Tonight is a big 14-game slate so there are lots of ways to go with lineup selection in cash games. In the early parts of the season, I have developed a couple rules that have served me well as I have been able to win with most of my lineups this year.
My first rule is to forget last season. Teams like New Jersey, Detroit, Vancouver, Colorado and even Vegas are dangerous teams to face and are not automatic wins or goals when teams face them. This leads to my second rule beware of the hot or scary goalie. Goalies like Sergei Bobrovsky (CLS), Jonathan Quick (LA), Roberto Luongo (FLA), and Semyon Varlamov (COL) are examples of goalies that I have used and also avoided this season. The third rule is to take advantage of the teams on the second night of back-to-back games. This is when teams many of times use their second goalies and are good opportunities to stack lineups against them.
After reviewing my rules here are some teams I like to have good offensive nights tonight when selecting players for your lineups.
- Washington Capitals
- Philadelphia Flyers
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Rangers
- Minnesota Wild
- Arizona Coyotes
- Edmonton Oilers
- Los Angeles Kings
Tonight’s top goalie options listed in salary order
- Jonathan Quick (LA): $9,000 vs. BUF
- Matt Murray (PIT): $8,800 vs. FLA
- Cam Talbot (EDM): $8,600 vs. OTT
- Ben Bishop (DAL): $9,000 vs. COL
- Devan Dubnyk (MIN): $8,600 vs. CLS
Center
Eric Staal (MIN): $6,300 vs. CLS
Staal is a steady source of points and has two goals and eight shots on goal in his last two games for a total of 44.8 fantasy points. I like Minnesota’s matchup versus a tired Columbus team playing their backup goalie Jonas Korpisalo who allowed five goals in his only start of the season at Chicago.
Anze Kopitar (LA): $6,400 vs. BUF
Kopitar has been the King’s most dangerous offensive player this season with three goals and two assists in three games played. He struggled last season with just 12 goals and 52 points in 76 games but appears to be back to the type of player that scored 25 goals two seasons ago. The Kings have a favorable matchup tonight at home versus Buffalo who are in the middle of a four-game west coast road trip.
Wing
Alex Ovechkin (WAS): $8,800 @PHI
Ovechkin has been simply dominant in the early parts of this season. In five games he has nine goals, one assist and 29 shots on goal. There has only been one game he failed to produce at least 23 fantasy points. He’s too hot not to plug in your cash game lineups at this stage of the season.
Clayton Keller (ARI): $4,800 vs. BOS
Keller is going to be a very good player in this league for a long time to come. In his first four games of the season, he has three goals and one assist and the Coyotes will be playing at home against an injury-plagued Bruins team. The best part about Keller is his price is still low for a player of his talents.
Bryan Rust (PIT): $5,000 vs. FLA
Rust has been a staple in my cash lineups this season. He is playing on the Penguins top line with Sidney Crosby, he has one goal and five assists in five games and averages 16.7 fantasy points per game.
Jason Zucker (MIN): $4,200 vs. CLS
Zucker is my selection to pair with Eric Staal in my cash lineup for tonight. In three games he has two goals, two assists and 11 shots on goal. I am looking for the top line of Minnesota to put up some points tonight at home versus Columbus.
Defense
Shayne Gostisbehere (PHI): $5,300 vs. WAS
This will be Philadelphia’s home opener and they will be catching a Capitals team on the second night of back-to-back games. I think this will be a wild game with lots of offense and Gostisbehere will be heavily involved in the scoring for the Flyers. In the first four games of the season which were all on the road, he posted five assists and 10 shots on goal for an average of 14.9 fantasy points per game.
Drew Doughty (LA): $5,300 vs. BUF
The Kings are one of my top plays tonight as they host Buffalo and Doughty will be the quarterback of the Kings offense all night. He has only one assist this season but because he gets off shots and blocks them as well he averages 12 fantasy points a game. I like the chances of Doughty getting his first goal of the season tonight.
Goalie
Devan Dubnyk (MIN): $8,600 vs CLS
Tonight will be the home opener for the Wild after playing their first three on the road. Minnesota is coming off an impressive 5-2 showing at Chicago and Dubnyk was sharp stopping 36-0f-38 shots in a hostile environment. When making my goalie selections Dubnyk fits all my criteria with high win probability, shutout potential, and recent performances.
Rob Klein is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Rob, check out his archive and follow him @RobK37.
