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DraftKings NHL Lineup Advice: Thursday (3/14)

DraftKings NHL Lineup Advice: Thursday (3/14)

The playoff picture in the NHL continues to heat and there are a number of hot matches to watch out for tonight. The Coyotes look to maintain their spot in the standings after jumping the Wild for the final position in the Western Conference playoff picture. Also, San Jose will look to gain some distance between themselves and Calgary for the top seed in the Pacific division, and the red-hot Flyers are attempting to beat out Columbus and Montreal for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. All this and much more will be occurring in the NHL tonight, which means there are going to be a lot of hungry competitors out there ready to help their teams to victory. Let’s takes a peek at some of the players available in tonight’s pool that fantasy managers should be aware of when creating their teams.

Center

Aleksander Barkov (FLA): $7,300 vs. SJS
Barkov has been absolutely sensational for Florida lately as he has had 20 points in his previous 12 games played. That stat-line is tied for first along with Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers in terms of points produced by a center since February 19. The Panthers are sitting just within the top 10 for goals scored per game this season (3.20 goals/game). Furthermore, they possess the second-best power-play unit in the league to date (27.1%), and Barkov has provided nine points on the man advantage during this span. Lastly, the Sharks tend to specialize more on offense rather than defense surrendering 2.90 goals/game this year, adding an extra bonus toward Barkov’s value this evening.

Ryan O’Reilly (STL): $6,400 @ OTW
O’Reilly has really come into his own this season with the St. Louis Blues. He is having the best season of his career with 26 goals, 41 assists, and a plus-22 rating in 69 games played thus far. The Blues possess the third seed in the Central division at the moment and are going up against the worst team in the league tonight, the Ottawa Senators. Every point is vital at this time of year, and no match-up should be taken lightly with so much at stake. Ottawa has allowed on average the most goals per game (3.53 goals/game). With O’Reilly performing like he has all year, it should be another successful evening for him. With Tarasenko still out of the lineup it also adds a little extra usage and volume for the 10-year veteran center.

Others to Consider: Max Domi $6,200, Eric Staal $5,300

Wing

Nikita Kucherov (TB): $8,100 @ DET
Kucherov is having an absolutely phenomenal season with 33 goals, 78 assists, and a plus-17 rating in 69 games played this season. He’s managed to produce 43 power-play points this season as well which is by far the most by any skater in the NHL. Tampa Bay also possesses the best power-play unit this year (28.5%), and they will be going up against Detroit who is right now in the bottom five on the penalty kill (77.8%). Kucherov will continue to add to his offensive repertoire this week, as he attempts to have at least 125 points or more in a season by a forward since Joe Thornton did in the 2005-06 season.

Jake Guentzel (PIT): $7,000 @ BUF
As Pittsburgh tries to make a playoff push during this final month of games, Guentzel has become an important asset to the team. Since the second-half of February, Guentzel has had 12 points in his previous 11 games. Pittsburgh will be visiting a Buffalo Sabres team that are in the top 10 for the most goals allowed per game this season. With goals in his previous two games, Guentzel is going to play an important role in helping Pittsburgh avoid missing the postseason for the first time since Sidney Crosby‘s rookie year. Look for Guentzel to be highly active in another must-win showdown.

Filip Forsberg (NSH): $6,600 @ LAK
Forsberg has had a rough season this year battling injuries, but he has still managed to produce 43 points through 53 games played so far. In his most recent game back from an upper-body injury, Forsberg provided two goals against the Anaheim Ducks who are in the bottom half of the league in terms of goals allowed per game. Now Forsberg and company will be squaring off against the Los Angeles Kings who are in the upper half of the league for goals against, surrendering 2.93 goals per game. Nashville is still fighting with Winnipeg for the top spot in the Central division, and it looks like it will come down to the bitter end with those two teams. Forsberg will be giving it his best effort to win the division from here on out as long as he can remain healthy.

Mike Hoffman (FLA): $6,400 @ SJS
Hoffman is another member of Florida’s offense who has brought forth a plethora of points in recent memory. During his last 12 games played he has produced a grand total of five goals along with seven assists. Seven of those 12 points obtained over these past dozen games have come on the power-play. Hoffman has benefited greatly playing on the back-end of Florida’s top power-play unit alongside Keith Yandle. The Sharks are an offense-first type of team so that may work in Hoffman’s favor in an anticipated high-scoring affair tonight.

Others to Consider: Alex Ovechkin $7,900,Blake Wheeler $7,200, Jonathan Huberdeau $6,200, Travis Konecny $5,500,

Defense

Oliver Ekman-Larsson (ARI): $4,900 vs. ANA
During his last eight games, Ekman-Larsson holds a plus-four rating for the Coyotes defense. In addition, he has also produced seven points during this span (three goals and four assists). Arizona just slid into the final wild-card spot and they look to make sure to possess it down the stretch of the season. The Coyotes are taking on Anaheim tonight who have scored the fewest number of goals this season (2.27 goals/game). If Arizona intends to put a stop to their seven-year playoff drought, it starts with their defense and captain Ekman-Larsson leading the way.

Ryan Suter (MIN): $4,400 vs. DAL
In his last six games played, Suter has possessed a plus-four rating for the Wild’s defense. Minnesota was raging hot recently coming off an eight-game point streak but they have now lost back-to-back games against both Florida and San Jose. They are also one point out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff picture right now. The Wild will be taking on Dallas this evening who is the third lowest-scoring team in the league with 2.52 goals per game. As a bonus he’s also produced a goal and three assists during this span. If Minnesota is going to make the postseason, Suter is going to be one of the major factors.

Others to Consider: Alex Pietrangelo $5,900, John Klingberg $5,800

Goalie

Darcy Kuemper (ARI): $7,900 vs. ANA
Since February 17, Kuemper has gone 9-2-0 with a 0.939 SV% and a 1.99 GAA. The Ducks are in a complete rebuild mode and are only playing the role of spoiler at this point. Anaheim is also the lowest-scoring offense this year so Kuemper should not have much trouble taking care of this squad of forwards. Lastly, the Coyotes have just gained possession of the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference with Minnesota and a slew of other teams right on their tails. In order to end the seven-year playoff drought in the desert, Kuemper is going to have to remain hot and take full advantage of matchups such as these down the stretch.

Devan Dubnyk (MIN): $7,600 vs. DAL
In his last 10 starts, Dubnyk is 6-3-1 with a 0.922 SV% and a 2.23 GAA. Minnesota will be hosting Dallas tonight who have not scored very often this season (2.52 goals/game). The Wild are sitting just one point out of the final playoff spot, and they are going to need to see the very best of Dubnyk.

Others to Consider: Andrei Vasilevskiy $8,300, Matt Murray $8,100, Braden Holtby $7,900

Matthew Catalano is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @MatthewCatala16.

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