RADIO
Monday night offers six games in the National Hockey League and Monkey Knife Fight has contests for all of them to add to the excitement.
The games run later tonight and the first one has the Vegas Golden Knights in Minnesota to battle the Wild and that is probably the best matchup of the night.
The Arizona Coyotes in Colorado to take on the battered and bruised Avalanche and the Battle of SoCal goes in Anaheim where the Ducks host the Los Angeles Kings. The San Jose Sharks also welcome the St. Louis Blues.
In the North, the Edmonton Oilers are home against the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens are in Vancouver to take on the Canucks.
Here are some Star Shootout angles to consider when playing Monday’s NHL action on Monkey Knife Fight.
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STAR SHOOTOUT - ALL DAY
MORE OR LESS
Kaapo Kahkonen LESS THAN 28.5 SAVES
Minnesota’s rookie goaltender has really stepped up this season, getting a shot when Cam Talbot was injured and now appears to be the Wild’s best option between the pipes. Kahkonen has averaged 25.9 saves per 60 minutes of play this season. He faces a Vegas team that is only averaging 28.1 shots per 60 minutes on the road so it is not easy to count on Kahkonen making at least 29 saves even if he plays well.
Jonathan Quick LESS THAN 27.5 SAVES
There had been some signs of progress for the Kings netminder after a rough start to the season but he’s still sitting on an .898 save percentage and is averaging 25.4 saves per 60 minutes. The Kings are in Anaheim, where the Ducks are managing just 27.2 shots per 60 minutes (scoring nearly 1.9 goals/60) so it is more likely that Quick saves 27 or fewer.
Brent Burns MORE THAN 5.5 FANTASY POINTS
San Jose’s freewheeling defenseman is not scoring nearly as much as he did during previous seasons, with 12 points in 22 games, but he does have 61 shots and 31 blocked shots, which gives him a strong foundation for fantasy production. Matched up against the St. Louis Blues, with the Blues likely starting backup goaltender Ville Husso, might be a favorable enough matchup for Burns to add some point production to his high-end shot output.
Darnell Nurse LESS THAN 5.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS
Nurse has emerged as a huge presence on the Oilers blueline this season but this is an enormous ask, even against a team as low in the standings as the Ottawa Senators. Nurse is recorded six shots plus blocks twice in the past dozen games so while he has the potential to do it, by no means is it the most likely outcome. In three games against the Senators this season, his totals are five, four, and nine shots plus blocks.
RAPID FIRE
Connor McDavid -0.5 fantasy points vs. Max Pacioretty
This might just be an expectation that McDavid is still going to be on a mission after getting shut out by Toronto for three games last week. He had three points in a 3-2 win against Calgary Saturday and a home game against Ottawa should be a good spot to keep those points rolling in. At the same time, Pacioretty is a fantasy monster who has eight points and 24 shots on goal (!) in the past four games. However, Pacioretty goes into Minnesota to face a Wild team that is usually relatively stingy defensively, though Pacioretty had 14 shots against them in two games last week.
Alex Pietrangelo -0.5 fantasy points vs. Mikko Rantanen
A very encouraging sign for the Avalanche winger is that Rantanen has not wilted in the absence of Nathan MacKinnon, recording six points and 11 shots on goal in the past three games. This is not an easy matchup, though. Pietrangelo is playing well for Vegas and he is averaging more than five shots plus blocks per game. That foundation makes him the safer play even if he doesn’t have Rantanen’s offensive upside.
Tyler Toffoli -0.5 fantasy points vs. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Toffoli might be the pick against anyone since he is once again facing the Vancouver Canucks, a team that he has lit up for eight goals and three assists, with 25 shots on goal, in five games this season. Toffoli is a good, well-rounded winger. Toffoli against the Vancouver Canucks has been superhuman. So, cool matchup for you, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, especially now that the Oilers are running Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the same line to jumpstart the offense.
