Underdog Fantasy NHL Picks December 13th: Brad Marchand Keeps Rolling

For tonight's NHL slate, we have five games on tap, which means fewer options for hockey player picks. There are many different ways to approach these NHL Underdog Fantasy top plays, but I have selected a few of my favorites from the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins. For tonight's slate, we're targeting some star NHL players who should put up plenty of shots and block some shots. Be sure to check out our NHL Tools when locking in your picks on Underdog Fantasy so you can ring in the holiday season with a little extra green.
NHL Underdog Fantasy Top Picks December 13
Owen Power, Buffalo Sabres - HIGHER than 1.5 Blocked Shots
Owen Power isn’t exactly a shot-blocking machine, but he is blocking shots at a much higher rate than last season. During his rookie campaign, he averaged 1.08 blocks and this year he is averaging 1.65 per game. He’s gone over 1.5 blocks in three of his last six games and is matched up against Colorado who love to shoot the puck. The Avalanche are 9th in the league with 32.25 shots per game and Owen will have a ton of chances to get in front of some pucks.
Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins - HIGHER than 3.0 Shots
Brad Marchand, the captain, is averaging 3.5 shots per game on the season so far. Boston has been shuffling their lines constantly all season and he is currently skating on the second line with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic. He is far and away the best option on that line and should be the one taking the bulk of the shot attempts. In his last six games, he has eclipsed 3.0 shots five times and I am looking for him to continue the trend.
Player News
Rockies optioned RHP Angels Chvilli to Triple-A Albuquerque.
Chvilli has been up-and-down from Albuquerque to Colorado and vice versa for the majority of the year, and it’s unlikely to change anytime soon. He’ll move south this time with Zach Agnos getting the promotion to take his place on the roster.
Yanier Diaz is out of the starting lineup against the Rockies on Thursday.
Diaz will get a break with Victor Caratini getting the start behind the plate, Jose Altuve getting a break from the field as the DH and Cooper Hummel getting the start in left.
Luis Ortiz was placed on non disciplinary leave while he’s being investigated for a potential gambling offense.
The leave will extend through the All-Star break, and obviously his absence away from the club will be considerably higher — if not permanent — if he’s found to have violated the league’s policy. There should be considerably more details in the coming days, but don’t expect to see Ortiz on the mound soon.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports Jared Dudley is finalizing a deal to become the top assistant coach for the Nuggets.
The Nuggets fired Mike Malone with only a few games left in the regular season last year. David Adelman took over and was made the permanent head coach after the season. Now Dudley will join him as the lead assistant coach with the Nuggets. The 39-year-old Dudley has been an assistant coach with the Mavericks since he retired from the NBA in 2021. Dudley played for 14 seasons.
Joey Cantillo will join the Guardians rotation with Luis Ortiz placed on non-disciplinary leave.
Cantillo is a starter by trade but opened this season in the Guardians’ bullpen and posted a 3.81 ERA over 28 1/3 innings in 21 appearances. He was sent down to Triple-A Columbus to get stretched back out as a starter. He has started four games and posted a 3.86 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 15/4 K/BB. However, he has thrown just 11 2/3 innings and hasn’t made it out of the fourth inning in any of those. It seems like five innings might be the max we can expect from Cantillo early on, which keeps him off fantasy radars for now.
Carlos Correa is not in the starting lineup for Thursday’s game against the Marlins.
It’s just a routine day off for the veteran, who hit .269 in 24 games in June with two home runs, 11 runs scored, and 10 RBI. He will be replaced at shortstop by Brooks Lee today as Lee continues to play every day by moving all around the infield.