This article focuses on 10/21 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 10/21 NHL Slate and DFS Gameplan
Welcome back to the Hot Shot for a juicy ten-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.
The Chalk
With a 6.5 implied goal total, near even odds, a start time at main lock, etc., there are many reasons in place to provide the basis for the oncoming Colorado/Florida chalk.
Of all of the lines in this game, with Nathan MacKinnon making his season debut post-Covid and Andre Burakovsky offering value, understandably, the Colorado top line of MacKinnon, Burakovsky, and Mikko Rantanen should be the most popular.
However, for value on DraftKings, it is hard to top the Panthers’ second line featuring Sam Bennett, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Owen Tippett. On FanDuel, my lean is towards the first line due to a large increase in price over there for the Florida second line. The Panthers’ first line of Aleksandr Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe “much cheaper on FanDuel” and Anthony Duclair does unfortunately only feature Barkov alone on the top power-play unit. If targeting the Florida power play I’d probably roll a two-man stack of Bennett and Huberdeau.
In terms of individual chalk, Burakovsky, as mentioned due to a bump to the Colorado first line with Gabriel Landeskog’s injury should be a popular value play. We can also expect the likes of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Alex Ovechkin to soak up a lot of the ownership on the high end. Over on FanDuel, Brent Burns will likely be chalk or at least should be for $5,000.
The Contrarian Play
Carolina Hurricanes “DraftKings”
Unfortunately, the Hurricanes’ power play is a hodgepodge of their top two lines. Therefore, I think first off you’re reducing “Carolina One: Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi” or “Carolina Two: Andrei Svechnikov, Vincent Trocheck, Martin Necas” to two-man stacks of either Aho/Teravainen or Svechnikov/Trocheck. That will give you access to the two best players on each line and the top power-play unit. Montreal has had a nightmare start to the season, last we saw them getting destroyed by Buffalo. They will have the home crowd behind their back but perhaps played above their heads last year in the playoffs and it shows now. This is a solid Carolina team and they should all be 5-7% owned if that, on a ten-game slate.
10/21 NHL Game Odds and Totals
Main Slate of Games – Beginning 7 p.m. ET
Carolina Hurricanes (-120) at Montreal Canadiens (+100) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
San Jose Sharks (-115) at Ottawa Senators (-105) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Colorado Avalanche (-100) at Florida Panthers (-120) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Washington Capitals (-130) at New Jersey Devils (+110) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
New York Islanders (-130) at Columbus Blue Jackets (+110) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
Games Starting 7:30 p.m. ET or after
Calgary Flames (-130) at Detroit Red Wings (+110) – 6 Projected Goal Total “7:30 p.m.”
Anaheim Ducks (+145) at Winnipeg Jets (-180) – 6 Projected Goal Total “8:00 p.m.”
New York Rangers (-105) at Nashville Predators (-115) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total – “8:00 p.m.”
Vancouver Canucks (+110) at Chicago Blackhawks (-125) – 6 Projected Goal Total – “8:30 p.m.”
Late Game
Edmonton Oilers (-180) at Arizona Coyotes (+145) – 6 Projected Goal Total – “10:00 p.m.”
10/21 NHL FanDuel Individual Rankings
Centers
- Connor McDavid – Edmonton – $9,300
- Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado – $8,600
- Aleksandr Barkov – Florida – $8,100
- Sam Bennett – Florida – $6,300
- Dylan Larkin – Detroit – $5,900
Wingers
- Andre Burakovsky – Colorado – $5,400
- Alex Ovechkin – Washington – $8,900
- Carter Verhaeghe – Florida – $5,300
- Tyler Bertuzzi – Detroit – $4,600
- Mikko Rantanen – Colorado – $8,200
Defense
- Brent Burns – San Jose – $5,000
- Roman Josi – Nashville – $6,200
- Erik Karlsson – San Jose – $4,900
- Mackenzie Weegar – Florida – $5,300
- Aaron Ekblad – Florida – $6,900
Goalies
- Ilya Sorokin – New York Islanders – $8,100
- Mikko Koskinen – Edmonton – $8,500
10/21 NHL DraftKings Individual Rankings
Centers
- Connor McDavid- Edmonton – $9,500
- Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado – $8,700
- Sam Bennett – Florida – $5,800
- Sebastian Aho – Carolina – $6,100
- Aleksandr Barkov – Florida – $7,700
Wingers
- Andre Burakovsky – Colorado – $5,500
- Alex Ovechkin – Washington – $8,200
- Mikko Rantanen- Colorado – $7,600
- Andrei Svechnikov – Carolina – $5,800
- Jonathan Huberdeau – Florida – $6,000
Defense
- Erik Karlsson- San Jose – $4,800
- Aaron Ekblad – Florida – $6,900
- John Carlson – Washington – $5,900
- Bowen Byram – Colorado – $3,300
- Brent Burns – San Jose – $6,500
Goalies
- Ilya Sorokin – New York Islanders – $8,300
- Mikko Koskiken- Edmonton- $8,400
Cash Considerations “DraftKings”
Andre Burakovsky, Erik Karlsson, John Carlson, Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon
Cash Considerations “FanDuel”
Andre Burakovsky, Carter Verhaeghe, Brent Burns, Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon
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/
