I'm starting my cash lineup with Ovechkin, who gets a matchup against a Sens team that ranks dead last in GA, SA, and more importantly for #8 – has the league's worst PK…
Today’s NHL Cash Game Breakdown is for tonight’s main slate, which features eight games with a 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT lock.
As always, I will do my best to keep the article updated to reflect any late scratches, line changes or surprise goalie confirmations. Please follow me on Twitter @RyanClifford as I will always post any updates that affect my article there, as well.
Good luck tonight!
RYAN CLIFFORD 
NHL CHEAT SHEET
Today’s NHL Cash Game Breakdown is for tonight’s main slate, which features eight games with a 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT lock.
As always, I will do my best to keep the article updated to reflect any late scratches, line changes or surprise goalie confirmations. Please follow me on Twitter @RyanClifford as I will always post any updates that affect my article there, as well.
Good luck tonight!
UPDATE: Josh Leivo appears to have been moved to L3, rendering him useless for cash games.
POSITIONAL CASH GAME RANKINGS
Centers
1) Nathan MacKinnon, COL (DK $8100 FD $8800) – Well, there goes my paragraph talking up MacKinnon’s consistency – what was THAT last night? Aside from failing to register a point, however, MacKinnon managed 8 SOG – and THIS is exactly the kind of player I want in my cash lineups. You have a massive ceiling, but even when he’s held off the scoresheet, you still have a big floor to fall back on. MacKinnon is right back atop my cash rankings – with plenty of value on tonight’s slate to get him in there.
2) Steven Stamkos, TB (DK $6900 FD $8100) – Tampa Bay is finishing up their road trip in Edmonton tonight, and he’s attempting to go 4 for 4 in this one – having scored a goal in each of the previous three games on the trip. In fact, Stamkos has been one of the league’s hottest scorers, of late, with 8 in his last six games. His value is a little better on DK tonight, but with the amount of value on this slate, I think you can go get him, if you want him.
3) Derek Stepan, ARI (DK $4000 FD $5400) – This is a DK-only play for me, but Stepan is back on the Coyotes top line, back where he belongs – alongside Clayton Keller. These two had a lot of success together a season ago, yet somehow have been split up for a majority of 2018-19. Stepan has been shooting the puck a lot over the past couple weeks, with 4 or more SOG in four of his last seven. He’s been having scoring issues – the major reason for his deflated salary – but I would assume that part of his game will pick up if he sticks as Keller’s center.
4) Nazem Kadri, TOR (DK $4700 FD $5600) – Toronto’s power play is something to behold. When they are clicking, this machine is practically impossible to stop. Kadri gives you cheap exposure to this unit, while also getting a guy on a bit of a heater – with 6 points (1G 5A) in his last three games – while also getting a decent floor, as Kadri has averaged over 3 SOG per game in his last five.
5) Auston Matthews, TOR (DK $8200 FD $8500) – If you really want to go balls to the wall on the Leafs – Matthews is the guy. He’s scored 19 goals in just 21 games this season, adding 14 helpers, and nearly 4 peripherals per game. He’s also got 6 points (3G 3A) in his last three, which has fueled his salary spike, but with another juicy matchup on tap against the Rangers, I think a pretty strong case can be made for paying up here, if you’ve got the space.
6) Mark Scheifele, WPG (DK $7500 FD $8400) – With 5 goals and 11 assists in his last seven games, Scheifele has vaulted to the top of the NHL scoring race, currently sitting 5th, with 48 points (21G 27A) in 35 games – just one point behind Connor McDavid. Tonight, the Jets are in Vancouver, and they’ve scored 10 goals against the Canucks in their previous two meetings this season. Scheifele doesn’t have quite the floor as the other centermen on this list, but he has been one of the most consistent point producers in the league, and shouldn’t be overlooked in this spot.
Wingers
1) Alex Ovechkin, WPG (DK $8000 $9100) – With all of the value available tonight, I will be starting my cash lineups with MacKinnon and Ovechkin tonight. After scoring goals in nine of ten games, Ovechkin has been held off the scoresheet in two straight. Tonight, however, the Caps go on the road to Ottawa, to square off against a Sens team that still ranks dead-last in goals against and shots allowed – and even more importantly for #8 – they have the league’s worst PK. Ovechkin also offers a huge floor – besides the game last night, Ovechkin had been averaging nearly 5 SOG/game. Ovechkin is my top cash play tonight, at any position.
2) Ondrej Kase, ANH (DK $5800 FD $4400) – Here’s where the value starts, for me. Kase is STILL ridiculously underpriced on Fanduel. He’d be in consideration for me on DK for $5,800 (although probably a bit lower in my ranks), but he is a stone-cold lock for $4,400 on FD. Kase had been averaging nearly 5 peripherals per game, until a clunker on Thursday night, and had managed 6 goals and 5 assists in just seven games. He is a future star in this league, and as long as he’s cheap, and on the Ducks top line next to Getzlaf, he belongs in consideration for all formats.
