Saturday Night DFS: Bergeron, Horvat lead the charge at centre
There’s no day for some Yahoo daily fantasy hockey quite like Saturday.
I hope you’ve already finished celebrating Halloween because there are 12 games on the NHL slate.
Here are some recommendations for your lineup tonight.
The Value Guys
These players are the ones that are not the most or least expensive on the board, but solid options for your lineup.
C Bo Horvat, at SJ ($19)
The fact that you can get Horvat, considering the way he’s been playing, for under $20 is absolutely outrageous. The 24-year-old has been lighting the league on fire with nine points in his last five games, including seven on the power play. That should come into play as the San Jose Sharks have taken a league-high 35 penalties in their last six games.
W Max Pacioretty, vs. WPG ($23)
When it comes to scoring goals, Pacioretty has been the unluckiest player in hockey recently. Over the past two weeks, the winger is tied for the fifth-most shots in the NHL. Unfortunately for him, he has as many goals as I do over that period. A meeting with the Winnipeg Jets, who rank bottom-10 in Corsi against over the past two weeks favours Pacioretty’s style of play.
D Quinn Hughes, at SJ ($18)
I like Hughes on Saturday night for a lot of the same reasons I like Horvat. Hughes quarterbacks the first PP unit for the Canucks, and with the Sharks being as undisciplined as they have recently, I’m going to try and fit in as many members of Vancouver’s top power-play line as possible.
Update: Hughes suffered an ankle injury on Friday night and his status for Saturday’s game against San Jose is up in the air. Rasmus Dahlin ($17) is who I recommend using instead of Hughes.
G Darcy Kuemper, vs. COL ($34)
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a netminder who’s got better numbers so far this season than Kuemper. A goals-against average of 1.87 and a save percentage of .933 place him right near the top of the league in each category. A home matchup against a banged-up Colorado Avalanche squad, who are missing Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, and also played on Friday night, seems like a good spot.
Offenses to Stack
When a team’s having a good night offensively, you want to have as many pieces as possible. Stacking offenses can be a rewarding strategy.
Vancouver Canucks
C Bo Horvat ($19) +W Brock Boeser ($22) + D Quinn Hughes ($18)
Stacking members of the Canucks on Saturday night won’t cost you a whole lot, but all signs are pointing towards it being a wise decision. In each of their past three contests, Vancouver has notched five goals or more. The power play has been clicking as well, ranking fifth in the NHL this season. Given the Sharks’ tendency to end up in the penalty box, banking on this PP to come through is a smart play.
Buffalo Sabres
C Jack Eichel ($33) + W Jeff Skinner ($23) + W Sam Reinhart ($18) + D Rasmus Dahlin ($17)
Despite a poor showing on Friday night against the Washington Capitals, I expect the Sabres to bounce back at home against the New York Islanders. The Islanders have been unstoppable, winning eight-straight games, but they are far from being a perfect team. The club has the worst Corsi against in the NHL over the past two weeks. Buffalo’s offensive stars should get right on Saturday.
Boston Bruins
C Patrice Bergeron ($32) + David Pastrnak ($34) + Brad Marchand ($32)
You will need to fill the rest of your lineup with a lot of the cash saving options I have listed further down in this article, but if you can somehow manage to fit all three of these guys in without feeling completely horrible about the rest of your team, then by all means, go for it.
Expensive, but Worth it
Sometimes you can’t help but fork over a decent amount of your budget to get elite fantasy production.
C Patrice Bergeron, BOS vs. OTT ($32)
It’s hard to not love the player and matchup, as Bergeron gets to go up against the leaky Ottawa Senators defense on Saturday. The Sens are just one of three teams who are allowing 35 shots or more in the NHL season, and Bergeron has been shooting the puck routinely over the past couple of weeks. In his last five games, the star centre has 24 shots, nearly five a match. You’ll be glad you paid up to have him in your lineup by the end of the night.
Chasing the Cheap Win
It may be silly, but when selecting a goalie, the first question running through your mind should be: what is his team’s chance to win?
G Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA vs. DET ($26)
Bobrovsky’s body of work with the Florida Panthers has been anything but remarkable, as he has struggled mightily early on with his new club. A clash against the Detroit Red Wings, however, who have dropped nine of their last 10 is a great setup. Detroit played and lost on Friday night while Bobrovsky and the Panthers were resting up.
Cash Savers
Spent some major cash on some potential game-changers? These inexpensive players can help fill out the rest of your lineup.
C Christian Dvorak ($13)
C Marcus Johansson ($14)
W Sammy Blais ($10)
W Joonas Donskoi ($14)
W Bryan Little ($14)
W Cody Glass ($13)
D Josh Morrissey ($16)
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