Allan Fabrykant Welcome back to the Friday Night WinDaily NHL Between the Benches Article! After another crazy week of hockey, we are greeted with a small four-game slate to start the weekend! (and Happy St. Paddy’s Day to all celebrating!) Tonight’s 3/17 NHL slate begins at 7:00 pm ET. Don’t forget to lock your lines and check the discord for any updates! Let’s get right into it!
3/17 NHL Stack Report
1. Buffalo Sabres 1 (Skinner-Thompson-Tuch)
— The Sabres are coming into Philadelphia today in the midst of a playoff push and are looking for a big statement tonight against a down-and-out Flyers team. The Sabres haven’t exactly been the star-studded offensive powers that some fans have expected them to be, but that does not hold a candle to how bad the Flyers have been as of late. Not only are the Flyers in the middle of a four-game losing streak, but they have lost eight of their last nine games, only being able to defeat the Red Wings 3-1. Defensively the Flyers have been ok and not too different than the Sabres, but offensively, there is a BIG contrast. While the Sabres sit near the top of the league in Goals, Shooting % and Power Play %, the Flyers sit near last or even dead last in the league for some of these categories. Realistically, I don’t think that the Flyers’ defence will even have much of an answer to the Sabres’ offensive pressure tonight. Especially not the Sabres’ top line, who have been one of the main contributors to their success. All four top-liners have at least four points over their last five games, with Alex Tuch leading the way with four goals and one assist. Even after the first line has finished the shift, Buffalo has offensive weapons on their second and depth lines. With Buffalo in the playoff hunt, they will be even more dangerous, and I am heavily leaning toward the Sabres’ offence for tonight’s slate.
Ideal Defensive Partner(s): Owen Power (Dahlin plays on the top PP, but Power has been playing better as of late)
2. Washinton Capitals 1 (Ovechkin-Strome-Sheary)
— This pick is a little off the beaten path. Although some of the more established juggernaut offences like Toronto and Carolina are on the slate today. They are playing against each other and may be able to neutralize their opponent’s offensive output. Whereas with the Capitals, I think they are coming against the Kings of inconsistency in the St. Louis Blues and are coming in with some hop in their step after their shootout win over the Sabres in their last game. The Blues, on the other hand, are coming into this game with no momentum. After coughing up eight goals in an 8-5 loss to the Wild, where their starting goalie went haywire and earned himself a two-game suspension. They are now coming into Washington with the worst odds of the night and their backup, Thomas Greiss, in between the pipes. Greiss has been a serviceable goalie in the past, but this season he has a 7-9 record, a 3.45 Goals against average and a sub .900 save percentage. Under normal circumstances, this game may be closer, but tonight, I think there’s a lot leaning toward the Capitals. Their top-line offence has also been hot as of late, with Ovechkin and Strome combining for four goals and seven assists over their last five games, with both Strome and Ovechkin on the Caps’ top power-play unit as well. I’m expecting the Caps’ top line to have a field day against the Blues tonight.
Ideal Defensive Partner(s): Rasmus Sandin
Honorable Mention(s): Toronto Maple Leafs 1 (Marner-Matthews-Jarnkrok), Carolina Hurricanes 1 (Svechnikov-Aho-Jarvis)
3/17 NHL Goalie Tracker
Best (Goalies to Roster)
- Craig Anderson
- Ilya Samsonov
Honorable Mention(s): Darcy Kuemper
Worst (Goalies to Target)
1. Carter Hart
Honorable Mention(s): Lukas Dostal
3/17 NHL Wild Card Targets
Jakub Vrana
– Now, although I am not high on the Blues as a team to win tonight. Vrana definitely cannot be overlooked. Acquired at the deadline, Vrana is a versatile winger who will be a valuable piece for them in future seasons. As of late, he’s been performing really well, too. He’s got four goals over his last four games and is seeing time on the Blues’ top power-play unit. Although they haven’t been winning games, the Blues have been getting on the scoresheet. Vrana can also provide some excellent value from a Daily Fantasy perspective since he also takes a lot of shots, averaging over three goals in his last four games. So, although Vrana is not a top talent in the league, he has been producing recently and is a good value play that should come in under-owned tonight.
Honorable Mention(s): Dylan Strome, Rasmus Sandin, TJ Oshie, Dylan Cozens
Core Four: (ALWAYS BE STACKIN’)
Center – Auston Matthews
Winger –Alex Tuch
Defenseman – Owen Power (Rasmus Sandin has good Value)
Goalie – Craig Anderson
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