Hopefully everyone is still enjoying their holiday as we are ready to go back to the ice after a three-day layoff. There are nine games on the schedule tonight and all teams should be well rested.

All shot attempt numbers discussed are at even strength and score-adjusted unless otherwise noted.

And as always, make sure to check Twitter for any injury news, and check LeftWingLock for starting goalies and line combos.

TEAMS TO TARGET

Boston Bruins at home against Buffalo

This will mark the first game between Boston and Buffalo this season, however the Bruins took three of four in 2004-05 and is 5-0-2 in the last seven meetings. The Bruins hold a 3% edge in puck possession at even strength, but the Bruins are our top choice here because of their top-ranked power play that converts at 28.9%. It will be matched against a Buffalo penalty kill that is currently ranked 25th in the league.

A Boston power play stack could easily be obtained thanks to a low price for Ryan Spooner, as Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Loui Eriksson, and Torey Krug should all be in play. Work in Brad Marchand as well if possible, as he tallied four points against Buffalo last season.

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Los Angeles Kings at Arizona

First, let me tell you why the Kings were not my first choice here despite holding a whopping 12.6% edge in puck possession.

• The Kings gave up a combined 10 goals in back-to-back losses before the break.
• The Kings are 1-2-1 in their last four road games. The Coyotes are 7-1-1 in their last nine at home.
• The Kings have been outscored 7-3 in their two losses to Arizona this season. They are 1-5 in their last six trips to the desert.
• The Coyotes biggest weakness this season has been abysmal goaltending, however starter Louis Domingue is 2-1 with 1.62 GAA and a .946 save percentage.

With all that said, the Kings are well coached, structured team who would likely use the long vacation to refocus on an Arizona team that really isn’t very good. I would feel confident using Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli and Drew Doughty if the price made sense, but I’m not sure I would build around any of those players tonight.

Notes: 

On paper, the Lightning would be a good stack against Columbus, however they are without forwards Tyler Johnson(undisclosed), Jonathan Drouin (lower body), Boyle (upper body), J.T. Brown (lower body) and Yanni Gourde (lower body), and possibly Ondrej Palat; all are day-to-day. So I will be fading Steven Stamkos and Tampa here.

The Canucks have been shorthanded 125 times, second-most in the NHL this season, and is only killing them off at a 79% clip –making the Oilers power play a great option to choose players from, especially Taylor Hall who is worth building a team around tonight.

Montreal is in a nose-dive, dropping nine of their last ten games. Conversely, the Caps are 8-1-1 in their last ten. T.J. Oshie has eight points in his fave five games, while he and top-line teammates Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom should spend most of the night matched against the bottom-six from Montreal. All three should be considered solid options tonight, as well as defenseman John Carlson.

PLAYER RANKINGS

Remember, these are price sensitive.

Center

1.) Tyler Seguin – $8,700 – Dallas Stars

2.) Nicklas Backstrom – $ – Washington Capitals

3.) Patrice Bergeron – $7,100 – Boston Bruins

4.) Evgeni Malkin – $7,600 – Pittsburgh Penguins

5.) David Krejci – $6,000 – Boston Bruins

6.) Jeff Carter – $6,300 – Los Angeles Kings

Winger

1.) Taylor Hall – $7,400 – Edmonton Oilers

2.) Alex Ovechkin – $8,800 – Washington Capitals

3.) Jamie Benn – $8,500 – Dallas Stars

4.) Daniel Sedin – $6,700 – Vancouver Canucks

5.) Vladimir Tarasenko – $8,100 – St. Louis Blues

6.) James Neal – $6,100 – Nashville Predators

7.) Patrick Sharp – $6,500 – Dallas Stars

8.) T.J. Oshie – $5,900 – Washington Capitals

Defense

1.) Torey Krug – $5,900 – Boston Bruins

2.) Shea Weber – $6,200 – Nashville Predators

3.) Roman Josi – $7,000 – Nashville Predators

4.) Drew Doughty – $5,400 – Los Angeles Kings

5.) John Carlson – $6,800 – Washington Capitals

6.) Justin Faulk – $6,100 – Carolina Hurricanes

Goalie

1.) Tuukka Rask – $8,000 – Boston Bruins

2.) Braden Holtby – $8,200 – Washington Capitals

3.) Ben Bishop – $7,400 – Tampa Bay Lightning

4.) Matt Murray – $6,200 – Pittsburgh Penguins

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