There are nine games on tap for tonight after the usual Wednesday night lull. Some of the league’s most elite scorers are lacing up the skates tonight, but picking the right sleepers are crucial on nights like this. Let’s take a look at some candidates for your NHL daily fantasy team’s starting six that will be flying under the radar tonight:
C- Logan Couture, SJS
Logan Couture has 11 points in 17 games since returning from a medical procedure to repair a bleeding artery. It’s a scary injury, but he has rebounded quite well. The 26-year-old has been working hard on the Sharks’ third line alongside Tommy Wingels and Joonas Donskoi. Couture has a goal and two assists in his last two games against Chicago and Nashville. The Sharks will be going up against the Calgary Flames tonight on home ice. They will have to savor it, considering how much they play on the road this month. Lost in the hot streak of Joe Thornton and the cold streak of Patrick Marleau is the Sharks’ other big-name center Couture. He deserves more attention for the way he plays and the offense he generates. He is a great low-risk play for your starting six tonight.
LW- Milan Lucic, LAK
Milan Lucic has been having a pretty typical Milan Lucic-type season. He has 13 goals and 20 assists on the year riding a 15.7% shooting percentage, plus 66 penalty minutes. His return to Boston was pleasant for about a period, before his Los Angeles Kings struck twice at the end of the first period then proceeded to net seven of the next eight goals in the game. Lucic would finish with a goal and two assists in a 9-2 rout. He matched a season-high four shots on goal. The Kings will be on the road again tonight, this time at the Barclays Center taking on the Islanders. It will be another game where the Kings need big, bad Lucic to bully his way into the offensive zone and reek some havoc. Lucic’s screen and deflection on the powerplay led to Drew Doughty’s goal, the Kings’ fourth of the game. He finished off a two-on-one with Anze Kopitar to score the Kings’ seventh. He again set a screen with a deflection that led to Dustin Brown’s goal, the ninth of the game for LA. The Kings’ top line of Lucic-Kopitar-Brown is going to be fun to watch against the Islanders, who have plenty of snarl in them as is.
RW- Patrick Eaves, DAL
Patrick Eaves has amassed half of his point total in the last three games. The veteran forward has a goal and three assists since being promoted to the Stars’ top line. Last month, Eaves was fortunate to see nine minutes of ice time. With Lindy Ruff tinkering with the lines in light of Jason Spezza’s injury, Eaves now sees double that. Playing with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will do wonders for your point total. The Stars will be going shot-for-shot against the Blackhawks tonight. Eaves has been holding his own on the top line and would be an excellent sleeper pick for your starting six.
D- Sami Vatanen, ANA
Sami Vatanen is an unsung hero for the Anaheim Ducks. He has six goals and 19 assists on the year thus far to provide some much needed depth scoring from the blueline. Per DailyFaceoff, he is listed as the third-pair defenseman with Simon Despres though he has been seeing over 20 minutes of ice time lately. He is just about on track to match last year’s point total of 37. His shooting percentage is down, but he is a solid possession player with tremendous puck patience. Vatanen has two assists with nine shots on goal in his last three games. The Ducks are taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are seventh-worst in the league in team 5v5 Corsi. Anaheim’s offense is heating up. Look for one of their more talented offensive defensemen to lead the way.
D- Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI
I openly admit that it’s cheating to have an article devoted to the sleeper picks of the day and then pick the hottest defenseman in hockey right now. Especially since I’ve picked him so many times before. But I can’t help but feel that Shayne Gostisbehere is criminally underrated even still. Especially when ESPN comes out with a top-250 fantasy players article for the remainder of the season and has Gostisbehere ranked 138th overall and 26th at the defense position. Twenty-sixth. Behind guys like Alex Edler and Torey Krug who got a 20-game head start on him and still have fewer points. It’s insanity. Ghostbear will be looking to extend his point streak to 10 games against the Buffalo Sabres today at home. He’s on a historic tear, and it’s worth the attention. He will be assuredly adding to his already impressive nine goals and 18 assists in just 34 games today.
G- Steve Mason, PHI
There are a couple of solid goaltenders out there tonight. For what it’s worth, John Gibson would be an okay pick, as would Jhonas Enroth. Mason gets the start for his workload and his high chances of winning. He has faced an average of 31 shots per game his last five starts, with a 2-2-1 record in that stretch. His regulation losses came against Washington and Anaheim. He would have bee 3-2-0 if not for Keith Yandle’s last-second tying goal. This year has not been kind to Mason’s cumulative stats, but he still can steal games at a moment’s notice and has been one of the most consistently good even-strength goaltenders in the league over the past few seasons. He deserves some faith in net.
