The Columbus Blue Jackets are the hottest team in the NHL and are proving that last year’s playoff berth was no fluke. The Blue Jackets had their season wiped out basically before it started, with a plethora of injuries that buried them in the standings by Halloween. Columbus will host the gutless Toronto Maple Leafs, who packed it in a couple of months ago. The Jackets make for an attractive team with key assets that could flourish in Wednesday’s fantasy action. Let’s take a look at Wednesday’s NHL Pick Six and sleeper.
LW – Alex Ovechkin – Washington
The Capitals host the Boston Bruins on NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry at 8 p.m. ET. The Caps are in great form with a mark of seven wins in their last ten games to climb to fourth in the Eastern Conference, which would give them home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Ovechkin is having what many experts consider to be his finest season with 52 goals, 28 assist and a plus 11. The Great Eight has five goals, two assists, and a plus-two in his last five games.
C – Ryan Getzlaf – Anaheim
The Ducks host the Dallas Stars on NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry at 10:30 p.m. ET in the second game of a doubleheader on the network. The Ducks lead the St. Louis Blues by two points in the Western Conference and are just two points behind the New York Rangers in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy. Getzlaf, the Ducks team captain, has 24 goals, 44 assists and a plus 14 on the season as Anaheim’s leading scorer. Getzlaf has just one goal, one assist and a plus-one in his last five games.
RW – Cam Atkinson – Columbus
The Blue Jackets host the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Blue Jackets are the hottest team in the NHL with nine wins in their last ten games, which proves their ability when healthy. Atkinson has 20 goals and 18 assists on the season with one goal, two assists, and a plus-two in his last five games.
D – Sami Vatanen – Anaheim
Dallas ranks 27th in the NHL for goals against and ranks 20th for penalty killing. Anaheim is in good form with seven wins in their last ten games. Vatanen is the Ducks top scoring defenseman with 12 goals, 25 assists and a plus-five but has been cold lately with just one assist in his last five games. Expect Vatanen to have good opportunities to get on the score sheet against the leaky Dallas Stars.
D – Jack Kingberg – Dallas
We will hedge against the Ducks with the Stars top defenseman. Dallas is the second highest scoring team in the NHL and is also in good form with seven wins in their last ten games. The Ducks rank an alarming 21st in the NHL for goals against. Klingberg is the top scoring defenseman on the Stars with 11 goals, 28 assists and a plus-three but with just one goal and one assist in his last five games with a minus two.
G – Sergei Bobrovsky – Columbus
Toronto has slipped badly on offense to rank 24th in the NHL for goal scoring and for the power play. Bobrovsky has been a big reason for the red hot Blue Jackets and their resurgence. Bobrovsky has a .916 save percentage for the season with a 2.76 goals against average. Bobrovsky first caught attention two years ago when he nearly carried the Blue Jackets into the playoffs on his back with dominant goaltending. Against a Toronto team that checked out long ago, and has been called out by head coach Peter Horachek for lacking any care for the game, Bobrovsky stands a great chance for a shutout win.
Sleeper – Matt Calvert – Columbus
Toronto ranks 26th in the NHL for goals against and 21st for penalty killing. That should open the door for Calvert, who has 12 goals and nine assists on the season and has two goals with a plus-one in his last five games. Calvert should get plenty of looks against a Toronto team that hasn’t played any defense, even in good times, for the past several years.
