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Welcome to the NHL DFS Man Advantage for Monday night February 15th and we have a 9 game slate on tap!
Tonight is a rare big Monday slate, but even though it’s a big slate there is one team that will carry huge ownership. Toronto hosts Ottawa in what could be an absolute blow out game. Matt Murray ($6,900/$6,600) is listed as day to day for the Senators and if he misses another game Ottawa could be forced to use Marcus Hogberg ($6,900/$6,600) who has been terrible. Other than the Maple Leafs, Edmonton (vs WPG), Calgary (@VAN), NY Islander (@BUF), Dallas (vs NSH), and Chicago (@DET) also have goal projections over 3 for tonight.
NHL DFS: Goaltenders
Semyon Varlamov ($8,200) and the Islander are on the road against the Sabres tonight who haven’t played a hockey game in what seems like years (actually it’s been 15 days) so they may be a little rusty. Varly is coming off a big win (28 saves, 2 GA) over Buffalo on Saturday and has won 3 of his previous 4 starts allowing just 8 goals in those 4 games including a shutout of the Rangers. Buffalo was allowing 32 saves per game in their previous 5 games before their COVID break.
Obviously whoever starts for Toronto is an option, assuming that Frederick Andersen ($8,500/8,400) is the one who gets the start he will be a good high priced play if you can fit him. I don’t personally like playing goalies priced this high, but for cash games or if you have the salary he is a good pick.
If Jacob Markstrom ($7,900/$8,100) starts tonight against Vancouver he is probably my favorite play on the slate. Markstrom made 43 saves in a 3-1 loss to this team Saturday night. Vancouver leads the NHL in shots on goal (565) by a large margin but has one of the worst shot % in the league which should bode well for Markstrom. If David Rittich ($7,700/$8,100) gets the start instead he is a decent option on DK at his price, but way too expensive for my liking on FD.
Well, if I am writing an article and Anaheim is on the slate then you know John Gibson ($7,600/$6,800) will get a mention. Gibson and the Ducks are in San Jose tonight against the leagues 31st ranked offense. Gibson is an absolute lock for me at this price on FD (I might actually play on FD tonight just so I can play him there) and still a great option for $7.6K on DK. Anaheim ranks 10th in the league in shots allowed which means Gibby should see plenty of rubber tonight.
Other Options: Lankinen/Subban ($7,800/$7,400), Vasilevskiy ($8,300/$8,600), Khudobin ($8,100/$7,900)
NHL DFS: Slate Overview
Toronto Maple Leafs
As I mentioned on the open, Toronto is the team to stack tonight and their top line of Auston Matthews/Mitch Marner/Joe Thornton will probably garner the highest ownership on the slate. This line is the number one stack on the slate for obvious reasons, and I definitely want exposure to the Leafs but I want to find a way to be different. Some people may not realize Thornton is back tonight which should lower his ownership, but I would rather not play him personally, so I will look to the Leafs Dmen and secondary scoring.
Zach Hyman ($5,800/$5,000) is now on the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander but is not on PP2 with them. Both Ilya Mikheyev($3,700/$3,600) and Jason Spezza ($3,700/$3,500) are. In conclusion, if you are playing cash load up on the Leafs top line, but if you are in large field GPP’s look to their secondary players to get exposure to the potential highest scoring team on the slate but at lower ownership.
Defensemen in play: Morgan Rielly (PP1), TJ Brodie (PP2), Justin Holl, Jake Muzzin
Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim is a team that rarely ever gets used in NHL DFS, but tonight you should consider using the Ducks. San Jose has the third-worst team save % in the NHL and is in the middle of the pack in allowing shots on goal. Anaheim has scored 14 goals in their last 5 games, which is a huge increase from the 8 they scored in the 5 before that.
The Ducks 2nd line is the one I am interested in tonight with Max Comtois/Isac Lundestrom/Rickard Rakell. They are a cheap line stack that has been producing for their price. In their last five games, this combo has scored 5 goals, 4 assists, and taken 32 shots on goal. If you are playing two guys from this line I would recommend Comtois and Rakell with one of the PP dmen. Kevin Shattenkirk ($4,200/$3,900) is on the top PP unit that Rakell is on and Comtois and Lundestrom are with Cam Fowler ($3,300/$4,600) on PP2. If you are playing on FD, I would use ShattDueces and ignore Fowler’s horrendously high price.
Other Ducks to Consider: Troy Terry (PP2), Ryan Getzlaf (PP1)
Other Top Line Stacks:
- Edmonton L1
- Chicago L1 – VERY Expensive on DK, will probably be overlooked
- Winnipeg L1
- Tampa Bay L1
- Columbus L1 – Patrik Laine is “cheap” on DK
- Carolina L2
- Dallas L1
Value Line Stacks:
- Detroit L2
- Florida L2
- Calgary L2
- Tampa Bay L2 – Formerly Tampa L3 we’ve been using
- Vancouver L1
- Ottawa L2
- Chicago L2
- NY Islanders L2
NHL DFS: Defensemen Rankings
Top Defensemen
- Victor Hedman (TB)
- Roman Josi (NSH)
- Darnell Nurse (EDM)
- Dougie Hamilton (CAR) – FD ONLY
- Seth Jones (CLS)
- Ryan Ellie (NSH)
- Jake Muzzin (TB)
- Tyson Barrie (EDM)
- Neal Pionk (WPG)
- Aaron Ekblad (FLA)
Top Value Defensemen
- Scott Mayfield (NYI)
- Jamie Oleksiak (DAL)
- Brett Pesce (CAR)
- Evan Bouchard (EDM) – PP2
- Nicolas Beaudin (CHI) – PP1
- David Savard (CLS)
- MacKenzie Weegar (FLA) – Plays with Ekblad on D pair 1
- Dante Fabbro (NSH) – PP2
- Nikita Zadorov (CHI)
- Dylan Demelo (WPG)
NHL DFS: Wrap Up
As I mentioned, Toronto is going to be where the ownership lands tonight but there are ways to get some Leafs in and be different. Both Edmonton and Chicago are also two teams that are good spots, Chicago over Edmonton in my opinion, as well as Tampa Bay. Anaheim has finally been scoring some goals of late and could be a small late-night hammer that could help you get a takedown if everything falls into place.
Thanks for reading this article on the NHL DFS Man Advantage for Monday, February 15th, 2021. 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 for all things Fantasy Sports and make sure to check out WinDailySports.com for more money-making content.
