Joel Bartilotta 
Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of Between the Benches. Tonight we have a very manageable 5-game slate of NHL DFS. We also have one of the most glaring spots for offense as we’ve seen all year. We’ll need to make the decision to chase the chalk or fade the chalk.
Let’s dig in and see if we can make some money.
NHL DFS Goaltending
Ilya Sorokin ($7.5K DK/$8k FD) vs. Ottawa Senators – This game features 2 struggling teams as both teams have been playing sub-.500 hockey over the last couple of weeks. Both teams have also seen their offenses essentially disappear. I’m going to lean toward Sorokin in this matchup. The Sens are scoring just 2.17 goals per game over the last couple of weeks on around 37 shots on goal. With the volume they’re putting on the net and their measly 5.91 shooting %, this sets up nicely for Sorokin to have a high-ceiling type of game. With his price, I really like him for GPP’s tonight.
Stuart Skinner ($8.5k DK/$7.7k FD) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets– This is more of a FD play tonight as the price on DK is on the high side. That said, this is a good spot for Stuart Skinner tonight. The Blue Jackets are a lost team right now, scoring less than 3 goals per game over the last 2 weeks and winners of just 2 in 8 games. He’s been at 18 DK points or higher in 4 of his last 6 games. There’s always upside with him and tonight is no different.
NHL DFS Stacks
Edmonton 1 (McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman) + Nurse vs. Columbus
This stack is going to cost an arm, a leg, and the kitchen sink. This stack is also going to be extremely chalky, but for good measure. Rarely have we seen the stars align so perfectly for us with arguably the most powerful line in the league against one of the worst defenses in the league. Can this line fail tonight? Absolutely, it’s the NHL and anything can happen. That said, this is just a marvelous spot for Edmonton tonight.
The metrics are there for this line. Over their last five games, Draisaitl has 10 points, McDavid has 9, and Hyman has 12. Yes, Hyman is leading the way for this potent offense. My order of preference is going to be Hyman, Draisaitl, and McDavid. If you want to go a little cheaper, you can also add in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as he’ll play with this trio on the top power-play unit. He’s been good recently with 7 points in his last 5. Fade at your own risk tonight, even though they’ll be chalky.
Rangers 3 (Chytil, Kaako, Lafreniere) + Schneider vs. Toronto
To counteract the massive amount of money we’re going to spend on Edmonton 1, we can look to New York 3 for some salary relief. Is this a safe play? Far, very far, from it. This is a high-risk high-reward type of line. The Rangers’ kid line has 3 guys that can play explosive hockey but can also disappear just as fast. They are also extremely cheap though, with Chytil being the most expensive at $4.2k.
If you want to go the safer route with the Rangers, their top line is also in play. Once they get their groove going, Zibanejad, Kreider, and Panarin can be as explosive of a line as any in the NHL. My preference here would be Zibanejad and Panarin as Kreider has had some weak games of late.
Seattle 2 (Wennberg, McCann, Donato) + Oleksiak vs. Vancouver
Tonight we’ll have the Seattle conundrum. We know they are in a great spot because let’s be honest, Vancouver is a mess defensively, new coach or not. They are giving up 4 goals per game over the last 2 weeks thanks to some shotty goaltending. Their save % of 86.38 is better than only Ottawa of the teams playing tonight.
I plan on prioritizing Seattle 2 over the rest of their lineup tonight. Of the 16 goals that the Kraken have scored over the last 5 games, 6 have come from this line. Both Donato and McCann have 3 goals a piece. Donato has also thrown in 3 assists for good measure. This too is a cheap line option to counteract paying up for Edmonton 1.
Other Stacks: Tor 1 and 2, Car 1, Dal 1 and 2, Van 1
NHL DFS Top Value Defenseman
- Mark Giordano – $3.6k on DK
- Justin Holl – $2.6k on Dk
- Jalen Chatfield – $3k on DK
- Braden Schneider – $2.7k on DK
Summary
The decision we’ll have to make tonight is going to be play or fade Edmonton. And who on Edmonton do we prioritize if we go there. The Rangers/Maple Leafs is an original 6-matchup and should be fun to watch.
Make sure to use our Projection model when setting lineups.
Good luck and hope to see you in the green!
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