Justin Elick 
Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of Between the Benches. After an 11-game slate night, we have just a modest 5-game slate tonight of NHL DFS. At first glance, we have some pretty glaring mismatches on the board tonight that we’ll want to attack.
Let’s dig in and see if we can make some money.
NHL DFS Goaltending
Andrei Vasilevskiy ($8.5K DK/$8.1k FD) vs. Montreal Canadiens – This is probably the biggest mismatch of the night as the Tampa Bay Lightning take on the lowly Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens are coming into this tilt struggling, scoring just 1.83 goals per game over the last 2 weeks. Over that stretch, they’ve won just once in 6 games. They are a team night in and night out that we’ll want to consider a goalie against as they just aren’t a strong offense.
With Vasilevskiy, we have one of the more consistent goalies of the last decade. A goalie that normally averages a GAA of 2.6 or less and a save % north of .900. This season has been no different. After some early-season struggles, Vas has been playing much better over the last month. He has just one game under 17.9 DK points and multiple games over 20. He’s in line to have a solid night against a bad team. Feel comfortable rolling him out in both Cash and GPP’s, more so Cash though as his price is high. Should Brian Elliot get the nod tonight, he’s also in play.
John Gibson ($7.1k DK/$6.9 FD) vs. Vegas Golden Knights– This is going to be strictly for GPP’s. Gibson has a ton of upside tonight as he returns from an injury. The Ducks give up a ton of shots and the Golden Knights’ offense hasn’t exactly been on fire, scoring just 2 goals vs. LA last night.
Gibson is an extremely volatile goalie. We’ve seen him get upwards of 30 DK points on any given night, and as few as -8. Against a suspect offense like Vegas, I expect him to be well in the positive tonight. He’s also extremely inexpensive on both sites tonight, making him a solid GPP play.
NHL DFS Stacks
Tampa Bay 1 (Point, Hagel, Kucherov) + Hedman vs. Montreal
We’ll be attacking Montreal on both ends tonight as their defense has been nearly as bad as their offense. Over their last 6 games, the Canadiens are giving up close to 15 high-danger chances per game and nearly 34 shots on goal. Against a solid Lightning team, that’s just not going to cut it and should cause them plenty of problems tonight.
While the second line is also in play for Tampa, I’m focused on their top line as it’s been one of the most productive lines in the NHL over the last 10 games. This line has combined for 9 goals over their last 10 games together, second most in the NHL over that stretch. The 2 I’m most focused on here will be Hagel and Kucherov. The 2 have combined for 13 points over the last 2 weeks. Hagel has been the goal scorer with 4 while Kucherover has been the assist machine with 5. Hagel does have back-to-back duds, but a date with Montreal should get him back into the scoring column. Same for Point if you want to go full stack.
Pittsburgh 1 (Crosby, Guentzel, Rakell) + Letang vs. Detroit
At some point this potent Penguins team will be dynamic again. Although they are on the tail end of a back-to-back I like the matchup for them tonight. The Red Wings are giving up goals in bunches. Over the last 2 weeks, the Red Wings have been giving up 4.5 goals per game. This is something that will hopefully help the Penguins snap out of the goals funk they are in.
We’ll target their top line tonight of Crosby, Guentzel, and Rakell. These three have shown a ton of upside at times this season. Even though the team as a whole has been quiet offensively since their winning streak ended, the trio have combined for 12 points over the last 2 weeks. They should be a force tonight against a Red Wings team that has struggled defensively at times this season.
Vegas 2 (Karlsson, Smith, Kessel) + McNabb vs. Anaheim
If you are fading Gibson tonight, stacking against him will make for a strong play. The Ducks give up a ton of goals and a ton of shots. That means upside for anyone playing against them. They also give up just a ton of high-danger chances. Over the last 2 weeks, they’ve given up close to 17 high-danger chances per game. That’s an insane rate.
I’m mostly interested in Karlsson and Smith here. Kessel is mostly fantasy irrelevant these days. Smith has been the majority of Vegas’s offense of late. Over the last 2 weeks, Smith has 5 goals and 2 assists. While Karlsson hasn’t been scoring any goals, he has been helping set them up. Over his last 6 games, he does have 5 assists.
The top line for Vegas of Stephenson, Stone, and Amadio is also very much in play.
Other Stacks: TB 1, Bos 1 and 2, NJ 2, Pit 2, Det 1, Sea 1, Cgy 1
NHL DFS Top Value Defenseman
- Brayden Pachal- $2.5k on DK
- Brandon Carlo – $2.6k on Dk
- Erik Cernak – $2.9k on DK
Summary
We have a solid slate of games tonight. I’ll be going heavy on the Lightning and Pittsburgh tonight. If you’re willing to run some risk, make sure to Gibson into your lineups as your goalie.
Make sure to use our Projection model when setting lineups.
Good luck and hope to see you in the green!
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