NHL Building Blocks – January 20
Saturday action is always good. Lots of games on the slate with some interesting matchups. Let’s dive in!
The premise of each article in this series is to feature starting spots (building blocks) for your lines. These are plays that are cash-viable as well as GPP-worthy and can be considered in all contest formats.
Starting Lineup – January 20
The Goalie: Linus Ullmark ($8400 DK / $8900 FD)
Should be quite popular facing the Canadiens and their anemic offense. Boston’s defense is elite (fourth in goals allowed per game and in penalty kill) and are first in the East as a result. Ullmark (13-5-2 / 2.75 / .916) continues to have a very solid season, and I see this continuing tonight. Solid play.
The Center: Leon Draisaitl ($7500 DK/ $9700 FD)
Has been hot recently (eight goals and seven assists in his past seven games) and is always a good pivot off of McDavid while still having good correlation; on pace for another 100-point season.
The Wing: David Pastrnak ($9700 DK/ $10300 FD)
Definitely in play against a Canadiens team that allows a ton of shots (fourth most in the league) and has an anemic penalty kill (73.0%). 29 goals and 64 points in 44 games; also 224 shots (averaging over five per game). Great floor and ceiling.
The Defenseman: Charlie McAvoy ($6000 DK / $7500 FD)
Great spot for him and the Bruins tonight; two goals and an assist in his past five games (to go along with 16 shots) and has 29 points in 36 games this season.
The Value: Rickard Rakell ($4700 DK / $5700 FD)
In the month he’s been on Crosby’s line, he’s averaged a point per game and is now skating on PP1; good spot tonight against a hobbled Vegas team.
The Stack: EDM PP1 (McDavid/Draisaitl/Hyman/Nugent-Hopkins/Bouchard)
Ride the wave and enjoy it: the Oilers have won 12 games in a row and are looking every bit like a real contender. They average over three and a half goals per game and have a power play just below 26%, which should give them a marked advantage over the Flames tonight. Last time out McDavid was the lowest scoring of their four studs, but he’s always in play with these two (Draisaitl and Bouchard mix in on PP1); the leverage is to fade him.
The Builder: BOS/WPG ML parlay
BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 29: Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) waits for the puck to drop on a face off. During the Boston Bruins game against the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden on September 29, 2018 in Boston, MA. (Photo by Michael Tureski/Icon Sportswire)
