Saturday's Defenseman Value Rankings
Here are theScore's defenseman value rankings for Saturday, February 20. Note the Lightning-Penguins game is excluded due to its 12:30 EST start time.
Top Options
| NAME | OPPOSITION | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Shayne Gostisbehere (PHI) | at TOR | 10 |
| Erik Karlsson (OTT) | vs. DET | 9 |
| Erik Johnson (COL) | at EDM | 9 |
| Dustin Byfuglien (WPG) | at FLA | 8 |
| John Klingberg (DAL) | vs. BOS | 8 |
| Drew Doughty (LA) | at NAS | 8 |
If you haven't heard, Gostisbehere is on a 14-game point streak. Roster him against the lowly Leafs.
Johnson has goals in back-to-back games and faces the Oilers, who average three goals against per game.
Klingberg has gone pointless in his last two and only had one shot goal in each of those contests. But, he did have nine points in the eight games leading up to his current dry spell.
Best of the Rest
| NAME | OPPOSITION | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson (ARI) | vs. STL | 7 |
| Cody Ceci (OTT) | vs. DET | 6 |
| Shea Weber (NAS) | vs. LA | 6 |
| Colton Parayko (STL) | at ARI | 6 |
| Tyson Barrie (COL) | at EDM | 6 |
Ekman-Larsson has 11 points in his last ten games but faces a stiff test in Brian Elliott.
| NAME | OPPOSITION | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Roman Josi (NAS) | vs. LA | 5 |
| Francois Beauchemin (COL) | at EDM | 5 |
| Jake Muzzin (LA) | at NAS | 5 |
| Jake Gardiner (TOR) | vs. PHI | 5 |
| Zdeno Chara (BOS) | at DAL | 4 |
Josi falls below teammate Weber due to a higher salary and similar production of late.
Gardiner comes with an extremely cheap salary and has the workload of a top defenseman.
Nothing to See Here
| NAME | OPPOSITION | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| John Carlson (WAS) | vs. NJ | 3 |
| Torey Krug (BOS) | at DAL | 3 |
| Matt Niskanen (WAS) | vs. NJ | 3 |
| Kevin Shattenkirk (STL) | at ARI | 2 |