Braden Holtby has a great shot at a win tonight
The second Saturday in the NHL season has a 12-game slate. If I have learned anything the first week of the season, It’s that any given night any team can win anywhere. Once a month or two roll on, the good and bad teams will likely separate themselves a bit more, but we’ve already had some unexpected results such as a winless Columbus team beating Chicago last night, Colorado on the road shutting out Tampa Bay 4-0 on Thursday and Vancouver off to a 4-0 start to begin the season.
When building tournament lineups, stacking lines from teams expected to do well is still a good strategy but for cash games this week I have begun using an “All-Star” approach to lineup construction with good results. With this approach, I have taken players who are hot or play big minutes on teams that I like to put up some goals that night. With this approach, I try to not roster players making over $7,000 because I am looking for balance and not necessarily the best performers that night. I’ll happily take an average of 4.5 points per player which would allow me to cash on a consistent basis.
Here are tonight’s projected goalies with high win probabilities in order of Vegas Line favorite:
- Braden Holtby (WAS) $8,000 vs. NYR -150 favorite
- Corey Crawford (CHI) $8,400 vs. TOR -170 favorite
- Roberto Luongo (FLA) $7,600 vs. COL -160 favorite
- Kari Lehtonen (DAL) $7,800 vs. CLB -155 favorite
- Steve Mason (PHI) $7,600 vs. CAR -140 favorite
- Peter Budaj (LAK) $7,500 vs. VAN -140 favorite
For skaters, I look at the Vegas line for games that have an over/under at 5.5 or higher. Here are the teams that I will use tonight when selecting my lineup.
- San Jose Sharks
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Florida Panthers
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Ottawa Senators
- Dallas Stars
- St. Louis Blues
Here is my cash game lineup for tonight.
Center
Logan Couture (SJ): $6,300 @ DET
The Red Wings will be coming off of a tough win versus Nashville on Friday, and San Jose will be rested and ready for them and likely going up against Detroit’s backup goalie Jimmy Howard. I like the Sharks to put up some goals tonight and Couture has been a very consistent performer this season posting two goals and three assists in five games for an average of 3.9 fantasy points per game.
Auston Matthews (TOR): $6,600 @ CHI
Matthews has posted 10.5 fantasy points in his last two games and at some point this season, his price will likely go up to where the other elite players are this season. Chicago is struggling to begin this season and coming off of a road loss in Columbus Friday night.
Wing
Jason Spezza (DAL): $5,900 vs. CLB
Dallas has a rare 6.0 over/under rating and Columbus is traveling to Dallas after a Friday night win versus Chicago. Wanting to get some exposure to this game, Spezza is my choice based on his price and the fact that he has two goals in his last two games and a total of 11 fantasy points in that span.
Richard Panik (CHI): $4,600 vs. TOR
Panik is on the verge of a breakout season with five goals and two assists in his first five games. He is averaging 4.8 fantasy points per game this season and is seeing major ice time on the power-play for Chicago.
Jonathan Marchessault (FLA): $4,300 vs. COL
He is playing almost 20 minutes per game in all situations and has posted five points in his first five games for an average of 4.5 fantasy points per game. The 5-foot-7 forward may not keep up this scoring pace all season but he’s hot right now and comes at a value price for my lineup tonight.
Defense
Zach Werenski (CLS): $4,300 vs DAL
While Dallas will likely score its share of goals tonight, they also tend to give up plenty of goals too. Werenski has played three games this season, and has posted at least 4.5 fantasy points in each one and is playing over 22 minutes a game. Last night he scored a power-play goal against Chicago and now has two goals in two game.s
Drew Doughty (LA): $5,600 vs VAN
The reigning Norris Trophy winner comes at a discounted rate compared to the other elite defenseman in the NHL. While not always spectacular, Doughty just goes along his business and racks up the points. In four games played this season, he is averaging 3.8 fantasy points per game.
Goalie
Braden Holtby (WAS): $8,000 vs NYR
Most of the goalies that are favorites in tonight’s slate are going against good offensive teams tonight so I came to the conclusion that I would not overthink this decision and play the best goalie whose team has the best opportunity to win tonight. Holtby is off to a great start this season with a 2-0-1 record and a 1.63 GAA and a .938 save percentage.
Utility
Tanner Pearson (LA): $4,200 vs VAN
After missing the first two games of the season due to a suspension, Pearson has started the season on fire with three goals and four points in his first two games. At 24-years old he could be a breakout candidate this season
Make sure to double check lineups and particularly the starting goalies prior to the first puck drop as they can be subject to change.
Rob Klein is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Rob, check out his archive and follow him @RobK37.
