Fantasy picks: T.J. Oshie scoring at career-best rate

Each day this season, NHL.com's fantasy staff will provide daily picks for DraftKings NHL contests. This article includes expensive and value plays and should be used as a basis for your roster decision-making.

TOP CENTER: Jack Eichel, BUF ($7,700)
Eichel has been dominant from a daily fantasy standpoint in his past 10 games, scoring nine points (five goals, four assists) with eight blocks and 45 shots on goal (5.0 DraftKings points per game). He leads the NHL in SOG per game (4.1) and has 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists), 24 on the power play, in 58 games. He's been stellar at home (35 points in 30 games) and can feasibly return DraftKings value even if he doesn't get a point against the Montreal Canadiens. On a two-game night, make room for the player with the highest ceiling.

VALUE CENTER: Mika Zibanejad, NYR ($5,200)
Zibanejad has been impressive on the New York Rangers' first power-play unit when healthy. He has been limited to 53 games because of a broken fibula, but if his rate of power-play production (10 PPP) were pro-rated over a possible 79 games, he'd be second on the Rangers behind Derek Stepan (17 PPP). He has two assists and six SOG in two games against the Washington Capitals this season.
TOP WING: T.J. Oshie, WSH ($6,800)
Oshie quietly has the best points-per-game average (0.85) and single-season goal total (33) of his NHL career playing on the Capitals' top line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. He has 28 points (17 goals, 11 assists) in 32 home games, and faces the Rangers, who will be without forwards Mats Zuccarello and Rick Nash and top defenseman Ryan McDonagh because of undisclosed injuries. Oshie has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in his past nine games and 12 points in 12 games played on no days rest.

VALUE WING: Paul Byron, MTL ($3,800)
Byron has found chemistry on the Canadiens' third line with Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher, and has at least one point in three of his past four games. He has 41 points in 78 games, fifth on the Canadiens. Byron has three points, three blocks and eight SOG in three games against the Sabres (4.2 DraftKings points per game). The Canadiens have a strong chance at the win, and Byron has 26 points in 29 games when the Canadiens are leading after the second period.
TOP DEFENSEMAN: Kevin Shattenkirk, WSH ($5,600)
Shattenkirk scored his first goal in 16 games since joining the Capitals against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, and has added 12 assists, tied for the most among defensemen over that span. Six of those assists have come on the power play, and he has strong totals in SOG (41) and blocked shots (24). He's priced third among defensemen Wednesday, and has been more productive lately than top-priced Rasmus Ristolainen ($5,900) of the Sabres.

VALUE DEFENSEMAN: Brady Skjei, NYR ($4,400)
With McDonagh out of the lineup again, Skjei will have first-unit power-play responsibilities with Stepan, Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and whoever replaces Zuccarello. Skjei has put together arguably his best fantasy stretch of the season over his past four games, totaling five points (one goal, four assists), four blocks and eight SOG. He has the most even-strength points (32) among rookie defensemen.
GOALIE SPOTLIGHT: Braden Holtby, WSH ($8,000)
The Capitals are on the second of a back-to-back set, so Holtby should get the start against the Rangers on Wednesday. He's 1-1-0 with 51 saves on 55 shots faced against New York this season. He's 26-6-2 with a .933 save percentage and seven shutouts at Verizon Center. He got a rare poor outing out of his system two starts ago at the Arizona Coyotes, responding well with 35 saves in a 3-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.

---
Check out DraftKings.com to play 1-Day Fantasy Hockey today. Entering is quick and simple: sign up for a free account, enter the $3 1-Day Fantasy Hockey contest and set your lineup, catch the games and win!
DraftKings fantasy hockey contests are operated by DraftKings Inc. and are in no way sponsored or administered by the NHL and/or any of its affiliated entities. Prohibited and/or not available in AL, AZ, DE, GA, HI, IA, ID, LA, MT, NV and WA. Offered in IL and TX pending litigation. See terms for additional eligibility rules.