Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey: Tuesday picks

By Daniel Dobish

There are nine games on the National Hockey League docket Tuesday, and there are plenty of superstars taking to the ice. It’s a tricky slate of games with only two teams considered heavy favorites by the wise guys. That makes selecting a goaltender a bit more difficult than usual. Look to the Jets-Maple Leafs game for plenty of fireworks, as Vegas is expecting a total of at least six goals. The ‘over’ is 4-0-1 in the past five meetings between the Blackhawks and Wild in St. Paul, so those teams tend to swap plenty of goals when they get together as well. Let’s get started.

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GOALIE

Cory Schneider, NJ vs. OTT ($33): Schneider is an outstanding value at home, as the Senators should be a bit weary heading into their fourth game in six days. In fact, they’re 5-16 the last 21 times they’ve faced the fourth game of a 4-in-6 situation. Schneider has allowed two or fewer goals in five of his past six outings, including a 32-save effort Thursday against these same Senators. He lost that outing, but it was a lack of goal support that did him in.

GOALIE TO AVOID

Cam Ward, CAR vs. PIT ($22): It might be tempting to roll the dice on Ward against the Pens, but remember what happened the last time he faced Pittsburgh. The Pens tramped him for seven goals in this same building back on Jan. 20. Ward is coming off a 4-0 loss at home against Toronto on Sunday, and he has yielded four or more goals in three of his past four efforts and seven of his past 11.

CENTER

Auston Matthews, TOR vs. WPG ($28): The Jets have won their past two road outings, but do not expect that success to continue against Toronto’s young guns. Winnipeg still ranks 26th in the NHL on the penalty kill, while Toronto ranks No. 1 on the power play. The rookie Matthews has been a big part of that success, and he will likely play with a little extra incentive in a head-to-head matchup with fellow Calder Trophy candidate Patrik Laine. The Big Cactus is third in the NHL in goals (28), potting five over his past eight outings.

CENTER TO AVOID

Alex Galchenyuk, MTL at NYR ($21): Galchenyuk has posted just 6.3 fantasy points per game this season, much less than everyone else at his salary level. He has been dropped from the No. 1 center spot, and will instead center the second line with Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron. That’s a big drop from linemates Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov.

WING

Phillip Danault, MTL at NYR ($15): Danault took over first-line center duties in the third period of Saturday’s game against the Jets, and he will stick in the top spot Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. As such, the winger is a tremendous sleeper even against a talented netminder like Henrik Lundqvist. The 23-year-old is scoreless over his past three games, and he hasn’t scored a goal in 11 outings dating back to Jan. 21. It’s a bit of a leap of faith, but it won’t take much for Danault to meet salary expectations, all the while saving you cap space to allocate at other key spots.

Nino Niederreiter, MIN vs. CHI ($19): Niederreiter leads his team in goals (19), but you wouldn’t know it from his low salary. Take advantage. While he hasn’t lit the lamp over the past three games, Niederreiter has performed at a point-per-game clip over the past seven outings, potting four goals with a plus-3 rating. He notched 13 fantasy points in the most recent tussle with the Blackhawks on Feb. 8, contributing a pair of assists with a plus-1 rating.

WINGS TO AVOID

Patrick Kane, CHI at MIN ($33): Kane’s salary has gone through the roof since he registered multi-point performances in three of his past four outings, and a total of five goals and 11 points over the past seven games. However, he had just one assist and a minus-2 rating in his most recent trip to St. Paul on Feb. 8, and very few individuals have gotten the best of Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk this season. Kane will have a hard time living up to his lofty salary on the road.

Chris Kreider, NYR vs. MTL ($24): Kreider has struggled with no goals and just one assist over his past four outings, averaging just 4.3 fantasy points per contest. His outlook isn’t going to be much brighter against the Habs, even if they have fallen off a bit. Montreal still ranks No. 1 in the NHL in high-danger save percentage. While he is having a career years, Kreider was scoreless with a minus-1 rating in the teams’ first meeting back on Jan. 14 at Bell Centre, and isn’t a recommended play against the defensive-minded Habs.

DEFENSE

Ian Cole, PIT at CAR ($17): Cole has posted five or more fantasy points in four consecutive games, and seven of his past eight. He has just one goal and one assist during the span, but has accumulated plenty of value due to his outstanding plus-minus rating and high rate of blocked shots. He has sacrificed his body three or more times in six of the past eight games, and he ranks No. 4 in the league with 144 blocked shots. He also spend a fair share of time in the sin bin, rolling up 58 PIM in 58 games.

Jared Spurgeon, MIN vs. CHI ($20): Spurgeon has racked up 106 blocked shots through 54 games, and he ranks third in the NHL with a plus-33 rating. With one point per blocked shot and two points for plus-minus rating, it’s like starting out with a handful of points every night. If he contributes any offense it is an added bonus. Lately the points have been flowing quite nicely, as he has two goals and six assists over the past eight games, including a helper on the man advantage. One of those goals came against the Blackhawks on Feb. 8, when he blocked three shots and finished with 12.0 fantasy points.

DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID

Justin Faulk, CAR vs. PIT ($18): Faulk is working on a streak of four straight games with a minus rating, not ideal for DFS purposes. That doesn’t figure to improve during a game in which the Hurricanes are heavy underdogs at home against a team that outscored them 7-1 in the most recent meeting. Faulk helps DFS owners with occasional blocked shots, but whatever he scores in the category is nullified by his poor plus-minus rating and recent lack of offense.

Brady Skjei, NYR vs. MTL ($18): Skjei has been productive in his first full season in the league, posting 25 assists with a respectable plus-11 rating. Still, he is working on a 12-game goal drought, and he has managed just 4.8 fantasy points per contest overall, nowhere near other rearguards in a similar price range. Skjei won’t have much luck solving Carey Price in what is likely to be a low-scoring game.