The Shot Dude: Tricky Thursday

When 16 professional teams are playing on any one given night, it can be entertaining but also tricky.

Since each team runs four scoring lines, three defensive pairings and a goalie, the player pool from which to choose your fantasy lineup from totals 304! That's where the tricky part enters.

Your favoriteShot Dude has eliminated the trickiness from this Thursday. I have some great ideas to guide you towards a winning night, including the first-ever Shot Dude three-player stack from the same team.

No need. This is better and involves much less jail time.

If you want to compete in some great NHL fantasy contests, head over to FanDuel. They have a nice variety of games and, to help you with your roster decisions, I'll even give you each player's price.

Forwards

Daniel Sedin, Vancouver ($8500) ... should be involved in a scorefest at home tonight against Dallas. While many will be using the high-scoring forwards of the Stars, your Shot Dude will remind you that Dallas also gives up the 2nd highest amount of even strength shots per game. Sedin has 97 shots,12 goals and 28 total points in 26 games, and I really like his chances to add to that in what should be a high paced, back and forth affair. Feel free to also include Daniel's brother Henrik and Jannik Hansen in your lineup. These 3 comprise Vancouver's top scoring line and might very well all assist on each other's goals.

James Neal, Nashville ($6400) ... seems to be a tease to your Shot Dude. Everytime I recommend Neal, he seems to play a quiet game. The fact remains that Neal leads the Predators in shots with 77, goals with 10 and total points with 18. Getting a team leader in a good matchup at an affordable price is the trifecta of fantasy goodness! He is also a staple of Nashville's top power play unit. Neal is a viable add to your fantasy roster due to being at home versus a winded Florida team that will be playing the 3rd in a series of 5 road games tonight.

Defensemen

Damon Severson, New Jersey ($3900) ... is a part of a Devils team that is top ten in the NHL with only 57 goals allowed going into their 25th game tonight versus Carolina. The Hurricanes have struggled to score goals lately resulting in 8 losses in their last 10 games. In fact, Carolina is 3rd worst in the NHL as they have only lit the lamp 50 times in 24 games. Fanduel's scoring system really favors defensemen who are at a zero or on the + side each game. Severson has only taken 32 shots, but has 7 assists and runs the point on the Devil's top power play.

Minnesota Three-Stack

Forward Zach Parise ($8800)
Defenseman Ryan Suter ($4300) 
Goaltender Devan Dubnyk ($8400)

Your favorite Shot Dude loves this trio tonight for many reasons, including:

• The Wild are the biggest favorite on tonight's schedule.
• They're at home to face Toronto, who were beaten soundly last night in Winnipeg.

These are not only the type of games that psyches up Parise, but he averages the most shots per game of any Wild player with 3.2. Even though the dude's only been back from injury for a few games, tonight is his best shot to get back into. scoring mode. He'll be facing James Riemer, who will be playing in his first game back from injury himself and has a history of stumbling in this exact situation.

In addition to Parise, your favorite Shot Dude loves how Ryan Suter has been heating up lately. He now leads Minnesota in assists, total points, power play points, game winning goals, and ice time with an incredible average of over 28 minutes every game! Suter was among the team leaders who picked up the slack when Parise was sidelined and scored in the Wild's last game, a 2-1 victory in Chicago.

Devan Dubnyk has won 8 of 11 home starts and leads the league with 3 home shutouts. Dude's one of only six netminders to have notched at least 12 wins this season. His 6-foot, 8-inch frame has helped him to a .922 save percentage in home games to date. Barring a complete scoring meltdown from the Wild offense, Dubnyk should get his 13th win tonight.

Although larger NHL slates are tricky, your favorite Shot Dude will always run (like DMC) with fantasy lineup ideas to make you a winner!

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