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WE. ARE. BACK!!!!! Welcome back everyone to another season of NHL DFS action! We have a ton to offer this year for NHL at Win Daily Sports. Fresh this year is the BRAND NEW NHL Projections Model! Find everything you need here at Win Daily, and let’s jump into another fantastic hockey season with DFS picks for tonight’s two game slate!
Slate Notes
Since tonight is just a two game slate to start the season, we will break them down individually. Remember to keep it light, especially early on in the season, and even more especially because it’s two games. We are all excited for the new season, but make sure you manage your bankroll until we get more information on each team.
Small disclaimer – the rates and stats used in this article are from LAST SEASON, since we don’t have any new data on these teams just yet.
If you are uncomfortable playing the two game slate, you can attack the showdown slate using our NHL DFS Showdown Strategy Guide for guidance.
Game 1: Tampa Bay Lightning @ New York Rangers
Tale of the Tape
Implied Vegas Totals: TBL 2.8 / NYR 2.9
The Lightning and Rangers kick off this season in what should be a fantastic game. This one is a rematch of the Eastern Conference Final from last year’s playoffs, and if this game is anything like that series, it will be amazing hockey to watch. Both teams are still packed with talent. The Rangers were a little bit of a surprise last year, as they weren’t really ‘supposed’ to go that deep into the playoffs. However, when you look at their roster, it makes a lot of sense why they were good, and should be better this year.
Goalie Matchup
Andrei Vasilevskiy vs. Igor Shesterkin
This is like an old school heavyweight bout! These two goalies are vying to be the best in the league, and they are very, very, very close to being 1-2. Both Vas and Igor have had some incredible seasons over the last couple of years, and Igor just took home the Vezina last year.
Both of these goalies are in play tonight, as they should be every night this season. It is virtually a coin flip as to who will win, but it seems the Rangers have a slight edge and should be able to take this game tonight. Igor is the lean, but it’s two games, so don’t be afraid to just correlate your goalie with your stacks.
Lines to Target
NYR1 – Mika Zibanejad/Kaapo Kakko/Chris Kreider/Adam Fox: As usual, it is hard to ignore the top line for the Rangers. They have a lot of firepower and talent. Kakko makes a nice value piece to pair with the big guns, and should benefit from the talent around him.
TBLPP – Steven Stamkos/Brayden Point/Nikita Kucherov/Alex Killorn/Victor Hedman: There is not much to say about one of the more lethal scoring units in the league. If you like the Tampa side better than the New York side, then these will be your targets.
NYR2 – Vincent Trocheck/Artemi Panarin/Vitali Kravstrov: The addition of Trocheck here really makes this line interesting. Kravstov is a rookie and could fly way under the radar tonight from an ownership perspective, so if you go here, make sure to get him in.
Others to Consider: NYR3
Value
Filip Chytil (C) – NYR
Vitali Kravstov (W) – NYR
Kaapo Kakko (W) – NYR
Ross Colton (W) – TBL
Brandon Hagel (W) – TBL
Game 2: Vegas Golden Knights @ Los Angeles Kings
Tale of the Tape
Implied Vegas Totals: VGK 3.00 / LAK 3.10
This game comes off as the more ‘boring’ game of the pair, but should be better than it looks on the surface. LA snuck into the playoffs last year and gave Edmonton a run in the first round, taking them to seven games. The Kings ultimately lost that series, but it was very fun to watch. The Knights were a bit of a disappointment last year, and they didn’t do very much this year to get that much better. The Kings are a very interesting look for this slate.
Goalie Matchup
Logan Thompson vs. Jonathan Quick
It’s the old guy versus the new guy tonight. Logan Thompson is a young goalie who has looked pretty good recently. He should be a mainstay for the Knights this year, but we have yet to see how he can be over time. Quick had a bit of a resurgence last year, and the question becomes – can he keep that up?
The Kings have a sneaky scoring team, so Quick appears to be in the better spot in this game. There will be a little more focus on the early game, so you may be able to get him lower than both Igor and Vas. Thompson is definitely worth a shot in the deeper GPP contests, but he carries the most risk on the slate.
Lines to Target
VGK1 – Jack Eichel/Reilly Smith/Phil Kessel/Alec Martinez: This is the easy way to stack the Knights, but the question becomes – are they actually going to produce?
LAK2 – Phillip Danault/Viktor Arvidsson/Trevor Moore: This line is together again this year, and they should be just as fun to watch as they were last year. Not a lot of people will look at this line tonight, so this is a very nice leverage spot.
LAK1 – Anze Kopitar/Kevin Fiala/Adrian Kempe/Drew Doughty: We can’t ignore this line, as they should be a decent scoring line for the Kings. They are in a good spot tonight at home against a young goalie.
Others to Consider: VGK3, LAK3
Value
Quinton Byfield (C) – LAK
Gabriel Vilardi (W) – LAK
Phil Kessel (W) – VGK
Alec Martinez (D) – VGK – if he blocks shots like he did a season and a half ago, this price is criminally low
Sean Walker (D) – LAK
Player Props
In this section, we will highlight some NHL player props that we like for the upcoming NHL slate.
Chris Kreider (NYR): over 2.5 shots on goal
Phillip Danault (LAK): over 0.5 points
Shea Theodore (VGK): over 1.5 blocked shots
Make sure to hop in our Expert Discord Chat for FREE! Jon and the NHL team will be there answering questions right up until lock! Be sure to be on the look out for future articles at https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-hockey/
All line combinations are courtesy of www.dailyfaceoff.com, and any advanced rates referenced in the above article are pulled from www.naturalstattrick.com.
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