Target low-rostered forwards set for big nights. Exploit defensive weaknesses and capitalize on power play opportunities for fantasy gains.
On every game day this season, THN Fantasy will highlight players and goalies for fantasy managers to stream or roster for the rest of the season. The recommended players and goalies are rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues and can be selected in standard fantasy leagues and/or for daily fantasy games.
Anze Kopitar, C, LA at SJ (47% rostered) - FanDuel $5,700
Andrei Kuzmenko, LW/RW, LA at SJ (22% rostered) - FanDuel $4,800
The Sharks can definitely score though they haven’t figured out the defensive part of the game. The Sharks have a pair of wins in their past three but they allowed five goals in each of the wins and, similar to the previous season, allowing the most goals and shots per game. The Kings may be a low-event, low-scoring team most times, but they should have no problems generating offense against the Sharks. Both Kopitar and Kuzmenko maintain their L1/PP1 roles.
Conor Garland, RW, VAN vs. NYR (46% rostered) - FanDuel $5,800
Garland had another brilliant game Sunday against the Oilers, playing over 22 minutes for the fifth time in six games and scoring two assists to give him 10 points in seven games. He’s become a mainstay on the top line with Elias Pettersson, and despite Igor Shesterkin’s best efforts, the Rangers have allowed 14 goals in their past three games.
This could be an emotionally charged game – Garland thrives on these, and he’s the center of attention a lot – and the Canucks are coming off an overtime win against a division rival. They now face J.T. Miller, who was traded to the Rangers last season amidst locker room strife.
Emmitt Finnie, C/LW, DET at STL (40% rostered) - FanDuel n/a
There will be games where Finnie won’t get the same ice time as his L1 mates, but he’s played 18 minutes in four of his past five games and looks stronger and more comfortable the more games he plays. A goal against the Blues in their previous game was his sixth point in four games, and he’s recently been added to PP1 for additional upside. Note Finnie is still not available for DFS play on FanDuel slates, though that should change sooner than later...
Dmitri Voronkov, LW, CBJ at BUF (36% rostered) - FanDuel $4,800
Voronkov is on a four-game points streak and if there’s one thing the Jackets do quite well is generate offense. The Jackets and Sabres are allowing the third-most and second-most shots per game, making this a potentially high-event game with lots of scoring chances at both ends of the ice. Voronkov consistently plays L1 and PP1 with Kirill Marchenko.
William Eklund, LW, SJ vs. LA (34% rostered) - FanDuel $5,400
This one’s for the power play. The Kings have been quite undisciplined so far this season, taking 44 penalties (tied-seventh) with a league-worst minus-11 penalty differential. I’m not fond of Eklund’s L2 deployment, but he is on PP1 with Macklin Celebrini, who’s arguably the hottest player in the league right now. Eklund has scored three points in two of his past three games and skated a team-high 25:29 among forwards in Minnesota in their last game.
Zach Benson, LW, BUF vs. CBJ (25% rostered) - FanDuel $5,000
After scoring four assists in the season opener, Benson scored three assists over his past five games. It’s still pretty good production overall, and Benson presents a high floor with good shooting volume with 15 shots in six games. I like this matchup for the high-scoring potential, and Benson is locked in on L1 and PP1.
Trevor Zegras, C/LW, PHI vs. PIT (18% rostered) - FanDuel $4,800
Regardless of where Zegras plays in the lineup, his playmaking ability has been on full display this season, and so far has two goals and six assists in eight games. He scored three points in their previous game against the Isles and now faces a team that’s playing the second game of a back-to-back. Zegras is gaining a lot of traction in both standard leagues and DFS, so he may not be a bargain play for much longer.
Connor McMichael, LW, WSH at DAL (18% rostered) - FanDuel $4,600
Ryan Leonard, RW, WSH at DAL (9% rostered) - FanDuel $4,100
McMichael moves to center with Dylan Strome out, and on his flanks will be Alex Ovechkin and Leonard, who’s on a four-game points streak. The underlying numbers have not been good when Ovechkin and Leonard are on the ice together, nor when McMichael played with Ovechkin last season.
This is also a tough matchup, but I think this is a very intriguing line with a good mix of high-end talent that might spark some magic. All three are underperforming relative to expectations, so this is potentially a high-risk but high-reward line stack for a relatively low cost in DFS games.
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