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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.
Welcome back!
It feels like it’s been an entire offseason since we’ve had NHL games, but it has only been a week. Now that the NHL’s holiday/COVID break is over we can get back to playing DFS, but that doesn’t mean we are done dealing with COVID-ravaged teams.
Multiple teams are still being affected by COVID on this small three-game slate. Because of this, we need to continue to monitor Twitter and the NHL news wire to see if any new players are added to the list of players out with COVID.
Games breakdown:
Tonight’s slate features one early game, Montreal at Tampa, in which both teams will be without their number one goalies and in Tampa’s case their numbers one and two. In the two late games, Vegas in LA and Arizona are in San Jose. Vegas is dealing with injuries to all three of Robin Lehner, Max Pacioretty, and Mark Stone. All three are listed as GTD so we will have to be following that news to see if any or all of them practice on Tuesday. San Jose has a few players out with COVID, but they could be back as well on Tuesday.
This slate sets up in such a way that you need to be up late (on the East coast) waiting for news before the 10:30 pm lock of the late games. I will do my best to guide you through the mess in this article but make sure you are in discord and following along on Twitter today for late-breaking news.
NHL DFS: Goaltenders
James Reimer (vs Arizona)
Arizona is the worst team in the league in all three major categories (SOG, goals, PP%) so they appear that they are an easy team to pick on. I don’t typically play goalies against Arizona because they do not get enough shots on goal to give the opposing goalie the upside needed. With the lack of options on this slate, Reimer is probably one of the few healthy options on this slate and has the easiest path to a win bonus which makes him my choice.
Other Options: Jonathan Quick (vs Vegas): This play is purely based on Patches and Stone missing this game. If we get news that they are both in then I would come off Quick. Maxime Lagace (vs Mtl): I don’t love this play, but it appears Montreal might get some ownership and he will not. Lagace is a min price on DK and that is his real appeal. He will help you fit the high priced players from Tampa in comfortably.
Scott Wedgewood: SJ does not shoot much, but they also are towards the bottom of the league in goals scored as well. If Tomas Hertl and Jonathan Dahlen both miss this game it lessens the Sharks’ offensive potential greatly making Wedgewood a good GPP option.
NHL DFS: Slate Overview
Teams to build around:
Early game stack:
Tampa Bay:
With Tampa and Montreal dealing with outbreaks on their rosters, including their goalies this game could become a stack-up spot, especially on the Tampa side. All three of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Mikhail Sergachev, and Anthony Cirelli, join goalies Andrei Vasilevskiy and Brian Elliott, as well as coaches Jon Cooper and Rob Zettler on the COVID list for the Lightning. Most of Tampa’s top players are eligible (as of writing) to play this game. Tampa also could be getting Brayden Point back from injury and while it’s less likely Nikita Kucherov as well. If one or both are back for Tampa this will give them a huge bump. I am not sure of the line combos of this writing, but I will suspect that whoever is on the top two lines and the Bolts power-play unit will be in play. Point skated on the top line and top PP unit on Monday so that is a good sign he will be in the lineup on Tuesday. Tampa is my pay-up spot of the night on this slate.
Montreal:
As for Montreal, they added Jake Allen, Ben Chiarot, Chris Wideman, Jeff Petry, and Joel Edmundson to their COVID list on Monday. Those five join Tyler Toffoli, Laurent Dauphin, Artturi Lehkonen, and Mike Hoffman who were already on the COVID list prior. Luckily, I guess you can call it luck, for the Habs their top line of Gallagher/Suzuki/Drouin is still intact and will be where I go for the Canadiens on Tuesday. On defense, Kale Clague and David Savard are the only real options for the Canadiens. Both Alex Romanov and Sami Niku are lesser options but are in play as they should log a ton of minutes.
**** Keep in mind this game COULD be postponed shortly before lock so it will be a safe idea to build late games only lineup and keep it ready to swap in before the 7:00 pm lock ****
Late Game Options
Vegas/LA
Even if the big guns are out for Vegas, their “old reliable” line of William Karlson, Reilly Smith, and Jonathan Marchessault are in play. This line, when healthy, is always performing for the Knights and has been for years. Shea Theodore is the best option on defense for the Knights, but all three of Zach Whitecloud, Dylan Coghlan, and Brayden McNabb have been collecting ancillary points in bunches (SOG and blocked shots).
In the same game, especially if Brossoit is in net for Vegas, the Kings’ top line could be a solid stack on Tuesday. Anze Kopitar is $6.8K on both sites making him playable and linemates are not expensive either. Alex Iafallo is under $6K on both sites and has three assists in his last five. Adrian Kempe has a goal and is averaging three shots on goal in his last 5. On defense, Drew Doughty is the obvious pay-up play, but Sean Durzi might be the better choice based on salary.
Arizona/SJ
On a small slate, we have to try and be different in some spots, and for me tonight that will be stacking Arizona. If you decide to go with someone other than Reimer in net or are building multiple lineups then the Yotes make for a great option. Arizona’s top line of Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Barrett Hayton has been rolling of late and makes for a great value stack. Keller has six points in his last five games to go along with just under 4 shots on goal per game. Schmaltz has five points in his last five games and Hayton has three assists centering this line.
Both Phil Kessel and Travis Boyd are options as a two-man second-line stack. Arizona has three min price defensemen (on DK) that are also some solid value. All three of Cam Dineen, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Anton Stralman have been picking up assists and ancillary points in the Yotes’ last five games as well.
For San Jose, it’s the top line (if Hertl and/or Dahlen aren’t back) and not much else. Timo Meier is expensive, but both Couture and Barabanov are inexpensive so it balances out the line. Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson are good expensive options, but both Mario Ferraro and Jake Middleton are cheap shot-blocking options. Both of them have been averaging around three blocked shots per game in their last 5.
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.
