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This article will focus on NHL Daily Fantasy picks for both FanDuel and DraftKings. Using advanced hockey metrics, slate analysis, and line by line evaluation, this article will point you towards what we think are the best plays for the night! Good luck!
Friday 12/10 NHL Breakdown
Welcome back to Win Daily Sports’ Friday Night Forecheck. We have a bit of a larger slate to break down tonight, with 7 games on the slate. There is an awful lot to like about this slate, so you will want to spread out your exposure to some big pieces tonight. Good luck!
Goalies
Darcy Kuemper – Colorado Avalanche: The Avalanche are the biggest home favorites on the board tonight, in what should be a rough game for the opposing Red Wings. Kuemper has finally turned it around slightly and hasn’t been as bad as he was earlier in the season. The trends are saying play him tonight at home against the Wings. The shot upside won’t be terrible, but it’s not the best, either, so this ends up being a cash play that probably isn’t great for GPP.
Thatcher Demko – Vancouver Canucks: The Canucks have a nice matchup tonight at home against the Winnipeg Jets, who have been having trouble scoring on the road, scoring just 2 goals per game over their last five roadies. Demko has really stepped it up over the last couple of weeks, and this is a fantastic spot for him.
Igor Shesterkin – New York Rangers: Igor joined the Rangers’ morning skate this morning, indicating that it is possible he can come back tonight for a road tilt against the Sabres. CHECK THE NEWS throughout the day, and if he does play, he becomes a top option tonight. Please note, only play the Rangers goalie tonight if it is Igor – you do NOT want Georgiev. If Georgiev gets the start, you can consider Mackenzie Blackwood in this spot instead.
Bonus GPP Goalie Pick – Tristan Jarry – Pittsburgh Penguins: Jarry has just been playing way too well to ignore him. As long as he gets the start tonight against the Caps, he is a great play, as the Pens have been limiting scoring on the road, thanks to Jarry.
Lines to Build Around
These 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).
Florida Panthers Power Play – Aleksander Barkov/Sam Reinhart/Sam Bennett/Jonathan Huberdeau/Aaron Ekblad: The Panthers roll into Arizona where they should absolutely destroy the Coyotes tonight. The Coyotes are a mess of an organization right now, and truthfully, there is opportunity up and down the lineup tonight for massive upside for the Panthers. This top power play unit gives you access to the top two scoring lines, and should be heavily considered for cash. The second line has a slight edge in the matchups tonight, but you can’t deny the top line here either.
Colorado Avalanche Power Play – Nathan MacKinnon/Nazem Kadri/Gabriel Landeskog/Mikko Rantanen/Cale Makar: Speaking of a team with massive opportunity tonight, the Avalanche play host to the Detroit Red Wings tonight and Thomas Greiss in net. The Red Wings on the road have given up 3.8 goals against per game over their last five road games, and the Avalanche have scored a whopping 6.2 goals per game over their last five home games. Get exposure to the top line tonight. Logan O’Connor, should he remain on the top line, becomes a fantastic value play.
Vancouver Canucks 1 – Bo Horvat/Jason Dickinson/Nils Hoglander/Tyler Myers: The Canucks, as mentioned earlier, face the Jets at home tonight, and on home ice against the Bruins, this top line hard matched the Pastrnak/Bergeron/Marchand line. We can expect them to do the same tonight, creating a very, very, very juicy matchup against the Jets’ top line. On top of that, Eric Comrie is expected to be in net for the Jets, and he has not played in a while. His numbers aren’t amazing, so this line definitely has a good chance to be very sneaky tonight. The Jets top line rates: 38.33 shots against/60, 3.36 goals against/60, 3.97 expected goals against/60, 32.95 scoring chances against/60, and 18.16 high danger chances against/60. These are inflated numbers, and the Canucks top line (without Dickinson) is generating: 40.27 shots for/60, 0.92 goals for/60, 2.92 expected goals for/60, 38.9 scoring chances for/60, and 13.73 high danger chances for/60.
High Risk Lines
These are 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).
Vegas Golden Knights 1 – Chandler Stephenson/Max Pacioretty/Mark Stone/Shea Theodore: The Golden Knights host the Flyers tonight, in what should be a lopsided contest. The Flyers are a team who came out of the gate looking good, but have severely plummeted into being a very bad team. They are sporting some of the worst defensive rates in the league, and the Golden Knights should have their way against them. This top line is in a very good spot tonight, in a top six matchup that provides plenty of opportunity.
Pittsburgh Penguins 1 – Sidney Crosby/Evan Rodrigues/Kasperi Kapanen/Kris Letang: The Pens and Caps is always a premier matchup, pitting Crosby vs Ovechkin, and a lot of eyes will be on this matchup tonight. Ovechkin is having a better season than Crosby, of course, as he chases history. However, the top line for the Pens is in a good spot tonight. They run risky without Jake Guentzel, but that just means you can have this line at a discount.
New York Rangers 1 – Mika Zibanejad/Chris Kreider/Kaapo Kakko/Adam Fox: The top line for the Rangers is in a really good spot tonight against Buffalo. The Rangers seem like they have been a little quiet recently, and they seem due for a multi-point, slate breaking game. This is the spot where that could happen. Always consider playing Zibanejad/Panarin/Fox as a three-man in the Rangers look as well.
Honorable mentions: VGK2, NSH1, NJDPP1, WSHPP, WPG1, PIT2, NYR3, BUF1 (if Georgiev starts)
Value Options – DraftKings
Center: Bo Horvat ($4500) – Vancouver Canucks
Wing: Kasperi Kapanen ($3100) – Pittsburgh Penguins or Logan O’Connor ($2800) – Colorado Avalanche
Defense: Erik Johnson ($3200) – Colorado Avalanche or Brian Dumoulin ($3300) – Pittsburgh Penguins
Value Options – FanDuel
Center: Bo Horvat ($5600) – Vancouver Canucks
Wing: Kasperi Kapanen ($4400) – Pittsburgh Penguins
Defense: Tyler Myers ($3800) – Vancouver Canucks or Brian Dumoulin ($3600) – Pittsburgh Penguins
Cash Considerations – DraftKings
Mika Zibanejad – C – New York Rangers
Mikko Rantanen – W – Colorado Avalanche
Aaron Ekblad – D – Florida Panthers
Darcy Kuemper – G – Colorado Avalanche
Cash Considerations – FanDuel
Mika Zibanejad – C – New York Rangers
Mikko Rantanen – W – Colorado Avalanche
Aaron Ekblad – D – Florida Panthers
Darcy Kuemper – G – Colorado Avalanche
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 the advanced rates referenced in the above article are pulled from www.naturalstattrick.com.
