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Last night was an absolute blast! It is so nice to have the NHL back in full swing, and even though it was only two games to start last night, we got a couple of very entertaining games. Tonight, we get a nice little six game slate, as we ease back into the swing of DFS hockey. Don’t forget to check out our brand new Projections Model! Let’s get into tonight’s slate! Remember, early in the season, we don’t have stats to look at, so play light to start. Good luck!
Goalies
Jack Campbell – Edmonton Oilers: Edmonton hosts Vancouver tonight, and this should be a very winnable game for the Oilers. Last year, the Canucks were a much better home team than they were a road team, giving up over 3 goals per game. The Oilers still look good and got what they needed in a quality goalie. Tonight’s opener should be a good spot for Campbell.
Alexandar Georgiev – Colorado Avalanche: On any given night, we would consider Georgiev to be a risky play. However, the Avalanche host the Blackhawks tonight. If you have been following along in the offseason, you know that Chicago is a shell of a professional team, so this play should be ‘safe’ and can be considered for cash.
Matt Murray – Toronto Maple Leafs: Murray makes his Leafs debut tonight against a very young Canadiens team. There is always some inherent risk with playing Murray, as he can be very streaky. Young teams can sometimes surprise, so there is risk in this play tonight. However, the Leafs should be able to handle the Canadiens easily.
High Risk Goalie Pick – Daniil Tarasov – Columbus Blue Jackets: This is a fantastic GPP play. Tarasov will likely be ignored against a Hurricanes team that loves to shoot low percentage shots at the net. HIs numbers in a small sample last year look very good, and with the shot volume, he could see a save bonus easily on DraftKings.
Others to Consider: Jeremy Swayman (BOS), Darcy Kuemper (WAS), Frederik Andersen (CAR)
Lines to Build Around
These NHL DFS lines are considered top plays for the night and can be considered the focal point of your builds. They will be listed by position in the following order: Center/Winger/Winger/Correlating Defenseman (if applicable).
Edmonton Oilers Power Play – Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl/Ryan Nugent-Hopkins/Zach Hyman/Tyson Barrie: Would you expect anything less? The Oilers are almost always a top play on the board, and this is the exact same unit from last year. Roll them out with confidence tonight as they host Vancouver.
Colorado Avalanche 1 – Nathan MacKinnon/Mikko Rantanen/Artturi Lehkonen/Cale Makar: This one feels like a pretty obvious play also, as the Avalanche will raise their championship banner tonight against Chicago. Usually, we look for a letdown after something like that, but the Blackhawks just don’t look too competitive on paper.
Toronto Maple Leafs 1 – Auston Matthews/Michael Bunting/Mitch Marner/Morgan Rielly: Ahh, the Leafs…great regular season team and fantasy lineup fillers…terrible playoff team. It is hard to argue the spot that this line is in tonight, and if Tavares goes, you can add him and Nylander to this look (take away Bunting) for a power play look. This should be one of the top plays on the night against a young Canadiens team.
High Risk Lines
These are NHL DFS plays that carry significantly more risk, but could pay off at low ownership. They will be listed by position in the following order: Center/Winger/Winger/Correlating Defenseman (if applicable).
Carolina Hurricanes 3 – Jordan Staal/Jesper Fast/Paul Stastny: One thing that we can remember from last year is that on home ice, this third line will match the opposing top line. That puts this line in a good spot against the Blue Jackets tonight, and they should see some extended ice time. That being said, this line got better with the addition of Stastny and is a very interesting look tonight.
Seattle Kraken 2 – Alex Wennberg/Jaden Schwartz/Oliver Bjorkstrand: Bjorkstrand joins the Kraken after a few years in Columbus, and he should be a good addition to this line. The Kraken take on Anaheim tonight, and they are in a good spot. This line is interesting when compared to the other two skating lines for the Kraken. The top line here is also in play, and Seattle could be a surprise tonight.
Montreal Canadiens 1 – Nick Suzuki/Cole Caufield/Josh Anderson/Chris Wideman: The Canadiens are going to be an interesting team this year. It is hard to say that they will be ‘good’, but they could have days where they surprise. No one will be on this look tonight, so it is risky, but interesting, as a GPP play.
NHL DFS Honorable Mentions: SEA1, WSHPP, BOSPP, CLS1
Value Options – DraftKings
Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on DraftKings. Be sure to stack!
Center: Jordan Staal ($3100) – Carolina Hurricanes
Wing: Andre Burakovsky ($4000) – Seattle Kraken
Defense: Chris Wideman ($2700) – Montreal Canadiens
Value Options – FanDuel
Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on FanDuel. Be sure to stack!
Center: Alex Wennberg ($3800) – Seattle Kraken
Wing: Paul Stastny ($4800) – Carolina Hurricanes
Defense: Brandon Carlo ($3800) – Boston Bruins
Cash Considerations – DraftKings and FanDuel
Consider these NHL DFS plays for your cash lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. Cash lineups do not need to be stacked, and it is recommended to play no more than two players from a given team.
Center: Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers / Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs
Wing: Mitch Marner – Toronto Maple Leafs
Defense: Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche
Goalie: Alexandar Georgiev – Colorado Avalanche
Player Props
In this section, we will highlight some NHL player props that we like for the upcoming NHL slate.
Morgan Rielly (TOR): over 2.5 shots on goal
Leon Draisaitl (EDM): over 3.5 shots on goal
Cale Makar (COL): over 0.5 power play points
Auston Matthews (TOR): over 4.5 shots on goal
Make sure to hop in our Expert Discord Chat for FREE! Jon and the NHL team will be there answering questions right up until lock! Be sure to be on the look out for future articles at https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-hockey/
All line combinations are courtesy of www.dailyfaceoff.com, and any advanced rates referenced in the above article are pulled from www.naturalstattrick.com.
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