MLB Fantasy Draft Weekend Recap 6/8/2015

One of the key aspects to daily fantasy sports contests is identifying the value matchups. The value matchups with respect to hitters are those that are high scoring. High scoring means there is a larger pool of total fantasy points for which your hitters have to draw from. Just because your player is in the high scoring game doesn’t guarantee he will bring you fantasy value, but it definitely helps your chances.

This is why the stack is such a prevalent strategy in mlb cash contests. If you can identify the team that will score big on the night and choose those hitters, their cumulative effect of hits, runs, and RBIs can be enough alone to push you into the money. However, a stack raises the risk of your lineup as if you misread the matchup and your team comes up short, your lineups is sunk.

On Saturday for instance, a stack on the Yankees that included Gardner, Teixeira, and McCann could have brought you a total of 6 RBIs, 5 hits, 1 home run, and a couple walks just between those three players. Or you could have pursued the tried and true Rockies stack of Gonzalez, Rosario, Blackmon, Lemahieu, and Arenado. Together these players had 12 hits, 9 RBIs, and 3 homers.

You will notice the ownership in one day fantasy contests are always higher with hitters on the Rockies than other teams. This is because they are a heavy hitting team and a Rockies stack is a common strategy for fantasy draft managers. However, the more people who pursue that strategy, the less profitable it is, since the most fantasy value is acquired in a value pick, that is rare within your mlb cash draft.

In order to determine the value picks for your own stack you need to do a little more work than simply using the vegas odds and spreads; because that is what all your competitors are doing. Simply stacking the vegas favored teams is no guarantee for success, even it that team does end up scoring big. By doing your own analysis, you can select a rare stack that will yield big returns in a daily cash fantasy contest.

Here are some of the criteria that is important. While you do want a team with effective batting stats, what is more influential is the opposing pitcher. The reason Rockies games always tend to be high scoring is not only due to their hitters, but also their poor pitching. As a team, their bullpen has the worst ERA of the league of 4.79 so far this season. Compare that to the ERA of the Cardinals at 2.58. That means any arbitrary opponent of the Rockies is twice as likely to score a run than they would be against the Cardinals. So a stack against the Rockies may be just as effective as a stack on the Rockies.

Depending on the strengths of the player you are considering, maybe it is more important to view hits allowed instead of ERA. The Twins for instance have a decent ERA of 3.84 but one of the worst Opponent Batting Averages of .273. This means that 27.3% of batters will get on base to some degree. If your player derives his fantasy value from getting on base many times per game, rather than hitting big, then a higher Opponent Batting Average is a better situation for that player.

It is also beneficial to look at the weather of a game, as that is often overlooked in MLB fantasy drafts. A strong wind blowing out of the stadium increases the chance of a home run compared to a wind blowing in. Different stadiums may help or hinder the chance of a home run. As far as temperature goes, cold is better for pitchers, and warm is better for hitters.

Let’s apply these concepts to Tuesday’s (6/9/2015) matchups. The teams with the 5 lowest ERA’s are Colorado, Milwaukee, Chicago White Sox, Toronto, and Arizona. Their respective opponents are St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Houston, Miami, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. These will be the sports value picks as far as hitters.

On the other end, you want the opposite for pitchers, low scoring and weak opposing pitchers. Just as the Rockies is the go to hitter stack, Seattle is my go to opposing pitcher. The Mariners have the second weakest hitters in the league (Phillies are worse). Other poor hitting teams are Tampa, Milwaukee, and Chicago White Sox (notice Milwaukee and the White Sox show up on both). Look for those opposing pitchers to have an easier time than the rest, which for you means they are value picks.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Chicago Blackhawks – 6/8/15 NHL Playoff Fantasy Sports, Hockey Picks, Odds & Predictions

The NHL Finals are moving to Chicago for Game 3 when the Blackhawks host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Check out the up to the minute results of your fantasy league team on Monday June 8th at 8PM Eastern Time on NBC Sports Network for live TV of this playoff game.

Tampa Bay Lightning Fantasy value was high for Game 2 as the team was facing a deficit of 0-1 after failing to nurse a 1-0 lead late. The Lightning gave up two goals late losing 2-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL Finals opener.

The postgame comments from Game 1 gave clues to mock draft managers as the Lightning played away from their style and failed to add on the insurance goals. Tampa Bay flashed their top rated offense from the regular season in Game 2 as the team broke a 3-3 tie in the third period and made a 4-3 lead stand up to even the series at 1-1 as it heads back to the Windy City. Three Tampa Bay centers sit in the top four in the club in scoring.

Tampa Bay Lightning Center: Tyler Johnson broke a slump of five games without a goal as he found the net on Saturday. Johnson leads the Lightning with 22 points in the playoffs. He was held without a point in the opener.

Tampa Bay Lightning Right Wing: Nikita Kucherov has come up huge in the later rounds for his team in these playoffs. Kucherov after going without a point in Game 1 rebounds with a goal and an assist on Saturday. With 21 points he is now second on the club in scoring.

Tampa Bay Lightning Left Wing: Ondrej Palat was not able to join the party on Saturday as he was held scoreless despite skating on the Tyler Johnson line. He had a huge goal in Game 7 against the New York Rangers back on May 29th. Palat has just two points over his past five games.

Tampa Bay Lightning Defensemen: Victor Hedman contributed offensively in Game 2 as he dished out two assists for two points. This broke a streak of five games without a point for the Tampa Bay defenseman. Hedman has a goal and 11 assists for 12 points in the playoffs. Anton Stralman was scoreless on Saturday after dishing an assist for a point in Game 1. Stralman has a goal and seven assists for eight points in the postseason.

Tampa Bay Lightning Goalie: Ben Bishop is 12-9 in the playoffs with a goal against average of 2.20 and 91.8% save percentage. He allowed three goals in the 24 shots on his net in Game 2. With over nine minutes remaining in Game 2 Bishop left with a knee injury and is listed as day to day.

Chicago Blackhawks Center: Jonathan Toews dished out an assist in Game 2 and now has nine goals with ten assists for 19 points in the postseason. Toews was scoreless in Game 1 but had two monster goals in the seventh and deciding game at Anaheim on May 30th in the Western conference final. At home with the last line change there is NHL mock draft value on Toews and his linemates.

Chicago Blackhawks Right Wing: Patrick Kane leads his club with 20 playoff points as he has scored ten goals and dished out ten assists. He has gone without a point in the first two games of the NHL Finals. At home the Blackhawks will have the benefit of setting up more favorable matchups for their top lines so keep that in mind when setting up NHL fantasy rosters for Game 3.

