Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey: Wednesday picks

By Chris Morgan

The second round of the NHL playoffs is here. There are no great matchups, and the difference between a player to target and a player to avoid has gotten quite thin. Nevertheless, here are some suggestions for Wednesday’s two-game slate…

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GOALIE

John Gibson, ANA vs. EDM ($30): Gibson is the least expensive goalie of the four projected to start, but he’s just as good as anybody else. He posted a .924 save percentage in the regular season, and a .926 save percentage in the first round. The Ducks only allowed 2.00 goals and 28.9 shots on net per game at home this year, and the fact this game in Anaheim increases Gibson’s chances of getting a win.

GOALIE TO AVOID

Pekka Rinne, NAS at STL ($40): Rinne is the most expensive goalie by $4 and is on the road. Rinne was outstanding during the first round, but during the regular season he had a 2.42 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Given Rinne’s price, there’s no real potential for value here.

CENTER

Rickard Rakell, ANA vs. EDM ($17): Rakell kept up the level of play in the first round that led to a career-best season. He had five points in four games and is currently enjoying a six-game point streak. Cam Talbot had a .919 save percentage, which is good but not great, and in the first round he gave up three goals on three separate occasions.

CENTER TO AVOID

Connor McDavid, EDM at ANA ($35): McDavid costs a whopping $11 more than any other center, and while he had a fantastic regular season, he only had four points in the first round. Now he’s primed to have to deal with Ryan Kesler in this series, which will be especially tough in Anaheim where the Ducks have more control over matchups.

WING

Patrick Eaves, ANA vs. EDM ($18): Eaves has been on quite a roll, tallying 13 points, including 10 goals, in his last 15 games. In the first round, he had three points, two of which came on the power play. This comes after a regular season where he had 18 power-play points. After the All-Star break, the Oilers had the 25th-ranked penalty kill, so perhaps Eaves will find some more success with the extra man.

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Jordan Eberle, EDM at ANA ($16): In the first round, the line of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Milan Lucic, and Eberle ranked second in Corsi for percentage (60.3). That didn’t lead to a ton of points for the line, but that’s still encouraging. Eberle had one point in the first round, but he’s averaged 6.0 fantasy points per game. He also had 13 shots on net against the Sharks, and during the regular season he tallied 208.

WINGS TO AVOID

Viktor Arvidsson, NAS at STL ($23): Arvidsson had a breakout regular season and a fine first round, but the Blues have been quite stout defensively since Mike Yeo took over. After the All-Star break, the Blues allowed a league-low 1.88 goals per game. St. Louis also only gave up 28.4 shots on net per game, sixth fewest in the league. The first round was more of the same for the Blues, and especially for Jake Allen, who had a 1.47 GAA and a .956 save percentage.

Alexander Steen, STL vs. NAS ($18): It was only one round, and four games, but Rinne did have a 0.70 GAA and a .976 save percentage against Chicago. He won’t keep that up, but in his last 13 games he has a 1.28 GAA and a .954 save percentage. Steen has averaged 5.9 fantasy points per game, and he’s not a prolific shooter of the puck. In the regular season he registered 117 shots on net in 76 games, and in the first round he tallied eight.

DEFENSEMEN

Shea Theodore, ANA vs. EDM ($17): Theodore started 36.2 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, the most of any Ducks defenseman. He also averaged 2:31 per game with the extra man, and tallied two power-play points in the first round. Overall, Theodore had five points against Calgary, and Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen are game-time decisions for Wednesday. If they can’t play, Theodore will have a pretty meaty role, and the 21-year-old definitely made himself a more intriguing option with his first-round performance.

Kris Russell, EDM at ANA ($16): Russell blocks shots. In the regular season, he led the league in blocked shots with 213 even though he only played in 68 games. He’s kept that up in the playoffs, getting in front of 27 pucks in six contests. In the playoffs, defenses tend to clamp down, and blocked shots generally go up. Russell blocked at least five shots in five of his six games in the first round, and if he can do that again, he should provide a boost to your fantasy lineup.

DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID

Roman Josi, NAS at STL ($26): As noted, since the All-Star break the Blues allowed a league-low 1.88 goals per game. St. Louis also had the league’s best penalty kill in that time. That means Josi is unlikely to find much success with the extra man in this game. Additionally, the Blues ranked in the bottom six in shot attempts per 60 minutes, so Josi might not get as many shot-blocking opportunities as others.

P.K. Subban, NAS at STL ($20): Three of the five most expensive defenseman are Predators, so it’s not surprising that two Nashville blueliners are listed here in the avoid section. Subban was even more reliant on the power play for offensive success than Josi, as 16 of Subban’s 40 points came with the extra man. On top of that, Subban only has two goals in his last 27 games, and neither of them came in the first round.

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