Joel Bartilotta 
Welcome to the Saturday Slapshot. I’m Jared and I’ll be your host. Tonight we have a nice sized 9 game slate where I’ll be highlighting some of my top plays for tonight’s NHL slate on Fanduel and Draftkings.
Before we dive in I want to highlight some terms you’ll see in my article that may be foreign to you:
- Corsi – Any shot attempt (goals, shots on net, misses and blocks) outside of the shootout
- Even Strength – Play where both teams have the same number of players (including goalies) on the ice. Includes 5v5, 4v4, 3v3
- Power Play – Play where the team has more players on the ice than their opponent due to penalties. Includes 5v4, 5v3, 4v3
- Penalty Kill – Play where the team has fewer players on the ice than their opponent due to penalties. Includes 4v5, 3v4, 3v5
Goaltending
Tristan Jarry ($8k DK/$8.1k FD) vs. Montreal Canadiens – Triston Jarry is one of the hottest goalies in the game. Over his past 9 games he has a save % of .939 and has given up just 1.66 goals per game. Outside of his last game vs. an explosive Edmonton offense he had been above 20 DK points in 6 consecutive games.
In a matchup against a Canucks team that is only scoring a hair over 2 goals per game, I really like Jarry’s chances of getting past his dud vs. Edmonton and back on the saddle w/ a game above 20 DK points again. There’s a strong chance for a ceiling type game from Jarry due to the Vancouver’s high shot volume and low shooing %. They are averaging 38 shots per game with just a 5.58 shooting percentage.
Alex Nedeljkovic ($7.7k DK/$7.5k FD) vs. New York Islanders – The Red Wings are riding a 4 game winning streak, with a lot of it due to the solid play of Nedeljkovic. He has been superb of late. In his last 3 games he has DK points of 32, 24.8, and 40.8. The only concern with Nedeljkovic tonight is that the Islanders play at a slow pace and don’t shoot the puck much.
Over their last 5 games they are averaging just 25 shots per game. That said, they’re also averaging less than a goal per game during that stretch. The Islanders are getting past their COVID issues but tonight’s not going to be their night. Look for Nedeljkovic to be one of the top goalies by the end of the night.
Marc-Andre Fleury ($7.3k DK/$7.3 FD) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins – As a Rangers fan I hope I’m wrong here but I think they struggle tonight. They’re playing their third game in 4 days and are on the back side of a back to back. In Fleury we’re getting a very affordable goalie who is in the midst of a pretty good stretch of goaltending. Over his last 7 games he has .947 saver percentage and is giving up just 1.69 goals per game. With my expectation that the Rangers have some tired legs I expect Fleury to have one of his better nights of the year.
Stacks
Colorado 1 (Mackinnon/Landeskog/Rantanen) + Toews or Maker
Colorado gets an extremely favorable matchup tonight vs. a Senators team that is giving up close to 5 goals per game over the past 2 weeks. Senators are one of my favorite teams to stack against because they are one of the bottom feeders in the NHL. Over the last 2 weeks they have a corsi % of just 41%. In comparison, the Avalanche are at 57%. Anything below 50 isn’t great, but when you are approaching 40% you’re bad. Very bad.
In net for Ottawa tonight should be Filip Gustavsson. Over his last 5 games he has an .887 save % and is giving up more than 4 goals per game. This stack is extremely expensive and will be very popular. But they are in just too good of a spot to pass up. If you want to go a different route w/ Colorado tonight I do also love their second line with Kadri and Nichushkin. Both guys have been playing extremely well together and come at a fraction of the cost of the top line.
Nashville 1 (Granlund/Duchene/Forsberg) + Josi or Fabbri
This line is very affordable tonight on DK and gets a great matchup. Montreal is giving up close to 40 shots per game over the last 2 weeks. That’s just a ton of volume. While Jake Allen is serviceable goalie, he’s not someone that can handle that much volume without giving up a handful of goals. His GAA over his past 5 games is north of 3.
This top line for Nashville is playing extremely well. Over the past 5 games Forsberg has 6 goals while Granlund and Duchene have combined for 11 points with 9 assists. They have a chance to put up a big number tonight vs. a poor defensive team.
Carolina 3 (Svechnikov/Kotkaniemi/Stepan)
I don’t have the warm and fuzzies about this pick, but the Sabres are just so bad right now. Over their past 7 games they have a goals against average of 5 and a corsi of 47%. That’s just downright awful. While the Hurricanes aren’t playing their best hockey right now, they have shown explosiveness in the past. There’s no better slump buster in the league than the Buffalo Sabres.
Svechnikov is one of their best players and even though the team is struggling to score some goals, he’s still firing away on net. Over his past 5 games he’s averaging almost 3.5 shots per game. His line mates are extremely cheap and if Svechnikov can connect on a pair of goals tonight with them we have a chance to break away from the pack at a low cost. Carolina gets back on track tonight and puts up a very large number.
Other stacks (Detroit 1, Pit 1 and 2, Min 1, Tor 1 and 2, Was 1)
Top Defenseman
- Roman Josi – Nashville Predators
- Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins
- Tyler Myers – Vancouver Canucks
- Seth Jones – Chicago Blackhawks
- Jacob Slavin – Carolina Hurricanes
- Adam Fox – New York Rangers
Summary
We have a fun looking slate tonight. 4 of the 9 games have a total of at least 6. Some of the worst defensive teams are in action tonight and I’m going to make it a point to attack them. The Toronto/Minnesota game tonight highlights two of the more solid teams in the league.
Good luck and hope to see you in the green!
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