The NHL has a large slate of games to be played on Tuesday night, as no less than 22 teams will be active. That includes numerous teams that can clinch a playoff spot, a point that NHL.com made in a March 28th article. All of the New York Rangers, the Anaheim Ducks, the San Jose Sharks, and the Edmonton Oilers can clinch a spot in the post-season if things go right on Tuesday. For Edmonton, it would mark a first for the franchise since the 2005/06 season.
Target Columbus players in fantasy picks
But when it comes to making your fantasy picks for the NHL, clinching playoff spots won't matter much.
Three players that are looking good for value (all prices from FanDuel) are with the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team already in the post-season. A great reason to go with Columbus players tonight is because of who they are hosting, the Buffalo Sabres.
Buffalo enjoyed a victory last night over the Florida Panthers, however it was a home win for them. The problems for the Sabres have come on the road this season as they enter Tuesday just 13-19-6 as visitors. Furthermore, that they are playing on back-to-back nights suggests that their skaters will be tired. As cases in point three of Buffalo's defensemen logged big-time minutes on Monday night, namely Jake McCabe (21:49), Zach Bogosian (24:17), and Dmitry Kulikov (24:28).
That suggests either reduced minutes tonight or major fatigue and look for Columbus' scorers to take advantage. Furthermore, Buffalo will either have to go with their back-up goalie or play Robin Lehner on back-to-back nights, something that could cause defensive problems and benefit the stats of the Blue Jackets' skaters.
Dubinsky and Jenner could be big for Columbus
Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner have been tallying points of late. They have four apiece in their last five games and they are value picks at $5300 and $5000 respectively for salary. With Columbus, who are 5th in the NHL in goals-for, poised to run the score up Dubinsky and Jenner could be central to a lot of the action.
They are two solid picks for your fantasy lineup tonight from Columbus. Furthermore, at the prices offered you should be able to get a top-notch goaltender that has a major chance to get a goaltending victory.
On that note, there is no need to look passed Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky, a one-time Vezina winner and candidate to win again this season. With goaltenders, you definitely have to watch to make sure he's playing. However, it's hard to see why he wouldn't be. He has rested since March 25th and the Blue Jackets, despite qualifying for the post-season already, still have to be concerned about seeding. At a FanDuel price of $9300 he is a steep pick, but his team has shutout potential against a weak Buffalo team that's on the road and likely fatigued.
#BlueJackets Sergei Bobrovsky is projected to play between the pipes on Tuesday. https://t.co/ZClqQVi4ab
— NHL Starting Lineups (@NHL_Lineups) March 28, 2017
Three players don't make an entire lineup, but with Bobrovsky, Jenner, and Dubinsky you'll be a third of the way to a lineup without breaking your bankroll. Another cheaply priced player that has a chance for major value on Tuesday is Andrej Sekara. The Edmonton Oiler is priced at $4600 and has been double digits for fantasy points for the latter half of March. The Oilers will face the Los Angeles Kings in a game that Edmonton will host.