Chicago Blackhawks Left Wing: Teuvo Teravainen has two goals and an assist in the first two games of these NHL Finals. He has nine points in the playoffs with five of them coming in his past five games.

Chicago Blackhawks Defensemen: Duncan Keith is second on the club in the playoffs with 19 points. He has a plus minus of +13 in the postseason. Keith was held without a point in Game 2 which broke a string of five straight games with a point. Brent Seabrook had a goal on Saturday as he has seven goals with four assists for 11 playoff points. Seabrook has four goals over his past six games.

Chicago Blackhawks Goalie: Corey Crawford is 10-5 in the postseason with a goal against average of 2.56 and 91.6% save percentage. In the NHL Finals Crawford has allowed five goals in the 47 shots he faced.

NHL How to Pick Fantasy League Rosters

C: Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks)
RW: Patrick Kane (Blackhawks)
LW: Ondrej Palat (Lightning)
D: Duncan Keith (Blackhawks), Brent Seabrook (Blackhawks)
G: Corey Crawford (Blackhawks)

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Chicago Blackhawks – 6/6/15 NHL Playoff Fantasy Sports, Hockey Picks, Odds & Predictions

The NHL Finals resume on Saturday June 6th with Game 2 of the playoff series between the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning. Hockey fantasy draft managers can tune to NBC at 7:15PM Eastern Time from Tampa Bay to follow the results of their rosters.

The Blackhawks are up 1-0 in this series after a come from behind 2-1 road victory against the Lightning in Game 1 on Wednesday night. It marked the first time in this year’s playoffs that Tampa Bay failed to hold a lead after two periods. The goals scored by Chicago weren’t by the headline stars of the team. But Duncan Keith with an assist was not to be denied in the scoring in this one. It was a good night for Blackhawks left wing Teuvo Teravainen who scored a goal and dished an assist in the game. He played a role in every goal of Game 1 for Chicago. Center Antoine Vermette had the other goal for Chicago.

Tampa Bay the top scoring team in the league for the regular season has now been held to two goals or fewer in four of their past five playoff games. Center Tyler Johnson who has a great playoff this year for Tampa Bay has now gone five games without scoring a goal.

Chicago Blackhawks Center: Jonathan Toews has nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in the postseason. He was one of the heroes of the Blackhawks Game 7 victory against the Anaheim Ducks with two clutch goals. He was held scoreless like most of the top players on Chicago in Game 1. He had five goals and two assists in the Western conference finals.

Chicago Blackhawks Right Wing: Patrick Kane leads the team with 20 points in the playoffs. He has netted ten goals and posted ten assists. He is on the Toews line and assisted on three goals in Game 7 against Anaheim.

Chicago Blackhawks Left Wing: Patrick Sharp has 12 points in the playoffs with four goals and eight assists. Sharp has gone without a point in the playoffs over his past three games. The Chicago left winger has extended his streak of no goals to ten games following Game 1 of the Finals.

Chicago Blackhawks Defensemen: Duncan Keith has once again saved his best work for the playoffs. He is second on the club with 17 points in the postseason with two goals and 17 assists. With his assist on Wednesday Keith has points in now five straight. Brent Seabrook with his assist in Game 1 of the Finals has now ten points in the playoffs with four goals and six assists. He had three goals and one assist in the Duck’s series.

Chicago Blackhawks Goalie: Corey Crawford in his 15 appearances in the playoffs has a record of 10-4 with one no decision in a relief appearance for Scott Darling. His goal against average is 2.46 and Crawford has a 92% save percentage. He saved 22 of 23 shots in Game 1.

Tampa Bay Lightning Center: Tyler Johnson has led the club in scoring with 21 points. He has 12 goals and 9 assists thus far in the postseason. He has just three assists for three points total over his past five games. Down 0-1 the Lightning may look to quicken the pace and try to play to their strengths. That would help fantasy draft managers who have Tyler Johnson and the rest of his line on their rosters.

Tampa Bay Lightning Right Wing: Nikita Kucherov has netted nine goals and dished out ten assists for 19 points total in the playoffs. After posting two goals in Game 6 against the Rangers he is since been scoreless.

Tampa Bay Lightning Left Wing: Ondrej Palat has 15 points in the playoffs with seven goals and eight assists. He has just two points over his past five games.

Tampa Bay Lightning Defensemen: Victor Hedman has ten points with a goal and nine assists in the playoffs. He has been held without a point now in five straight games. Anton Stralman posted an assist in Game 1 and has points in three of his past four playoff games.

Tampa Bay Lightning Goaltender: Ben Bishop is 12-9 in his 21 playoff games this year. His goal against average is just 2.14 and has saved nearly 92% of the shots he has faced. In Game 1 two goals got by Bishop in the 21 shots he faced.

NHL Finals Best Fantasy League Picks

C: Tyler Johnson (Lightning)
RW: Nikita Kucherov (Lightning)
LW: Ondrej Palat (Lightning)
D: Duncan Keith (Blackhawks), Brent Seabrook (Blackhawks)
G: Ben Bishop (Lightning)

Heading Into the 2015-16 NFL season, the following rookies Running Backs project to have high fantasy value

We are now less than 100 days until kick off for the 2015 NFL regular season. For Fantasy draft managers now is the time to research and put the work in for a profit from your cash real money leagues this football season. Today we look at the rookie running backs drafted in the first three rounds by NFL clubs.

Round 1 Pick 10: Todd Gurley (Rams)

A big concern for Gurley is he is coming off a torn ACL a year ago. These injuries usually take two years until the player is able to regain his form prior to getting hurt. In his 2013 campaign Gurley missed three games due to an ankle injury. Rams head coach Jeff Fisher will like the fact that Gurley lost two fumbles in his 555 carries at Georgia. When healthy he has great speed for his body size and strength. Todd Gurley played in a passing offense and brings the qualities of pass catching and protection to the table.

Round 1 Pick 15: Melvin Gordon (Chargers)

Gordon played in a run heavy Wisconsin Badgers program. He had 300 plus pound offensive linemen blocking for him against sometimes undersized opponents. Like most Wisconsin running backs he doesn’t have the development to contribute heavily in the passing game because of the offense ran in his college program. In the San Diego Chargers system Phillip Rivers likes to distribute balls to the wide outs and tight ends. He uses his running backs as safety valves and that works fine to Gordon’s strength. With Ryan Mathews gone from San Diego, Melvin Gordon will be used heavily.