3) Jesse Puljujarvi, EDM (DK $3200 FD $3500) – Puljujarvi was the Oilers fourth overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft, and although his career has gotten off to a slower start than many within the organization had hoped, he is still just 20 years old, and has shown flashes of potential on occasion. Well, the Oilers are shuffling up their lines, and Puljujarvi will join the top line, alongside of Connor McDavid, for tonight’s matchup with Tampa Bay. It’s hard to pass up near min-price exposure to the world’s best player – especially in a juicy matchup against a Lightning team that’s been prone to defensive breakdowns on the road.
4) Josh Leivo, VAN (DK $2600 FD $3500) – UPDATE: Leivo appears to be moved down to L3, rendering him useless for cash games. No chance I’d go with Leivo over guys like Puljujarvi or Svechnikov on FD for the same price, but on DK, Leivo is just $2,600, still skating alongside of Pettersson and Boeser – a spot in which he’s scored 4 goals and an assist in nine games thus far. He doesn’t possess much of a floor, averaging less than 3 peripherals per game with VAN2, but for $2,600, I don’t mind taking shots with guys like this – especially if it affords me the opportunity to pay up for another stud or two in other spots.
5) Nikita Kucherov, TB (DK $7300 FD $8800) – Kucherov is also too expensive for me on FD – at least for cash games – but on DK, I don’t mind the play. It’s a nice matchup for Tampa’s PP against an Oilers team that boasts one of the league’s worst PK’s – killing just 76.1% of the time. Kucherov has at least a point in 17 of his last 18 games, totaling 8 goals and 26 assists – nearly a 2 point-per-game average. Although he doesn’t provide much of a floor by way of shots or blocks, he is one of the rare cases of a player that has consistently proven that you can add a point into his floor number – making him increasingly more valuable for cash-game purposes.
6) Mitch Marner, TOR (DK $7100 FD $8000) – You have to strike while the iron is hot with Marner. He scares me for cash games, as we’ve seen him post less than 2 DK points on six different occasions this season. If you’re going to use a guy like Marner, the rest of your lineup should be as “safe” as possible. Marner is hot, though, with points (4G 3A) in four of his last five games. With the Leafs power play firing on all cylinders right now, I just can’t look past the Leafs tonight – especially playing the Rangers and their 25th-ranked PK.
7) Filip Chytil, NYR (DK $3100 FD $4200) – Chytil is another DK-only play for me. How can you pass up the guy for $3,100 while he’s skating alongside of Zibanejad and Zuccarello on the Rangers top line? Not only did he score a goal his last time out, but his price dropped $600 on DK – and it’s these pricing errors that I’m always looking to take advantage of for cash games. Chytil hasn’t been shooting much lately, but over his career, he’s proven to be one of the team’s top shot generators, and he’s had a lot of success playing from the top line.
8) Patrik Laine, WPG (DK $6800 FD $8300) – Once again – too expensive for me on FD – but he’s certainly in play against a weak Canucks team tonight. He’s quieted down significantly since late November, where he had a stretch of 13 goals in six games, but he’s still shooting at a decent volume, albeit pretty inconsistently. But you can’t ignore the matchup. Laine had a hat trick the last time these two teams met, and had another goal in their first meeting this season – it’s hard for me to ignore a pricing discrepancy like this, but I probably still prefer Ovechkin and Kucherov tonight.
9) Andrei Svechnikov, CAR (DK $4200 FD $4000) – What’s it gotta take for this kid’s price to come up on DFS sites? He’s got 4 goals and an assist in his last four games, yet his price has DROPPED $700 on DK! He’s back down to the Canes third line, but even in that spot, he was one of the team’s top shot generators at 5v5 – and ranks 2nd in the league in individual High Dangers Chances For per 60 minutes. This will be Svechnikov’s first game against his childhood idol, Evgeni Malkin – giving a little bit of narrative to those who like that kind of thing.
10) Jakub Vrana, WAS (DK $4500 FD $4200) – Vrana has 4+ SOG in three of four games skating alongside of Kuznetsov/Wilson. He’s managed just a single goal in those games, but I like the value of the second line winger, with the Caps in a smash-spot against Ottawa tonight. There’s a chance the Sens continue matching the opposition’s top competition with their third line, which would leave the Kuznetsov line to have the best matchup, against the defensively inept Matt Duchene.
Defensemen
1) Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF (DK $5500 FD $5300) – Ristolainen has now gone 12 straight games with at least 4 peripherals, averaging about 5.5 per game at this point. He’s also got points in eight of those games, however, making him one of my favorite cash plays recently. His price remains stagnant, making his path to hitting cash value highly likely. The Sabres will be playing B2B, but are going from road to home, a spot that we discovered teams have actually fared better in. He’ll most definitely be in my cash lineups on both sites tonight.
2) Darnell Nurse, EDM (DK $5200 FD $4400) – In five games since Oscar Klefbom went down, Nurse has piled up 2 goals, 4 assists, 15 SOG and 9 blocked shots, while skating for nearly 30 minutes per game. Somehow, his price has risen just $400 on Fanduel and remains underpriced on DK, as well. He continues to be a cash-game lock on FD – a free square, if you will – and should be one of the top options on DK. Nurse was Edmonton’s 7th overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft, and the 23-year-old is one of the top young offensive-defensemen in the league – a bright future awaits.
