Following a couple of tiny slates tonight we get a huge one. Although for such a large slate, the vast majority of the games “8/12” kick off at main lock so you need to be ready! Everything you need to know and more can be found below. Aside from reading the article, don’t forget to check out our NHL DFS Projection Model which is available every morning.
12/15 NHL Main Slate of Games – Beginning 7 p.m. ET
*All odds and player pricing below have been obtained from DraftKings and are accurate as of the time of writing*
Los Angeles Kings (+190) at Boston Bruins (-225) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Pittsburgh Penguins (-105) at Florida Panthers (-115) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Seattle Kraken (+170) at Carolina Hurricanes (-200) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Anaheim Ducks (+125) at Montreal Canadiens (-145) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Toronto Maple Leafs (-120) at New York Rangers (+100) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Philadelphia Flyers (+240) at New Jersey Devils (-285) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Columbus Blue Jackets (+265) at Tampa Bay Lightning (-320) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Dallas Stars (-115) at Washington Capitals (-105) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Nashville Predators (+135) at Winnipeg Jets (-115) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Vegas Golden Knights (-205) at Chicago Blackhawks (+175) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Buffalo Sabres (+155) at Colorado Avalanche (-180) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
St. Louis Blues (+155) at Edmonton Oilers (-180) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
12/15 NHL Favorite Popular Line
Tampa Bay One “Brayden Point ($6,300), Nikita Kucherov ($8,100), Brandon Hagel ($5,200)“
Right away my eyes shift to all of the 6.5 total matchups. For such a big slate, we only have four of the 12 games hitting that projected total. You do have a pair of late-night hammers in the Avs and Edmonton at -180 apiece. However, the Avs have been decimated by injuries and in regard to both of the aforementioned teams, I think you can get more for your money.
Tampa Bay One checks all the boxes. They will be featured in a 6.5 total game hosting the defensively “overall” hapless Columbus Blue Jackets. The Lightning are the slate’s biggest money line favorite by quite a lot coming in at -320. All three skaters are featured on the team’s top powerplay unit. This line has strong peripheral stats “the second highest SATF of any line so far this season. Finally, perhaps most importantly of all, they are moderately priced.
12/15 NHL Favorite Contrarian Line
Winnipeg One “Mark Scheifele ($6,600), Blake Wheeler ($5,500), Cole Perfetti ($4,600)”
To make it all work we need a second line to slip in that fits salary-wise. However, we do not want to skip out on quality; enter Winnipeg One.
The Jet’s top line has been racking up SATF over the last ten games, where they are third-best in the NHL in that span. The main cog to this line, Mark Scheifele, is coming off a hat trick so he is certainly feeling it. The opposing goaltender Juuse Saros has been much shakier this season than in the past and Winnipeg is a home favorite. If you use all of the players mentioned in the top two lines and Jake Allen “below”, it leaves an average of $3,150 per defenseman. If you’ve read this article before, well you already know the strategy regarding that position!
Defensemen and Goalie
Defensemen
Daniil Miromanov – Vegas – $2,700 – This man made an impression filling in due to injuries on Tuesday night. For now, he is a member of Vegas’s top power-play unit. He had a three-point night “a goal and two assists”. A must-play at this price in all formats.
Esa Lindell – Dallas – $3,200 – He’s never been featured on power plays but has long been offensively apt. Lindell has been particularly feeling it lately. He has double-digit DraftKings points in four of his last six games between his offensive contributions and propensity to block shots. We would gladly take even ten points here at $3,200 and run with it.
Ben Hutton – Vegas – $3,100 – Another man to watch is Ben Hutton at $3,100 as he surprisingly quarterbacked the Vegas power play Monday night due to injuries. However, it seems Daniil Miromanov has supplanted him and his shortlived reign has ended.
Goalies
Jake Allen – Montreal – $7,400 – Since our favorite goaltender Conor Hellebuyck has let us down over the last two games let’s switch gears. Simply put, we need to save money on this slate. The Canadiens are -145 home favorites against the pathetic Ducks in a six total game. He is more of a tournament play than a cash play but has flashed some big upside in three of his last five starts.
Linus Ullmark – Boston – $8,400 – If you got that money and don’t know where to spend it, you can pay up here. Ullmark’s 1.83 GAA and .938 save % could hardly be better. The Bruins are rightly heavy home favorites at -225 but there should still be sufficient shot volume on the Kings’ end.
12/15 NHL Best Bet
Buffalo Sabres (+160) – DraftKings – 1 Unit – With all of Colorado’s injuries and poor recent form, the Sharp Bets NHL model shows a model money line of +105 for the Sabres. That represents a 26.83 EV%.
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