Round 2 Pick 4: T.J. Yeldon (Jaguars)

Yeldon’s strength is his ability to stop and start to avoid tacklers. He has good lateral shifting power to gain extra yardage. Underrated pass catcher out of the backfield as he has shown the ability to catch balls over his shoulder. His 40 times were disappointing as he was asked to put on weight and that did not transition well to his speed in his drills at the combine.

Round 2 Pick 22: Ameer Abdullah (Lions)

Abdullah had the numbers for a high first round draft pick but the question mark is his size. He stands just 5’8” tall and is 205 pounds. He ran in space very well at Nebraska and was able to cut to the outside for big runs. But that was against slow Big Ten defenses. In the NFL Abdullah will have to show the ability to break tackles and take punishment which is a huge unknown right now. The Lions cut Reggie Bush so the former Cornhusker running back will get his chance with Detroit to get playing time. Abdullah was outstanding in the passing game and has the speed and skill to separate from linebacker coverage for big plays downfield.

Round 3 Pick 9: Tevin Coleman (Falcons)

Coleman was drafted by the second worst run offense in the NFL a year ago in the Falcons. Gone in Atlanta are Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rodgers. Tevin Coleman was a workhorse in college because the Indiana program in 2014 had injuries to their quarterback position. He piled 2036 yards in his final season in college.

Round 3 Pick 13: Duke Johnson (Browns)

Duke Johnson was a big play back during his college career with the Miami Hurricanes on the ground and through the air. He is a much needed addition to the Browns to help their questionable quarterback position. Johnson is a versatile back as he has lined up in the slot and wide receiver position in college. He too is one who fell down in the draft due to his size. Johnson stands just 5’9 ½” tall and weighs 207 pounds.

Round 3 Pick 22: David Johnson (Cardinals)

Johnson played his college football at Northern Iowa. Arizona has Andre Ellington as their featured back but Johnson brings pass catching with route running abilities out of the backfield. He was durable in college missing just one game in his entire four year career.

Round 3 Pick 31: Matt Jones (Redskins)

Jones is a big back at 6’2” and 231 pounds. He played his college football at Florida. Matt Jones has had a history of knee injuries in high school and college. He suffered in a horrible Gators offensive system.

NFL Rookie Running Backs Best Picks for Cash Fantasy Leagues

1.Ameer Abdullah (Lions)

2.Tevin Coleman (Falcons)

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors – 6/4/15 NBA Playoff Fantasy Sports, Basketball Picks, Odds & Predictions

The 2015 NBA Finals are set as Fantasy draft managers will have difficult decisions to make as the Golden State Warriors will be meeting the Cleveland Cavaliers. Game 1 will be played on Thursday June 4th and you can follow your rosters on ABC TV at 9PM Eastern Time.

The Golden St Warriors were favorites of NBA fantasy players as the club was the top scoring, shooting and three point shooting team in the NBA during the regular season. They defended well as many viewers were able to witness in these playoffs. The Warriors allowed 42.8% shooting to opponents ranking best in the league for the regular season. Golden St showed off great defense in the Western conference semifinals as the club was able to limit shot attempts of the Memphis Grizzlies big men in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Once Memphis was eliminated, Golden St needed just five games to eliminate the Houston Rockets in the Western conference finals.

Cleveland enters the NBA Finals with eight days of rest after the team was able to eliminate the Atlanta Hawks in a four game sweep. The Cavaliers were strong defensively in that series by allowing no greater than 89 points in three of the four games. Prior to their win against the Hawks the Cavaliers eliminated the Bulls and Celtics. Cleveland will be tested defensively. They have shown weakness during the regular season in transition defense. Atlanta, Boston and Chicago could not exploit this weakness. Golden St can with their speed, intelligence and passing ability. Kyrie Irving is nowhere near 100% and could be a defensive liability. J.R. Smith is a poor defender and could be exposed in this series.

Cleveland Cavaliers Point Guard: Kyrie Irving has been bothered by a knee problem that has forced him to miss games in the Eastern conference finals. He admitted to the media that he will not be 100% for this series. In the playoffs he is averaging 18 points per game and shooting 43% from the floor.

Cleveland Cavaliers Shooting Guard: J.R. Smith is getting fewer minutes than Iman Shumpert but Smith is producing a bit more offensively. Smith is averaging 13 points and Shumpert 10 points per game in the playoffs. J.R. Smith could be a defensively liability in this series so proceed with caution if you are to add him to your real money league tournament roster.

Cleveland Cavaliers Small Forward: LeBron James has simply carried this Cavaliers team on his shoulder. It helped that the competition in the East was offensively challenged. James is averaging nearly 41 minutes a game in the post season with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

Cleveland Cavaliers Power Forward: Kevin Love will be sidelined in this series due to his shoulder injury.

Cleveland Cavaliers Center: Tristan Thompson has earned the trust of his coach and as a result has seen his minutes rise by eight more minutes than the regular season. He is shooting 59% from the floor and grabbing 10 rebounds per game to go with his 9 point per contest output.

Golden St Warriors Point Guard: Stephen Curry is difficult to defend as his dribbling ability breaks down opposing defenses. In the playoffs he is averaging 29 points along with 6 assists per game. In the five game series against Houston, Curry played just an average of 37 minutes per game. He is very fresh coming into this series.

Golden St Warriors Shooting Guard: Good news for Klay Thompson is he passed his concussion test and will play in Game 1. The concern will be if there are any ill effects from this traumatic blow to his head. In the playoffs Thompson is averaging 21 points and three assists per game.

Golden St Warriors Power Forward: David Lee has averaged just three minutes in the Houston series. Lee could be asked to contribute in this series to help defend LeBron which could result in some rebounds and scoring chances. He averaged 11 minutes in the Memphis series as he helped defend Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.

Golden St Warriors Small Forward: Draymond Green has contributed well for the Warriors this postseason. In the Houston series Green averaged 14 points and 12 rebounds per game. He was asked to keep the Grizzlies and Rockets big men from the hole in back to back series and still contributed offensively.

Golden St Warriors Center: Andrew Bogut is no longer a main option for this Warriors team. He sets screens and rolls for rebounds offensively. He plugs the middle for Golden St on defense. He averaged 9 rebounds per game in the Rockets series.