3) Dustin Byfuglien, WPG (DK $5900 FD $6400) – I’m trying not to put too much stock into past matchups, but the Jets have slaughtered Vancouver in their first two meetings this season – and I think it will take the Canucks being on the right side of variance to stop it from happening again tonight. Byfuglien had a goal, 3 assists and 8 SOG in those first two meetings, and besides a bad game in LA this past week, Byfuglien has been very good since returning to the lineup from injury on December 7 – averaging roughly 4.5 peripherals per game, and putting up 2 goals and 8 assists in seven games.
4) Calvin de Haan, CAR (DK $3000 FD $3500) – Since 2015, de Haan ranks third amongst defensemen with 2.3 blocked shots per game. Although he hasn’t come close to that number this season, he is averaging over 3 peripherals per game in 2018-19 and has been over 4 per game in the month of December. de Haan has been taking advantage of increased minutes, alongside Justin Faulk on the second pairing, and has registered 4 assists in his last three games, as well. For a near min-price salary, he is probable to hit value again, in what should be a fast-paced game against the Pens tonight.
5) Kris Letang, PIT (DK $6100 FD $6600) – On the other side of that game, Kris Letang continues to be one of the more reliable cash game plays on the blue line this year. He’s averaging 5 peripherals per game in his last ten while putting up 2 goals and 5 assists. He’s on the ice for nearly 28 minutes per game, playing in all situations for the Penguins, and will be one of my top GPP targets tonight in what is projected to be one of the highest-paced games of the night.
6) Alexander Edler, VAN (DK $5300 FD $4700) – Edler currently leads the NHL with 3.1 blocked shots per game. He’s also averaging over 2 SOG/game, giving him one of the highest peripheral floors in the league. He’s also got a bit of a ceiling, with 3 goals and 6 assists in his last 12 games. With Winnipeg allowing nearly 10 shots against per game to defensemen, Edler makes a little sense here. For a lower mid-tier salary, I strongly prefer Nurse, however, and my top D option also costs just a few hundred bucks more.
7) Dougie Hamilton, CAR (DK $4600 FD $4900) – Hamilton is kind of the forgotten man in Carolina, recently, as he’s managed to eclipse 2 DK points just once in his last six games, but he is also a serious rebound candidate tonight, due to the projected high pace of this CAR/PIT matchup. Hamilton still leads the league amongst defensemen (over 12 games) in individual SOG/60 and SCF/60 and ranks behind only Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson in iCF/60.
8) Morgan Rielly, TOR (DK $6600 FD $6500) – I want to have some form of exposure to Toronto’s power play tonight, but I’m not sure that will come by way of Rielly. There is just too much value at the defense position tonight for me to justify paying $6,500+. Rielly has points (2G 11A) in nine of ten games since Auston Matthews has returned, but has managed just 3.3 peripherals per game in that stretch. I’m not a big fan of rostering point-dependent players, and although Rielly was piling up SOG/BS early in the season, his price is going to need to come down, or his peripheral count will need to go up, before I start seriously considering him again for cash games.
Goalies
1) Frederik Andersen, TOR (DK $8300 FD $9400) – I say the same thing every time, but don’t spend $9k+ for a goalie on FD. I love Andersen again tonight on DK, though. He seems to be back to form after a couple shaky road starts in Florida, allowing just 3 GA on 55 combined shots in his last two. Toronto is the biggest favorite on the slate – which takes him out of consideration for some of you superstitious types – with 69% projected odds to win. Toronto still allows the seventh-most shots against league wide, so Andersen could be in store for a decent shot volume, giving him some decent upside to go along with the projected victory.
2) Matt Murray, PIT (DK $7900 FD $8000) – YIKES! An underdog Matt Murray, playing on the road, will probably be off limits for many of you, but I can’t quit rostering goalies against these Carolina Hurricanes. They continue to lead the league in SOG/game (37.5), yet rank 28th in scoring – with just 2.55 goals/game. Their PP in converting just 16.7% of the time, while the Penguins boast one of the strongest PK’s in the game. Pittsburgh also allows the sixth-most shots against per game (33.1), so Murray is very likely to see upwards of 40 shots tonight. Murray isn’t yet confirmed, so be sure to check on his status leading up to game time – I would actually prefer DeSmith, but I love the upside, and floor, of either.
3) Mikko Koskinen, EDM (DK $7400 FD $8600) – This is another underdog, although, Koskinen will be on home ice tonight – facing a Lightning team that is playing their fourth road game in seven nights. Tampa Bay is playing a “get-home” game tonight, which is one of my favorite spots to target in years past. It’s tough to get yourself up to play at the top of your game when you’ve got a 4-day Christmas break on tap, starting with a post-game flight back to Florida. Tampa ranks 5th in SOG/game, so Koskinen is likely to see a decent volume tonight, and he’s allowed more than 3 goals against just twice in 16 starts thus far – putting up an impressive record of 11-4-1, 3 shutouts, a 2.18 GAA and 92.8% save percentage. Koskinen has low key been one of the league’s top netminders.
