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Welcome to the NHL DFS Man Advantage for the 2021-22 season.
If you are new to my articles, NHL, or WinDaily Sports then I will tell you that my articles are not going to give you the chalk plays or the obvious plays. I try to dig in and find ways for you to build lineups for GPP contests. I will always point out those top plays to help you build cash but that is not the point of this article.
No day of rest in the NHL on Sunday
Happy Sunday! Tonight we have a five-game slate on tap in the NHL with two of the hottest teams in the league meeting in the first game (Nashville @ NY Rangers). Anaheim travels to St. Louis where both teams are on the second night of a back-to-back. What could be the game of the night happens in Denver when Floriday and Colorado battle. Minnesota is in Vegas and the suddenly red hot Vancouver Canucks host Carolina in the late games.
NHL DFS: Goaltenders
I’m just going to come out and say it, goalies suck tonight. There are not a lot of playable options on this slate of five games. I will do my best to break down a couple of options but it appears we are looking to just get positive points from our goalies on Sunday.
Thatcher Demko ( vs Carolina)
I have been tooting the Demko horn since the coaching change three games ago, and it seems like I may be the only one here who is. But my reasons are validated by Demko on the ice. Demko has been one of the best fantasy goalies in his last three starts under Bruce Boudreau winning all three. Vancouver has actually won five of their last six games and Demko was in net for all five victories (started all six).
Carolina had been one of the hottest teams to start the season but has cooled off immensely since then. In their last 10 games, Carolina is averaging just 2.8 goals per game, down from their season average of 3.23. During those 10 games, Carolina is averaging 33.6 shots on goal per game, which is higher than their season average.
During this six-game span I have been mentioned for Demko, he has a 1.92 GAA and an incredible .946 save %. On a slate with very few options at goalie, Demko pops off to me as the far and away top option.
Other Options: Cam Talbot ( @ Vegas), Alexander Georgiev (vs Nashville), Robin Lehner ( vs Minnesota)
NHL DFS: Slate Overview
Teams to build around:
There is one game that I predict to be a popular game stack, Florida at Colorado, but that isn’t the one game I am focusing on tonight.
Nashville @ NY Rangers
While I am not telling you to ignore the Col/Fla, I want to show you a way to be different on a small slate like Sundays. Both these teams have been scoring in bunches recently and that should continue on Sunday night.
Both teams have top 10 power plays, but Nashville is one of the worst penalty kills in the NHL (24th) as well as being one of the most penalized teams in the league. My first focus is the Rangers power-play units, especially the top unit. First and foremost, if you want to pay up for a defenseman tonight, Adam Fox is the man. After Fox on this unit for New York, I want Artemi “Bread Man” Panarin and Ryan Strome. Both Panarin and Strome have been rolling of late and have combined for five goals and nine assists in the Rangers’ last five games.
If you don’t want to pay up at defense, which I usually do, you can add Chris Kreider to your PP stack. Kreider has not been able to find the score sheet much in the last five, but he does have 14 shots on goal so I’d say he is due on Sunday. Rounding out this unit is Mika Zibanejad who is priced right on DK today at $6,300 who is averaging near 10 DK points per game in his last 5.
Looking at some lower-priced options, a three-man stack of Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere, and the red hot Jacob Trouba. This PP2 stack will most likely have very little ownership but could be the right fit price-wise to get exposure to the Rangers while stacking the Fla/Col game.
Switching to Nashville now, and staying with the expensive dmen, Roman Josi is the top play from the Predators. After the Preds captain, I will look to the value from their top line to save salary. Eeli Tolvanen is currently on a four-game goal-scoring streak while playing on the top line. Tolvanen is also super cheap for his production in his last four ($3.2K/$4.6K). Speaking of cheap wingers, Luke Kunin ($2.7/$3.7K) plays with Tolvanen on line one and he has a goal and an assist to go along with nine shots on goal in his last 5. Centering this line is Ryan Johansen who has two goals and four assists in the Preds’ last four. Some other options you can run from Nashville are Tanner Jeannot who has three assists in his last 2 games. On defense, both Dante Fabbro and Mattias Ekholm are solid cheap options today.
Other stacking options:
St. Louis 2: This may be my favorite line outside of the Rangers PP unit tonight. All three of Tarasenko, Barbashev, and Buchnevich have been scoring every time they’re on the ice it seems. Both Logan Brown and Brandon Saad are cheap options for a PP2 stack as well. Colton Parayko and Torey Krug are my choices for defense
Vancouver 2 (DK ONLY): This line is extremely too cheap on DK, but priced up on FD so they are not playable there. Brock Boeser and JT Miller are the two top plays for me from this line, but Tanner Pearson is near min price and definitely playable. On defense, Quinn Hughes is the top play, but for value, both Tucker Poolman and Tyler Myers are in play.
If you are looking to use a high-priced stack to pivot off potential chalk, both Minnesota 1 and Carolina 1 are great options. Obviously, I prefer to use Demko tonight, but if you want to go elsewhere in net Carolina 1 would be the one line that I’d roll from them. Minnesota 1 was held off the score sheet on Saturday but I think they get back on it on Sunday.
Max Pacioretty is coming off a two-goal game and has seven in his last 5. Keegan Kolesar appears to be getting a shot at centering Patches and Vegas captain, Mark Stone, on Sunday.
Lastly, Anaheim is a potential target for me, depending on who is in net for St. Louis. If it’s Charlie Lindgren again, I am off the Ducks. But if we get Jon Gillies then I will have some interest in running either of their top two lines as a stack with Kevin Shattenkirk, Cam Fowler, and Hampus Lindholm as options on defense. Anaheim is averaging just 2 goals per game in their last 5 games.
Thanks for reading this article on the NHL DFS Man Advantage for today. Make sure you head to the Win Daily Sports Discord for up-to-date info and help directly from our pros! Head over to Twitter and give the @WinDailySports account and me (@MVecchio81) a follow! W cover all things Fantasy Sports and make sure to check out WinDailySports.com for more money-making content.
