The National Hockey League drops the puck on 13 games Saturday and Monkey Knife Fight has contests for each and every one of them to help you enjoy the fun.
Afternoon action has the Pittsburgh Penguins at the New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators at Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche, and Chicago visiting the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The North Division offers up the Calgary Flames at the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks at the Montreal Canadiens, as the home teams in both matchups try to bounce back from losses.
The schedule finishes with one of the most competitive games of the day, the Winnipeg Jets at the Edmonton Oilers. With Toronto slumping, suddenly the other teams in the North Division are closing the gap and the Oilers are tied for the division lead but have played two more games than the Maple Leafs while the Jets are two points behind but have played one less game.
Here are some Star Shootout angles to consider when playing Saturday’s NHL action on MKF.
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STAR SHOOTOUT - ALL DAY
MORE OR LESS
Mitch Marner MORE THAN 0.5 ASSISTS
The Maple Leafs winger has 15 assists in 17 home games this season, though he has recorded those assists in 10 games. He scored a goal in Friday’s loss to Calgary, running his point streak to five games. Marner has also been held without an assist in back-to-back games just four times all season.
Artemi Panarin MORE THAN 0.5 ASSISTS
Panarin scored a goal against Washington Friday and has recorded a point in each of his past six games. In four games since returning from his hiatus to deal with a personal matter, Panarin has three goals and four assists.
Sebastian Aho MORE THAN 5.5 FANTASY POINTS
An average home game for the Hurricanes center this season has resulted in 5.9 fantasy points as he has 14 points in 13 games on home ice and the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that ranks 26th in goals against per 60 (2.72) on the road this season, are not necessarily the kind of team that should bring Aho down below his average production.
RAPID FIRE
Mikko Rantanen +0.5 fantasy points vs. Alex Ovechkin
After scoring a pair of goals against the Rangers Friday, Ovechkin now has six goals during a five-game goal-scoring streak. For the season, he is averaging a little better than 6.5 fantasy points per home game and is trending a little higher during his current goal streak. Rantanen is also trending in the right direction, coming off a four-point game against Minnesota on Thursday. He is putting up a little more than 6.3 fantasy points per home game, and while he does not generate shots like Ovechkin, Rantanen’s point production brings him close enough to prefer him when getting an extra half fantasy point.
Dougie Hamiton -0.5 shots + blocks vs. Alex Edler
Hamilton is riding a 10-game point streak during which he has recorded 49 shots plus blocks, which is more in line with his production from last season when he was a game-breaker for the Hurricanes. In 16 road games this season, Edler has averaged a little more than 3.3 shots plus blocks per game which is not enough to like his chances against a more dynamic talent like Hamilton.
Tyler Toffoli -0.5 fantasy points vs. William Nylander
Toffoli has been more productive on the road this season and is still averaging 6.1 fantasy points per home game. He has 11 points in six games against Vancouver this season while Nylander is scoring a point per game on home ice but overall does not generate shots like Toffoli, so his average production is around 4.7 fantasy points per game. The difference, that makes this matchup closer than the overall numbers, is that Nylander has been generating a lot more lately, with 43 shots on goal in the past 11 games (3.91 per game) after starting the season with 37 shots on goal in his first 20 games (1.85 per game).
Auston Matthews +0.5 points vs. Mitch Marner
Consider this one a gift from your friends at MKF. Matthews has 36 points in 27 games this season while Marner, his linemate, has 39 points in 30 games. Matthews is dealing with a wrist issue and has not been quite as productive lately but he and Marner are so close that getting an extra half point on either side is a bonus.
Rickard Rakell +0.5 fantasy points vs. Bo Horvat
Although he has not finished his scoring chances as might have been expected this season, Rakell continues to generate shots and has found his way to 21 points in 31 games. Horvat has 24 points through 34 games for the Canucks which is close enough to make Rakell plus a half fantasy point the preferable side to play in this matchup.