We have a solid slate to choose from this Friday evening, with several intriguing matchups on the board. Let’s tee it off with the most favorable matchup, the Chicago Blackhawks at home against Buffalo.

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

Chicago Blackhawks at home against Buffalo

Chicago comes into this one riding a season-high five-game winning streak. They will be playing their fourth game in six days, however they’ve been home – or at least close to home – for much of this span. On the other hand, the Sabres are enduring a five-game losing streak and have been completely owned by the Hawks in the series –Chicago has eight in a row against Buffalo and five straight at the United Center. The Sabres have given up 31 goals and scored only 17 during its 0-7-1 stretch in this series.

For the Hawks, Patrick Kane is usually the first person you want to look at, and that’s no different tonight. He has scored a goal in four straight meetings with the Sabres and should be the guy you want to build your team around tonight. A mini-stack of Kane and his linemates Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov would make unlimited sense tonight. I’d get Duncan Keith into the mix as well if you have the cap space. Also, Corey Crawford returns to the net tonight, and should be the top goaltending option on the board against a dreadful Buffalo offense whose power play is marred in a 4-for-35 slump.

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Nashville Predators at Colorado

Two reasons for liking the underachieving Predators tonight: the acquisition of Ryan Johansen and the fact that they are playing the Avalanche. The matchup itself is less appealing since Nashville is so much better at home, but they are still a positive possession team away from Bridgestone Arena, and again, they’re playing Colorado who is bad everywhere they play. Although Colorado has been playing much better as of late–they’re 11-4-2 since the start of December and 8-2-1 overall against the Central Division–the numbers tell us this trend is about to hit its expiration date. Plus, Nashville pumped out 44 shots Tuesday against Winnipeg and only netted one goal for their effort, which means they’re due to have some of those hit the back of the net.

I really like the idea of Johansen and James Neal playing together on a line, and both should be in play tonight. One thing Colorado has not been able to correct is the inordinate amount of points they give up to defensemen, so Shea Weber and/or Roman Josi should absolutely be on the radar when making your selections for tonight.

Carolina Hurricanes at home against Columbus

The Hurricanes are terrible, but they’re not the worst team in this matchup, and that’s why they make the board here. The Canes took three of four meetings last season against a Jackets team that has struggled lately in losing three straight on the road. Despite losing four of their past five, Carolina is still ranked sixth in puck possession at home and gets a Columbus team that is giving up a league-high 3.17 goals per game.

Columbus will probably (maybe) win the Jones-Johnasen trade in the long run, but Seth Jones is not accustomed to top-pairing minutes and matchups, and he’s about to receive a crash-course via John Tortorella. He may handle it well, but I have my reservations. With that said, I love the Canes top line of Eric Staal, Elias Lindholm and Kris Versteeg, who should be matched up against the Blue Jackets lower defensive pairings tonight. I also like Justin Faulk to snap out of his five-game scoreless slump tonight against a team he has seven points in nine career games against.

Notes

Boston Bruins at New Jersey Devils

I’d typically be all over Boston here, but since basically their entire team is currently injured, I’ll be fading the Bruins tonight.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Edmonton Oilers

Despite the possession numbers being heavily in the Lightning’s favor, the Oilers are 12-7-1 at home, and Tampa doesn’t play nearly as well on the road. I’d have no problem slotting Taylor Hall into my lineup on any given night, especially this one.

St. Louis Blues at Anaheim Ducks

These two teams have combined for only four goals (one being an empty netter) in their two meetings this season. Also, the Blues are riding a four-game losing streak, while the Ducks have struggled to score goals all season. I’ll be staying far, far away from this game tonight.

PLAYER RANKINGS

*-Rankings are price sensitive

Center

1.) Jonathan Toews – $6,100 – Chicago Blackhawks

2.) Ryan Johansen – $5,600 – Nashville Predators

3.) Artem Anisimov – $4,700 – Chicago Blackhawks

4.) Eric Staal – $4,800 – Carolina Hurricanes

5.) Patrice Bergeron – $7,300 – Boston Bruins

6.) Matt Duchene – $6,400 – Colorado Avalanche

Winger

1.) Patrick Kane – $8,900 – Chicago Blackhawks

2.) Taylor Hall – $7,500 – Edmonton Oilers

3.) Artemi Panarin – $5,900 – Chicago Blackhawks

4.) James Neal – $5,800 – Nashville Predators

5.) Gabriel Landeskog – $6,700 – Colorado Avalanche

6.) Nikita Kucherov – $6,100 – Tampa Bay Lightning

7.) Kris Versteeg – $3,900 – Carolina Hurricanes

8.) Marian Hossa – $5,500 – Chicago Blackhawks

Defense

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

2.) Roman Josi – $7,200 – Nashville Predators

3.) Justin Faulk – $6,400 – Carolina Hurricanes

4.) Duncan Keith – $5,900 – Chicago Blackhawks

5.) Torey Krug – $6,000 – Boston Bruins

6.) Colton Parayko – $4,600 – St. Louis Blues

Goaltender

1.) Corey Crawford – $8,100 – Chicago Blackhawks

2.) Tuukka Rask – $7,800 – Boston Bruins

3.) Jake Allen – $7,600 – St. Louis Blues

4.) Cory Schneider – $7,900 – New Jersey Devils

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