All posts by James Bisson

Squad Up Daily NHL Fantasy Dose: Go with the old man and the C against the Isles

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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Friday, Jan. 13:

Dynamic Duos

  • C Vincent Trocheck (71K) and RW Jaromir Jagr (59K), Panthers (vs. Islanders): Trocheck has picked up his scoring pace with four points over his last four games, and should be a good bet to continue that rate against an Islanders team that has allowed better than three goals per game on the road. Jagr has been quiet in January, but has recorded 15 of his 25 points at home so far this season.
  • C Mark Scheifele (67K) and RW Nikolaj Ehlers (54K), Jets (at Coyotes): Hot-shot rookie Patrik Laine is out for this one, placing the scoring burden on the rest of the Jets' forwards. Scheifele already has four goals through five January games, and is in good position to add to that total against a porous Arizona defense. Ehlers has been sensational this month (5 GP, 4 G, 3 A) and comes at a huge bargain.
  • C Derek Stepan (60K) and LW Chris Kreider (56K), Rangers (vs. Maple Leafs): The Rangers and their league-best 3.4 goals per game should make it a long night for the Maple Leafs' wonky defense. Stepan is averaging just under a point per game at Madison Square Garden in 2016-17, while Kreider has 19 points in 18 home games and has scored seven times over his last seven contests.

Goalie Breakdown

  • TARGET - Cam Ward (92K), Hurricanes (vs. Sabres): Oddsmakers have made Ward a sizable favorite in this one, with the Hurricanes enjoying home-ice advantage against a Sabres team playing the second game of a back-to-back set. The only danger here is that Buffalo falls asleep on offense, which could conceivably limit Ward's saves. From a win perspective, however, he's the surest play of the night.
  • BARGAIN - Connor Hellebuyck (81K), Jets (at Coyotes): Hellebuyck is the cheapest goaltender on the Squad Up slate, which makes him the top value play among netminders. The Coyotes possess one of the league's most anemic offenses, and rank in the top-10 in minor penalties, further squelching their offensive potential. If you want to load up on big-name forwards, slot Hellebuyck into your goalie slot with confidence.
  • FADE - Mike Smith (114K), Coyotes (vs. Jets): It would be easy enough to simply say "see above," but that seems kind of lazy, so I'll explain the Smith pick like this: Arizona doesn't score enough goals. Arizona takes too many penalties. Arizona's defense isn't great. And if those three facts don't dissuade you from selecting Smith, consider a fourth: He's the most expensive goalie on the slate. Stay far away.
  • CONTRARIAN - Andrei Vasilevskiy (105K), Lightning (vs. Blue Jackets): Vasilevskiy's high price tag and recent struggles, combined with a matchup against a Columbus team that is still elite in the eye of daily fantasy players, should depress ownership numbers. But this matchup isn't as daunting as it seems, with the Blue Jackets coming back to Earth of late. Vasilevskiy is high-risk, but worth a look.

Bargain Plays

  • C Mathieu Perreault (47K), Jets (at Coyotes): Perreault is a terrific value play in Arizona, skating on the first line with Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler while also slotting into the first power-play unit. The veteran forward played more than 21 minutes against Montreal on Wednesday and recorded a goal; he's a great bet to return value against a Coyotes penalty kill that ranks 28th in the NHL (76.3 percent).
  • RW T.J. Oshie (47K), Capitals (vs. Blackhawks): Oshie is in the same situation as Perreault, but finds himself in a better situation against the visiting Blackhawks as he skates alongside Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Oshie is red-hot right now with eight points in his last six games, but hasn't seen a corresponding price bump. Continue to ride him until the hot streak subsides.
  • D Jason Demers (25K), Panthers (vs. Islanders): If you would rather not buy low at goaltender or forward, you can easily do so on the back end by selecting Demers. While he isn't a power-play fixture, he does average better than one shot, one blocked shot and one hit in just over 20 minutes per contest. He also has eight goals and nine assists, with a good shot at increasing that point total against visiting New York.

Top Fades

  • C Ryan O'Reilly (70K), Sabres (at Hurricanes): O'Reilly has 16 points in the Sabres' 12 wins and just eight - including a lone goal - in their 19 defeats. With Carolina heavily favored, he'll be in tough to produce. He has yet to score in the second game of a back-to-back this season, and may be looking at an ice time reduction after playing no less than 22 minutes in each of his last three games. Don't spend up for him Friday.
  • RW Patrick Kane (80K), Blackhawks (at Capitals): Kane's elevated price tag is warranted given his recent hot streak (eight points over his last four games), but tread lightly here. He has just 15 points in 19 road games this season, and faces a Washington team allowing the second-fewest goals per game at home (1.82). With the highest salary among non-goaltenders, Kane is a hard fade.
  • LW Jonathan Drouin (59K), Lightning (vs. Blue Jackets): Drouin is far from the only Tampa Bay player to struggle against Columbus, but his numbers - zero points and a minus-4 rating in two games - certainly don't instill confidence for Friday's third meeting of the season. With G Sergei Bobrovsky back in the fold, the Blue Jackets are in good position to halt Drouin's recent hot spell (five points in his past five games).

Contrarian Options

  • C Jonathan Marchessault (60K), Panthers (vs. Islanders): Don't expect to see Marchessault widely owned, with plenty of other viable center options on the slate. Yet, despite having recorded just two points in five January games, he remains a pivotal part of the Panthers' offense - and with the struggling Islanders coming to down, he's in great shape to end his recent offensive slump and return nice value.
  • LW Jeff Skinner (62K), Hurricanes (vs. Sabres): Skinner is coming off a three-point effort against the Blue Jackets, but is priced aggressively considering he had recorded just three points in 10 games prior. Still, he has a matchup with what should be a tired Buffalo team, and is averaging nearly a point per game at home on the season. He's a little riskier than other left wingers, but has a nice ceiling.
  • D Dustin Byfuglien (59K), Jets (at Coyotes): There are plenty of salary-friendly options on the blue-line Friday, which should leave Byfuglien with low ownership numbers. But the bruising defenseman has one of the highest floors of anyone at his position, having recorded three or more shots on goal in 15 of his last 18 games while playing more than 24 minutes 15 times over that stretch. He's a terrific 50-50 play.

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