I generally do not pick two players playing against each other in the same game for a daily lineup. The same applies for a goalie and a player from opposite teams. You might see two players among the “value picks” from opposite teams, but that doesn’t mean you should take them both. No matter the value, you’re also likely cannibalizing points, so any gains made below a certain price point – the point where production and cost intersect – can be lost if production declines overall as well.
There are many things that determine value: The player’s history (both short and long-term), the price, recent production, opponent, line matching at even-strength, power play time and injuries are just some of the factors to consider. The “Top Value” doesn’t necessarily mean the cheapest player, either.
Finally, as far as goalies go, it’s the one position I’ll pay through the nose for if I really like the match-up. The same applies for back-ups with good match-ups. In a given night, with a full slate of games, I won’t have more than three different goalies across all my lineups, usually two. I’ll name the goalies I like specifically in the match-ups they appear in.
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Here is today’s slate of games (and DraftStreet values). Reminder: check Left Wing Lock for up-to-the-minute information on starting goalies.
Games are color-coded as follows:
Green means stack for GPPs. Yellow means targets for cash games. Red means value plays only.
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins
The big news for this game was the passing of Martin St Louis’ mother, France, yesterday at the age of 63. The cause was said to have been a heart attack.
St. Louis’ status for the Rangers is uncertain for the game tonight. Should he not be in the lineup for the Rangers, there’s no real telling what the lines will look like until 30 minutes before puck drop when warm-ups start. Judging by the way the Rangers have been scoring lately, in conjunction with a power play that hasn’t scored since Game 2 of the first round, it might not matter whether or not St. Louis dresses for the game.
Marc-Andre Fleury has given up just five goals in this series, seemingly making him the best goaltender in cash games. Personally, I think the Penguins close out this series and will have Fleury as my goalie in most lineups.
Pittsburgh has stuck with the Crosby/Malkin duo playing together on the top line and was lined up against the Derek Stepan line for most of the game. That makes the Stepan line (whatever it may look like tonight, including Rick Nash) is an automatic fade. There are nice values developing on the depth lines for Pittsburgh so they make a decent stack for GPPs tonight.
Finally, Matt Niskanen was used on the power play at the end of the game for Pittsburgh in Game 4. If Pittsburgh gets up a couple of goals tonight, we could see that again and that would make Niskanen a good value on defense.
| Top RW Value | Top LW Value | Top C Value | Top D Value | Bargain Bin |
| James Neal (PIT)$11,714 | Benoit Pouliot(NYR)$6575 | Jussi Jokinen(PIT)$10,702 | Matt Niskanen(PIT)$7491 | Lee Stempniak(PIT)$5687 |
Chicago Blackhawks at Minnesota Wild
Chicago ran their lines through a blender in Game 3, the first game in Minnesota, and according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun, those were the same lines at morning skate this morning.
They need something to turn around for this team as they ‘Hawks have managed an average of just 21 shots on goal through the first three games of this series. Chicago is at their best when they’re rolling lines and attacking in waves, hopefully the line jumble jumpstarts that process for them.
Minnesota isn’t really generating much offense this series. Sure, they’ve managed seven goals in three games and that’s not that bad for playoff hockey. But they’re shooting over 10-percent as a team through the first three games and they don’t have the skill to sustain that over any real length of time. I don’t like their chances of doing that against a more balanced Chicago team that now has three threatening lines.
I think Chicago wins tonight but their new balanced lineup creates DFS problems. Some guys become very good value plays but the spread out talent means a bigger market for the goals and assists. I’m fine with a ‘Hawks/Rangers stack tonight but Chicago will be a stab in the dark as to which line breaks out.
| Top RW Value | Top LW Value | Top C Value | Top D Value | Bargain Bin |
| Ben Smith(CHI)$5850 | Bryan Bickell(CHI)$8773 | Jonathan Toews(CHI)$13,765 | Niklas Hjalmarsson(CHI)$6847 | Nino Niederreiter(MIN)$6968 |
Good luck!
