Welcome back to a brand new edition of WinDaily’s NHL Between the Benches article. After yesterday’s massive twelve-game slate, we are back with a small Friday night two-gamer! Tonight’s 11/3 NHL slate begins at 7:00 pm ET. Don’t forget to lock your lines and check the discord for any updates! Without further ado, let’s get right into it!
11/3 NHL Stack Report
1. New Jersey Devils 1 (Toffoli-Hughes-Meier)
— It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that we’ll have to turn again to the second-hottest offensive team in the league for tonight’s two-game slate. This team’s top core is regularly scoring over four goals a game, and they would be close to if not the best, offence in the league if the Canucks didn’t stomp the San Jose Sharks 10-1 last night. All this to say that the Devils’ scoring pace to start the season has been incredible, especially with the production out of this top line. Jack Hughes is averaging over two points per game this season with over 20 minutes of ice time, and his linemates, Toffoli and Meier, are hovering around a point per game through their first nine games of the season. Against a regular NHL team, I’d have a lot of faith in the Devils. Tonight, they are up against a Blues team that allows nearly 33 shots on goal per game and is in the middle of a two-game losing streak. For their part, the Devils are coming into the night with a 3.7 implied goal total, and it’s hard to see Luke Hughes not getting on the score sheet tonight. Hughes will centre the Devils’ top power play alongside his brother Luke Hughes, his linemates Toffoli and Meier, as well as Jesper Bratt. Everyone on the Devils’ top power play unit are in play for me tonight.
Ideal Defensive Partner(s): Dougie Hamilton (Honorable Mention(s): Luke Hughes)
2. Buffalo Sabres 1 (Biro-Thompson-Greenway)
— The Sabres are surprisingly the top team on this slate. Despite a mediocre start to the season. They have had some shining stars on offence, including the likes of Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin. Tonight, they are on the second half of a home-and-away where they’ll be taking on the Philadelphia Flyers in Buffalo after beating them 5-2 in their last game. Thompson has been on fire as of late, with four goals and four assists over his last four games. Including a goal and two assists in their beat down on the Flyers last game. Although both these teams sit in the middle of the pack in the league. The Flyers have some significant injuries (their top centre, Couturier and their top goalie, Hart) and are in the middle of a three-game losing skid. The Sabres, on the other hand, have had some success as of late and are coming into today’s slate with the highest implied total at 3.8 implied goals and the best odds at -170.
Ideal Defensive Partner(s): Rasmus Dahlin (Honorable Mention(s): Mattias Samuelson)
Honorable Mention(s): Philadelphia Flyers 1 (Atkinson-Laughton[May Change]-Tippett), Buffalo Sabres 2 (Peterka-Middlestadt-Skinner)
11/3 NHL Goalie Tracker
Best (Goalies to Roster)
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
- Akira Schmid
Honorable Mention(s): Samuel Ersson
Worst (Goalies to Target)
1. Jordan Binnington
Honorable Mention(s): N/A
11/3 NHL Wild Card Targets
Brandon Biro
– In his NHL debut last game in Philadelphia, Biro got a surprise start on the Sabres first line. With only ten minutes of ice time, he was able to make an instant impact on the game, scoring in the first period to take the lead then again in the empty net to seal the deal. He is set to rejoin the Sabres’ top line tonight against the Flyers for the second half of the back-to-back in Buffalo, and at his price, top-line minutes alongside Tage Thompson make Biro an exciting option for tonight’s two-game slate.
Honorable Mention(s): Justin Faulk, Erik Haula
Core Four: (ALWAYS BE STACKIN’)
Center – Jack Hughes
Winger – Tyler Toffoli
Defenseman – Luke Hughes
Goalie – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
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