Welcome to The Fantasy Fix daily fantasy hockey strategy. Below you will find rankings and projections for tonight’s NHL action. Building a winning lineup isn’t easy, so we’ll do our best to guide you in the right direction and help you win some serious cash. With that, let’s take a look at some matchups you should be targeting tonight.

As always, make sure to check out LeftWingLock for goalie confirmations.

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

Teams To Target

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Tampa Bay Lightning V. Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs did something crazy on Sunday night: win a game on the road. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier was on his game, recording his third shutout of the season, but let’s not get fooled into thinking that Toronto is a good team just yet. The Tampa Bay Lightning are in town to take on the Leafs, and the Bolts are going to be a handful. Tampa is ranked third in GF/60 on the road (2.75) and second in GA/60 (1.66). Barring another Bernier miracle, the Lightning should have no problem picking up the two points in this contest.

Tampa Bay’s top line of Alex Killorn, Ryan Callahan and Steven Stamkos is going to see a lot of Nazem Kadri and his line mates, but that shouldn’t deter you from using the trio. Stamkos is an expensive option, but his wingers help balance out the average price of that line.

If you’re looking for a secondary option to the top line, the triplets (Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov) have been reunited on a line again and are poised to have a strong game. Palat and Johnson play together on the top power play unit, so they’re the preferred mini-stack of the night.

On the back end, Anton Stralman is expected to skate on the first power play unit with Palat/Johnson, so he would be the top defenseman to roster. Assuming no lineup changes, Jason Garrison is slated to skate on the second power play unit with Stamkos/Kucherov, and is affordable across all DFS platforms. Victor Hedman is always a great option (especially against a team like the Leafs) but he isn’t going to see any power play time, so there’s no point in paying the premium to roster him.

In goal, Ben Bishop is the option to go with tonight. His ownership in cash games will be high, but no goalie has a better chance at picking up a win than Bishop. Plug him into your lineup and move on to other things.

Boston Bruins V. San Jose Sharks

Lets start this section off with a question: which NHL team has the best GF/60 on the road? If you answered the Boston Bruins, you are correct! The big bad Bruins are a scoring machine on the road, and if you couple that with how average the San Jose Sharks are at home, the B’s are a no brainer play.

The Sharks are a good possession team at home—ranked 6^th at 54.1%—but most of that is thanks to their top line of Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl. There’s an excellent chance that Patrice Bergeron’s line will face off against Thornton and company, so Boston’s second line of Loui Eriksson, David Krejci and David Pastrnak is the trio to go with. Not only do they have a favourable matchup against San Jose’s second line, but Krejci/ Eriksson also play together on the top power play unit. Defenseman Torey Krug joins them on that unit, so all three are worth consideration.

It may not be a popular play, but if Tuukka Rask gets the start, he’s worth a look as a GPP goalie. As mentioned above, the Sharks just aren’t the same team at home, and Boston does a great job at scoring goals on the road, so if you need a contrarian goalie play, Rask if your best option.

Washington Capitals V. Carolina Hurricanes.

It doesn’t matter whether the Capitals play at home or on the road, they score a ton of goals. The Hurricanes are a great puck possession team on the road (5^th, 51.1%), but that hasn’t translated into any sort of offence, as they’re ranked last in the league in GF/60 (1.75). This shouldn’t be a hard game for Washington to win, so expect them to score a bunch of goals and add another two points to their already impressive total.

Washington’s top line of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Jay Beagle (yes, that’s not a mistake, Jay Beagle is on the top line) is the line to own. Excluding Beagle, Backstrom/Ovechkin also play on the top power play unit, so if you can find a way to fit the duo into your lineup, that’s a huge advantage. The Caps second line of Andre Burkovsky, Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J Oshie is also a solid option to consider, but Burakovsky and Kuznetsov are skating on the second unit while Oshie joins Ovi and Backstrom up top. For my money, I’d stick with the top line and call it a night.

The benefit of mini-stacking Ovechkin and Backstrom means you can add Matt Niskanen to that pairing and make it a power play stack. Outside of Niskanen, no other Washington defenseman really stands out. If you absolutely need some salary relief, Dimitri Orlov is expected to skate on the second power play unit, so he’s worth a look.

Last but not least, Braden Holtby is a great option every time he starts. The fact that the Hurricanes take a bunch of shots but can’t score makes Holtby’s value so much more appealing. He’s an expensive option to roster, but he could easy pick up a 35 save shutout and help you cash easily.

Player Rankings

Rankings are price sensitive

DraftKings

Forwards

1. Charlie Coyle—Minnesota Wild–$4700
2. Henrik Zetterberg—Detroit Red Wings–$5500
3. Steven Stamkos–Tampa Bay Lighting–$7100
4. David Krejci—Boston Bruins–$5900
5. Aleksander Barkov—Florida Panthers–$6400
6. Patrice Bergeron—Boston Bruins–$7300
7. Sidney Crosby—Pittsburgh Penguins–$7900
8. Tyler Johnson—Tampa Bay Lightning–$5600
9. Nicklas Backstrom—Washington Capitals–$6500

Wingers

1. Kris Versteeg—Los Angeles Kings–$3600
2. David Pastrnak—Boston Bruins–$4200
3. Alex Killorn—Tampa Bay Lightning–$4500
4. Chris Kunitz—Pittsburgh Penguins–$4800
5. Loui Eriksson—Boston Bruins–$5400
6. Tyler Toffoli—Los Angeles Kings–$5500
7. Nikita Kucherov—Tampa Bay Lightning–$6500
8. Zach Parise—Minnesota Wild–$6800
9. Alex Ovechkin—Washington Capitals–$8900
10. Brad Marchand—Boston Bruins–$6900

