Skip to content

Squad Up Daily NHL Fantasy Dose: Maple Leafs among teams benefiting from holiday

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more. And download Squad Up, theScore's free-to-win-money sports game.

Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Tuesday, Jan. 17 (all advanced statistics courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and apply to 5v5 situations):

Dynamic Duos

  • C Auston Matthews (72K) & RW Connor Brown (27K), Maple Leafs (vs. Sabres): The Maple Leafs had an off day Monday while the Sabres played in one the NHL's early games on the holiday afternoon. Toronto will have the added benefit of last change, allowing Matthews to be deployed in the best situations and subsequently take advantage of Buffalo's lack of depth up front and on the back end.
  • LW Chris Kreider (60K) & C Derek Stepan (56K), Rangers (vs. Stars): The Stars visited the Sabres on Monday afternoon, dropping a 4-1 decision. LW Jamie Benn's 16:26 of ice time was his lowest total in three games back from injury. New York's first line owns a Corsi For rating of 55.75 percent in over 250 minutes together. Kreider has registered four shots on goal in three of his past four games.
  • LW Artemi Panarin (59K) & RW Patrick Kane (87K), Blackhawks (at Avalanche): Always a popular play, Panarin and Kane are in excellent position to reach their respective ceilings Tuesday. Colorado's 58.85 shot attempts faced per 60 minutes ranks as the sixth-worst total in the league. Colorado lacks a defense pairing capable of handling Chicago's top two stars.

Goalie Breakdown

  • TARGET - Pekka Rinne (75K), Predators (at Canucks): Rinne stopped 57 of 60 shots while picking up consecutive wins, including Nashville's 2-1 overtime victory over the Canucks last Tuesday. Vancouver's 1.99 Expected Goals For per 60 minutes on home ice ranks 29th in the NHL, as does its 48.99 shot attempts.
  • BARGAIN - Mike Condon (83K), Senators (at Blues): The Blues lack any discernible home-ice advantage this season, as they rank 28th in Expected Goals For per 60 minutes at just 2.15. Condon allowed four goals on 27 shots in his most recent game, but he had allowed just one goal in two of his three previous starts.
  • CONTRARIAN - Roberto Luongo (84K), Panthers (at Flames): Luongo allowed four goals in 41 shots by the New York Islanders in his most recent start, two days after holding the same opponent to just one goal on 30 shots. He has faced no less than 28 SOG in each of his past nine full games. Florida's worsening defense provides a high floor and high ceiling for their backstop.

Bargain Plays

  • LW Brock McGinn (25K), Hurricanes (at Blue Jackets): McGinn has been on quite the run of late, scoring four goals in his past three games. More reliably, he has been credited with three SOG in each of the three games picking up three assists with a plus-five rating. He doesn't receive time on the power play, but is locked into a second-line role at 5v5.
  • RW Pavel Buchnevich (27K), Rangers (vs. Stars): Buchnevich has picked up an assist in each of his two games since returning from an injury which had him sidelined since mid-November. The Rangers are also expected to have C Mika Zibanejad back in Tuesday's lineup; he has been out since mid-November as well. The two will form the second line with RW Rick Nash.
  • D Nikita Zaitsev (29K), Maple Leafs (vs. Sabres): Zaitsev has played at least 22 minutes in each of his past nine games, reaching a high of 25:46. He plays on the top 5v5 pairing beside Morgan Rielly, but he doesn't participate on either power-play unit.

Top Fades

  • C Nathan MacKinnon (66K), Avalanche (vs. Blackhawks): MacKinnon has two goals in his past three games, but he had two or fewer SOG in three of his last four. Similarly to his team as a whole, MacKinnon has been more productive on the road this season, picking up four more points in one fewer game.
  • LW Taylor Hall (61K), Devils (at Wild): Hall has scored a goal in each of his past two games, racking up 10 SOG in the process. He'll face a Wild team ranking in the top third of the league with just 53.06 shot attempts allowed per 60 minutes. G Devan Dubnyk will further lower Hall's likelihood of continuing his streak.
  • D John Klingberg (44K), Stars (at Rangers): Klingberg played 24:56 in Monday's loss to the Sabres, tallying just two SOG and failing to pick up a point. He had four goals and four assists in six previous January games but the points came on just 11 SOG. His floor is too low at a high salary.

Contrarian Options

  • RW James Neal (56K), Predators (at Canucks): Neal has been held point-less in his first two games back from injury, playing a high of just 17:19 in ice time. He also recorded just a single shot in each game. He is met with another favorable matchup Tuesday, and his role should grow after another two days of rest.
  • LW Brandon Saad (62K), Blue Jackets (vs. Hurricanes): Saad has just one goal and zero assists in January. He has been held without a shot on goal in two games and has just three in his past two outings. He should regain his production in a matchup against Hurricanes G Cam Ward, who has a save percentage of just .906 on the road.
  • C Mitchell Marner (55K), Maple Leafs (vs. Sabres): Marner has six assists in his past three games, but he has gone four games without a goal and had no shots in each of his past two. The Sabres will do all they can to have D Rasmus Ristolainen face Matthews' line, leaving Marner to face weaker defensive coverage.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox