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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Thursday, October 27:
Triple Threat
- C Tyler Seguin (70K), LW Jamie Benn (54K) & RW Patrick Eaves (25K), Stars (at Jets): These three come together on the team's top power play unit. While the Stars have struggled with the man advantage so far, converting only four times on 25 chances, the goal-scoring upside is still huge. Eaves offers inexpensive opportunity to hit the scoresheet by virtue of playing with Benn.
- C Aleksander Barkov (52K), RW Jaromir Jagr (40K) & D Aaron Ekblad, Panthers (at Maple Leafs): The bargain line stack of the day features the visiting Panthers in Toronto. Neither Barkov nor Jagr have looked as dynamic as a year ago, though Barkov has five points in six games. Only the Calgary Flames have allowed more goals than Toronto.
- C Claude Giroux (62K), RW Wayne Simmons (60K) & D Shayne Gostisbehere (48K), Flyers (vs. Coyotes): Philadelphia's top line may sway toward contrarian because of the capital invested, but the traveling Coyotes relying on backup netminder Louis Domingue are not in a good position. Arizona is a NHL-worst minus-9 in goal differential.
Goalie Breakdown
- TARGET/BARGAIN - Devan Dubnyk (75K), Wild (at Sabres): Despite starting on the road, Dubnyk's low salary and overall excellent play to start the season (2.01 GAA, .929 SV%) are enough to warrant confidence against a Sabres team that has managed to score only 14 goals though five games.
- FADE - Marc-Andre Fleury (110K), Penguins (vs. Islanders): The Islanders suffered a hard-luck home loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, unable to convert on their opportunities. Expect a different showing Thursday night. Fleury is the most expensive goalie on the slate against a team featuring some solid firepower.
- CONTRARIAN - Steve Mason (100K), Flyers (vs. Coyotes): Somehow, Mason is the next most expensive option. The Flyers have not exactly shone in net, but Mason did relieve Michal Neuvirth on Tuesday, stopping all eight shots he faced to pick up the win against Buffalo. Favored to win, even if he isn't sharp, Mason should do enough against the Coyotes.
Bargain Plays
- LW Jaden Schwartz (25K), Blues (vs. Red Wings): Schwartz has been doomed with injuries on a seemingly rotating basis and has only managed a solo assist through three games. This will not last. He's paired on a line with star scorer Vladimir Tarasenko and sees a bulk of the team's power play minutes. This savings allows spending big elsewhere.
- RW Cal Clutterbuck (26K) Islanders (at Penguins): Producing above his head with four points in seven games, Clutterbuck could easily come up empty. He's fourth among Islanders forwards in ice time, and he doesn't skate on the power play. He's a 5v5 machine and opportunity increases his chances at converting against a shaky Fleury.
- D Mattias Ekholm (25K), Predators (at Kings): Ekholm tallied 35 points in 82 games in 2015-16. While he isn't going to light the lamp with regularity, Ekholm is P.K. Subban's primary partner, offering greater scoring exposure, while also seeing plenty of time anchoring the power play.
Top Fades
- C Auston Matthews (88K), Maple Leafs (vs. Panthers): There will be growing pains for Matthews, and despite the home game, his price tag is too high against G Roberto Luongo. He has been held without a point only once, but there are too many options with better matchups on Thursday night to sink this much budget into the rookie.
- LW Tanner Pearson (55K), Kings (vs. Predators): Pearson's scoring comes with suspicion. He has scored on 36.4 percent of the shots he's taken, which is well above league average. With four goals, he is set to shatter his previous season-high of 15 set last season. He shot only 10.9 percent last season. Expect a correction.
- D Brent Burns (97K), Sharks (vs. Blue Jackets): The most offensively-viable defenseman this side of Erik Karlsson is absurdly expensive. He needs a multi-point effort to truly be worth rostering, and though the Blue Jackets seem like the obvious streaming opponent, G Sergei Bobrovsky has a .929 save percentage through five starts.
Contrarian Options
- C Steven Stamkos (78K), Lightning (at Canadiens): Canadiens G Carey Price got the night off on Wednesday and will be back between the pipes on Thursday. That should be enough to ease the Stamkos hype machine. Take him in tournaments as it's one of the few times he'll be largely faded.
- LW Max Pacioretty (54K), Canadiens (vs. Lightning): With everyone from Paul Byron to Phillip Danault getting goals for the Canadiens, Pacioretty has somewhat underperformed having scored only once through seven games. His five assists are second on the team, but that's hardly enough. He's a perennial 30-goal scorer currently lost in his team's shuffle. A multi-point showing is coming.
- RW Nikolaj Ehlers (44K), Jets (vs. Stars): Ehlers, and every line but the Jets' top trio, has stumbled out of the gate. The risk that Ehlers will come up empty once again creates reasonable doubt, but he's typically paired with Mathieu Perreault and Drew Stafford, who are superior to their paltry totals thus far. They need to take more shots to generate more scoring chances.
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