RADIO
Chris Wassel highlights his top OwnersBox NHL lineup picks for Saturday-Friday of Week 14 of the NHL season. Enter the $1500 fantasy hockey contest on OwnersBox for free!
Welcome back RotoBallers! The NHL season heads into January for Week 14 and we have an excellent salary cap contest for you over at OwnersBox!
For those who do not know, OwnersBox is a fantastic weekly fantasy sports platform that offers plenty of game setups to fulfill your desire to draft throughout the season. And the big one that we're focusing on right now: NHL weekly salary cap contests!
In this article, I will be providing you with my weekly fantasy hockey lineup picks on OwnersBox for the Contest of the Week for Week 14! (Jan 8-Jan 14). This contest is not anything like a standard DFS contest or your season-long leagues. Read my picks below, and then join us in this tournament as we battle it out for the cash prizes!
Editor's Note: Stay on top of your draft prep with RotoBaller’s fantasy football rankings, featuring expert analysis, ADPs, and draft insights for both PPR and non-PPR leagues.
Some games could be postponed due to COVID concerns. Also, some players are expected to come and go from the COVID protocol as well.
$1500 Contest for Week 14 Hockey Fans!
OwnersBox is hooking up RotoBaller readers to celebrate the launch of their new salary cap style contests, so be sure to take advantage of these promo offers!
- Join this week's freeroll on OwnersBox - the contest is completely free to enter for new users with code NHL10, and there's a $1,500 cash guaranteed prize pool. You can also enter up to five lineups at $10 per lineup if you want more chances to win.
You can enter up until Saturday, January 8th at 6:55 pm ET.
OwnersBox Forward Picks
On OwnersBox, you have the option of picking five forwards in all. The forwards can play up to 16 games total. That is the max. Once one exceeds that total, the lineup reverts to the best ball format. Also, one can swap players with a 20% fee. Again note this week starts at the normal Saturday evening time.
Nathan MacKinnon, COL ($10,500) - vs TOR, SEA, NSH, ARZ
It is the idea that MacKinnon is playing four times this week and gets at least two prime opponents in the Seattle Kraken and Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes are making things entertaining at least. Colorado has never been able to resist turning up the pace. At press time, MacKinnon had just four goals on the season. When does he go on that goal-scoring binge? Positive regression in that way seems likely.
The good thing is looking at more numbers as sustainable. The center is averaging four shots a game still through 20 contests and that average could inch up some this week. That Saturday night game versus Toronto should be dynamite offensively. Expects tons of chances. If Nazem Kadri misses any time, that will put more focus of the offense on MacKinnon along with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. Worst comes to worse there is Devin Toews and Cale Makar from the blueline for more offense.
Now, could MacKinnon surpass 15 points per game this week? That answer is yes.
Jake Guentzel, PIT ($7,000) - vs ANA, LA
Instead of spending $12,000 for Alex Ovechkin and his two games this week. Why not take a look at Jake Guentzel of the Pittsburgh Penguins? Guentzel can easily pile up 4-5 shots per game and produce at the same point rate. Arguably, he is the one driving the Pittsburgh Penguins offense.
Anyway, the winger is up to 33 points in 27 games while racking up 13 points in his last five games. He is probably the hottest player in the NHL right now and few people are catching on to him. His price is an indication. Yes, it is always dicey to go with players on "California trips" but the Penguins forward is shown that he is a driver of the scoring chances.
There are some other ways to utilize Guentzel in stack-like scenarios. His linemates as far as Rust and Crosby are reasonable in price. Also, there is Kris Letang and then maybe the return of an Evgeni Malkin on the horizon.
Editor's note: Wait and see what some teams do due to COVID, there will feel like a rotating band of forwards at times.
OwnersBox Defensemen Picks
Morgan Rielly, TOR ($6,100) - vs COL, VGK, ARZ
Again, Cale Makar is the easy pick because he plays four times. However...
Overall, there is literally just a handful of defensemen on Makar's level. He produces the most OwnersBox points per game among defensemen. Only Victor Hedman, Adam Fox, and Roman Josi are capable of hitting those levels night in and night out.
Again, it is those very facts that allow one to go a little off the radar and take a risk. Rielly plays three times this week and at a lower salary. Plus, Toronto's matchups are fairly favorable. Colorado plays a wide-open style and so do Vegas and Arizona. Plus, Vegas is still missing Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone. Goals can be had as Nashville illustrated this week.
Please again note there are some other nice defensive options are out there this week. The best thing to do is just dig through the interface and explore. With the later start deadline here again on Saturday, it will be easier to find those cheaper choices.
From the cheaper bin err pricing section, do not forget Charlie McAvoy and even Zach Whitecloud (Whitecloud only plays twice).
OwnersBox Goaltender Picks
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM ($12,400) - vs BOS, NJ/BUF, VAN
Andrei Vasilevskiy is a chalky option this week in most of these leagues. The funny part is that he plays against teams he traditionally dominates so it may be the time to spend up and pile on those points.
The goaltender is 19-5-3in 2021-22 with a sterling 2.16 goals-against-average and a solid .926 save percentage. That is far from average for a goalie who always seems to be the focus of other teams. The Russian goaltender keeps on delivering and Tampa Bay is not a Stanley Cup contender or champion without him.
Honestly, the goaltender has won four of his last five games and can win games whether facing 25 or 45 shots. He has that temperament which few goalies possess. Also, Vasilevskiy has that ability to steal contests no one should. His only loss in the last five games was against the New York Rangers as he came back from COVID protocol.
Scott Wedgewood, ARZ ($9,600) - vs NSH, TOR
The Arizona Coyotes are starting to look like a team again the past week or so. The best part is just how cheap Wedgewood or any Arizona goaltender for that matter. Is it worth saving a couple thousand dollars here? Maybe. Maybe not. However, it is fun to tinker with the lineup here.
Another option to watch maybe to just scour for more cheap backups who play once or twice. It is an easy way to stream then play the swap fee to accumulate more points. Among the goalies that may play once. Jonathan Quick and even Semyon Varlamov may be worth it. Both are solidly priced and will likely draw good matchups. Does one risk things and try to go Thatcher Demko this week?
Sample Lineup
Here's a lineup I built using some of the players from this article and yes, this uses all but $600 of the $200,000 cap. This allows some later wiggle room if needed:
