TEAMS TO TARGET

The Washington Capitals probably have a bad taste in their mouth after falling to the Penguins Wednesday night at home in front of a national audience. That is bad news for a reeling Columbus Blue Jackets team who has given up the most goals in the Eastern Conference, are an abysmal possession team, and oh, by the way, are battling a mysterious flu bug. Call it a trip to Stack City as every indicator is pointing to the Capitals winning big here. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Niklas Backstrom, Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson are all in play up front. Feel confident in using John Carlson and Matt Niskanen from the blue line as well.

Elsewhere…

[cointent_lockedcontent article_labels=”hockey”]

Typically it wouldn’t matter if the Buffalo Sabres were playing your beer league team on the other end of a back-to-back, you’d be all over whoever they were playing. The Sabres played a tough, physical game against the Penguins Thursday night and came out on the losing end. The problem here, however, is that their opponent, the Philadelphia Flyers, also played last night. Take the Flyers anyway. Claude Giroux and Mark Streit are solid plays. Jackub Voracek has to snap out of this slump sooner or later, right?

Arizona was having a pretty good roadtrip until they were smoked in Boston 6-0 Tuesday night. They return home Friday night to play a Vancouver team who will be playing their third game in four nights. Like Washington, they’re in the perfect spot to take advantage of a battered opponent on home ice. Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, Martin Hanzal, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are all solid plays. Tobias Rieder could be a cheap sleeper.

Against the grain play: The Florida Panthers were terrific on home ice last season. If anyone would be used to playing on terrible ice, it would be them. They get a Boston Bruins team who is as streaky as they come, but are still struggling mightily in their own zone. Jaromir Jagr is out injured, but keep Vincent Trocheck, Alexsander Barkov, and Reilley Smith in the back of your mind if the price is right.

PLAYER RANKINGS

Rankings are price sensitive.

Center

1.) Evgeny Kuznetsov – $5,600 – Washington Capitals

2.) Niklas Backstrom – $6,700 – Washington Capitals

3.) Tomas Plekanec – $6,000- Montreal Canadiens

4.) David Krejci – $5,700 – Boston Bruins

5.) Claude Giroux – $6,800 – Philadelphia Flyers

6.) Nathan MacKinnon – $7,200 – Colorado Avalanche

7.) Kyle Turris – $6,300 – Ottawa Senators

8.) Nick Bjugstad – $5,900 – Florida Panthers

9.) Vincent Trocheck – $3,900 – Florida Panthers

10.) Jonathan Toews – $6,400 – Chicago Blackhawks

Wing

1.) Alex Ovechkin – $9,300 – Washington Capitals

2.) Jakub Voracek – $6,500 – Philadelphia Flyers

3.) Max Domi – $5,200 – Arizona Coyotes

4.) Brendan Gallagher – $5,400 – Montreal Canadiens

5.) T.J. Oshie – $6,000 – Washington Capitals

6.) Max Pacioretty – $7,700 – Montreal Canadiens

7.) Mark Stone – $5,800 – Ottawa Senators

8.) Anthony Duclair – $4,100 – Arizona Coyotes

9.) Patrick Kane – $7,800 – Chicago Blackhawks

10.) Rick Nash – $6,900 – New York Rangers

Defense

1.) Oliver Ekman-Larsson – $4,900 – Arizona Coyotes

2.) Andrei Markov – $4,700 – Montreal Canadiens

3.) Mark Streit – $4,600 – Philadelphia Flyers

4.) Erik Karlsson – $6,800 – Ottawa Senators

5.) P.K. Subban – $6,000 – Montreal Canadiens

6.) John Carlson – $6,400 – Washington Capitals

7.) Aaron Ekblad – $4,800 – Florida Panthers

8.) Justin Faulk – $5,600 – Carolina Hurricanes

9.) Keith Yandle – $5,100 – New York Rangers

10.) Matt Niskanen – $4,400 – Washington Capitals

11.) Brian Campbell – $4,200 – Florida Panthers

Goalie

As always, make sure to check out LeftWingLock for goalie confirmations and let’s begin. 

1.) Braden Holtby – $8,000 – Washington Capitals

2.) Antti Ranta/Henrik Lundqvist – $7,600/$7,900 – New York Rangers

3.) Craig Anderson – $7,000 – Ottawa Senators

4.) Mike Smith – $6,100 – Arizona Coyotes

5.) Carey Price – $8,500 – Montreal Canadiens

6.) Corey Crawford – $7,700 – Chicago Blackhawks

7.) Cam Ward – $6,300 – Carolina Hurricanes

[/cointent_lockedcontent]