Saturday Fantasy Hockey Tips – NHL picks, matchups and more

Almost there. With the All-Star Game just days away, Saturday’s schedule is the league’s last chubby table before we all settle down to rest in the middle of winter. Fourteen of the 22 teams in action will play their final game before heading to the beach or ski slopes or, for the anointed few, Sunrise, Florida for next weekend’s showcase. While wins are always desired among this competitive crowd, securing a win before the day off feels very valuable. Who wants to spend a fat week or more of vacation stewing in defeat?

Of the 14 who, subconsciously or not, compete with a little boost while facing arguably favorable competition, my favorites include the Colorado Avalanche (vs. St. Louis Blues), Pittsburgh Penguins (vs. San Jose Sharks). , Tampa Bay Lightning (vs. Los Angeles Kings), Edmonton Oilers (vs. Chicago Blackhawks) and Seattle Kraken (vs. Columbus Blue Jackets).

Resources: Goalie Depth Chart | Injuries | Schedule | How to watch on ESPN+ | Download the ESPN Fantasy App | Daily lines

All times in the East.

Favorable goal matches

St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche

3 p.m., Ball Arena, watch live on ESPN+

The Blues gave up five goals in each of their last three games, all losses to Arizona, Buffalo and Chicago. A couple of empty nets add bulk to that unimpressive amount, but still. Yeah. Regardless of who starts between the pipes for St. Louis, whether it’s Jordan Binnington or Thomas Greiss, the home team is in good shape to do production damage. After losing their first in seven games on Thursday — against the Ducks, as it were — Colorado’s most dynamic players are fired up enough to go into this midwinter break with a big win.

Activate all of the favorite fantasy Avalanche, except Valeri Nichushkin, who is listed daily and could very well afford an extended layoff. Yes, the Avs are better with Nichushkin (15-3-2) in the lineup. They can also bulldoze the Blues without him.

Mid-range fantasy forwards

Carter Verhaeghe, Florida Panthers (64.2%): With his club desperately racing to compete in the Atlantic, Verhaeghe is constantly doing his part to help the cause. A total of seven goals and three assists in seven contests produces 3.5 fantasy points/game in ESPN.com standard leagues. If you’re wondering how many other skaters are pedaling along at such an impressive pace right now, the answer is “not many.”

See also:

Deep League/Daily Fantasy value forwards

• Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg Jets (11.7%)

• Pavel Zacha, Boston Bruins (7.2%)

• Barrett Hayton, Arizona Coyotes (1.4%)

• Ridly Greig, Ottawa Senators (0.1%)

• Jason Dickinson, Chicago Blackhawks (1.3%)

• Shane Pinto, Ottawa Senators (5.8%)

• Kirby Dach, Montreal Canadiens (15.8%)

• Kyle Palmieri, New York Islanders (1.1%)

• Dylan Holloway, Edmonton Oilers (1.0%)

• Derek Ryan, Edmonton Oilers (0.1%)

• Victor Olofsson, Buffalo Sabers (19.5%)

• Kirill Marchenko, Columbus Blue Jackets (2.3%)

• Mason McTavish, Anaheim Ducks (9.5%)

Mid-level fantasy defenders

Deep League/Daily Fantasy value defenders

• Cam Fowler, Anaheim Ducks (15.9%)

• JJ Moser, Arizona Coyotes (13.6%)

Goalkeepers

Logan Thompson (Projected), Vegas Golden Knights (89.7%): The Islanders aren’t scoring or winning much these days. When they do manage to get a win, it’s largely due to an outstanding goaltending effort from Ilya Sorokin, as was the case in Friday’s 2-0 win over the Red Wings. With both the Isles and Knights playing their second game in as many nights and Semjon Varlamov ready to man the net for New York, I value Thompson’s chances of escaping with a win before a – in Vegas’ case – much-needed break.

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