RADIO
Thursday’s NHL schedule has eight games and Monkey Knife Fight has contests for all to make it more fun.
It looks like a night of mismatches, with a lot of games between teams with winning and losing records. The most lopsided of them could be the 7-1-2 Montreal Canadiens at home against the 1-8-1 Ottawa Senators.
In 10 games, Montreal has scored 17 more goals than they have allowed while Ottawa has surrendered 24 more goals than they have scored. That is a 41-goal difference between the two in just 10 games!
The Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets might be the most competitive matchup of the night. The Flames are 4-4-1 taking on a Jets team that is 6-3-1. The two teams have split the first two games of their current three-game series.
While you can make picks for every game, 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
Anton Khudobin LESS THAN 29.5 SAVES
The Stars netminder has stepped into the starting job and continues to play at a high level, posting a .922 save percentage in his first five starts. However, the Stars have played rather sound defensively in front of him so Khudobin is only averaging 25.7 saves per 60 minutes. Khudobin and the Stars are in Columbus, taking on a Blue Jackets team that has averaged 28.5 shots on goal per 60 minutes, which could make it difficult for the Blue Jackets to even generate enough shots on goal for Khudobin to end up with 30 or more saves.
Connor Hellebuyck LESS THAN 28.5 SAVES
The reigning Vezina Trophy winner is not off to an ideal start this season, with a .907 save percentage in seven starts but Winnipeg has been okay defensively so Hellebuyck is averaging 26.4 saves per 60 minutes. He matches up against a Calgary Flames squad that is generating 29.5 shots per 60 minutes so that would not leave a lot of room for Hellebuyck to record at least 29 saves.
Mitch Marner MORE THAN 0.5 ASSISTS
Toronto’s playmaking right winger has nine assists in 10 games and that includes picking up a helper in five straight games. The matchup against the Vancouver Canucks is favorable, too, since the Canucks have surrendered 3.67 goals against per 60 minutes, the third highest rate in the league.
Dougie Hamilton LESS THAN 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS
It is early in the season but Hamilton has not been the dynamic force that he was last season and in seven games has managed to combine for five or more shots plus blocks twice, averaging a combined 3.0 shots plus blocks per game. Last season, he averaged nearly 5.0 shots plus blocks per game.
RAPID FIRE
Auston Matthews -0.5 fantasy points vs. Aleksander Barkov
Matthews is putting a lot of pucks on net, to the tune of 4.3 shots on goal per game, and that gives him a strong offensive foundation that has led to him scoring goals in five straight games. Barkov is also getting shots on net, 4.0 per game, but does not score goals like Matthews.
Alex Ovechkin -0.5 fantasy points vs. Patric Hornqvist
His season was broken up by a four-game stint on the Covid-19 list and Ovechkin has managed 3.5 shots per game, the lowest of his career so while he has seven points in six games, Ovi has just two goals. Hornqvist is also generating 3.5 shots per game and has seven points in six games but his seven points includes five goals. So on this season’s value alone, Hornqvist has been more productive but Ovechkin has a much longer track record of elite production.
Artemi Panarin +0.5 fantasy points vs. Patrick Kane
A battle of former Chicago linemates. Panarin is leading the Rangers attack with 12 points in nine games and has picked up the pace recently, with six points in the past three games. While Kane does generate more shots, he has 11 points in 11 games, that makes it close enough to like Panarin getting an extra half fantasy point.
Johnny Gaudreau +0.5 points vs. Mitch Marner
Johnny Hockey has a point in all nine of Calgary’s games so far this season and that consistent production gives him a high floor as a point producer. Marner has only been held off the scoresheet twice in 10 games so he is consistently productive, too, but their scoring rates early in this season are close enough to like Gaudreau getting an extra half point in this head-to-head matchup.
