RADIO
It is a beautifully busy night on the ice in the National Hockey League, with 10 games on the schedule, and Monkey Knife Fight has contests for all of them to add to the excitement.
We are getting far enough into the season that there is a clear difference between some of the strong and weak teams in the league this season so that does lead to some potential mismatches.
But, with a bunch of games, that does mean there should be some competitive matchups. The Philadelphia Flyers at the Pittsburgh Penguins should be good. The Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens were competitive in Winnipeg and now they move to Montreal. Those might be the best matchups.
On the other hand, the Chicago Blackhawks will have their hands full with the Tampa Bay Lightning, as should the Vancouver Canucks against the Toronto Maple Leafs, or the Buffalo Sabres at the New York Islanders.
One of the best parts about hockey on Monkey Knife Fight is that even if the team matchup isn’t necessarily great, there are always contests that can make the game more compelling.
Here are some Star Shootout angles to consider for Thursday’s NHL action on Monkey Knife Fight.
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STAR SHOOTOUT - MAIN GAMES
MORE OR LESS
Semyon Varlamov MORE THAN 25.5 SAVES
Islanders coach Barry Trotz is being coy about who the starter will be Thursday, saying it will be a Russian but that doesn’t help much when the options are Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin, but if it is Varlamov going against the Buffalo Sabres, he heads into that game with a .927 save percentage. The Sabres don’t get a lot of shots overall but have been better on the road, averaging 31.9 shots per 60 minutes. Even if the Islanders can grind it out defensively, and that is how they roll, Varlamov is averaging 26.6 saves per 60 minutes this season so it seems reasonable to like him for at least 26 on this night…if he plays.
Patrick Kane MORE THAN 0.5 ASSISTS
Although Kane didn’t register an assist in two games at Tampa Bay earlier this season, Chicago’s superstar winger has 14 assists in 10 home games, getting on the board with at least one helper in eight of those ten games.
James van Riemsdyk LESS THAN 0.5 GOALS
The veteran Flyers winger is having the best season of his career, by a significant margin, but part of that is based on JvR riding high percentages and that includes scoring on 22.2% of his shots. With that percentage likely to regress and a matchup against Pittsburgh, with goaltender Tristan Jarry improving his play, it would seem the safer option is to pick van Riemsdyk to not score. He has scored at least one goal in five of nine road games this season but has failed to light the lamp in three games against the Penguins.
Mark Giordano LESS THAN 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS
On average, the Flames captain is producing just a hair over four shots plus blocks per game. Although he does have five or more shots plus blocks in back-to-back games against the same Ottawa Senators team that he is matched up against tonight, Giordano has recorded at least five shots or blocks in nine of 23 games so far this season. That tilts this towards the lower side of the ledger.
Jonathan Huberdeau MORE THAN 0.5 ASSISTS
The Panthers winger has 16 assists in 21 games this season but he also had 16 assists in the first 17 games and has now gone four games in a row without one. It might seen counter-intuitive to go against a streak but Huberdeau is due and he is up against a Nashville Predators team that isn’t great at the best of times but is depleted by injuries right now so expect Huberdeau to get back on the board.
RAPID FIRE
Sean Couturier -0.5 fantasy points vs. Aleksander Barkov
Even if Barkov has the same favorable matchup as cited for Huberdeau above, it is hard to go against Couturier who has been a beast since returning from injury. Since returning to the Philadelphia lineup, Couturier has 11 points and 24 shots on goal during a seven-game point streak.
Mark Scheifele -0.5 fantasy points vs. Roman Josi
The Jets center is one of the hottest players in the league, with 21 points in his past 14 games, and that gives him the edge over Josi, even if Josi is averaging nearly five shots plus blocks per game. Scheifele’s scoring production just puts too much pressure on Josi, who is already dealing with a shorthanded Predators lineup.
Sebastian Aho +0.5 points vs. Alex DeBrincat
With 20 points in 22 games this season, Aho has been fine this season but his production has been a little disappointing. Contrast that with DeBrincat who has bounced back from a tough 2019-2020 season and has 25 points in 19 games. However, tonight Aho’s Carolina Hurricanes are taking on the Detroit Red Wings, while DeBrincat’s Chicago Blackhawks are matched up against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The edge goes to Aho.
