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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Wednesday, April 12 (all advanced statistics courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and apply to 5v5 situations):
Dynamic Duos
- LW Mike Hoffman (64K) & RW Mark Stone (53K), Senators (vs. Bruins): The Senators experimented with different lineup combinations in Tuesday's practice and head coach Guy Boucher said to not pay much attention to them. One constant was the pairing of the team's second- and fourth-leading scorers. They had Corsi For ratings of 57 and 60 percent with centers Derick Brassard and Kyle Turris, respectively.
- C Boone Jenner (36K) & RW Cam Atkinson (43K), Blue Jackets (at Penguins): The Bruins will be without D Brandon Carlo and likely D Torey Krug for their first game, but they don't compare to the Penguins' injuries. The absences of Ds Kris Letang, Trevor Daley and Olli Maatta resulted in a 46.47 CF% since March 12. The latter two have returned, but Letang's contributions were not made up for during the regular season.
Bargain Plays
(Photo courtesy Getty Images)
- C Ryan Spooner (40K), Bruins (at Senators): The Senators finished the regular season with the second-worst penalty-kill percentage of the 16 playoff teams. Their 246 times shorthanded ranked 16th in the league. Boston finished 82 games with the seventh-ranked power-play percentage. Spooner plays on the point of unit one in addition his third-line center role at 5v5.
- LW Mikkel Boedker (25K), Sharks (at Oilers): Boedker finished with just 26 points, his lowest full-season total since 2011-12. He concluded the regular season in a third-line role beside RW Jannik Hansen and C Tomas Hertl. The trio had a CF% of 55.93 in 58 minutes together and averaged 14.45 scoring chances per 60 minutes.
Top Fades
(Photo courtesy Action Images)
- C Leon Draisaitl (55K), Oilers (vs. Sharks): Draisaitl didn't score in five regular season games against the Sharks, totaling just eight shots on goal but handing out three assists. He requires a goal or a handful of shots in order to return value at his salary, so owners should opt instead for C Connor McDavid (74K) who is much more immune to difficult matchups. McDavid had four goals and four assists in five games against San Jose.
- RW Alexander Radulov (62K), Canadiens (vs. Rangers): The Canadiens had the highest expected goals for per 60 minutes over the final month of the season of the 10 teams involved in Wednesday's opening night of the playoffs. Even still, Radulov had just three goals since Feb. 27 and just six since the end of January. He registered three or more SOG in just four games since March 12.
Contrarian Options
(Photo courtesy Action Images)
- LW Zach Parise (56K), Wild (vs. Blues): The Blues were significantly worse on the road than they were at home in the final month of the season, posting a 48.19 CF% and an expected goals against per 60 minutes of 2.54 over the final month. Parise notched 25 of his 42 points on home ice and registered 88 more shots on goal.
- RW Phil Kessel (60K), Penguins (vs. Blue Jackets): Kessel finished his 2016-17 season with just one goal in his final 12 games, with it coming against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was able to pick up seven assists during the scoring slump, and he should have a full dose of C Evgeni Malkin on his left side in the playoff opener. Kessel did notch multiple SOG in all but one game during his drought.
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