This article focuses on 11/18 NHL Picks for both DraftKings and FanDuel Sportsbooks and FanDuel and DraftKings Daily Fantasy. We analyze tournament tactics, statistics, pricing, and attempt to tackle this highly variable Daily Fantasy format so that we can gain an edge on the field at large. Full rankings for each position for both sites are available below.
Thursday 11/18 NHL Slate and DFS Gameplan
Welcome back to the Hot Shot for an eleven-game Thursday slate!
With these larger slates, I highly advise passing on full three-man lines but instead going with pairs of two-man stacks as the goal is to attempt to capture the top scorers on the night across multiple games.
Full DraftKings and FanDuel Rankings can be found below as well as cash game considerations for each site.
Three Favorite Lines
Toronto One “Auston Matthews“ – Add-Ons “Mitch Marner, Nick Ritchie” – DraftKings or FanDuel
This is the smash spot that the Maple Leafs have been waiting for. As of late, they have mostly been winning games with limited scoring and great defense/goaltending. On the other hand, the Rangers have been engaged in some high scoring shootouts over their last six games, the logs are 3-2 “vs. Canadiens”, 4-3 “vs Devils”, 5-3 “vs Blue Jackets”, 4-3 “vs Panthers”, 0-6 “vs the Flames”, 5-6 “vs the Oilers” and I’d say only Calgary, the Panthers, and Edmonton are arguably above the Toronto offense on that list.
If the trend continues the Leafs have a floor of four goals here and when the Leafs score four goals, chances are very high Auston Matthews and the top line are involved in a few of them. Given the superior matchup, I prioritize Toronto over the other expensive line listed at the bottom when paying up. If you want to leave Marner off for his lack of goal scoring and just roll Matthews as a one-off, that works too. You can also opt for the Toronto second line as well and pass on Matthews and I think that’s reasonable.
Florida One “Jonathan Huberdeau, Sam Bennett, Anthony Duclair” – DraftKings Only “Criminally Underpriced”
Down their star in Aleksandr Barkov, Florida has adjusted all of their lines and top power-play unit and had dropped four straight games after a hot start to the season prior to a home drubbing of the road-weary Islanders “don’t remind me”. That losing stretch included a 7-3 loss to said New Jersey Devils “albeit in New Jersey”. The Devils have had a ton of rest last playing Sunday due to a postponement Tuesday with Ottawa.
Vegas sees goals here as this is one of two games with a six total as of the time of writing. I think the better betting value is on the Devils but the better daily fantasy value is on Florida, at least on DraftKings where they are criminally underpriced for such huge favorites. In Barkov’s absence, Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Bennett have moved up to the revised top line alongside Anthony Duclair. All three are up top on the first power-play unit.
Edmonton One Two Man “Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman” or Edmonton Power Play One “Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and/or Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins” – DraftKings or FanDuel
They have a tougher matchup than Toronto but if using Florida One and saving at defense, splurging elsewhere, I think the Edmonton top power-play unit is more doable with salary than on other nights so why not? It’s one of only two games along with Florida/New Jersey with a six total. I am not sure what else to tell you about the two big guns on this line McGod and Leon Draisaitl, probably not much if we’re a month into the season and you still play NHL. Conversely, you can also go with McDavid and Hyman who have a double correlation on both the top line and power-play unit without adding a power-play piece like Draisaitl or Ryan Nugent Hopkins. I am more bullish on stacking on Edmonton’s power play for correlation than most teams as their main guys usually get the near full two minutes.
11/18 NHL Game Odds and Totals
Main Slate of Games – Beginning 7 p.m. ET
New Jersey Devils (+165) at Florida Panthers (-195) – 6 Projected Goal Total
New York Rangers (+150) at Toronto Maple Leafs (-170) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
Calgary Flames (-170) at Buffalo Sabres (+150) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
Pittsburgh Penguins (-145) at Montreal Canadiens (+125) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
Tampa Bay Lightning (-135) at Philadelphia Flyers (+115) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
Late Games
Dallas Stars (+120) at Minnesota Wild (-140) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
San Jose Sharks (+135) at St. Louis Blues (-155) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
Winnipeg Jets (+135) at Edmonton Oilers (-155) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Columbus Blue Jackets (-155) at Arizona Coyotes (+135) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
Carolina Hurricanes (-140) at Anaheim Ducks (+120) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
Detroit Red Wings (+145) at Vegas Golden Knights (-165) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
11/18 NHL FanDuel Individual Rankings
Centers
- Auston Matthews – Toronto – $9,600
- Conor McDavid – Edmonton – $9,700
- Elias Lindholm – Calgary – $7,600
- Sam Bennett – Florida – $6,200
- Chandler Stephenson – Vegas – $5,100
Wingers
- William Nylander – Toronto – $7,800
- Kyle Connor – Winnipeg – $8,900
- Lucas Raymond – Detroit – $5,300
- Joe Pavelski – Dallas – $5,400
- Evgeni Dadonov – Vegas – $4,200
Defense
- Aaron Ekblad – Florida – $6,400
- Moritz Seider – Detroit – $4,200
- Nate Schmidt – Winnipeg – $4,100
- Neal Pionk – Winnipeg – $4,900
- Dougie Hamilton – New Jersey – $7,000
Goalies
- Jacob Markstrom – Calgary – $7,900
- Elvis Merzlikins – Columbus – $7,600
11/18 NHL DraftKings Individual Rankings
Centers
- Auston Matthews – Toronto – $8,500
- Connor McDavid – Edmonton – $9,500
- Leon Draisaitl – Edmonton – $9,100
- Elias Lindholm – Calgary – $6,400
- Sam Bennett – Florida – $5,100
Wingers
- Jonathan Huberdeau – Florida – $5,700
- William Nylander – Toronto – $7,500
- Kyle Connor – Winnipeg – $7,400
- Vladimir Tarasenko – St. Louis – $6,400
- Anthony Duclair – Florida – $4,500
Defense
- Brandon Montour – Florida – $3,000
- Ryan Suter – Dallas – $2,900
- Nicolas Hague – Vegas – $3,500
- Rasmus Sandin – Toronto – $2,500
- Jake Muzzin – Toronto – $3,300
Goalies
- Andrei Vasilevskiy – Tampa Bay – $7,700
- Jacob Markstrom – Calgary – $8,500
- Elvis Merzlikins – Columbus – $8,200
Cash Considerations “DraftKings”
Auston Matthews, Jonathan Huberdeau, Sam Bennett, Conor McDavid, Brandon Montour
Cash Considerations “FanDuel”
Don’t play any cash games on FanDuel tonight
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