As we work our way down the stretch, teams are certainly starting to scoreboard watch. Tonight, several teams in the Eastern Conference will have their eyes on Florida vs Philadelphia. The Flyers currently hold the last playoff spot in the East, and the Panthers are trailing by only three points with a game in hand. The playoff races are heating up. Let’s take a look at another busy Thursday night in the NHL.
Center
Brayden Point (TB): $7,200 vs EDM
Here come the Lightning. It seems like Tampa is on a path directly towards the number one seed in the East. They are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games. Brayden Point has been a major factor over that span, with 14 points in those 10 games. He is riding an eight-game point streak. Point is slated to play with Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, but that could change if Steven Stamkos returns to the lineup tonight. He is also centering the top power-play unit. Tonight, the Lightning host an Edmonton Oilers team that will be without Connor McDavid.
Wing
Kevin Fiala (MIN): $4,500 vs NYR
Fiala is one of the hottest players in the league right now. He is currently riding a five-game point streak. Over those games, he has five goals and five assists. He is skating on the top group alongside Zach Parise and Eric Staal, as well as the top power-play unit. Tonight the Wild host the New York Rangers, who are surrendering over 34 shots per game. New York will likely turn back to their young goalie Igor Shesterkin who has been great of late but would still be making only his eighth career start.
Chris Kreider (NYR): $6,500 @ MIN
Kreider is number one on everyone’s “trade bait” list. The way he is playing, though, it will be hard for the Rangers not to offer him a long-term deal. Kreider has really turned it on of late, with five goals and three assists in his last six contests. The line of Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and Pavel Buchnevich has been a bright spot in New York this season. In addition to getting on the score sheet, Kreider has eclipsed five shots three times in his last seven games. Whatever has Kreider particularly motivated of late, I am looking to capitalize on.
Defense
Shea Theodore (VGK): $5,700 vs STL
Theodore has put together a fantastic season. He has emerged as the number one defenseman in Vegas, logging upwards of 29 minutes a night. The best part of playing him in DFS is his shots on goal. He’s taken the fifth-most shots of any defenseman in the league this season. He’s also hot on the scoresheet lately, with nine points in his last eight games. Playing against the stingy Blues is a tough matchup, but St. Louis has oddly given up close to four goals a game over their last five contests.
Goalie
Jonathan Bernier (DET): $6,900 @ NJ
Well, this isn’t something I expected to do this season, suggest starting a goalie on the Detroit Red Wings. Nevertheless, here we are. Jonathan Bernier has been spectacular this season. He has a 2.83 GAA and a .910 SV% on one of the worst teams the league has seen in a long time. Over the last month, he has a sub 2.00 goals against average with a stunning .937 SV%. As a comparison, his goalie partner in Detroit, Jimmy Howard, has a 3.98 GAA and a .889 SV%. Tonight the Wings will visit New Jersey to take on a Devils team that does not score a lot of goals. The sportsbooks have the over/under listed at 5.5, the lowest number on the board this evening. This is not my conventional selection, but for this price I couldn’t resist.
Chris Genova is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyOneTimer.
