NHL Building Blocks – October 24
Lovely slate size of nine games this evening. 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 – October 24
The Goalie: Connor Hellebuyck
Hellebuyck has been the league’s best goalie through the first couple of weeks, winning all five of his starts and putting up a ridiculous 1.40 GAA and a .948 save percentage. The Kraken, Winnipeg’s opponent tonight, are middle of the pack in goals and shots per game, and he and the Jets’ defense are locked in right now.
The Center: Auston Matthews
Usually when the Leafs don’t play well one game, they come out firing in the next one. Matthews has three goals through seven games, which is good, but he’s got 36 shots as well, and we like the volume he always brings, especially at home against a Blues team allowing the seventh-most shots per game.
The Wing: Nikita Kucherov
Matchup-proof regardless and has seven goals (29 shots!) and five assists through six games. Minnesota’s defense does not intimidate, either. Solid starting spot.
The Defenseman: Cale Makar
A team-leading 14 points (12 assists), Makar also has one of the best floor/ceiling combos as he blocks shots and shoots (25 combined through seven games).
The Value: Stefan Noesen
Still way too cheap not just for his production this season (he’s tied for the team lead in points with nine) even though his even strength time is on L3 (but he’s PP1), the Wings’ defense is just not up to par, and the Devils’ offense has been good so far. Good as a one-off or as part of a stack.
The Stack: COL1 (Mackinnon-Rantanen-Colton)
This line is producing as well if not better than any grouping in the league this season (13 goals and 17 assists between them through seven games), and mixing in Makar (L1/PP1 correlation with this trio) ups it even more. Utah is solid but not elite, so I don’t have an issue mixing in even two of this group into your lines as their upside is very high.
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Oct 21, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) shoots the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
