Daily News:

Taylor Hall is going to be out for two-to-four weeks due to injury, a huge blow to the Edmonton Oilers. In his absence, Benoit Pouliot ($3,100) will play on the top line.

Valeri Nichushkin returns tonight for the Dallas Stars, and will likely be skating with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin against the Los Angeles Kings. Nichushkin, sadly, is not in the player pool, but this does lower the value of Jason Spezza ($5,700) who had been centering the two superstars.

Johnny Gaudreau ($4,500) is a game-time-decision for the Calgary Flames in their tilt against the Washington Capitals.

David Krejci ($5,300) will miss his second consecutive game for the Boston Bruins. Filling his spot on the first line will be Chris Kelly ($3,300).

Let’s get to the picks for today:

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Bargain Bin Picks:

Chris Kelly | $3,300 | Center | Boston: As I mentioned just a minute ago, the 33-year-old veteran will be skating on the top line with Seth Griffith ($3,300) and Milan Lucic ($4,600). While this isn’t a guy I would want to put in my core lineup against a Florida team that has done a relatively good job of handling opponents opposing top lines (reason for this is Aaron Ekblad) there’s a chance that Ekblad and Brian Campbell are tasked to match up with the Patrice Bergeron line. For these reasons, Kelly is a pretty good GPP play.

Michael Raffl | $4,000 | Winger | Philadelphia: The Flyers take on the hapless and banged up Oilers at home. Raffl is a guy I wouldn’t hesitate to use across the board in GPPs and cash games, as he skates on the top line with Claude Giroux ($8,600) and Jakub Voracek ($7,200). 

David Savard | $3,000 | Defense | Columbus: Savard is on the top power-play unit for Columbus and is one of the cheapest “good” defensemen on tonight’s slate. He’s a really strong play for me against a team in Carolina that still is employing Cam Ward between the pipes.

Daniel Winnik | $3,200 | Winger | Toronto: Winnik is very hard for me to trust in cash games, given that the Leafs are on the road against a Western Conference team. Despite the fact that said team is the Arizona Coyotes — who have yielded the 28th most points to opposing Left Wings, Winnik is still a bit of a risk. However, he is skating with Phil Kessel and Nazem Kadri on the top line, so he makes for a fabulous GPP option.

Markus Granlund | $2,500 | Center | Calgary: Here is another play that I think is obviously a risk, but one that could pay off nicely in a GPP. The younger brother of Mikael Granlund has been skating with Jiri Hudler ($4,100) on the second line for Calgary. The two of them make for a nice contrarian GPP combo mini-stack. Granlund has two points in two games thus far.

Steve Mason | $6,200 | Goalie | Philadelphia: Mason has given up two or more goals in each of his starts this season, but he has faced some tough teams. He gave up a combined 11 goals across three starts with those opponents being Chicago, Anaheim and Dallas. The Oilers are banged up right now, and Mason is coming off a 26 save / 28 shot performance against the Florida Panthers. He got the loss in that one, but the Panthers boast a much better defense than the Oilers. Expect around six or seven fantasy points from Mason tonight.

Worth The Price:

Claude Giroux ($8,600), Jakub Voracek ($7,200) , Wayne Simmonds ($5,700), Mark Streit ($4,600): I’m going to have loads of Flyers exposure tonight, and you should too. Streit is my #1 defenseman.

Ryan Johansen | $6,200 | Columbus: We have established that Johansen is matchup proof, and now he gets to face Cam Ward and the terrible Carolina Hurricanes? Yes please. He’s an elite option tonight.

Shane Doan | $4,500 | Arizona: Not often do I like to take guys coming off a huge game — Doan put up three points against the Capitals last time out — but the Toronto Maple Leafs are a very special case. He’s a great value today.

Tyler Seguin / Jamie Benn | Combined cost: $15,100 | Dallas: Benn and Seguin aren’t my favorite duo of high priced skaters tonight, but they are always in play. I’d consider them to be strong GPP contrarian plays if you feel like fading Giroux / Voracek.

T.J. Brodie | $4,200 | Calgary: Brodie has been one of the best defensemen in the league this year. If you want to pay up big on D, I’d go with him or Dougie Hamilton (Boston, $4,300), or Michael Stone (Arizona, $3,800) to pair with Streit. 

I feel like holding a grudge against the Chicago Blackhawks for their absolutely awful performance against the hapless Leafs, but ignoring their prices is a sin. the Montreal Canadiens are coming off a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of the Calgary Flames, so it would be wise to make a Blackhawks GPP stack tonight as well. Consider the usual suspects: Patrick Kane ($5,800), Patrick Sharp ($6,400), Jonathan Toews ($5,900), Duncan Keith ($5,200) and Andrew Shaw ($3,700).

Goalie is very tough tonight, and I’ve only mentioned Steve Mason so far. Since he is so likely to get a win, I don’t really see a need to go with anyone else, unless you’re concerned with lack of upside since it’s likely he won’t record a shutout. In that case, Thomas Greiss is a high upside, high risk alternative in that he’s probable to start for the Penguins against a good Minnesota Wild team likely to pepper him with shots. He is $6,500

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