Richard Masana 
This article focuses on 3/17 NHL Picks for both DraftKings Sportsbook and DraftKings Daily Fantasy for tonight’s slate.
3/17 NHL Main Slate of Games – Beginning 7 p.m. ET
Carolina Hurricanes (-105) at Toronto Maple Leafs (-115) – 6 Projected Goal Total
New York Islanders (+120) at New York Rangers (-140) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
Nashville Predators (-175) at Philadelphia Flyers (+150) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Dallas Stars (-205) at Montreal Canadiens (+175) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Washington Capitals (-200) at Columbus Blue Jackets (+170) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Detroit Red Wings (+165) at Vancouver Canucks (-205) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Buffalo Sabres (+210) at Edmonton Oilers (-265) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Pittsburgh Penguins (-110) at St. Louis Blues (-110) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Florida Panthers (-130) at Vegas Golden Knights (+110) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
San Jose Sharks (+150) at Los Angeles Kings (-170) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
3/17 NHL Favorite Lines Per Dollar
Top Line – Edmonton One “Evander Kane, Connor McDavid, Kailer Yamamoto”
Edmonton stands out as the biggest money line favorite at -265, in one of three 6.5 total games on this ten-game slate. Therefore, it may come as no surprise they are the starting point/chalk on tonight’s slate. With three skaters on the Oilers’ top power-play unit, the top line makes the most sense. If you wanted to run a two-man stack instead, Evander Kane at $6,900 would be the man to leave out. Kailer Yamamoto is a steal at $3,600 with goals in three straight games.
At only in a five-way tie for 16th in terms of goals created by the line over their last ten games, I think that Edmonton One can improve on that total tonight.
Secondary Line – Washington One “Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Conor Sheary”
Recently the Capitals’ top line has gone relatively cold by their standards. However, as illustrated below “with Wilson instead of Sheary” this has been one of the top lines in the NHL over the course of the season.
Tonight, Washington has a terrific matchup as a -200 favorite in a 6.5 total game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. With salary restraints, you cannot combine them in full with Edmonton One. However, I do expect Ovi to be popular and the full line a viable pivot off of chalkier Edmonton, not that ownership will matter much at all on a ten-game slate.
3/17 NHL Honorable Mention: Carolina Three “Jordan Staal, Nino Niederreiter, Jesper Fast”
They might not see as much ice time as one would wish, but as you can see from the graphic above, have been impressive all season. Furthermore, as you can see below, they have nine goals over their last ten games, good for a tie for fourth with lines like Calgary and Chicago One. Considering their ultra-cheap prices ($2,500 for Fast, $3,400 for Niederreiter, and $3,100 for Staal) they make for a nice line to use as a pairing if mass multiple entering and looking to go stars and scrubs in a few. You certainly don’t need to play all three skaters either. More on the Hurricanes specific matchup and the game itself below under Best Bet.
Top Defender
Roman Josi – Nashville Predators – $8,200 – He’s expensive so won’t fit into many builds but with some of the monster games he’s been having lately, it’s hard not to rank him first. If building in contrarian fashion with cheap attackers, I certainly prefer him to the guys in the $6,000 and above range.
Top Goalie
Igor Shesterkin – New York Rangers – $7,900 – This one pains me personally but in a 5.5 total game, hosting the Islanders, Shesterkin makes a lot of sense. He is coming off back-to-back poor games but still has stellar numbers on the season with a 2.07 GAA and .938 sv %. This, unfortunately, feels like a get-right spot for him, as he looks to grab the win for a Rangers team heading in a different direction this season than the Islanders.
3/17 NHL Best Bet
Carolina Hurricanes Moneyline (-105) DraftKings – It is already confirmed that Erik Kallgren will be in the net again for the Leafs. He was fantastic his first time out but unless he catches lightning in a bottle, he has allowed 3.02 GAA with a .904 save % across 26 games in the AHL this season. Furthermore, Auston Matthews remains suspended for Toronto. That’s enough for me in an even-money game featuring a strong Carolina team.
Make sure to hop in our Expert Discord Chat for FREE! Rich will be there answering questions all day and all night! Follow Rich on Twitter @JFan303 and be sure to be on the lookout for future articles at https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-hockey/