One Day League NBA Finals Fantasy Tips

PG: Stephen Curry (Warriors)
SG: Klay Thompson (Warriors)
PF: David Lee (Warriors)
SF: LeBron James (Cavaliers)
C: Andrew Bogut (Warriors)

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Chicago Blackhawks – 6/3/15 NHL Playoff Fantasy Sports, Hockey Picks, Odds & Predictions

The NHL Finals will pit the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning battling for the Stanley Cup. NHL fantasy mock draft managers can tune to NBC TV at 8PM Eastern Time for the telecast of Game 1 on Wednesday June 3rd from Tampa Bay to follow the results of their rosters.

The Chicago Blackhawks were in a difficult spot in the Western conference after a 5-4 road overtime defeat to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 5 to fall behind 3-2 in their best of seven series. Facing elimination for the first time in the playoffs the Blackhawks offense carried the team to five goals in regulation in both Game 6 and Game 7 to eliminate the Ducks. The Blackhawks have scored four goals or greater in 9 of their past 12 playoff games. Their fantasy stud defensemen in Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are involved in the offense and have played heavy minutes in the playoffs.

The Tampa Bay Lightning was the highest scoring team in the NHL during the regular season. The team needed seven games to eliminate the New York Rangers. They have won three straight road games in the playoffs. Tampa Bay displayed defense in Game 5 and Game 7 in their series at Madison Square Garden in New York as Lightning goalie Ben Bishop posted shutouts in each of these two huge playoff games. A concern for Tampa Bay has been their past two defensive efforts at home as in Game 4 and Game 6 the Lightning surrendered five goals and seven goals in those contests resulting in losses in each.

Chicago Blackhawks Center: Jonathan Toews is tied for second with the team in scoring with nine goals and nine assists for a total of 18 points. Toews was huge in Game 7 against the Ducks with two goals. Toews has five goals over his past five playoff games.

Chicago Blackhawks Right Wing: Patrick Kane leads the club with 20 points as he has ten goals and ten assists in the post season. He has seven points in his past five playoff games. Kane set up three goals for the Blackhawks in Game 7 by posting three assists.

Chicago Blackhawks Left Wing: Patrick Sharp has 12 points in the playoffs as he netted four goals and dished eight assists. He was held scoreless in Game 6 and 7 against the Ducks. Sharp last scored a goal way back in the conference semifinals in Game two against the Minnesota Wild on May 3rd.

Chicago Blackhawks Defensemen: Duncan Keith sits tied for second with the club with 18 points in the playoffs. He has scored two goals and given out sixteen assists. Keith was huge in Game 6 dishing three assists and he assisted on two of the Blackhawks goals in Game 7. Duncan Keith is averaging 31 ½ minutes of ice time per game in the post season. Brent Seabrook sees heavy work as well as the logs an average of 26 ½ minutes of ice time in the playoffs. Seabrook has six goals and four assists in the playoffs for ten points. He has scored single goals in three of his past four games.

Chicago Blackhawks Goalie: Corey Crawford is 9-4 in the playoffs with a goal against average of 2.56 and 92% save percentage. The offense has carried Crawford in the conference finals as he allowed an average of three goals in the seven games.

Tampa Bay Lightning Center: Tyler Johnson led the club with 21 points with 12 goals and 9 assists. After four goals in the first three games of the Rangers series Johnson was held without a goal the rest of the way. That was the trend in the Montreal series as Johnson did his damage early.

Tampa Bay Lightning Right Wing: Nikita Kucherov has posted nine goals and ten assists for 19 points. He posted three goals and five assists in the Rangers series. He came up huge in a Game 6 series clincher against Montreal in the conference semifinals with two goals and one assist in a 4-1 win.

Tampa Bay Lightning Left Wing: Ondrej Palat had a big goal in the Lightning’s 2-0 win in Game 7 at the New York Rangers. He has posted seven goals and eight assists in the post season.

Tampa Bay Lightning Defensemen: Victor Hedman leads the unit with ten points with one goal and nine assists. He has had a quiet four games with no points in Game’s 4-7. Anton Stralman has two assists over his past three games. Stralman has seven points in the playoffs with a goal and six assists.

Tampa Bay Lightning Goalie: Ben Bishop is 12-8 in the playoffs with a goal against average of 2.15 and 92% save percentage. Bishop was inconsistent in the East finals by allowing five goals three times in that series and saving just 90% of the shots he faced. Bishop registered shutouts in clutch spots in Game 5 and 7 at the New York Rangers.

NHL Cash Real Money League Fantasy Picks

C: Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks)
RW: Patrick Kane (Blackhawks)
LW: Ondrej Palat (Lightning)
D: Duncan Keith (Blackhawks), Brent Seabrook (Blackhawks)
G: Corey Crawford (Blackhawks)

New York Mets vs San Diego Padres – 6/2/15 MLB Fantasy Sports, Baseball Picks, Odds & Predictions

Fantasy Baseball draft managers can tune to MLB Network at 10PM Eastern Time to follow the success of their rosters when the New York Mets meet the San Diego Padres. San Diego will be home with the start time of 10PM Eastern Time.

The San Diego Padres were the talk of Major League Baseball during the winter meetings as they greatly changed the look of their team. San Diego is in a small market and spent like one in the past. They took a chance and opened up their wallets and looked to improve their offense. As they entered play on Monday night they sat with a 25-27 record sitting seven games in the loss column behind the first place LA Dodgers. Once near the bottom in scoring in the league for many years the Padres are sitting tenth in MLB with 4.33 runs per game. The pitching has been lax this year with the bullpen dragging down this team with a home ERA approaching five.

The New York Mets were off to a fast start and were surprise leaders of the NL East division for the month of April. They currently sit just one game in the loss column back of the Washington Nationals. Their pitching has been outstanding as they allow they least amount of baserunners in baseball with a WHIP of 1.14 and with a Team ERA of 3.33 ranks fourth in the league. The hitting has been weak up to this point as the club hits .239 ranking 25th in the Majors. They are winners of five of seven games after their win in the opener against San Diego 7-0 with a brilliant performance by Mets starter Jacob deGrom.

New York Mets 1B: Lucas Duda leads the Mets everyday players with a batting average of .298 on the season. He was a scratch on Monday with stiffness in his knee. Duda is expected return to the lineup on Tuesday. He has hits in eight of ten games. The Mets first baseman has nine homers and 25 RBIs.

New York Mets 2B: Daniel Murphy is coming off a great night on Monday as he goes 4 for 5 with three runs scored. He had a homer and 3 RBIs in the win. Murphy increased his average to .286 with four home runs and 29 RBIs season to date. Daniel Murphy has seen his average move up nearly 40 points in the past ten games.

