Joel Dorcas |November 7th, 2019

The search for optimal players on tonight’s slate has been narrowed down to three games, New Jersey at Calgary, Washington at Florida, and Pittsburgh at the surging New York Islanders. Other games to monitor with high implied totals are the Blackhawks home to the Canucks and even the Kings and Senators squaring off in Ottawa. Let’s get right into it and make some Ice Picks!

CORE MUST-HAVES ⭐

Brock Nelson C NYI $5,700

The Isles have recently found a recipe for some serious success as they have reeled off 10 straight victories going into Thursday’s action. New York is as close to matchup-proof as they come right now despite the fact that they will draw the Pittsburgh Penguins who rank ninth in goals allowed per game with a mark of 2.60. Brock Nelson continues to be one of many key contributors to this Islanders squad. He leads the team in shots on goal with 38 in 14 games. Both Nelson and fellow center Mathew Barzal are core pieces to the offense in Long Island, both are viable in this situation.

Mark Giordano D CGY $6,400

The Flames are a team that many pegged to win games based mostly through the offense. It’s still very early in the season but they are still a very talented roster that is perhaps working on a balanced attack that prides itself at both ends of the ice. Their offense runs primarily through Giordano and Johny Gaudreau, especially in powerplay situations. Both are fine plays against the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are mostly a very young team that despite their defensive deficiencies, are playing better of late. Going into this game Jersey ranks 29th of 31st in goals allowed per game(3.69). Giordano gives us blocks and shots which, at this point, separates the two elite tier talents.

Jakub Vrana W WAS $5,800

Vrana is providing the Capitals with some serious scoring of late, he has put together nine points in his last five games(6G, 3A). Also of note, Vrana has fired 19 shots on net, good for almost four per outing. The Capitals are rolling right now with four straight victories, each game putting up at least four goals. The Florida Panthers rank 24th in goals allowed per contest at 3.43. In four of their previous five outings, they have been a part of contests that have gone over the combined total.

VALUE PLAYS 💰

Nico Hischier C NJ $3,900

Hischier has really found his game of late as he has scored five of his season-to-date total of seven points over the last five games. Hischier is putting shots on goal to the tune of nearly three per contest during the recent stretch. The Flames are a middle-of-the-pack defense with a 2.94 GAA, good for 15th best in the league.

Denis Malgin C FLA $3,800

Denis Malgin has been a very reliable player for the Panthers and will perhaps be leaned on more with the recent injury to Vincent Trocheck. Malgin has a steady nine points in 12 games so far for the Panthers. The Panthers/ Capitals matchup profiles well in terms of offense as they are both somewhat leaky defensively. Washington ranks 16th in GAA at a 3.06 clip.

Devon Toews D NYI $4,500

Toews has certainly stepped up for New York this season. Head coach Barry Trotz has given a vote of confidence to the second-year defender and Toews certainly hasn’t disappointed. Toews has provided a nice nine points( 2G, 7A) in 14 games this season. Toews gets powerplay minutes and provides a nice base by filling out the blocks and shots categories on the regular.

STACK EM 🧱

Florida Panthers- Barkov(C), Huberdeau(W), Hoffman(W), Malgin(C) New York Islanders- Nelson(C), Barzal(C), Lee(W), Toews(D) Calgary Flames- Gaudreau(W), Giordano(D), Lindholm(W), Bennett(W)

*All prices listed are from DraftKings*

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

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