I would like to apologize to our loyal readers. I am still feeling a bit under the weather, but while the writeup is short, I am extremely confident about my picks today. Normally our write-ups behind the paywall consist of multiple game breakdowns, plus cash game rankings and GPP rankings.

Take your NHL advice from someone who has played the game (me) for 15 years!

Good luck tonight.

Featured Game:

New York Islanders @ St. Louis Blues – Start Time 8:00 PM – O/U 5.5 – Line: Blues -158

Jori Lehtera ( $4,000, C), Vladimir Tarasenko ( $8,000, W) and Jaden Schwartz ( $5,000, W) have been re-united once again, and it comes at a great time for fantasy players. This line should be absolutely dynamite, and I wouldn’t hesitate stacking all three of them in cash games and in your GPPs.

This game has a chance to be incredibly chippy and high scoring, since when these two teams played on Saturday, Islanders center Anders Lee ( $3,400 ) delivered a vicious check to the head on Carl Gunnarsson — for which Lee was not suspended for. There should be a TON of penalties in this game because of that.

GPP targets for me in this game — aside from the above Blues trio — include: Brock Nelson ( $5,200, C), Frans Nielsen ( $5,100, C), Nick Leddy ( $3,800, D), Kyle Okposo ( $5,700, W), John Tavares ( $7,100, C), David Backes ( $4,900, C), T.J. Oshie ( $4,400 ), Kevin Shattenkirk ( $6,100 ), and Alex Pietrangelo ( $6,500 ). 

I like Anders Lee ( $3,400 ) — who I mentioned above — but he should find himself in the penalty box for a good amount of time in this game, or even end up with a game misconduct if he has to defend himself. This is what happens in hockey games so soon after a dirty hit is delivered in a previous game.

Price-Adjusted Cash Game Rankings:

Center:

1. Jori Lehtera – $4,000 – St. Louis Blues
2. Mike Ribeiro – $4,800 – Nashville Predators
3. Brock Nelson – $5,200 – New York Islanders
4. Bryan Little – $5,400 – Winnipeg Jets
5. Ryan Johansen – $5,400 – Columbus Blue Jackets
6. Nicklas Backstrom – $5,600 – Washington Capitals

Winger:

1. Blake Wheeler – $6,600 – Winnipeg Jets
2. Vladimir Tarasenko – $8,000 – St. Louis Blues
3. Jaden Schwartz – $5,000 – St. Louis Blues
4. Filip Forsberg – $5,900 – Nashville Predators
5. Jiri Hudler – $5,200 – Calgary 
6. Dustin Byfuglien – $6,800 – Winnipeg Jets
7. Zach Parise – $9,000 – Minnesota Wild
8. James Neal – $5,800 – Nashville Predators
9. Andrew Ladd – $5,900 – Winnipeg Jets
10. Johnny Gaudreau – $5,100 – Calgary Flames

Defense:

1. Jared Spurgeon – $4,200 – Minnesota Wild
2. Marek Zidlicky – $4,200 – New Jersey Devils
3. Nick Leddy – $3,800 – New York Islanders
4. Alex Pietrangelo – $6,500 – St. Louis Blues
5. Ryan Suter – $5,400 – Minnesota Wild
6. Dennis Wideman – $5,600 – Calgary Flames

Goalies:

1. Craig Anderson – $7,500 – Ottawa Senators
2. Cory Schneider – $6,400 – New Jersey Devils

GPP Stacks:

1. Jori Lehtera / Vladimir Tarasenko / Jaden Schwartz + Kevin Shattenkirk or Alex Pietrangelo
2. Mike Ribeiro / James Neal / Filip Forsberg
3. Blake Wheeler / Bryan Little / Andrew Ladd / Dustin Byfuglien
4. Brock Nelson / Frans Nielsen / Nick Leddy / Kyle Okposo
5. Zach Parise / Mikko Koivu / Jason Pominville / Jared Spurgeon / Ryan Suter
6. Jiri Hudler / Johnny Gaudreau / Markus Granlund
7. Jori Lehtera / Vladimir Tarasenko / Jaden Schwartz / Kevin Shattenkirk / Alex Pietrangelo / T.J. Oshie + David Backes or Alex Steen or Paul Stastny
8. Tyler Johnson / Nikita Kucherov / Ondrej Palat
9. Claude Giroux / Jakub Voracek 
10. Brandon Dubinsky / Cam Atkinson