New York Mets LF: Michael Cuddyer will bring a seven game hitting streak into Tuesday’s game and is batting .368 in that span. The 14 year veteran is batting .260 with five home runs and 16 runs batted in on the entire season.

New York Mets CF: Juan Lagares the youngster from the Dominican Republic is hitting .259 for the Mets and has one homer and 14 RBIs. There are not many extra base hits from Lagares as he is slugging just .314 and he doesn’t walk much.

New York Mets P: Noah Syndergaard gets his fifth start of the season. He is coming off a nice start on May 27th against Philadelphia as he held the Phillies scoreless for 7 1/3rd innings. Syndergaard keeps his baserunners low as he has a WHIP of 1.09 season to date.

San Diego Padres LF: Justin Upton is batting .302 with 12 homers and 37 RBIs on the season. He had a three hit day on Sunday but has only two extra base hits in his past ten games.

San Diego Padres C: Derek Norris is batting .283 on the year with four home runs and 32 RBIs. He missed Monday’s game with a day of rest and is expected behind the plate on Tuesday.

San Diego Padres 1B: Yangervis Solarte has an average of .257 with two homers and 24 RBIs.

San Diego Padres RF: Matt Kemp is having a disappointing season for San Diego in his first year with the team. He is batting just .246 with only 1 homer and 26 RBIs. He finished the month of May with a batting average well under .200 with a high amount of strikeouts.

San Diego Padres P: Ian Kennedy gets the start for San Diego. Kennedy is having a poor season with an ERA over 7 in his eight starts for San Diego. In his last outing against Pittsburgh on Thursday Kennedy surrendered seven earned runs with three homers in just 3 2/3rd innings.

Fantasy Baseball One Day League Real Money League Tips

P: Noah Syndergaard (Mets)
1B: Lucas Duda (Mets)
2B: Daniel Murphy (Mets)
LF: Justin Upton (Padres)
C: Derek Norris (Padres)
CF: Juan Lagares (Mets)

MLB Fantasy Draft Weekend Recap 6/1/2015

This weekend in the MLB brought us action that strayed from the norm. On Saturday we saw the Cubs and Royals game get postponed due to inclement weather. Then on Sunday we saw three games go into extra innings with the Diamondbacks and Brewers getting to 17 innings before a winner was determined. These types of events, while rare, have serious implications in Daily Fantasy Draft Contests.

When a game is postponed and played on the same day, then that has no effect on your draft picks as you still receive points for those players. However, in the event that the game is postponed to a different day, those players fantasy value is set at 0 and if you have more than a couple players in that matchup, you are likely already out of the money in that fantasy draft contest. Therefore, if you were unable to switch out your players from that matchup prior to game time, you were at a huge disadvantage going in to the contest.

Extra innings have the opposite effect for your players. Unlike rain delays (where we can check the forecast), there is no real way of predicting when a game will reach extra innings. As a fantasy draft manager, you can attempt to find games that are likely to be close, but extra innings are rare enough that it is not worth it to tailor your draft picks to the games where overtime is a possibility.

When there are extra innings however, your hitters get more at bats and more opportunities to score points for your lineups. Let’s look at Paul Goldschmidt, 1st Baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks. They ended up on the losing end of this marathon of a game. But in MLB cash draft tournaments, Goldschmidt was the winner. He came up to the plate 8 times over the course of this game. Early on, he hit a couple of singles and a homerun, already serious fantasy value. But then, going into overtime, he was walked intentionally four times in the opposing pitcher’s attempt to mitigate the damage he could inflict. While it may appear in the game that he isn’t doing much, he really is just racking up the fantasy points with every base on balls.
Other significant opportunities for value picks were players on the Braves or Reds as they both hit big point totals on both days this weekend. But in fantasy draft contests, you pick players, not teams. So let’s walk through what were the vest value picks of the weekend and look at who is hot moving forward.

Catcher
JT Realmuto of the Miami Marlins had a big game on Saturday recording a double and a homer, along with 2 RBIs, 2 Runs, and a stolen base. While a grand slam is a great boost to any lineup, when a player hits all the areas like this that is almost more valuable. Different one day cash drafts have different scoring methods, those numbers would make Realmuto an essential value pick on Fanpicks.
On Sunday, the star at the catcher position was Martin Maldonado of the Brewers. Like Goldschmidt, he was able to take advantage of the extra innings getting four hits, including a 2 doubles and a home run. Adding to the fantasy value was his 2 bases on balls, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs.

1st baseman
While I made it sound like Goldschmidt had the game of his life on Sunday, he actually provided more fantasy value on Saturday. Saturday, he hit 2 home runs with 4 RBIs and 2 runs. If he can get anywhere close to these numbers moving forward, he will be an essential draft pick in any lineup.

2nd Baseman
At second base it was all Jace Peterson of the Braves. He had 3 runs, a single, a double, and a triple with the kicker, a stolen base. No big homers for Peterson but big numbers in the lesser categories can produce the same value as a couple big hits.
DJ LeMahieu of the Rockies hit similar numbers on Sunday with 3 hits, including a homer, a couple RBIs, and a couple Runs. LeMahieu is a consistent hitter of the squad of strong batters that make up the Colorado Rockies. With a batting average of .335 this season, you can count on him at the very least to get on base and be hit home by the supporting hitters.

Shortstop
Juan Uribe was able to grab a piece of the Braves’ point totals over the weekend. He had a homer each day coupled with a couple RBIs. Additionally, he had a stolen base, a double, a single, and 3 runs on Saturday. While he had the spotlight on Saturday, he was outperformed by Jhonny Peralta of the Cardinals on Sunday as he hit a homer, with 3 RBIs, a single and a run.

3rd Baseman
The value pick at third base was Manny Machado. Out of his three hits on Sunday, two were homers, driving in 3 RBIs and 2 runs himself. With homers being the largest way to provide fantasy value for MLB Cash drafts, Machado was a key draft Pick.

