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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Monday, December 5 (all advanced stats courtesy of Corsica.Hockey):
Triple Threat
- C Alexander Wennberg (46K), LW Brandon Saad (68K), D Zach Werenski (32K), Blue Jackets (vs. Coyotes): The Blue Jackets will take on a Coyotes team with the highest xGA60 (expected goals against per 60 minutes) at 5v5. Columbus managed only two goals when these two clubs met on Saturday, but they fired 60 shots on goal. It's unlikely G Mike Smith bails out his team again.
- C Evgeni Malkin (65K), RW Phil Kessel (51K), D Kris Letang (45K), Penguins (vs. Senators): Sens D Marc Methot is not a household name, but his current injury forces Dion Phaneuf to slide up to the top pairing with Erik Karlsson. Playing on the second line, Malkin and Kessel will see plenty of Ottawa's bottom-four D, who all have major flaws.
- C Patrice Bergeron (57K), LW Brad Marchand (72K), RW David Pastrnak (64K), Bruins (vs. Panthers): Boston's top line ranks fourth in the NHL with a 63.6 CF% (Corsi For percentage) at 5v5. They should be able to muster up a couple of goals considering Florida is just 5-7-2 on the road this season.
Bargain Plays
- RW Josh Anderson (25K), Blue Jackets (vs. Coyotes): Anderson is sixth in the NHL in iSCF60 (individual scoring chances for per 60 minutes) at 5v5. The problem is he is averaging only 12 minutes of ice time this season. However, in his last five games he is averaging 14:34 of playing time. More scoring chances should follow.
- D Zach Werenski (32K), Blue Jackets (vs. Coyotes): Werenski has gone point-less in four straight, but he should not be this inexpensive given he has 16 points from the back end and is very much in the conversation for the Calder Trophy.
- LW Ryan Dzingel (25K), Senators (at Penguins): Dzingel continues to skate on Ottawa's top line with Kyle Turris and J.G. Pageau. His floor is very low, so consider him only in tournament lineups.
Top Fades
- G Mike Smith (93K), Coyotes (at Blue Jackets): Smith faced 60 shots in his last outing and managed to stop 58 of them. It is very unlikely he stands on his head once again.
- C Evgeny Kuznetsov (54K), Capitals (vs. Sabres): Kuznetsov is having a slow start to the season with just nine points in 23 games. He might be a nice buy-low candidate in season-long leagues, but he is not worth spending up for on Squad Up.
- LW Jussi Jokinen (36K), Panthers (at Bruins): Even though Jokinen doesn't cost all that much, better options can be found at his salary. He has gone point-less in seven straight games and Boston has the NHL's lowest xGA60 at 5v5.
Contrarian Options
- G Craig Anderson (100K), Senators (at Penguins): Anderson hasn't played since Nov. 29. He took a leave of absence to attend his wife who has cancer. Anderson's spectacular play despite the circumstances has been one of the stories of the year. Playing with a heavy heart, he has been fantastic all season. It wouldn't be shocking if he stole this game all by himself.
- C Jack Eichel (44K), Sabres (at Capitals): Eichel has three goals on 11 shots in three games since returning from injury. He is faced with a tough matchup in Washington, but his individual talent compared to his low salary warrants the risk.
- D Torey Krug (48K), Bruins (vs. Panthers): Krug has a shooting percentage of just 1.6 over his last 106 games. This is odd considering he scored 26 goals in the two season prior to this extended slump. He logs plenty of minutes and plays an offensive-minded game. Maybe Monday will be the night he snaps out of his goal-scoring funk.
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