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The holiday week brings us the most balance in the NHL schedule that we have seen all year. We have a nice eight game slate to dive into tonight, which is a great slate size. Let’s get into our NHL DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel. Good luck!
Goalies
Linus Ullmark – Boston Bruins: Ullmark and the B’s host the Panthers tonight, and this is a very solid matchup, with upside. The Panthers have been struggling to light the lamp over their last five, but should still throw a decent amount of shots at Ullmark.
Charlie Lindgren – Washington Capitals: Lindgren has been playing very well recently, and he has a chance to extend that tonight with a home date against the Red Wings. Even with Larkin back for Detroit, this looks like a very good spot for Lindgren.
High Risk Goalie Pick – Juuse Saros – Nashville Predators: This is a tough pill to swallow, but no one will go here, and he will see a ton of shot volume. At home, with the shot volume, plus the fact that he has good numbers over his last five, make him a very interesting upside GPP candidate.
Others to Consider: Jordan Binnington (STL), Jake Oettinger (DAL)
Lines to Build Around
These NHL DFS lines are considered top plays for the night and can be considered the focal point of your builds. They will be listed by position in the following order: Center/Winger/Winger/Correlating Defenseman (if applicable).
Boston Bruins Power Play – Patrice Bergeron/Brad Marchand/Jake Debrusk/David Pastrnak/Hampus Lindholm: The Bruins have a solid matchup tonight against a middle of the road penalty killing unit for the Panthers. The Bruins have been cruising, while the Panthers have been leaky defensively. There is a chance that the Panthers will also be without Barkov tonight, which would make this an even better play.
Vegas Golden Knights 2 – William Karlsson/Jonathan Marchessault/Reilly Smith: The Knights host the Sabres tonight, and this one is mostly about the goalie matchup. The Sabres, as of this morning, appear to be rolling out Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who has not been very good this season. Without Eichel, the Knights have had to rely on this line for scoring, and tonight is no different. They should have a solid matchup tonight against the top line for the Sabres.
Washington Capitals 1 – Dylan Strome/Alex Ovechkin/Conor Sheary/John Carlson: Ovi continues to chase the great Gordie Howe on the scoring list, and he has a chance to tie and even pass him tonight against a porous Detroit defense. It is going to be hard for the Wings to contain this line tonight, and this is a great spot for Ovi and this top line.
St. Louis Blues 3 – Robert Thomas/Jordan Kyrou/Ivan Barbashev: Listing a third line as a line to build around feels weird, but the matchup for this line is undeniable. The Blues will be facing a Canucks team that is bleeding goals and chances. The matchup for this line appears to be against the bottom six, which sets them up VERY nicely tonight.
High Risk Lines
These are NHL DFS plays that carry significantly more risk, but could pay off at low ownership. They will be listed by position in the following order: Center/Winger/Winger/Correlating Defenseman (if applicable).
Arizona Coyotes 2 – Nick Bjugstad/Lawson Crouse/Matias Maccelli: The Coyotes are rarely listed as a DFS play, but this game can be looked at for some scoring. Both they and the Canadiens are terrible on defense and in net, so there should be a healthy amount of scoring here. The risk? Well, it’s the Coyotes, and good luck trying to determine where the scoring comes from. This line should have a decent number of chances tonight, so they are worth a GPP look.
Dallas Stars 1 – Roope Hintz/Joe Pavelski/Jason Robertson/Miro Heiskanen: The top line for the Stars has a very nice matchup tonight against the Blue Jackets’ top line. They should see plenty of chances, but Dallas has been fairly quiet of late. Tonight is a potential get-right spot for them, and they could be very sneaky.
Edmonton Oilers 1 – Connor McDavid/Leon Draisaitl/Zach Hyman/Darnell Nurse: This top line for the Oilers is always in play, and they get an interesting matchup tonight. Nashville has been somewhat limiting defensively, which is what makes them a little risky, along with the fact that they are so expensive.
Nashville Predators 1 – Thomas Novak/Mikael Granlund/Filip Forsberg/Roman Josi: While the top line for the Oilers faces off against the Predators’ second line, this line should be set up against the depth for the Oilers. That, plus the fact that Campbell is very shaky in net, makes them a very interesting play tonight.
NHL DFS Honorable Mentions: MTL1, BUF1, COL2, STL2
Value Options – DraftKings
Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on DraftKings. Be sure to stack!
Center: William Karlsson ($4300) – Vegas Golden Knights
Wing: Lawson Crouse ($3200) – Arizona Coyotes
Defense: Esa Lindell ($3100) – Dallas Stars
Value Options – FanDuel
Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on FanDuel. Be sure to stack!
Center: Thomas Novak ($3000) – Nashville Predators
Wing: Lawson Crouse ($5000) – Arizona Coyotes
Defense: Trevor van Riemsdyk ($3700) – Washington Capitals
Cash Considerations – DraftKings and FanDuel
Consider these NHL DFS plays for your cash lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel. Cash lineups do not need to be stacked, and it is recommended to play no more than two players from a given team.
Center: Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers
Wing: Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals
Defense: Roman Josi – Nashville Predators
Goalie: Jake Oettinger – Dallas Stars
Player Props
In this section, we will highlight some NHL player props that we like for the upcoming NHL slate.
Nick Suzuki (MTL): over 2.5 shots on goal (+145 on DK Sportsbook)
Lawson Crouse (ARI): anytime goal scorer (+235 on DK Sportsbook)
Ivan Barbashev (STL): anytime goal scorer (+320 on DK Sportsbook)
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