Outfield
On Saturday there were big numbers hit by a player who was likely a very rare pick in Fantasy Draft Contests. Jerry Sands of the Cleveland Indians, who hasn’t made an appearance at bat since April 27th, made one trip up to the plate as a designated hitter. At that at-bat, he hit a home run, driving two runners in and scoring a run himself. While he wasn’t the biggest performer of the day, he was likely at the baseline salary in any one day cash draft and therefore, was the largest value performer. When it comes to Fantasy cash draft tournaments, it is about points per dollar of salary, rather than just total points.
Also with a big game on Saturday was Giancarlo Stanton on the Marlins. He was swinging for the fences as he had two hits, and they both were home runs. With his 2 RBIs and 2 runs, he was a nice inclusion in your fantasy lineup.
The Orioles’ Delmon Young had a great game on Sunday recording a couple of homers, RBIs, and runs. Souza, of the rays, hit similar fantasy value but in a different fashion. He had a single homer, but he added on top of that a couple doubles, 3 RBIs and 2 runs.
While these games have already been played and it’s too late to take advantage of these performances in future fantasy draft tournaments, you can still use this information to make sport value picks. Players go through hot streaks and slumps very often so it you can cash in on a hot streak (especially with a player who comes with a cheap price tag) it can give you a leg up on your fantasy draft.

Los Angeles Angels vs Detroit Tigers – 5/31/15 MLB Fantasy Sports, Baseball Picks, Odds & Predictions

Sunday Night Baseball on May 31st features an attractive matchup for MLB mock draft managers as the LA Angels will host the Detroit Tigers. Follow fantasy league rosters from this game at 8PM Eastern Time on ESPN2 TV.

Heading into play on Saturday the Angels sat one game over .500 with a record of 25-24 trailing the surprise Houston Astros by 5 ½ games in the AL West standings. There is certainly no reason for panic with nearly a 1/3rd of the season past already. The Angels pitching has performed well as the club ranks in the top ten of Major League Baseball in key areas such as Team ERA, WHIP and quality starts. The hitting has been subpar as the club bats .237 ranking 27th in Major League Baseball.

The Detroit Tigers were 28-22 as they took the field on Saturday. They are four games in the loss column back of the first place Kansas City Royals. From an overall season perspective the club has hit well posting a team batting average of .272 ranking third best in the league. The Tigers starting pitchers have gone deep into games as they sit 7th in the league in quality starts. Starting pitching Justin Verlander will be available for fantasy owners in the near future as he is undergoing rehab starts in the minor leagues and could be back as early as next week.

Detroit Tigers 1B: Miguel Cabrera after his two hit game on Saturday has moved his average to .333 on the year. He has 11 homers and 34 RBIs season to date. With 33 walks on the year Cabrera has a .440 on base percentage.

Detroit Tigers CF: Anthony Gose is 1 for 10 in this series to drop this average to .322. Gose has a homer with 11 RBIs on the year. He is batting .333 for the month of May.

Detroit Tigers LF: Yoenis Cespedes moved his average up to .284 after a 2 for 4 game on Saturday. Cespedes has produced seven homers and 28 RBIs on the year.

Detroit Tigers 2B: Ian Kinsler is in a 2 for 31 slump heading into Sunday’s game. His batting average has dropped to .270. Kinsler has a homer with 22 RBIs on the year.

Detroit Tigers RF: JD Martinez is had a three hit night for the Tigers on Saturday to move his batting average up to .266. Martinez has nine homers and 22 RBIs on the year.

Detroit Tigers P: David Price is coming off a nice performance in his last start on Tuesday against the Athletics by allowing no earned runs and five hits in seven innings in victory. He is 4-1 in ten starts and has kept baserunners to a minimum with a WHIP of 1.17.

LA Angels CF: Mike Trout leads the Angels everyday players with a .296 batting average with 12 homers and 26 RBIs. He has hits in three straight and nine of ten games.

LA Angels RF: Three year pro Kole Calhoun is batting .281 on the year. He has hit safely in seven of ten games but only one multi hit game in that span.

LA Angels SS: Erick Aybar has hit .314 for the month of May. Aybar takes a seven game win streak into Sunday’s game. Unfortunately only one was a multi-hit game.

LA Angels 3B: Angels third basemen David Freese is batting just .228 for the Angels on the year. He has produced 8 homers and timely hits with 28 RBIs which leads the team.

LA Angels 1B: After a slow start Albert Pujols is hitting .280 for the month of May with seven homers. He will carry a six game win streak into Sunday’s game. Pujols had a three hit game on Friday night.

LA Angels P: Matt Shoemaker has battled consistency issues this year. After a horrible start at Toronto he faced San Diego on Tuesday and allowed no earned runs and four hits over seven innings. Shoemaker has allowed 13 homers in his nine starts this year.

MLB Cash One Day League Fantasy Tips

P: David Price (Tigers)
CF: Mike Trout (Angels)
SS: Erick Aybar (Angels)
LF: Yoenis Cespedes (Tigers)
1B: Miguel Cabrera (Tigers)
RF: Kole Calhoun (Angels)

Anaheim Ducks vs Chicago Blackhawks – 5/30/15 NHL Playoff Fantasy Sports, Hockey Picks, Odds & Predictions

The Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks are scheduled for a Game 7 from their Western conference series. Fantasy draft managers can tune to NBC Sports Network at 8PM Eastern Time on Saturday May 30th from Anaheim to follow their rosters.

Since Anaheim won Game 1 of this series 4-1 way back on May 19th, each team has followed a loss with a win in this series. Chicago forced the Game 7 of this series with the 5-2 home victory to Anaheim on Wednesday. This result marked the first time in the entire playoffs that the Ducks suffered a regulation loss.

The Chicago Blackhawks offense has begun to hit stride. The club has scored at 14 goals over their past three games scoring no fewer than four goals in that span. Ducks goaltender Frederik Anderson has let some soft goals in net. Anaheim blew a two goal lead late in Game 5 and was bailed out by Matt Beleskey with an overtime goal or the club could be on vacation right now.

Chicago Blackhawks Center: Jonathan Toews has 16 postseason points with seven goals and nine assists. Toews has three goals over his past three games including two clutch third period goals late in Game 5 that forced the overtime period.

Chicago Blackhawks Right Wing: Patrick Kane leads the club in scoring with 17 points. He has netted ten goals and assisted on seven. Kane had a multiple point game in the win in Game 6 with a goal and assist. The seven year pro suffered an injury that forced him to miss much of the latter half of the season. He returned near the end of the regular season showing no signs of his upper body injury.

Chicago Blackhawks Left Wing: Patrick Sharp has three assists over his past three games. For the post season Sharp has four goals and eight assists for twelve points.

Chicago Blackhawks Defensemen: Duncan Keith will have lots of opportunities based on his average ice time of nearly 32 minutes in the playoffs. As a result of high ice time Keith has two goals and 14 assists for 16 points in the playoffs. He has shown no signs of fatigue with the high workload as Keith dished out three assists in Game 6. He has points in four of his past five games. Brent Seabrook is playing over 26 minutes a game during the post season. He has nine points with five goals and four assists. He posted a goal and assist in Game 5 at Anaheim.

