NHL Building Blocks – March 21
Good-sized slate of 11 games. 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 – March 21
The Goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy ($8500 DK / $8700 FD)
Should be one of if not the most popular goalies on the slate tonight facing the bottom-dwelling Sharks. Tampa is on a four-game winning streak and wants to keep that going, and they should be able to against a team with a 2.19 goals scored average that’s on a five-game losing streak (and 14 of 15). Vas has won four of his last five starts and is playing well.
The Center: Connor Bedard ($7600 DK/ $7900 FD)
54 points in 55 games and has taken a step forward; four goals (22 shots) and seven assists in his last five games and gets a Ducks team that he had two goals and a helper against last time out.
The Wing: Nikita Kucherov ($9500 DK/ $10400 FD)
One of the main contenders for the Hart, he ranks second in the league in scoring with 118 points in just 67 games. Three goals and 10 assists in his last five and won’t have anyone on the Sharks to stop him.
The Defenseman: Victor Hedman ($6200 DK / $7200 FD)
Two goals and seven assists in his last five games and is third among defensemen in scoring with 66 points; gets the best matchup on paper tonight.
The Value: Pius Suter ($3500 DK / $4800 FD)
Two goals and nine shots in L5; L2/PP2 with Miller and Boeser against a bad Montreal defense.
The Stack: TB1 (Kucherov-Point-Duclair-Hedman)
Perhaps the best play on paper tonight; the Sharks, losers of 14 of 15, are giving up four goals per game (well, 3.99, but who’s counting) while the Lightning average three and a half with the league’s best power play (28.8%). These four are L1/PP1 together (Duclair facing the team that just traded him); mix in Stamkos as the fifth power play piece.
The Builder: TB/VAN ML parlay
Oct 21, 2023; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) celebrates his goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
