Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Fantasy Hockey Championship - Play Tonight!

05/01/2013 at 1:05pm EDT

By Justin Lalonde of Fantasy Feud,

The Leafs are back in the playoffs against the big bad Bruins. The Crosby’less Penguins square off against the Islanders. Lastly, the goaltender confused Canucks faceoff against the playoff underachieving Sharks.

You’re going to be watching the games, why not play in a 1-night fantasy hockey contest tonight? Try it free and get ready for Saturday’s Kukla’s Korner Fantasy Hockey Championship!

The Paul Kukla Challenge is on Saturday but you can register now. We’re giving away $150 in FREE prizes. Do you have what it takes to win? PROVE IT!

Here’s how it works:

  1. Enter Saturday’s FREE contest here. On top of the $50 in free prizes, anyone who beats Paul Kukla will be entered in the May 11th Kukla’s Korner Fantasy Hockey Championship.
  2. Draft your team. You have to pick 10 players while staying under the 1 million dollar fantasy salary cap. Spend wisely.
  3. Follow the live scoreboard and if you beat Paul you will win your share of the prize money and get a free entry in the Kukla’s Korner Fantasy Hockey Championship.

To date we have 12 people who have qualified for the championships. Congratulations to datsyukian, dark side, tkfergy, coopey, docksidepress (2), dave Jenkins, quibell_17, thembones, nycdevil88, hootinani (2), baggedmilk, and yzer19man. Will you join them by beating Paul on Saturday?

If you already have an account with Fantasy Feud click this link to participate in the challenge.

We are going to have a blog post every day this week to help you find some value plays. Get a practice round in tonight before the contest on Saturday.

Wednesday’s Value Plays

C – Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins – $126,468

Malkin feels that he has something to prove in these playoffs after his subpar regular season. He started his preparation in his last game against Carolina where he had 1 goal, 2 assists, a +2 rating, and 3 shots on goal. He’s about to put the Penguins on his back with Crosby sidelined for Game 1.

LW – James Neal – Pittsburgh Penguins – $122,388

Neal is back in the lineup and playing with Malkin and Kunitz. This line was flying on Saturday night where Neal scored a hat-trick and added an assist while firing 8 shots on net. Did I forget to mention that was his first game in over 3 weeks? This line will set the tone for the Penguins and I’m spending the bulk of my money on Malkin and Neal.

LW – Brenden Morrow – Pittsburgh Penguins - $89,460

Morrow looks rejuvenated in a Penguins uniform. He only has 25 points on the season, but 13 of those have come in the last 9 games. At 89k he’s a steal!

RW – Kyle Okposo – New York Islanders – $63,234

Sure, the Penguins will likely beat up on the Islanders in this series, however, nobody believes the Islanders will be kept off the score sheet. Okposo was pointless in his last 2 games but he’s looked like a force on the ice. He had 6 points in 4 games before his recent slide. I like him at his price point.

C – Frans Nielsen – New York Islanders - $62,942

Nielsen plays with Okposo which is why these two players have been finding the score sheet in the last few weeks of the season. I prefer Okposo if you are only able to fit one of the 2 in your lineup, but if you can fit them both Nielsen had 5 points in 4 games prior to the Islanders final 2 contests.

C – Nazem Kadri – Toronto Maple Leafs - $85,089

Let’s face it; the Kessel/JVR/Bozak line is going to be matched up against Chara throughout the first 2 games of this series, as Julien will have the last line change. That means the Leafs will have to rely on their second unit featuring Kadri and Lupul. Kadri has 3 points in his last 4 games and while I hate picking someone who’s never been in a playoff game before he’s the one Maple Leaf who has the best chance to provide value at his price point tonight.

C – Mikhail Grabovski – Toronto Maple Leafs - $31,180

Grabovski has done absolutely nothing to warrant being on this list. Call this a gut feel. With Bozak coming back from injury and Kadri being forced to pick up some of the slack, Grabovski might see a little more ice tonight and will catch a break on the defensive parings he will face in this series. If you only have a few dollars to spend on your last roster spot Grabovski has a chance to produce at his price point.

RW – Jaromir Jagr – Boston Bruins - $86,546

It’s the time of year that Jagr has been waiting for, the playoffs. You can be sure he’s excited at the prospect of adding to his ring total and his experience makes him an attractive play tonight. Make sure you keep an eye on the reports leading up to the game as he’s coming back from the flu, but if he plays he deserves your consideration.

LW – Milan Lucic – Boston Bruins - $74,598

Call me crazy but I believe Lucic is going to be one of the major contributors to the Bruins playoff run. This season has been terrible for Lucic, but it’s the playoffs, and he’s getting Horton back. This line was built for the playoffs and Lucic is starting to look like the player of old having scored 3 points in his last 2 games.

C – Derek Roy – Vancouver Canucks - $65,565

I wouldn’t consider spending too much budget on players in this game as I really think this will be a low scoring battle. Having said that, Roy still offers great upside for a guy listed at 65k. His versatility playing center and the wing allows the coaching staff to play him anywhere in the lineup. I believe the Canucks will only go as far as Roy and Kesler take them.

C – Joe Pavelski – San Jose Sharks - $79,552

It’s playoff time and that tends to bode well for Joe Pavelski. He has 7 points in his last 9 games and looks to carry that momentum into the playoffs.

D – Dany Boyle – San Jose Sharks - $53,909

While Boyle hasn’t found the score sheet in the last few games he’s a veteran player who knows what it’s like to play in the playoffs. The Sharks power play will be vital to their success in this series and Boyle is still the quarterback of that team. At 54k he’s a viable option on the blue line tonight.

Register for Free Now!

Don’t miss your chance to be the Kukla’s Korner Fantasy Hockey Champion. Play in the Beat Paul Kukla Challenge on Saturday. Here’s how to join:

  1. Join for free and register in the league here.
  2. Build a roster of 10 players in a salary cap league. You have 1 million fantasy dollars to build your team.
  3. Follow the live scoreboard on Saturday to see if you win.

If you already have an account click here to access the Kukla’s Korner challenge.Best of luck against Paul on Saturday!

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

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