Richard Masana 
We’re less than a week out from Christmas but let’s see if we can grab some early presents “or extra money for presents” from tonight’s slate. We have twelve games and there are lots of options to choose from and we will cover a few of them below. I highly suggest against running full three-man lines tonight and instead recommend pivoting to two-skater pairings. Aside from reading this 12/21 NHL DFS article, don’t forget to check out our NHL DFS Projection Model which is available every morning. If you like what you see, sign up for more Win Daily content here.
12/21 NHL Main Slate of Games – Beginning 7 p.m. ET
*All odds and player pricing below have been obtained from DraftKings Sportsbook and are accurate as of the time of writing*
Toronto Maple Leafs (-162) at Buffalo Sabres (+136) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Vegas Golden Knights (-102) at Tampa Bay Lightning (-118) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
St. Louis Blues (+180) at Florida Panthers (-218) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Nashville Predators (+100) at Philadelphia Flyers (-120) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
Carolina Hurricanes (-122) at Pittsburgh Penguins (+102) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Washington Capitals (-120) at Columbus Blue Jackets (+100) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Edmonton Oilers (-105) at New Jersey Devils (-115) – 7 Projected Goal Total
Vancouver Canucks (+114) at Dallas Stars (-135) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Montreal Canadiens (+180) at Minnesota Wild (-218) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Ottawa Senators (+150) at Colorado Avalanche (-180) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Calgary Flames (-148) at Anaheim Ducks (+124) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Arizona Coyotes (-155) at San Jose Sharks (+130) – 6 Projected Goal Total
12/21 NHL Favorite Popular Line
Toronto One – “Auston Matthews ($9,900), Matthew Knies ($3,600)” – Two-Man Only
It was too tempting to turn back to Toronto again against the struggling Sables, although we will be switching lines. Last Thursday the pair of Mitch Marner and John Tavares came through for us, but I think now we pivot elsewhere. Simply put, it is hard to avoid Auston Matthews.
If playing any cash games, he is a must play. Over his last five games he has 34.4, 41.5, 35.8, 29.3, and 29.4 DraftKings points and now he gets this soft matchup. I usually hate spending up like this on any one player, but he is locked in. In a world without salary, William Nylander would get plugged in next. However, we need some salary savings and Matthw Knies at only $3,600 brings plenty of that, if nothing else. Hopefully some of Matthew’s magic can rub off on him tonight.
12/21 NHL Favorite Secondary Line
Florida Two – “Sam Bennett ($4,900), Carter Verhaeghe ($6,200)” – Two-Man only
As far as other popular options go, the Panthers have even better money line odds and give us the option of two lines to pull from. However, it is hard to pull the trigger on either of Florida’s lines has they have been really underwhelming for their prices. Matthew Tkachuk has been a shell of his 2023 playoff self with only five goals in 31 games and the team’s other star, Aleksandr Barkov, is also underperforming.
The most cost-efficient way to go about it is to pair Sam Bennett who has been underperforming as well, with Carter Verhaeghe who certainly has not been. He has been on fire as of late and should be in a position to take advantage tonight, all for the moderate price of $6,300. In terms of actual goals scored, this line is tied for fifth in the NHL over the last 10 games. For their combined two-man price on tonight’s slate we may make out with some solid points per dollar.
Defensemen and Goalies
Defensemen
Devon Toews – Colorado -$5,300 – For as long as Cale Makar remains out and Toews doesn’t get ridiculously expensive, you play him. He is quarterbacking the Avalanche power play for a very fair price. While it’s shocking that he has not done more with his opportunities perhaps he is waiting for his writeup in the Hot Shot to go crazy.
Jalen Chatfield – Carolina- $2,600 – This is just price enforcement. In two of his last three games, Chatfield has 14.9 and 14.1 DraftKings points. If we get anything close to that, we’d have to be very happy.
Goalies
Carter Hart/Samuel Ersson – Philadelphia – $8,000 – The Flyers are in a 5.5 projected goal total game so that’s a great start. Philadelphia is a -120 favorite at home. It seems Carter Hart will return from illness either tonight or for Friday’s game on the back-to-back. However, no matter which goalie starts they have both been putting up strong numbers and that should continue here.
Charlie Lindgren – Washington – $7,900 – He is already confirmed in net with Washington coming in on the second night of a back-to-back. Lindgren has burned us over his last couple of starts but the 2.45 GAA/.925 SV% are still very strong despite the regression. This is a soft matchup with a projected total of six.
12/21 NHL Best Bet
Vancouver/Dallas – Under 6.5 (-110) – DraftKings – I usually try to cap manually before seeing the totals, had this at six and was surprised it was set for over that. It probably shouldn’t be.
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