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NHL Plays will highlight the best and the most underrated daily fantasy options among forwards, defensemen and goaltenders.
Please note, these players were chosen early in the day, so make sure to check NBCSports Edge’s player news for any lineup changes, injuries and potential changes in the crease for starting goaltenders.
Additionally, it is worth reminding everyone that FanDuel allows you to roster nine players (2C, 2W, 2D, 2UTIL, 1G) with a salary cap of $55,000, while DraftKings has a cap of $50,000 for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 1G, 1UTIL). Yahoo has a $200 cap for nine players (2C, 3W, 2D, 2G).
Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out NBCSports Edge Player News, and follow @NBCSEdgeHK and @mfinewaxhockey on Twitter.
There are five games in the NHL on Sunday. The Pittsburgh-Winnipeg game is flex game only in Draft Kings.
Forwards
Alexander Barkov (Florida), C - $8,900 (FanDuel), $8,700 (Draft Kings), $32 (Yahoo)
Barkov has 17 goals and 32 points in 28 games this season, nice numbers for the Florida center. He was held off the scoresheet Friday against Vancouver but had a pair of goals and an assist Thursday versus the Oilers. The Panthers face the Kraken in Seattle for the first time in their history so expect Barkov to take off against the expansion side.
Bryan Rust (Pittsburgh), W - $7,400 (FanDuel), $8,800 (Draft Kings), $26 (Yahoo)
Rust has been on a tear this season with nine goals and 24 points in only 18 games. Rust has been amazing of late with 15 points including seven goals in his six January games since returning from injury. He plays on the top line in Pittsburgh and is a must start, especially in FanDuel and Yahoo.
Boone Jenner (Columbus), C/W - $6,000 (FanDuel), $5,500 (Draft Kings), $17 (Yahoo)
Jenner is on a six-game points streak and has four goals and seven points during the streak. He had 30 goals in the 2015-16 campaign and while he has never hit the 20-goal mark before or after that season, he is poised to have a big season with 16 goals and 27 points in 38 games to date. Five of his goals have come via the power play.
Bargain Bin: Evan Rodriques (Pittsburgh), C $6,300 (FanDuel), $8,000 (Draft Kings), $18 (Yahoo), Elias Pettersson (Vancouver), C $4,900 (FanDuel), $5,100 (Draft Kings), $18 (Yahoo), Gustav Nyquist (Columbus), W $5,000 (FanDuel) $3,200 (Draft Kings), $17 (Yahoo), Andreas Johnsson (New Jersey), W $3,800 (FanDuel), $3,000 (Draft Kings), $10 (Yahoo)
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Defensemen:
Kris Letang (Pittsburgh), $7,200 (FanDuel), $9,400 (Draft Kings), $26 (Yahoo)
Letang is on a ten-point scoring streak with two goals and 15 points, giving him three goals and 32 assists in 36 games. Letang’s best season was in 2015-16 when he had 67 points in 71 games and he has a great chance to beat that mark this season.
Aaron Ekblad (Florida), $7,000 (FanDuel), $7,300 (Draft Kings), $24(Yahoo)
Ekblad has not hit the scoresheet in his last three games, but has had a terrific season thus far with 10 goals and 35 points in 40 games. The 10 goals give Ekblad seven seasons in eight where he has scored double digit goals and has a plus-28 rating, his previous best being a plus-18 set in his sophomore campaign.
Bargain Bin:
Matt Roy (Los Angeles), $4,500 (FanDuel), $3,700 (Draft Kings), $16 (Yahoo), Mike Matheson (Pittsburgh), $4,600 (FanDuel), $5,000 (Draft Kings), $17 (Yahoo), Carson Soucy (Seattle), $4,100 (FanDuel), $3,000 (Draft Kings), $14 (Yahoo)
Goaltenders:
Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh), $8,100 (FanDuel), $11,200 (Draft Kings), $33 (Yahoo)
Jarry has won his last three games in a row, and is 21-7-4 this season with a 2.10 GAA and a .928 save percentage, by far the best peripherals of his career. The Penguins host Winnipeg in an afternoon tilt and Jarry will look to improve to 3-0 in his career against the Jets as he has given up only three goals on 60 shots over two games.
Other plays:
Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida), $8,400 (FanDuel), $8,400 (Draft Kings), $40 (Yahoo)
