NHL Building Blocks – April 17
Four games on tonight’s slate; all the playoff spots have been clinched, but there’s still some positioning left to work out. 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 – April 17
The Goalie: John Oettinger ($8300 DK / $8400 FD)
Should be a nice tune-up before the playoffs begin; the Stars are the top seed in the West. The Blues were eliminated a few days ago and are playing out the season; they’ve averaged 2.88 goals per game on the season, whereas the Stars’ defense is solid (10th in GAA and eighth in penalty kill). Oettinger has won nine of his last 10 starts and is playing as well as the Stars could hope going into the playoffs.
The Center: Connor McDavid ($9800 DK/ $10100 FD)
Hit the 100-assist mark last game; three goals (29 shots) and four assists in his last five games. Third in the league in scoring.
The Wing: Zach Hyman ($8000 DK/ $9100 FD)
54 goals on the season (third in the league); two goals (14 shots) and two assists in L5.
The Defenseman: Sean Durzi ($5300 DK / $5600 FD)
Assists in four of his last five games and the Oilers will be aggressive; also 13 shots and eight blocks over that span.
The Value: Drew O’Connor ($3700 DK / $4700 FD)
Three goals (15 shots) and an assist in his last five; has developed some nice chemistry with Crosby.
The Stack: EDM1 (McDavid – Hyman – Nugent-Hopkins)
Still playing for positioning, the Oilers get a solid matchup tonight against a Coyotes defense that is solid but not spectacular. Edmonton can end up anywhere between the fifth (where they are) up to the second (if everything goes perfectly), but they would at least like a home series in the first round. Mix in Draisaitl and Bouchard as secondary pieces.
The Builder: EDM/NYI ML parlay
The Edmonton Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm (14), Connor McDavid (97), Evan Bouchard (2) and Evander Kane (91) huddle during first-period NHL action against the Dallas Stars at Rogers Place in Edmonton on March 16, 2023. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia