Carey Price should come up big in Saturday’s showdown with Toronto

There are nine games scheduled for Saturday night’s main slate. Last week I was able to close out 2016 with a nice cash win placing 41st out of 344 entries. This season with the league being very competitive and any team having a chance to win on any given night, I have gone with the balanced lineup approach more than in the past. Trying to avoid the high-priced stars in favor of value plays on top lines that are on teams that I have targeted to score goals that night.

Here are tonight’s likely goalies with high win probabilities in order of Vegas Line favorite

• Braden Holtby (WAS): $7,700 @ OTT -150 Favorite
• Jake Allen (STL): $8,000 vs. DAL – 160 Favorite (Could miss this game due to birth of first child)
• Chad Johnson (CGY): $7,800 vs. VAN -175 Favorite
• Martin Jones (SJ): $8,100 vs. DET -220 Favorite

Here are the teams that should put up some goals tonight when selecting skaters for your lineups. I expect some high scoring games tonight so there are plenty of skaters to choose from. 

• Edmonton Oilers
• Washington Capitals
• Montreal Canadiens
• New York Islanders
• Arizona Coyotes
• Calgary Flames
• St. Louis Blues
• San Jose Sharks

My cash game lineup for tonight.

Center

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM): $4,800 @ NJ
Nugent-Hopkins has had his struggles this season with just eight goals and 11 assists in 40 games played, but his game has come around lately. He has two goals and an assist in his last four games and has been more active with 13 shots and a total of 16 fantasy points in that span. The Oilers are on the road in New Jersey likely facing backup goalie Keith Kincaid, and Edmonton’s top line with Connor McDavid will likely get all the defensive attention. With Nugent-Hopkins playing close to 20 minutes a game, he makes for a good value sneaky start tonight and should have some scoring opportunities against the Devils who lost last night against Toronto.

Mikael Backlund (CGY): $5,700 vs. VAN
I played Backlund last week because he was hot, and he has yet to cool off. In his last 10 games he has seven goals and five assists for an average of 4.5 fantasy points in that span. The Flames will play the Canucks once again at home after peppering Vancouver goalie Ryan Miller last night with 46 shots on goal in a loss. I like Calgary and the Backlund line to connect with the back of the net a few times tonight at home and get some revenge against Vancouver’s backup goalie Jacob Markstrom.

Wing

Matthew Tkachuk (CGY): $4,800 vs. VAN
Same as Backlund, Tkachuck has remained hot all week. He now has at least one point in eight straight games with one goal and eight assists in that span. Even on that streak, his price remains the same as last week. He makes a great value play along with Backlund in my cash lineup for tonight.

T.J. Oshie (WAS): $5,800 @ OTT
He is back on the top line for the Capitals with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom and has produced with two goals and two assists even though he was held off the scoring sheet in in Washington’s big 5-0 win against Columbus on Thursday. I wanted exposure to this game and playing Oshie allows me to reap the benefits if Ovechkin has a big game.

Alexander Radulov (MON): $5,600 @ TOR
Montreal and Toronto is always a big game, yet Toronto will be coming home after playing last night in New Jersey. While Toronto is much improved, they are prone to giving up goals and Radulov has had a very nice three-game stretch with two goals and two assists in that span for a total of 17 fantasy points.

Defense

Oliver Ekman-Larsson (ARI): $4,900 vs. NYI
Arizona is on a nine-game losing streak, but they do get to face the New York Islanders at home who last night helped Colorado put an end their five-game losing streak. I expect both teams after playing overtime to have some tired legs which should provide plenty of scoring chances. Ekman-Larsson plays close to 23 minutes a game and in all situations so he makes a good value defenseman in my lineup for tonight. He has also scored a goal with two assists in his last four games.

Jeff Petry (MON): $4,900 @ TOR
Petry is a good cash game defenseman as he is steady and usually provides a good floor. In his last 10 games he has scored four goals and four assists and averaged 4.9 fantasy points per game in that span. In those 10 games he has had only one game where he scored less that 3.0 fantasy points.

Goalie

Carey Price (MON): $7,900 @ TOR
Usually one of the top goalies in the league, he had a three-game slump by allowing 11 goals in three straight losses to close out December. He rebounded nicely with a 22-save performance in a win Tuesday at Nashville. He loves the big game and will face rival Toronto tonight who will fire plenty of shots on Price. Overall his record is 19-5-4 and yet his price dropped $300. I will be happy to take advantage of that tonight in my cash lineup.

Utility

Evgeny Kuznetsov (WAS): $5,500 @ OTT
With a budget of $5,600 left, Kuznetsov is a great choice to complete my cash lineup for tonight. He is on a team that I have targeted offensively tonight and he has scored a goal and five assists in his last two games. With Kuznetsov and Oshie in my lineup I am covered if Washington’s first or second line scores. I have a feeling that tonight both lines will provide some points.

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.