Allan Fabrykant Welcome back to another Friday Night WinDaily NHL Between the Benches Article! Only a few slates left til 2023, and tonight we have a large 11-game slate tonight so there will be lots to enjoy this evening! Tonight’s 12/23 NHL slate begins at 7:00 pm ET. Don’t forget to lock your lines and check the discord for any updates! Let’s get right into it!
12/23 NHL Stack Report
1. Edmonton Oilers 1 (Hyman-McDavid-Puljajarvi)
— We’re starting off today’s article with the far and away best matchup on the slate as the league’s 3rd best offence goes up against the league’s 3rd worst defence. Statistically, this translates into a 3.65 goals-per-game average for the Oilers, while their divisional rival, the Canucks, cough up an average of 3.9 goals a game. Heading into Rogers place tonight, the Oilers hold the biggest implied total on today’s massive slate and are facing a team on the second half of a back-to-back who had a thrilling 6-5 game which ended in a shootout. In fact, the Canucks, in general, have been seeing a lot of extra ice time lately as their last six wins have either come by way of shootout or overtime, that fatigue will add up over time and I think it’ll have a part to play in tonight’s matchup against Connor McDavid (league leader in both goals and assists) and the Edmonton Oilers. Another Major target point in this matchup is power plays. The Oilers have the best power play in the league, their conversion rate is over 33%, and the Canucks Penalty Kill rate is the worst in the league at 67%, on top of that, the Canucks are also near the worst in the league in penalties drawn per game at 11, so the Oilers should have plenty of opportunities to capitalize on their league-leading power play, which all three of the top line play on as McDavid and Hyman appear on the top power-play unit and Puljajarvi appears on the Oilers second power-play unit. Overall, I’d say this is a clear mismatch, and I would urge everyone to take a piece of the Oilers for their DFS lines tonight.
Ideal Defensive Partner(s): Tyson Barrie
2. Dallas Stars 1 (Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski)
— My second favourite line of the slate are the Dallas Stars, who also hold one of the highest implied totals of the slate at 4 implied goals coming in tonight at home against the Montreal Canadiens. Offensively, this matchup is a bit of a joke, the Stars are near the top of the league in most offensive stat categories, including goals per game (3.56) and shooting percentage (11.2), while the Canadiens are near the bottom of the league with a mere 2.7 goals per game average and a league’s worst 13.6% power play conversion rate. Defensively, things don’t get much better for the Canadiens, as the Stars are putting up modest defensive numbers this season, the Canadiens are giving up an average of 3.45 goals against per game and registering nearly 12 penalty minutes a game. All three of Dallas’ first line also appear on Dallas’ top power-play unit. Furthermore, Dallas’ top line in particular has been rolling as of late with 8 points over their last three games including three in their last game against the Edmonton Oilers last Wednesday. Robertson, in particular, will be a top player to watch in tonight’s game as he is just five goals shy of the league leader, Connor McDavid. Although, not as crucial as having a share of the Oilers’ top line tonight, I would definitely recommend including some shares of Dallas’ top line for your DFS Builds tonight.
Ideal Defensive Partner(s): Miro Heiskanen
Honorable Mention(s): Carolina Hurricanes 1 (Svechnikov-Stastny-Necas), Calgary Flames 1 (Dube-Lindholm-Toffoli), Arizona Coyotes 1 (Schmaltz-Boyd-Keller)
12/23 NHL Goalie Tracker
Best (Goalies to Roster)
- Pyotr Kochetkov
- Jake Oettinger
Honorable Mention(s): Stuart Skinner
Worst (Goalies to Target)
1. Jonathan Quick
Honorable Mention(s): Samuel Ersson
12/23 NHL Wild Card Targets
Michael Amadio
– Even though he has not recorded a lot of points this season, he has been on a bit of a roll with points in his last two games as he has taken a role on the Golden Knights’ top line alongside Chandler Stephenson and Mark Stone as such he is seeing a spike in ice time and has been effective with it as last game, he put 5 shots on target while recording just shy of 16 minutes of ice-time. Tonight, the conference-leading Golden Knights are facing off against a middle-of-the-pack Blues team who have suffered from some shaky goaltending from starter Jordan Binnington who has given up an average of over 3 goals a game.
Honorable Mention(s): Erik Gustafsson, Dillon Dube, Mason Marchment
Core Four: (ALWAYS BE STACKIN’)
Center – Connor McDavid
Winger – Mark Stone
Defenseman – Erik Gustafsson
Goalie – Pyotr Kochetkov
12/23 NHL Monkey Knife Fight NHL Prop Picks – Win With These Picks Here and Get a 100 Percent Bonus!
All-Day Putting Up Points 3/3
Honorable Mention(s): Rapid Fire 2/2 All Day Slate
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