Defenseman

1. Jason Garrison—Tampa Bay Lightning–$3300
2. Olli Maatta—Pittsburgh Penguins–$3800
3. Anton Stralman—Tampa Bay Lightning–$4700
4. Matt Niskanen—Washington Capitals–$5300
5. Torey Krug—Boston Bruins–$5800
6. Drew Doughty—Los Angeles Kings–$6300
7. Kris Letang—Pittsburgh Penguins–$7000
8. Brent Burns—San Jose Sharks–$8300

Goalie

1. Braden Holtby—Washington Capitals–$8500
2. Ben Bishop—Tampa Bay Lightning–$8000
3. Marc-Andre Fleury—Pittsburgh Penguins–$8300
4. Al Montoya—Florida Panthers–$7400
5. Tuukka Rask—Boston Bruins–$8700

FanDuel

 Forwards

1. Ryan Spooner—Boston Bruins–$4500
2. Marcus Johansson—Washington Capitals–$4800
3. Mikko Koivu—Minnesota Wild–$5100
4. David Krejci—Boston Bruins–$5400
5. Tyler Johnson—Tampa Bay Lightning–$6700
6. Nicklas Backstrom—Washinton Capitals–$6200
7. Steven Stamkos—Tampa Bay Lightning–$8300
8. Patrice Bergeron—Boston Bruins–$7900
9. Sidney Crosby—Pittsburgh Penguins–$9800
10. Aleksander Barkov—Florida Panthers–$6400

Wingers

 Right Wing

1. Sven Andrighetto—Montreal Canadiens–$3600
2. David Pastrnak—Boston Bruins–$4500
3. Charlie Coyle—Minnesota Wild–$4700
4. Nikita Kucherov—Tampa Bay Lightning–$6500
5. Tyler Toffoli—Los Angeles Kings–$5400
6. Jaromir Jagr—Florida Panthers–$6200
7. T.J.Oshie—Washington Capitals–$5700

Left Wing

1. Andre Burakovsky—Washington Capitals–$4800
2. Loui Eriksson—Boston Bruins–$5100
3. Alex Killorn—Tampa Bay Lightning–$5400
4. Ondrej Palat—Tampa Bay Lightning–$6400
5. Zach Parise—Minnesota Wild–$7200
6. Chris Kunitz—Pittsburgh Penguins–$6200
7. Alex Ovechkin—washington Capitals–$9700
8. Brad Marchand—Boston Bruins–$8100

Defenseman

1. Olli Maatta—Pittsburgh Penguins–$3900
2. Jason Garrison—Tampa Bay Lightning–$3000
3. Matt Niskanen—Washington Capitals–$4300
4. Anton Stralman—Tampa Bay Lightning–$4800
5. Ryan Suter—Minnesota Wild–$4700
6. Aaron Ekblad—Florida Panthers–$4600
7. Torey Krug—Boston Bruins–$6100
8. Drew Doughty—Los Angeles Kings–$6100
9. Kris Letang—Pittsburgh Penguins–$7500

Goalie

1. Braden Holtby—Washington Capitals–$9100
2. Ben Bishop—Tampa Bay Lightning–$9600
3. Al Montoya—Florida Panthers–$7000
4. Marc-Andre Fleury—Pittsburgh Penguins–$9600
5. Tuukka Rask—Boston Bruins–$9200

FantasyDraft

Forwards

1. Marcus Johansson—Washington Capitals–$7500
2. Ryan Spooner—Boston Bruins–$9200
3. Charlie Coyle—Minnesota Wild–$9300
4. Tyler Johnson—Tampa Bay Lightning–$11,700
5. David Krejci—Boston Bruins–$12,100
6. Nicklas Backstrom—Washington Capitals–$13,500
7. Steven Stamkos—Tampa Bay Lightning–$14,700
8. Sidney Crosby—Pittsburgh Penguins–$16,400
9. Patrice Bergeron—Boston bruins–$15,100
10. Aleksander Barkov—Florida Panthers–$13,300

Wingers

1. Sven Andrighetto—Montreal Canadiens–$7500
2. David Pastrnak—Boston Bruins–$8400
3. Alex Killorn—Tampa bay Lightning–$9200
4. Chris Kunitz—Pittsburgh Penguins–$9800
5. Ondrej Palat—Tampa Bay Lightning–$10,300
6. Zach Parise—Minnesota Wild–$14,000
7. Nikita Kucherov—Pittsburgh Penguins–$13,500
8. Tyler Toffoli—Los Angeles Kings–$11,400
9. Alex Ovechkin—Washington Capitals–$18,400
10. Brad Marchand—Boston Bruins–$14,300

 Defenseman

1. Olli Maatta—Pittsburgh Penguins–$7300
2. Jason Garrison—Tampa Bay Lightning–$6300
3. Anton Stralman—Tampa Bay Lightning–$9500
4. Aaron Ekblad—Florida Panthers–$10,300
5. Matt Niskanen—Washington Capitals–$10,900
6. Drew Doughty—Los Angeles Kings–$13,000
7. Torey Krug—Boston Bruins–$11,900
8. Kris Letang—Pittsburgh Penguins–$14,500

Team G

1. Tampa Bay Lightning–$16,200
2. Washington Capitals–$17,200
3. Pittsburgh Penguins–$16,800
4. Florida Panthers–$16,600
5. Boston bruins–$17,600

 

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