Joel Dorcas | October 30th, 2019

A little hiccup in the schedule as the normal full Thursday slate has only two games. As a result, we will cover this modest six-gamer and in all likelihood Friday’s offerings. Tonight the high-event games appear to be as follows: Vancouver at the defensively-challenged L.A. Kings, Edmonton at Columbus, and Florida at Colorado. Let’s hop over the boards and go for a skate, time to make some Ice Picks.

CORE MUST-HAVES ⭐

Leon Draisaitl EDM W $7,700

The struggles continue for the Oilers as they dropped another one last night to the hands of the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1. Edmonton has just a single victory in their last five and have put just seven pucks past the goalline. On the season, they now rank 19th in goals for per game at a 2.85 clip. Despite this, there are a couple of studs on Edmonton, one being Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl hasn’t missed a beat in his last five notching four goals and two helpers. Last season against the Jackets Draisaitl was good for six points in two games.

Bo Horvat VAN C $6,500

Suddenly the Vancouver Canucks are amongst the league’s best in offensive output. They have a ridiculous 20 goals potted in their last four contests. They rank fifth in league scoring with 3.64 goals per game. The L.A. Kings still can’t get things right as they are dead last in the league, giving up 4.08 goals per game. They are currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak and have given up five in each game. Horvat is really stepping up for the ‘Nucks of late with four goals and three assists in his last five.

Nathan MacKinnon COL W $8,200

This is a matchup, despite the recent injuries, that the Avs can exploit. The Florida Panthers are still struggling mightily in their own end. 28 goals against in their last seven and 27th in the league in goals-against average(3.75). The Avalanche have an explosive offense, they are ranked second in goals per game(4.00). The over has hit in four of the last five Avalanche contests. The Avs will certainly lean on MacKinnon in this one with Rantanen and Landeskog out. Six points and 18 shots over the last five for number 29.

VALUE PLAYS 💰

Jake Virtanen VAN W $3,800

With the sudden rise of better play from the Canucks Jake Virtanen has also raised his production. Virtanen has a modest three goals in his last five and is now featured on the top line along with Bo Horvat and Tanner Pearson(as of October 27th line combinations). The only thing missing is some powerplay time, but at $3,800 we can’t be too picky.

Ethan Bear EDM D $3,900

Nothing wrong with throwing Bear on your D pair to allow spending up for bigger names at forward and goalie. Bear gets first-line minutes with Darnell Nurse, he is averaging 21 minutes of ice per game and is actually tied for tops in goals scored by Oil defensemen with two. Bear is also getting some powerplay opportunities on the second unit.

Joonas Donskoi COL W $4,200

Originally J.T. Compher was to be included in the value section but has since been replaced by Donskoi. The Avalanche are going to give the trio of Donskoi, Kadri, and MacKinnon a go against the Panthers. Donskoi has four points in his last five games.

STACK ‘EM 🧱

Vancouver Canucks-Horvat(C), Pettersson(C), Miller(W), Hughes(D) Colorado Avalanche-MacKinnon(W), Makar(D), Kadri(C), Donskoi(W) Edmonton Oilers-Draisaitl(W), McDavid(C), Neal(W), Bear(D)

*All prices listed are from DraftKings*

Good luck to everyone tonight, keep grinding out those lineups!

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