NHL Building Blocks – February 23
Three-gamer to kick off the weekend. 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 – February 23
The Goalie: Connor Hellebuyck ($8400 DK / $8600 FD)
Should be the chalk goalie on this small slate facing the Blackhawks and their league-low 2.07 goals per game average and league-low power play. Chicago has also lost nine of its last 10, even with Bedard being back for half of them. Hellebuyck leads the leagues’ best team GAA (2.34) with a 2.20 of his own, and he’s given up just 11 goals in his past five starts.
The Center: Connor McDavid ($9800 DK/ $10100 FD)
Highest upside on the slate; the Wild defense isn’t scary, but he is. 14 assists in the past five games and is up to third in the league in scoring (85 points) after a slow start.
The Wing: Evander Kane ($5400 DK/ $6000 FD)
L2 with Drasaitl and PP1 with the big boys; three goals and 14 SOG in L5 and will have some more chances with RNH out.
The Defenseman: Rasmus Dahlin ($7700 DK / $7500 FD)
The best floor-ceiling combo on the slate; four points in L5 and averages three SOG and two blocks per game on the season. Should have his way against Columbus tonight.
The Value: Philipp Kurashev ($4100 DK / $4600 FD)
Paired with Bedard on L1/PP1; had a six-game point streak snapped last game. Solid value here.
The Stack: EDM1 (McDavid-Hyman-Foegele-Bouchard)
Highest upside on the slate, but also the most expensive. Fifth in goals per game (3.58) and fourth in power play (26.3%) at home against a team that yes, scored 10 goals the other day, but also gave up seven. Mix in Draisaitl and Kane for secondary exposure.
The Builder: EDM/WPG ML parlay
Edmonton Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93), Leon Draisaitl (29) and Connor McDavid (97) celebrate a goal against the Seattle Kraken during second period NHL action in Edmonton on Thursday January 18, 2024.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
