ryder.

$3,600-$4,800 Range: Mason Raymond– Toronto Maple Leafs | $4,500 | @ OTT: Like mentioned previously, expect this line to face the Michalek – Spezza – Mika Zibanejad line. Thus, scoring is expected.

Bargain Bin ($3,500 and under) Range: Sean Bergenheim– Florida Panthers | $3,300 | @ DET: Detroit is flying all the way back from New Jersey after giving everything they had to overcome a 1-0 deficit and put three goals on the scoreboard in the third period of last nights’ game. We expect Detroit to be exhausted. Facing a Panthers team that has been in Detroit since yesterday, spells trap game.

Right Wing:

Our pick- Brendan Gallgher- Montreal Canadiens | $4,900 | vs. BUF: As expected, we continue to pick on the Sabres and now have each member of that first line from Montreal in our starting lineup.

RW/Utility Alternate Options:

Luxury ($7,500+) Range: Corey Perry– Anaheim Ducks | $8,600 | @ STL: If Steen can’t go, Jaden Schwartz moves to the first line. That kind of defensive assignment, against an elite power-forward like Perry, could spell trouble for the 21-year-old from Melfort, Saskatchewan.

$6,000-$7,400 Range: Jordan Eberle– Edmonton Oilers | $6,900 | vs. CGY: Eberle had a goal and an assist in their blowout victory Thursday, over the Colorado Avalanche. Expecting his hot streak to continue against a porous defensive team like Calgary, is a safe bet.

Mid-level $4,900-$5,900 Range: Scottie Upshall– Florida Panthers | $5,300 | @ DET: We touched on Upshall in our waiver wire article this week. He’s shooting more, and it’s led to much more production. If the Florida Panthers play like we expect them to, Upshall will find the score-sheet.

$3,600- $4,800 Range: Vladimir Tarasenko– St. Louis Blues | $3,800 | vs. ANA: Tarasenko should benefit from facing the Andrew Cogliano – Saku Koivu – Daniel Winnik line, in a game we expect the Blues to win. The last time we picked the young Russian for Daily Fantasy was on November 23rd against the Dallas Stars. He scored a goal.

Bargain Bin ($3,500 and under) Range: Reilly Smith– Boston Bruins | $3,300 | vs. PIT: Against a Pittsburgh team that is riddled with injuries, the 22-year-old from Toronto, Ontario should find success. Smith’s last goal came against these Penguins on November 25th

Defense:

Our pick- Erik Karlsson– Ottawa Senators | $6,400 | vs. TOR: A game against a Toronto team with a non-existent penalty-kill is exactly what the 23-year-old from Landsbro, Sweden needs to get back on track. He hasn’t recorded a point in two games.

Our pick- Ryan McDonagh– New York Rangers | $5,100 | vs. NJ: McDonagh has been unquestionably the best (and only good) defenseman the Rangers have had all year. The 24-year-old from St. Paul, Minnesota has 18 points in 29 games and seven points in his past seven games. He’s on fire.

We recommend you spending good money on these two defensemen tonight. If you have to go with someone cheaper than Karlsson, we suggest Andrei Markov– Montreal for $5,000. 

Goaltender:

Our pick- Tim Thomas– Florida Panthers | $6,900 | @ DET: This isn’t the safest of picks, but it’s a great home-run pick. With Detroit so banged up, it’s incredibly unlikely that the Red Wings, even if they do win, run away with this game.

Luxury Option: Carey Price-Montreal Canadiens | $10,000 | vs. BUF: Really nothing needs to be said here.

Bargain Bin Option: Anders Lindback– Tampa Bay Lightning | $6,200 | vs. WPG: This is incredibly risky, but it could pay serious dividends, especially if Eric Brewer and Radko Gudas return to the lineup, as expected, for Tampa tonight.

Utility:

Our picks- Kyle Turris | $4,900 | vs. TOR , Clarke MacArthur | $5,300 | vs. TOR, Chris Kreider | $5,300 | vs. NJ

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