Joel Bartilotta 
Welcome to the Saturday Slapshot where I’ll be highlighting some of my top plays for tonight’s NHL DFS slate on Fanduel and DraftKings. Tonight we have a smaller than usual 5 game slate.
Let’s dig in and see if we can make some money.
Goaltending
Jacob Markstrom ($8.5k DK/$8.4k FD) vs. Seattle Kraken – The Calgary Flames get to take on the Seattle Kraken tonight and because of it, I’m all over Markstrom. Markstrom is definitely priced up for the match-up, but he’s facing a team that’s been scoring just 2.5 goals per game over the past month. If we look at the Kraken’s season as a whole, the past month is pretty indicative of their offensive prowess.
Markstrom is playing pretty well as he’s won 6 of his last 7 games, only allowing more than 2 goals once in the game that he lost. I’ll add though that there is a lower ceiling for him tonight as the Kraken are only registering 29 shots per game. While there is a ceiling, there’s also a chance at a shutout. If you’re playing cash games tonight, Markstrom should be your first choice at goalie. He’s still viable in GPP’s, just know he’s not going to face 40 shots and save 39 of them. There’s a limit to his potential tonight.
Thatcher Demko ($7.5k DK/$7.4k FD) vs. Buffalo Sabres – Demko comes into tonight’s match-up vs. the Ducks playing rather inconsistently. Mixed in over his last 4 games, he has games of 36 DK points and 44. Also in that stretch, he has games of 7 and 15. He’s definitely more of a GPP play for me tonight and being that I only play GPP’s, Demko will be my starting goalie.
He too gets to face a team that has just been struggling to score goals. Over the past month, the Ducks have been scoring just 2.9 goals per game. While they don’t take too many shots, the Canucks are giving up 33 shots per game over the past month. They play a little looser defensively and it should allow the Ducks to get more shots on net, raising Demko’s ceiling a bit. At $1k cheaper than Markstrom, we can deal with a lower ceiling as well.
The only other goalie I have any interest in tonight is Cal Petersen vs. Arizona.
Stacks
Los Angeles 2 (Philip Danault, Trevor Moore, Viktor Arvidsson) + Drew Doughty
I know that there has been a lot of love for Vejmelka in our Discord this season, and rightfully so as he’s put up some monster games. He’s had multiple games this season with over 40 saves. That said, he’s not playing particularly well right now and I want to take advantage of that tonight. Over his last 7 games, he has just 2 games where he’s given up less than 4 goals. That’s not going to cut it and that’s something we want to attack.
Tonight, we attack him with the second line for L.A. Over their last 5 games, this line has combined for 29 high danger chances. They’ve also combined for 51 shots. They’re playing well together and should get a ton of pucks on net tonight. Of all the players on the ice tonight, no player has a higher iCF over their last 5 games than Arvidsson. Not even Auston Matthews. He’s going to be my main cog for the Kings tonight.
Calgary 1 (Lindholm, Gaudreau, Tkachuk) + Hanifin or Tanev
I suspect that Calgary will be chalky tonight. Seattle is struggling on both sides of the ice. They aren’t scoring goals and they’re also giving up more than 3.3 goals per game. I’d start this stack with Lindholm as he’s one of the hottest players in the NHL right now. Over his last 5 games, he has 6 goals and 9 points.
If I had to pick between Gaudreau and Tkachuk, I’d side with good ole Johnny right now as he’s also playing some amazing hockey. Over his last 5 games he has 7, yes 7 assists, and 9 points. Can this line fail tonight? Yes, they certainly can. They are however in an amazing spot and the chances of them excelling are greater than them failing. No need to overthink this line.
Vancouver 1 (Horvat, Miller, Boeser)
The Ducks are giving up a ton of shots, and a healthy amount of goals right now. Over the past month, the Ducks are giving up almost 36 shots per game. They’re giving up a ton of volume and volume equals chances. In net for Anaheim tonight should be Gibson. While he’s had a solid season to date, he’s also been someone that can give up some goals as he’s given up 15 in his last 3 games.
The top line for Vancouver tonight is where I’d look for the offense. Over their last 5 games, this line has combined for 7 goals and 14 points. All three of these guys are also extremely affordable, with not a single one over $6k. They should do some damage against a defensively challenged Ducks team.
While I didn’t write them up, the top line of Toronto is always in play. They are just always extremely expensive. With some of the solid spots for offense tonight, I just don’t think there’s going to be a need to spend up on Matthews tonight, especially in GPP’s.
Other stacks (CGY 2 and 3, Tor 1 and 2, Bos 1, Stl 2)
Top Defenseman
- Jakob Chychrun
- Drew Doughty
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
- Christopher Tanev
- Nick Holden
- Justin Faulk
- Niko Mikkola
Summary
Even though tonight’s a smaller than normal Saturday night slate, it should still be a fun one. We have some defensively challenged teams facing off against offenses that are playing well. My focus with my lineups tonight will be the top 3 stacks I wrote up as they are in great spots and fit very well together when building lineups.
Make sure to use our optimizer when setting lineups.
Good luck and hope to see you in the green!
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