Chicago Blackhawks Goalie: Corey Crawford is a season pro in these spots playing in a Game 7. The Blackhawks were eliminated in the Western conference finals at home on a fluky goal a season ago to the Kings. Crawford is 8-4 in the playoffs with a goal against average of 2.53 and 91.8% save percentage.

Anaheim Ducks Center: Ryan Getzlaf has dished out 17 assists and scored 2 goals during the post season. Getzlaf leads the club in points with 19. He has six assists over his past five games but no goals in that span.

Anaheim Ducks Right Wing: Corey Perry has scored 9 goals and assisted on 8 during the playoffs. He has been quieted of late with just a single goal for one point over his past four games.

Anaheim Ducks Left Wing: Patrick Maroon has had a good post season for Anaheim. He has seven goals and three assists for ten points. He is only two goals away from his regular season total. Maroon has goals in three of his past four games in this series.

Anaheim Ducks Defense: Sami Vatanen leads his defensive crew with three goals and eight assists for 11 points. He has points in two straight. Cam Fowler has nine playoff points with two goals and seven assists. Fowler has contributed offensively in this series with a point in four of his past five games of this series.

Anaheim Ducks Goaltender: Frederik Anderson has a mark of 11-4 with a goal against average of 2.18. His save percentage is 92%. Anderson has looked shaky of late by allowing four goals or greater in his past three games.

NHL Hockey Best Fantasy Tips

C: Ryan Getzlaf (Ducks)
RW: Patrick Kane (Blackhawks)
LW: Patrick Sharp (Blackhawks)
D: Duncan Keith (Blackhawks), Brent Seabrook (Blackhawks)
G: Corey Crawford (Blackhawks)

New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning – 5/29/15 NHL Playoff Fantasy Sports, Hockey Picks, Odds & Predictions

There will be a deciding Game 7 from the Eastern conference finals pitting the New York Rangers against the Tampa Bay Lightning. NHL mock draft managers can follow their success of their rosters from Madison Square Garden on Friday May 29th over NBC Sports Network at 8PM Eastern Time.

The New York Rangers have faced elimination several times in these 2015 playoffs. And once again the team showed grit as it rained goals in Tampa bay as the Rangers earned a 7-3 victory in Game 6 on Tuesday to keep their hopes alive for another Stanley Cup.

In the early round of the playoffs New York struggled finding the net. Henrik Lundqvist was carrying the team with goal support of two or even fewer in many games leading up to the Eastern conference finals. Then all of a sudden the Rangers offense got going as the team has put up 21 goals in the first six games of this series.

Tampa Bay is the highest scoring team this regular season in the regular season. Ben Bishop was extremely sharp with a very good save percentage. But in Game 6 Bishop was pulled as the Rangers pushed five goals into his net. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has been money in Game 7’s and when facing elimination in his time with the New York Rangers. The question is can Tampa Bay’s speed and quickness result in early goals forcing the Rangers to get out of a defensive shell and create opportunities for the Lightning to pull away.

Tampa Bay Lightning Center: Tyler Johnson still leads the Lightning with 20 points in the playoffs as he has 12 goals and 8 assists. He had a hat trick in Game 2. He is coming off two assists in Game 6 on Tuesday.

Tampa Bay Lightning Right Wing: Nikita Kucherov has nine goals and ten assists for 19 points in the postseason. Kucherov has been huge in his series with three goals and five assists over his past five games in this series. Kucherov had two games in Game 5.

Tampa Bay Lightning Left Wing: Ondrej Palat two goals and three assists over his past five games in this series. Palat for the post season has 15 points with six goals and eight assists.

Tampa Bay Lightning Defensemen: Victor Hedman has a goal and nine assists in the post season for Tampa Bay. He has been held scoreless in his past three games.  The hulking TB Dman will be looking to factor favorably on the score-sheet for the final game of the best of 7 series.

Tampa Bay Lightning Goalie: Ben Bishop in 19 games for the Lightning is 11-8 with a goal against average of 2.26 and 91.7% save percentage. He has been marred in a slump by surrendering five goals in three of his four games. Bishop was pulled in the third period of Game 6 after giving up his fifth goal.

New York Rangers Center: Derick Brassard got hot in Game 6 as he produced three goals and two assists for a five point night. He now leads the Rangers in scoring in the post season with 16 points with nine goals and seven assists.

New York Rangers Left Wing: Rick Nash has just five goals in 18 playoff games. He has dished nine assists for a total of 14 points. Nash has three goals and four assists in his past three games of this series.

New York Rangers Right Wing: Chris Kreider has netted seven playoff goals for the Rangers. He has nine points total with two assists. Kreider has been held scoreless over his past two games.

New York Rangers Defensemen: Keith Yandle has two goals and five assists for a total of seven points over his past four games of this series. Dan Boyle has six points over his past five games of this series with five assists and a goal.

New York Rangers Goalie: Henrik Lundqvist is 11-7 in the playoffs with a goal against average of 2.11 and 92.8% save percentage. He has been money in Game 7’s during his career but has allowed 18 goals over his past five games with an 89% save percentage.

Pro Hockey Fantasy Cash One Day League Picks

C: Tyler Johnson (Lightning)
RW: Nikita Kucherov (Rangers)
LW: Rick Nash (Rangers)
D: Keith Yandle(Rangers), Dan Boyle (Rangers)
G: Henrik Lundqvist (Rangers)

Boston Red Sox vs Texas Rangers – 5/28/15 MLB Fantasy Sports, Baseball Picks, Odds & Predictions

The MLB schedule for Thursday may be light but baseball draft managers can find some value from the prime time game between the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers. One Day League fantasy players can follow their rosters on MLB Network at 8PM Eastern Time originating from Texas.

The Texas Rangers return home from a nine game road trip with a very good 7-2 record. They won each series at the Yankees, Red Sox and Indians as they combined good pitching with solid hitting and run support. They have moved to the top ten in the league in runs scored and home runs. The pitching staff still needs to improve on base runners allowed as the club ranks 28th in all of baseball with a WHIP of 1.37. Several rotation starters pegged for the Rangers this year are sitting on the DL. A total of six Texas starters are shut down right now so they had to scramble for a patch work replacements.

