Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey: Wednesday picks

By Chris Morgan

Wednesday provides a little respite in between the bustling action on Tuesday and Thursday. However, that’s not necessarily a good thing for daily fantasy players. There’s only four games worth of players to choose from, so here are some to target and avoid…

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GOALIE

Martin Jones, SAN vs. OTT ($35): Jones has a sparkling 1.99 GAA and .924 save percentage, and the Sharks lead the league in goals allowed. Ottawa’s offense is far from formidable — they average 2.3 goals per game — which bodes well for that continuing. The Sharks seem like a good bet to get Jones a win, and Jones likely won’t be tested too much. That makes him well worth this price.

GOALIE TO AVOID

Mike Condon, OTT at SAN ($32): The four most expensive goalies Wednesday are the aforementioned Jones, plus Tuukka Rask, Devan Dubnyk, and Braden Holtby. That’s two Vezina winners and the goalie leading the NHL in save percentage. Condon is the priciest goalie you can really question, which you definitely should. He’s been great this year, but in a limited sample size. Last season, he had a .903 save percentage in his first NHL action. It’s too early to be spending this kind of money on him.

CENTER

Victor Rask, CAR at ANA ($17): Anaheim netminder John Gibson has a .915 save percentage, which is pretty average, and the Ducks are ranked 19th in penalty-kill percentage, which is obviously below average. In his first two seasons in the NHL, Rask had 11 and 18 power-play points, and he has four this season. He’s got 18 points total, and is playing more than two more minutes per game than last year. Furthermore, he’s reasonable priced as Carolina’s top center.

CENTER TO AVOID

Nicklas Backstrom, WAS vs. BOS ($23): Backstrom has been his usual productive self, thanks to his playmaking and his work on the power play. Fourteen of his 21 points are assists, and nine of his points have come with the extra man. This is concerning in this matchup, considering the Bruins rank third on the penalty kill and Rask has a .939 save percentage. It makes it less likely that Backstrom will get any points on the power play, or an assist. Backstrom doesn’t put a ton of shots on net with 52 in 24 games, so if it’s a low-scoring affair, it will be hard for him to earn this price point.

WING

Nino Niederreiter, MIN at TOR ($14): The Wild have clearly the best matchup of any team playing Wednesday. Toronto is 28th in goals allowed, and Frederik Andersen only has a .913 save percentage. Niederreiter provides some real bang for your buck with seven goals and eight assists in 24 games, and has been a 20-goal scorer in his last two seasons.

Jakob Silfverberg, ANA vs. CAR ($19): Call this a minor vote of no-confidence in Cam Ward’s .924 save percentage. This is a guy with a career save percentage of .910, after all, and this would be a new personal best in that statistic if he sustained it. Silfverberg has 17 points and 68 shots on goal in 26 games. Only two of those points have come with the extra man, which is good, considering the Hurricanes have the top ranked penalty kill.

WINGS TO AVOID

Brad Marchand, BOS at WAS ($25): Marchand has been quite steady this season, as he has 22 points in 26 games, despite only having one multi-point game. Wednesday likely won’t be his second, because he’s going against Holtby and his 2.14 GAA and .923 save percentage. It’ll be hard for him to get a single point in this matchup, and as the second most expensive wing, $25 is a hefty price to pay.

Marcus Johansson, WAS vs. BOS ($19): Johansson has 11 goals, but there’s a glaring reason to think that pace won’t continue. That is, his 25.6 shooting percentage, which is clearly unsustainable. A third of his points have come on the power play, which is not encouraging given the matchup. Johansson is likely to come back to earth, and even if he has a little more hot shooting left in him, it’s hard to bet on it against the Bruins.

DEFENSEMEN

Jared Spurgeon, MIN at TOR ($19): Spurgeon has been a solid contributor, even though he’s only got one goal thanks to some poor puck luck. He’s taken 45 shots on goal, and blocked 45 shots, in 20 games. Both of those are good totals for a defenseman, and both bode well in a matchup with Toronto. The Leafs let in plenty of goals, but they also have a good offense that should give Spurgeon shot blocking opportunities.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic, SAN vs. OTT ($15): Vlasic isn’t the fantasy superstar that Brent Burns is, but he’ll also cost you less than half of what Burns does. As previously mentioned, there is reason to question Condon’s numbers this year. Vlasic doesn’t have a ton of points (only seven), but he’s taken 47 shots on goal and blocked 42. He can earn his price without having a huge game, and in this matchup there’s a chance he’ll put up bigger numbers than usual.

DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID

John Carlson, WAS vs. BOS ($20): Carlson doesn’t have a goal yet, and it seems unlikely that’s going to change against the Bruins. He does have 10 assists, with four of those coming on the power play, but goals will likely be at a premium in this game, and Washington’s power play isn’t likely to impress. Carlson is also the fourth most expensive defenseman, which means it will be really difficult for him to be a good value gives his modest production.

Torey Krug, BOS at WAS ($19): Things won’t be much easier for Krug, who has had struggles of his own. He has one goal to go with 11 assists in what’s been a continuation of his scoring challenges from last year. Plus, unlike a lot of defensemen, you can’t count on Krug for blocks — he only has 21 in 26 games. This is not a game that is likely to be of much help to daily fantasy players.