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Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey: Friday's bargains and values

Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey: Friday's bargains and values

by Jason Chen

Seven games are on Friday's NHL slate with plenty of interesting picks to be made. 

Start with a re-match of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals with the red-hot Rangers -- thanks to Derick Brassard's hot streak and Henrik Lundqvist's strong play -- playing host to the Kings, who may not have the services of Jonathan Quick, officially listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury suffered Tuesday against Boston. If either Jhonas Enroth, who lost Thursday against the Islanders, or Peter Budaj starts, all bets are off and the Rangers will be the heavy favorite, but the Kings won't go away easily. Without Rick Nash, the Kings will have a clear advantage in size with Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter, and they'll have to use that to full effectiveness, which may prove difficult after playing Thursday. 

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Then there's a classic Detroit-Colorado matchup that hasn't been the same since the days of Yzerman, Shanahan, Lidstrom, Sakic, Hejduk and Forsberg, but nonetheless features enough star power with Dylan LarkinPetr MrazekNathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene representing the new generation of talent. With the Detroit defense banged up and the Avs trying to outscore their opponents to win games, it should be a fast-paced battle up and down the ice. 

GOALIE

Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT at CAR ($33) - 
Can you believe he's the third-cheapest goalie Friday? True, Fleury is having a horrible February with at least two goals scored in his last four games, two of them losses, but he's also sporting a .930 save percentage and 1.46 goals-against average against the 'Canes this season. Meanwhile, Cam Ward ($37) has allowed three goals in three of his last five games. The Penguins are 11-11-3 on the road and the Hurricanes are just three games over .500 at home, so the home team gets a slight edge, but the smart pick would be to just go with the stronger team. 

Goalie to Avoid:

Petr Mrazek, DET vs. COL ($42) - 
Unless he's facing a bottom-dwelling team, I generally don't like going with the most expensive goalie, and while Mrazek has already been publicly anointed as the team's No. 1 by Ken Holland, the Avs can be a tough opponent. First, there's the Nathan MacKinnon-Matt Duchene 1-2 punch that Detroit's Niklas Kronwall-less defense will have to deal with, and the Avs are also one of the stronger teams on the road with 15 wins, tied for second-most in the Western Conference with Chicago and Dallas. 

CENTER

Sidney Crosby, PIT at CAR ($34) - 
The Kid is back at it again and showing why he's long been considered one of the best players in the game. Since the start of the new year, Crosby has 15 goals and 26 points; the next highest total is 21 points. That's pretty much the only stat you need to know. 

Center to Avoid:

Steven Stamkos, TB vs. NSH ($22) - 
It's hard to argue against one of the league's top snipers, especially when's ranked so far down the list, but Stamkos is sitting on just 21 goals on the season with one goal in his last 10 games. Pekka Rinne has lost three of his last four games and continues to struggle, but the Lightning offense is also much more well-balanced than in years past, and even Stamkos admitted that he's taken a bit of back seat on offense given the number of weapons Jon Cooper has in his arsenal. MacKinnon ($21), Tyler Johnson ($19) and even the red-hot J.T. Miller ($21) are better value picks. 

WING

Evander Kane, BUF vs. MON ($22) - 
He may not score Friday but his playing style is worth the price of admission alone. Probably still celebrating from Tuesday's triple thrashing of Florida's Alex Petrovic (including a shout out from the original Evander, Mr. Holyfield), Kane has been a fantasy beast recently with a goal and 29 penalty minutes against Florida and a goal and 11 shots two games prior against Boston. The points aren't coming easily, but that won't stop a power forward like Kane from making all sorts of noise. Looking up and down the Habs' lineup, it's tough to envision anyone who can match Kane's mix of speed and strength. He has seven goals and 39 penalty minutes in 18 career games against Montreal.

Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA vs. STL ($21) - 
Since Jan. 1, Huberdeau has scored 11 points when the Panthers win and just one point when the Panthers lose. The good news is that the Panthers will be the favorite Friday night with one of the league's best home records and best goalies at home in Roberto Luongo, who sports a .932 save percentage and 2.05 goals-against average at the BB&T Center. The Blues, meanwhile, are still looking for answers on offense, who have lost four of their last six and have failed to score more than one goal in each of those losses. Even the return of Jaden Schwartz probably won't help. 

Wingers to Avoid:

Patric Hornqvist, PIT at CAR ($30) - 
There's nothing wrong with picking Hornqvist if you're going to pick Crosby, but even when he's riding on Crosby's coattails, Hornqvist's production has been just above average, at best. He has just one goal in his last 10 games and is prone to the odd stinker, including a minus-3 performance against the Rangers on Wednesday when he was held without a point. As Friday's most expensive winger, he just doesn't breed as much confidence as Vladimir Tarasenko ($28) or Johnny Gaudreau ($25).

Dustin Brown, LA at NYR ($17) - 
He has three goals and five points in his last three games, but in those three games the Kings have scored 17 goals, so it makes Brown's accomplishments a little less exciting. At this stage of his career, he's no more than a glorified fourth-line player with a "C" on his chest. He has just 20 points this season, and it seems more and more like a struggle for him to reach that mark every year. Against a Rangers team that has won four straight, and with Henrik Lundqvist in net, the odds are stacked against Brown.

DEFENSE

Kris Letang, PIT at CAR ($33) - 
If you had to pick a Penguin to pair with Crosby, go ahead and grab Letang, who has stepped up his offensive production in the absence of Evgeni Malkin (lower body). Letang should be the one defenseman every DFS player needs when Erik Karlsson isn't playing because the two are just so much further ahead offensively than the rest of the league's defensemen. 

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI vs. CGY ($22) - 
Don't be fooled by his minus-2 rating in his previous game against Vancouver. Asides from being on the wrong end of some unfortunate bounces, OEL was his usual solid self, recording nine shots on goal and a blocked shot while playing 23:21. The Coyotes have lost five straight, but three of those came against L.A., Chicago and surging Anaheim, so the Flames will be a lighter test. Given Calgary's shaky goaltending, Ekman-Larsson should have opportunities to hit the score sheet, and already has two goals in two games against them this season.

Defensemen to Avoid:

Alec Martinez, LA at NYR ($21) - 
He's a solid defenseman but, like Brown, he's managed to boost his stats in a blowout game with a goal and an assist in a 6-2 win against Arizona. He has just 19 points this season, which doesn't nearly qualify him as one of the league's better offensive defenseman, not to mention that he's running up against a tough Rangers squad. Roman Josi ($21) and Keith Yandle ($18) are likely much better options. 

Anton Stralman, TB vs. NSH ($18) - 
He scored two goals against Pittsburgh on Friday but followed that up with a pedestrian effort in a 5-1 loss to Ottawa and then finished with a minus-3 rating in a 4-2 loss to Montreal. The Predators aren't the defensive stalwarts they once were so plenty of goals will be scored, especially if Rinne continues to struggle, but Stralman and the rest of the Lightning defense may have their hands full against a balanced Predators attack that includes Ryan JohansenJames NealFilip Forsberg and Mike Ribeiro.  

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