Joel Bartilotta 
Welcome to Thursday’s edition of Between the Benches. Unlike last night, we have a massive slate on our hands tonight. We have 20 teams in action, giving us plenty of options for our NHL DSF lineups. There are also some really glaring mismatches tonight.
Let’s dig in and see if we can make some money.
NHL DFS Goaltending
Igor Shesterkin ($8.3K DK/$8.3k FD) vs. Montreal Canadiens – This is probably the mismatch of the night. We have a surging New York Rangers team facing off against a Canadiens team that is 0-5-1 in their last 6. The Canadiens are scoring less than 2 goals per game over that stretch. Shesterkin does have a little bit of a limited ceiling tonight because the Canadiens don’t take too many shots on net, less than 27 per game. That said, we have shutout potential for the reigning Vezina trophy winner. Shesterkin is playable in all formats tonight, but more so in Cash.
Darcy Kuemper ($8.1k DK/$7.8 FD) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets– Darcy Kuemper is another goalie that gets a lopsided matchup tonight. The Capitals are 4-0-2 in their last 6 while the Blue Jackets are just 1-3 in their last 4. Over those 4 games, they’re scoring just 1.75 goals per game. Kuemper is coming off 2 shaky games, but those games were against the Sabres and Senators. One of the best offenses in the league and the other is an above-average offense. He gets a much easier task tonight and should do well in it.
NHL DFS Stacks
New York Rangers 1 (Zibanejad, Kakko, Kreider) + Fox vs. Montreal
I said it with my goalie selection, but the Rangers get just a phenomenal matchup tonight on both ends of the ice. With how bad their offense has been, their defense has been even worse. Over the last 2 weeks they’re giving up over 5 goals per game, over 17 high-danger chances per game, and close to 38 shots on goal per game. They are an absolute mess.
I’m going to target the Rangers’ top line tonight. The 2 I’m mostly focused on in this line are going to be Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko. Zibanejad is the Rangers’ main goal-scoring threat. Over his last 5, he has 4 to go along with 2 assists. Since Kakko has been moved to the top line, he’s been a completely different player. He’s finally playing with the skills that made him the second-overall pick in the 2019 draft. Kreider is also very much in play here as well. The Rangers have a chance to put up a huge number tonight.
Washington 1 (Strome, Sheary, Ovechkin) + Gustafsson vs. Columbus
Another mismatch on paper will be the Capitals vs. Columbus tonight. The Capitals are rolling right now. They’re 4-0-2 in their last 6 and are scoring at will. Over those 6 games, they’re averaging 4.5 goals per game. We’ll want to ride this hot offense until they slow down.
As usual, their offense is led by Ovechkin. He’s on fire right now, with 8 goals in his last 5 games. He’s taking his pursuit of Gretzky extremely seriously and is on pace to catch him in a couple of seasons. I’ll look to pair him with Connor Sheary tonight. Sheary has been an assist machine, with 7 in his last 5 games. His $4.3k salary on DK also helps to counteract Ovechkin’s $9k salary.
Vegas 2 (Eichel, Smith, Roy) + McNabb vs. Pittsburgh
The Penguins are struggling right now, big time (sorry Vecchio 🙂 ). They’re winless in their last 5 games and over those 5 games have really struggled on the defensive side of things. They’re giving up close to 17 high-danger chances and over 36 shots on goal. Until they right the ship, they are someone that we’ll want to attack. And we’ll attack them with a team that gets their star player back today.
Vegas gets Jack Eichel back today and he instantly gives their offense a huge shot in the arm. He’s missed the last 11 games but rust shouldn’t be too much of a concern for someone with his elite talent. I’ll look to pair him with Smith tonight. Although Smith has been really quiet of late, he’s been getting a healthy amount of scoring chances. His 17 are second on the team over the last 5 games. With Eichel by his side tonight, he’s ready to explode. Let’s make sure he’s in our lineups when he does.
Other Stacks: Tor 1 and 2, NYR 2, NJ 1 and 2, Phi 1, Car 1, Edm 1, Bos 1
NHL DFS Top Value Defenseman
- T.J. Brodie – $3.1k on DK
- Samuel Girard – $3.1k on Dk
- Mattias Ekholm – $3.3k on DK
Summary
We have ourselves a massive 10-game slate of NHL DFS tonight. It’s shaping up to be an extremely fun one and expect it to be high-scoring. I may sound like a homer, but I’ll be all over the Rangers tonight in just a great matchup for them.
Make sure to use our Projection model when setting lineups.
Good luck and hope to see you in the green!
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