RADIO
Saturday brings a full day of NHL hockey to the schedule and Monkey Knife Fight delivers fun and exciting contests for every game.
Even though it’s early in the National Hockey League season there can still be judgments made about early performances. The Philadelphia Flyers, for example, should be feeling good about decisively taking two games from the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Penguins may have a right to be concerned.
The Washington Capitals took a couple of games from the Buffalo Sabres but the Sabres probably feel a little more optimistic about their performance in the second of those games.
As expected, the Tampa Bay Lightning had an easy time in a pair of games against the Chicago Blackhawks. That covers the teams that are 2-0 and 0-2.
But Saturday brings a full slate of games and opportunities for teams to either build early momentum or get back on track if they aren’t thrilled with their start to the season.
Here are some angles to consider for Saturday’s NHL action on Monkey Knife Fight:
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STAR SHOOTOUT - ALL DAY
MORE OR LESS
Carey Price MORE THAN 28.5 SAVES
Last season, Price averaged 29.3 saves per 60 minutes on the road and the Habs go into Edmonton where the Oilers have averaged 38.5 shots per 60 minutes through the first two games and the Habs surrendered 32.2 shots per 60 in their opening night loss to Toronto. That is enough shots against to reasonably get Price to 29 or more saves.
Juuse Saros MORE THAN 28.5 SAVES
In the opening game between Nashville and Columbus, the Blue Jackets did generate 30 shots on goal, with Saros turning away 29. While the Columbus attack isn’t great, head coach John Tortorella was clearly unhappy with the offense generated by his second, third, and fourth lines. Given that he took that very public position after the first game, expect Columbus to fire a lot of shots in this one. They may not score a lot but they can shoot enough for Saros top stop at least 29.
Mitch Marner MORE THAN 0.5 ASSISTS
It has not been an ideal start to the season for Marner. He has one assist in two games but the second game was notably bad. No points and no shots on goal against an Ottawa Senators team that the Leafs were heavily favored against. It’s early, so we shouldn’t read too much into it but if he gets blanked again by the Senators, that wouldn’t be a great sign for a winger who is playing more than 24 minutes per game this season.
Auston Matthews LESS THAN 5.5 SHOTS ON GOAL + BLOCKS
Matthews has similarly struggled, though he does have 10 shots on goal through the first two games. This is a big number, needing six to surpass it, and even if Matthews is playing more this season, he had six or more shots plus blocks in just 10 of 36 road games last season.
Mika Zibanejad MORE THAN 0.5 GOALS
In 29 home games last season, Zibanejad turned on the red light in 14 of those games (scoring 20 goals). It’s generally unreasonable to bank on a player scoring a goal in a specific game in the NHL, because it’s really hard, but Zibanejad recorded five shots on goal against the Islanders on opening night and if he can do that again, there’s a decent chance that he connects for one.
RAPID FIRE
Leon Draisaitl -0.5 fantasy points vs. Shea Theodore
Theodore has a chance to be an elite fantasy defenseman, not only because he puts up points – he had 45 points in his last 50 (regular season plus playoff) games last season – but he generates shots on goal at a rare rate for a defenseman. In Vegas’ first game of the season, he had an assist and four shots on goal, which is pretty nice. Trouble is, he is matched up against the league’s leading scorer from last season. Draisaitl had 110 points last season and has five points in two games this season. He only has two shots on goal through two games but that rate is likely to increase.
Connor McDavid +0.5 fantasy points vs. Max Pacioretty
McDavid already has the high ceiling that makes him a tough fantasy matchup for almost anyone, even a prolific volume shooter like Pacioretty, but what can you do when McDavid has four points and 14 shots on goal in two games? If he generates shots at an elite level, too, then McDavid will be untouchable in the long run. In the short-term, he’s an easy favorite over Pacioretty.
Leon Draisaitl +0.5 fantasy points vs. Connor McDavid
Draisaitl does have five points to McDavid’s four but Draisaitl’s points are all assists and McDavid did record a hat trick in Edmonton’s last game, so that swings the advantage to McDavid and the shot disparity between them is dramatic – 14 shots on goal for McDavid to two shots on goal for Draisaitl. Based on just the first two games, it should be a big advantage for McDavid. Since we can use more than two games to evaluate players, though, Draisaitl is still close enough in value to like him as the underdog getting an extra half fantasy point.
