NHL Building Blocks – January 17
Two games on this Friday night with some nice plays to be had. Let’s dive in!
The premise of each article in this series is to feature starting spots (building blocks) for your lines. These are plays that are cash-viable as well as GPP-worthy and can be considered in all contest formats.
Starting Lineup – January 17
The Goalie: Adin Hill
Even though Vegas is on the road, their defense is solid, and Hill (18-7-2 / 2.54 / .904) has had his usual good season thus far. Carolina has been treading water since their good start, and on a two-gamer, getting different can help, so I’ll roll with the road goalie for the team that’s got the third most points in the league.
The Center: Sidney Crosby
Continues to play well with 48 points in 46 games; he’s in a solid spot tonight as well.
The Wing: Pavel Dorofeev
Leads the team in goals with 19 (and has five of them in his last five games); seems to have found a nice spot on the second line (and also plays PP1).
The Defenseman: Alex Pietrangelo
Plays all three situations and leads the team in ice time; floor is solid.
The Value: Jordan Staal
Continues to be on a hot streak with five goals and two assists in his last five games. Low floor but ceiling is there at the moment.
The Stack: PIT (Crosby-Rakell-Rust)
This trio is carrying the Penguins after a really slow start this season, and they have the team in the fight for a playoff berth. 51 goals between the three of them, and the Sabres have allowed the fifth most goals in the league. This is the better of the two matchups on the slate as Pittsburgh gives up more goals than any team and Buffalo is averaging nearly four goals a game over their past 10, so game stacks are in play here as well (as in have exposure to both sides; however, I’m leaning here as potentially a little leverage even with the Penguins’ goalie situation). Malkin and Bunting are your secondary pieces.
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Jan 12, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Bryan Rust (left) and right wing Rickard Rakell (middle) and center Sidney Crosby (87) celebrate a goal by Rakell against Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Jonas Johansson (31) during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images