2020 is here and the regular season is officially halfway over. Tampa Bay and Toronto have come alive to take over the second and third seeds in the Atlantic division. Out West, Vegas remains in the top spot of the Pacific, but not far behind are the Vancouver Canucks who have won seven in a row and trail Vegas by only four points with three games in hand. Edmonton and Calgary hold the two wild-card spots for the moment, but Winnipeg trails by only one point with two games in hand. Very little has been determined thus far in the season, the second half should be fun. Let’s take a look at a very busy Tuesday night in the NHL.
Center
Bo Horvat (VAN): $5,400 @ TB
Vancouver is one of the hottest teams in the league right now, and Bo Horvat is a big reason why. Over this seven-game winning streak, Horvat has three goals and nine points. He also chipped in with a nine-shot night last week against Chicago. Horvat is skating with Tanner Pearson and Loui Eriksson on what might be one of the more underrated lines in the league. Horvat continues to center the top power-play unit, which boasts the most power-play goals in the league.
Wing
Patric Hornqvist (PIT): $5,200 @ VGK
Hornqvist was a welcome addition back into the Penguins line up on 12/28. Since then, he has chipped in with four points in five games. More importantly, he has eclipsed five shots on goal in each of his previous four contests. Hornqvist is skating on the second unit alongside Jared McCann and Dominik Simon. He is also receiving top power-play time. We can hope that he chips in with a point, but expect that he will fire several shots on goal.
David Perron (STL): $5,700 vs SJ
Perron is on pace for a career year in his twelfth NHL season. He has 17 goals, 26 assists, for 43 points in 43 games. With the injury to Vladimir Tarasenko, Perron has stepped up into a first-line role alongside Ryan O’Reilly and Jaden Schwartz, as well as the top power-play unit. He has 13 points in his previous nine contests. Tonight, the Blues host a San Jose Sharks team that is still surrendering 3.14 goals against per game, good for fourth-worst in the league.
Defense
Samuel Girard (COL): $4,300 @ NYR
Over the last two weeks, only two defensemen in the league have been more productive than Samuel Girard: Roman Josi and Victor Hedman. Girard has ten points in his last eleven games. Over that span, he is blocking 2.5 shots a game as well. Tonight, the Avalanche head to Madison Square Garden to take on a Rangers team that is stumbling after their western Canadian road trip. New York will turn to their top goaltender prospect in Igor Shesterkin, who is making his NHL debut. He’ll need to bring his very best as the Rangers continue to surrender the second-most shots per game in the league.
Goalie
Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB): $7,800 vs VAN
It took them a while, but the Tampa Bay Lightning have finally come alive. They are winners of seven straight, and they’re the betting odds favorite to win this evening at -225. Vasilevskiy has tallied 19 wins, with a 2.77 GAA, and a .911 SV% this season. However, in the last month of play, he has a 2.48 GAA and a .919 SV%. I was surprised to see him as the 12th ranked goaltender on this platform. He has yet to be the confirmed starter, so keep your eye out on that. If Cooper turns to Curtis McElhinney instead, I would still play him at $7,600.
Chris Genova is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyOneTimer.