Boston Red Sox opened up their seven game road trip by getting swept at Minnesota. The offense has been quiet as the club pushed across a mere seven runs on the Twins pitching staff in those three games. The team ranks in the bottom third in Major League Baseball in several key hitting and pitching categories which has led the Red Sox to the bottom of the AL East division. Boston is very lucky that their division is weak so there is still time for the team to get back into contention as they sit just four games in the loss column behind the first place New York Yankees.

Boston Red Sox 2B: Dustin Pedroia leads the Red Sox everyday players with a batting average of .290 on the year. He has hit 7 homers with 21 RBIs. He enters play on Thursday on a seven game win streak and with two hits on Thursday Pedroia has three multiple hit games in that span.

Boston Red Sox SS: Xander Bogaerts is batting .268 and has two homers and 15 RBIs for the club. Bogaerts gives MLB mock draft managers very few extra base hits as his slugging percentage is just .376. He went 0-12 against Minnesota in the three games.

Boston Red Sox 3B: Pablo Sandoval was acquired as a free agent from San Francisco in the offseason. The seven year pro is batting .265 with five homers and 17 RBIs. Sandoval has hit a slump for May as he is batting just .214 and has just one extra base hit in his past ten games.

Boston Red Sox CF: Brock Holt is getting playing time based on a .305 batting average. He has ten extra base hits so his slugging percentage of .442. He has hits in four straight and had two hits at Minnesota on Wednesday.

Boston Red Sox P: Steven Wright gets the call for Boston in the opener. He has appeared in four games with two starts and has an ERA of 3.68 with WHIP of 1.32. He is coming off a home win against the Angels as he got an out in the seventh innings before being lifted by allowing two earned runs.

Texas Rangers DH: Prince Fielder has bounced back well from his neck injury in 2014. He leads the Rangers with a .368 batting average with 10 homers and 38 RBIs. His slugging percentage is .589. Fielder is on fire with four three hit games in four of his past five games. He has seven extra base hits in his past ten games.

Texas Rangers 3B: Adrian Beltre for the Rangers with six homers and 16 RBIs. He enters play with a five game win streak. Beltre has had a good month of May as he is batting .308.

Texas Rangers SS: Elvis Andrus is batting .245 for the Rangers with 2 homers and 17 RBIs. He is coming off a nice series against the Indians going 5 for 10 in the three game series.

Texas Rangers P: Nick Martinez is on the mound for the Rangers. He leads the staff with an ERA of 1.96 on the year. Martinez has allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight of ten games.

Fantasy League MLB Real Money Tips

P: Nick Martinez (Rangers)
CF: Brock Holt (Red Sox)
DH: Prince Fielder (Rangers)
3B: Adrian Beltre (Rangers)
1B: Mitch Moreland (Rangers)
2B: Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox)

Anaheim Ducks vs Chicago Blackhawks – 5/27/15 NHL Playoff Fantasy Sports, Hockey Picks, Odds & Predictions

The NHL Western Conference Finals have been exciting and intense with already three overtimes in the first five games of this series. On Wednesday Ma 27th its Game 6 of this best of seven as the Anaheim Ducks look to put away the Chicago Blackhawks. NHL Fantasy league draft managers can follow their rosters on NBC Sports Network at 8PM Eastern Time from Chicago.

The two games held in Chicago have been split. Anaheim earned a 2-1 win at Chicago on the heels of a gut wrenching 3-2 triple overtime loss. Chicago then evened the series at 2-2 with a 5-4 home win against Anaheim in Game 4. Then in Game 5 the Anaheim Ducks had a 4-2 lead with two minutes remaining. Chicago made a furious comeback to tie the score with two goals late at 4-4. Anaheim did it again. After taking a shot to the stomach they bounced back and it only took 45 seconds of overtime to score the game winner and head to Chicago just one win away from a trip to the NHL Finals.

Fatigue may begin to become a factor as there has been just one day of rest between games. With all the overtimes in this series with limited rest we could see some cracking physically and mentally in the final stages of this series. At home Chicago has struggled on the power play as the club has just one goal in their past eleven chances on the man advantage.

Anaheim Ducks Center: Ryan Getzlaf leads the pucks in scoring with 19 points. He hasn’t put many goals in the net with just two goals but he has assisted on 17. Getzlaf has points in every game of this series and had multiple points in two of three games.

Anaheim Ducks Right Wing: Corey Perry leads the club with 9 goals in the postseason. He has a total of 17 points as he has 8 assists. Perry has two goals in the five games with no assists.

Anaheim Ducks Left Wing: Patrick Maroon has contributed with six goals and three assists for nine points in the playoffs. He has goals in two of the previous three games against the Blackhawks. Three of his goals have come on the road.

Anaheim Ducks Defensemen: Sami Vatanen leads the unit with ten points. He has three goals and seven assists in the post season. Vatanen had a two point night in Game 5 with a goal and an assist. Hampus Lindholm is not too far Vatanen with nine points as he has put two goals in the net with seven assists. Lindholm has been quiet of late with just an assist in the past four games. In Game 1, Lindholm had a goal and an assist.

Anaheim Ducks Goaltender: Frederick Anderson is 11-3 in the playoffs. All three post season losses have come in overtime. Anderson has a save percentage of 92.5% and a goal against average of 2.05.

Chicago Blackhawks Center: Jonathan Toews leads the club with 16 points in the playoffs with seven goals and nine assists. Toews has two huge late third period goals than erased a 4-2 Ducks deficit and forced the overtime period. He has goals in two straight games.

Chicago Blackhawks Right Wing: Patrick Kane has 15 points in the post season with nine goals and six assists. Kane has goals in two of the five games in this series and is without an assist.

Chicago Blackhawks Left Wing: Patrick Sharp leads this unit with four goals and eight assists for 12 playoff points. Sharp assisted in two of the Blackhawks goals on Monday but has not goals in the five games of this series.

Chicago Blackhawks Defensemen: Duncan Keith has 13 playoff points with two goals and 11 assists. Keith has knack for the big goals in playoff games. He has assists in three of the five games of this series including two straight. Brent Seabrook has tallied five goals and four assists in the playoffs. He had a goal and assisted in Game 5 and scored a goal in Game 4.

Chicago Blackhawks Goaltender: Corey Crawford is 7-4 in the playoffs. The veteran goaltender has a goal against average of 2.57 and 91.7% save percentage.

Real Money Leagues NHL Fantasy Tips

C: Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks)
RW: Corey Perry (Ducks)
LW: Patrick Sharp (Blackhawks)
D: Duncan Keith (Blackhawks) Brent Seabrook (Blackhawks)
G: Corey Crawford (Blackhawks)