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The NHL season rambles on Thursday with six games on the schedule. Monkey Knife Fight is on it, with fun contests to play for every game.
There are a couple of games that are the second game of a series. That includes the Montreal Canadiens taking on the Vancouver Canucks for the second straight night after the Canucks took a 6-5 win in a shootout Wednesday. The Colorado Avalanche are also still in Los Angeles for a second straight game having defeated the Kings 3-2 on Tuesday.
A quick statistical note: early in this season, there has been an average of 5.89 goals per game, ever so slightly down from last season’s average of 5.96 goals per game. The thing is, historically, goal rates tend to decrease during the season as teams tighten up defensively, so starting out a little below last season’s scoring rate does raise an eyebrow.
Featured Promo: For this week only, take 50% off any full-season or yearly Premium Pass on the site! Just enter discount code THANKS when checking out. Thanks for being a reader, and Happy Holidays! Sign Up Now!It’s a super early small sample and might mean nothing. If there are a bunch of 5-4 games tonight, those numbers could flip quickly but worth keeping an eye on overall scoring rates when trying to gauge individual value.
Here are some Star Shootout angles to keep in mind for Thursday’s NHL action on Monkey Knife Fight:
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STAR SHOOTOUT - ALL DAY
MORE OR LESS
Connor Hellebuyck LESS THAN 31.5 SAVES
The Jets goaltender is great but this is a big number to cover. Last season, behind Winnipeg’s porous defense, he averaged 30.4 saves per 60 minutes. It’s not like the Jets defense has become suddenly strong this season – they are still giving up 34.3 shots against per 60 minutes – but with defenseman Dylan DeMelo expected back Thursday that should make them a little more competent in their own end of the rink and they are matched up with a Senators team that is generating 27.6 shots per 60 minutes.
Andrei Vasilevskiy LESS THAN 30.5 SAVES
It’s a little difficult to get a handle on the Lightning since they have only played two games thus far and they were a pair of home games against Chicago, not exactly the best test. Under those circumstances, Vasilevskiy had 28.5 saves per game. Thursday, the Lightning are in Columbus and the Blue Jackets have averaged 31.7 shots per 60 minutes, picking up the pace a big after head coach complained about their meagre attack in their first game of the season. Nevertheless, it’s not easy to forecast them for a shot output above their average when facing a Lightning team that appears to still be quite strong.
Blake Wheeler MORE THAN 0.5 ASSISTS
The Jets captain has assists in two of three games this season and picked up helpers in 18 of 34 road games last season, so it’s pretty close to even on whether or not he gets into the assist column. Taking on the Ottawa Senators, who appear to be below-average defensively, is enough to tilt in Wheeler’s favor.
Drew Doughty LESS THAN 4.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS
The Kings blueliner averaged 3.4 shots plus blocks per game last season and while he is blocking shots early in this season, with 10 in three games, he is having a hard time generating shots, with only two shots in three games. Take those numbers to a matchup against a strong Colorado team and Doughty can slide under.
RAPID FIRE
Kyle Connor +0.5 fantasy points vs. Patrice Bergeron
Connor is an elite scoring winger off to an impressive start with five points in three games. He also has a relatively favorable matchup in Ottawa. Bergeron may generate more shots but the Bruins have had a really hard time scoring this season, still seeking their first goal during 5-on-5 play, and Philadelphia is a quality opponent. This all makes Connor a lively underdog in this matchup.
Nathan MacKinnon +0.5 fantasy points vs. Mark Scheifele
Scheifele is a great player who is playing a ton, more than 25 minutes per game this season, but that may not be enough to keep up with MacKinnon, who is among the top two or three players in the game.
Shea Weber +0.5 fantasy points vs. Bo Horvat
This is a relatively close matchup because Weber shoots the puck a lot for a defenseman. In four games this season, Weber has four points and 10 shots on goal. In five games for the Canucks, Horvat has five points (three which came against Montreal last night) and 15 shots on goal. That’s close enough to like Weber getting an extra half fantasy point as the underdog.
Steven Stamkos +0.5 fantasy points vs. Victor Hedman
Victor Hedman is a very productive defenseman but going against a healthy Stamkos is a tall order. In the first two Lightning games of this season, Stamkos had five points and nine shots on goal. Hedman has two points and six shots on goal in that time, which is impressive but not impressive enough to give away half fantasy points against a stud scorer like Stamkos.
