UPDATED 2/2/22: Alex Ovechkin is out tonight. We are moving Kirill Kaprizov ($8,000) in. He has 20 points in his last 10 games and looks unstoppable. That would give you the opportunity to upgrade Mat Barzal to Elias Lindholm ($6,700) who has gotten a point 8 of his last ten.
Alex Tuch came through in a big way for us yesterday and netted a goal against his former team. You love to see it. The Buffalo Sabres still got walloped by the Vegas Golden Knight, but multiple players still got five shots each. The pieces are there, they will just take awhile to fit together.
Today is the last day before the All Star break and teams will be emptying the tank to get every last point they can in the standings. Over this time, we the fans will get to enjoy the super stars showing off their skills and celebrating the game. Front offices will be spending that time giving a hard look at their situation and hopefully getting some wheeling and dealing done. The season is really just about to start.
Here’s a spicy lineup For DFS Hockey 2/2/22 (using DraftKings Values)
| Center | M. Barzal | $6,000 |
| Center | ||
| Wing | A. Ovechkin | $8,800 |
| Wing | ||
| Wing | ||
| Defense | ||
| Defense | ||
| Goalie | D. Vladar | $8,300 |
| Utility |
(UPDATE: He’s OUT) Alexander Ovechkin has gone several games without a point and that has got to be eating him up inside. He is at 29 goals and 29 assists on the season and he is 7 goals away from tying Jaromir Jagr for third all time. He is still getting plenty of shots and the dam is about to break soon. Might it be against a historically weak goaltending set in Edmonton? We think so.
Mat Barzal scores goals? He has been lighting the lamp a lot lately which is a breath of fresh air from all the assists he usually piles on. He does need to change his game a bit if he wants to get over the hump and be called an elite player in this league. The schedule has done the Isles no favors, so while their win percentage is not the best they have the most rope to work with and have been surging.
Dan Vladar is an interesting case. His last few appearances have not what he wants out of himself but just past that he posted back to back shutouts so he has the skills. Playing Arizona is always in your favor and the Yotes had to go to the shootout to upset the Avalanche. Darth Vladar has been set up for success tonight.
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• Two more goalie options to balance out your risk and Vladar’s lack of NHL experience
• One of the greatest playmakers of the last decade is finally healthy and producing
• One of our favorite defensemen is back on the ice and we are taking him ASAP
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There are a couple goalie options that we are still pondering to save a few bucks tonight. Semyon Varlamov will save you $300 and faces a Kraken team that is bottom ten in the league in goals for. That along with what we mentioned about the Islanders surging and he may raise your confidence. Over in LA there may be a minor goalie controversy brewing. Jonathan Quick is looking like he may be the starter but we feel like by the end of morning skate Cal Peterson will be the one playing tonight. Quick has been sliding recently and Peterson has gotten back on his game.
After tinkering with lines today, we think the only defenseman you will not be able to afford is Darnell Nurse unless you go with all of our secondary options. To give you some breathing room we are taking John Carlson. He really will be the glue between all the Caps players we are taking today and he is sure to get a piece of the pie. If you are shying away them then you may as well go to the other side and take Evan Bouchard who will be the recipient of some bonuses from McDavid and Draisaitl.
We are straight up taking Nicklas Backstrom today. Lines are a little weird in Washington as Evgeni Kuznetsov is still earning his top line spot with Ovi, but it is Backstrom who has been setting up the Great Eight for a very long time. Backstrom missed a lot of time this season but is already around a point per game and they are putting him on the top power play. There are points to be had in Washington.
Until we actually see a dip in production, we are milking what is left of Zach Hyman at this price. Sure his time on ice is likely to reduce with Evander Kane being taken on, but the thing about Hyman is that he is a rare player that does not just get more points by virtue of being on the ice more. He can generate his own chances and we are skeptical that he will not earn at least some power play time. Since we are doing a runback at this price point, Tom Wilson was and still is our boy. A goal and an assist in his last two games, he does offer a higher ceiling than Hyman.
Ryan Pulock is finally back in the Islanders lineup! He had a great first game back with three shots and three blocks and once he finds chemistry with top pairing buddy Adam Pelech, the Islanders are going to find themselves quite a bit more confident in their whole squad. He is one of the best shot blockers in the game and is coming in super cheap because of the two month hiatus.
We are going all the way to the bottom with the last pick but with good reason. Jordan Greenwayjust signed a three year extension with around three million a year. Wild fans will tell you he is inconsistent and they can be frustrated by his lack of production given his size and skills, but admit that when he is on, he is on. He should reward management with a big night against a lackluster Blackhawks team.
There should still be some money leftover for your piggy bank today, so go hog wild! Try not to forget about us over the next few days as we languish and figure out what to do with our lives when there is no hockey. Check us out on Twitter (@FantasyDFSX) and have a great rest of your week.
