Another busy night in the NHL as there are nine games on the ice. Life without Jack Eichel in Buffalo officially begins Thursday for the Sabres, even though they haven’t played with the superstar forward in quite some time. They’re in Seattle to take on the Kraken. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights won’t get Eichel in their lineup until roughly March, so they’ll have to find a way to win in Ottawa without him.
There’s plenty of action on the board and there are a lot of appealing names available at SuperDraft. I’ve listed my favorite plays at each position as well as a couple underrated players who could be the difference in your lineups due to the multiplier at SuperDraft.
Center
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins (vs. DET)
The Red Wings will be without Dylan Larkin again, which leaves a huge hole down the middle of the ice on an already weak Detroit team. The Montreal Canadiens have struggled scoring goals all season, but they put nine in on Detroit in their two games against them. They also had 40-plus shots on Detroit in a 3-0 win on Tuesday. The top line of Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand projects really well for me and all three could break out this evening. Detroit has allowed the fourth-most shot attempts as well as shots on goal at 5v5/60. They rank fourth in goals against per 60 at 5v5 and they have the third-highest expected goals against rate, according to Natural Stat Trick. No team has coughed up more high-danger chances at 5v5/60 than the Red Wings.
Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers (@ PIT)
Couturier has four goals and 11 points in his first eight games. He has three multipoint games in his past four contests and has picked up at least two points in five of his eight games. Speaking of multipoints, we’re getting Couturier at 1.45X at SuperDraft against a Penguins squad without Sidney Crosby. It’ll be tough for Pittsburgh to contain the Couturier line with Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny as the trio has racked up 28 points so far.
Others to consider: Aleksander Barkov, Auston Matthews, Josh Norris, Charlie Coyle
Winger
David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins (vs. DET)
Pastrnak is my favorite play of the night as I think he’s in the best spot to succeed and he’s a volume shooter. Pastrnak may only have two goals, but he has 54 shot attempts and 31 shots in seven games. He’s eighth in shots per 60 with 13.5. The winger has had at least three shots on goal in every game and the Red Wings have allowed the second-most scoring chances at 5v5.60 this season.
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs (vs. TB)
I don’t love the matchup for Marner, but he’s averaging the most fantasy points at the winger position and we’re getting 1.65X with the multiplier. Five of Marner’s six points on the season have come over a current three-game point streak. He has goals in back-to-back games and 12 shots on goal over his past three.
Drake Batherson, Ottawa Senators (vs. VGK)
Ottawa’s top line with Batherson, Josh Norris and Brady Tkachuk are on my radar. The Vegas Golden Knights are without three key forwards in Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and William Karlson. Stone may be the best defensive player in the league, and the results back it up. The Golden Knights were one of the stingiest teams in the league last season, but they rank inside the top three in shot attempts, high-danger chances and goals against. No team has allowed more scoring chances or shots against at 5v5/60 than Vegas. I’m not sure how many will be on Batherson. I don’t expect him to be owned, despite five goals, nine points and 27 shots in nine games. He and Norris are on the cusp of a breakout season. Norris has six goals and eight points in nine games.
Others to consider: Alex Ovechkin, Brad Marchand, Claude Giroux, Brady Tkachuk, Cam Atkinson, Johnny Gaudreau, Jonathan Huberdeau
Defense
Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers (vs. WAS)
Ekblad logs a lot of minutes and touches a lot of categories. We have a 6.5 game total between the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers, and I’m expecting some fireworks. Ekblad played 29 minutes two games ago against Detroit to bring his average ice time to 25:34 (top 10). He also has an impressive three goals, six points (four power play points) and 29 shots on goal, which ranks fourth among defensemen. The 1.7X multiplier is a great gift from SuperDraft, which we should take advantage of.
Others to consider: Charlie McAvoy, Shea Theodore, Rasmus Anderson, Brent Burns, Mark Giordano, Morgan Rielly, Thomas Chabot, Keith Yandle
Goalie
Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins (vs. DET)
Swayman will be popular but he’s hard to ignore given the fact he has a 2X multiplier. The rookie has allowed two or fewer goals in two of his three games and he had a rock solid .945 SV% in 10 starts last season.
Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders (@ MTL)
Sorokin is a terrific pivot as he has two shutouts in his last three games. He has a .934 SV% after a very weak start to the season (10 goals in two games). The Canadiens are brutal offensively, but they put enough pucks on net so the 2x multiplier makes Sorokin worth the play.
Others to consider: Jacob Markstrom
This article expresses the personal views of the writer and does not reflect the view(s) of SuperDraft in any way.
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