It's hockey weather in a lot of the country now, so throw on a sweater and check out some NHL action. There are four games on the slate, and here are my recommendations for your daily fantasy lineup.
GOALIE
Ben Bishop, DAL at OTT ($8,900): Bishop had a 2.49 GAA and .916 save percentage last season, and the Stars allowed only 29.8 shots on net per contest as a team. The Senators, meanwhile, scored only 2.67 goals per game. Now that they don't have Erik Karlsson or Mike Hoffman, their offense seems likely to have even less punch this year.
CENTER
Dylan Larkin, DET at MON ($6,500): Larkin has been a rare bright spot to start the season for the Wings, as he has five points through five games. This comes after he scored 16 goals on 232 shots last year and added 47 assists. The Canadiens had a 3.15 GAA last year, and though a lot of that happened with Carey Price hurt, Price was unable to play Saturday due to an illness.
Ryan Johansen, NAS vs. MIN ($5,700): Johansen has at least 54 points in his two full seasons with the Predators, and he's been a real power-play weapon. Last year he averaged 3:03 per game with the extra man and notched 15 power-play points. The Wild had some pretty crazy home/road splits last year, as they had a 3.41 GAA in away games.
WING
Alexander Radulov, DAL at OTT ($6,400): The move to Dallas served Radulov well last season, as he tallied 27 goals and 45 assists. This year, he's been as hot as anybody, as he already has nine points through four games. On the other hand, the Senators had a 3.46 GAA last year, second highest in the NHL.
Brendan Gallagher, MON vs. DET ($6,300): Gallagher was one of the lone bright spots for the Canadiens last season. The 26-year-old scored 31 goals on a whopping 278 shots. Jimmy Howard has a 2.90 GAA and .910 save percentage to start the year, and he's actually been better than Jonathan Bernier thus far.
Tomas Tatar, MON vs. DET ($4,600): It's time for a Tatar revenge game! In all seriousness, what intrigues me about the former Red Wing is that he's skating on Montreal's top line and has averaged 18:27 per game in ice time. He's also averaged 4:12 per contest on the power play. The Red Wings had a 3.10 GAA last year, which was bottom 10 in the NHL.
DEFENSE
Ryan Ellis, NAS vs. MIN ($5,200): Ellis only played in 44 games last year, but he still managed nine goals and 23 assists. He's also averaged more than two minutes per game on the power play for the last five seasons. As previously noted, the Wild had a 3.41 GAA in away contests last year, and their penalty kill ranked 22nd on the road.
Esa Lindell, DAL at OTT ($4,200): Lindell definitely is in the shadow of John Klingberg, but he's a solid defenseman. Most notably, he gets a lot of minutes, and he's averaged 23:55 per game this season. That's paid off so far, as he's notched three assists in four games. However, this is mostly about the matchup. Last year, Craig Anderson had a 3.32 GAA and .898 save percentage, and while his save percentage is .913 this season, his GAA is up to 3.53.
