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Here we go into week 2 of the NHL regular season! Opening week was a blast, and we are starting to settle into some of the patterns of the early part of the year. We still won’t have a full run of advanced data for about another week, but we are starting to get a little bit of an idea of how teams are playing. Monday brings us a larger than normal 9 game slate with some obvious plays. As usual, don’t forget our brand new Projections Model, and good luck tonight!
Goalies
Igor Shesterkin – New York Rangers: The Rangers host the Anaheim Ducks in what should be a very solid opportunity for Igor. He comes into the season as one of the best in the league, maybe even the world, and he picked up right where he left off last season. This is more of a safe/cash play, as Anaheim is not expected to throw a ton of shot volume his way.
Frederik Andersen – Carolina Hurricanes: The Canes head to Seattle tonight to face a surprising Kraken team. Seattle has been scoring right out of the gate, and this game could end up seeing some fireworks. That being said, Andersen has been solid to start the year, and he should see some decent shot volume to make him worth playing. There is a little bit of risk here, with the way Seattle has played, but confidence is high that Freddy can shut them down.
Jake Oettinger – Dallas Stars: There is nothing flashy about Oettinger or the Stars, but Otter does his job night in and night out, for the most part. The Stars are not an offensive powerhouse, but they play a sound defensive game, which is what boosts Otter’s play. He should be a solid play tonight against Winnipeg on home ice, and probably won’t get much love from the field.
High Risk Goalie Pick – Ville Husso – Detroit Red Wings: Husso pitched a surprising shutout in his first game against Montreal. With the shot volume he should see tonight when the Wings host the Kings, this is an interesting upside play. The Kings have been playing well, which is why this is a high risk play, but there is some potential here.
Others to Consider: Darcy Kuemper (WAS), Erik Kallgren (TOR), Alexandar Georgiev (COL)
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).
Toronto Maple Leafs 1 – Auston Matthews/Michael Bunting/Mitch Marner/Morgan Rielly: The Leafs’ top line is the most obvious on the board tonight, as they host the lowly Coyotes. Arizona is a bad team, and the Leafs have a whopping 4.6 expected total. This line should be considered in all formats, and heavily leaned on in cash tonight.
Pittsburgh Penguins 1 – Sidney Crosby/Rickard Rakell/Jake Guentzel/Kris Letang: The Penguins head to Montreal to face the Canadiens tonight and should be a great play, as the Canadiens are not very good defensively to start the season. The Penguins should draw some attention tonight, and with good reason, as they are in a fantastic spot.
New York Rangers 1 – Mika Zibanejad/Kaapo Kakko/Chris Kreider/Adam Fox: Another really good looking spot tonight is the Rangers’ top line. This team has been playing lights out hockey to start the year. They get to host the Ducks tonight, who have been poor on defense to start the year. On top of that, Gibson for the Ducks has looked very shaky in his first couple of starts. This is a spot that may go slightly overlooked when you consider that Colorado and Toronto are on the slate.
Colorado Avalanche 1 – Nathan MacKinnon/Artturi Lehkonen/Mikko Rantanen/Cale Makar: The Avalanche head to Minnesota tonight to take on the Wild in what should be a lopsided game. With the likes of Toronto, Pittsburgh, and New York on the slate, this line may go overlooked. If you can get a prolific scoring line at low ownership against a pretty poor goalie, you could be well ahead of the field.
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).
Detroit Red Wings 2 – Andrew Copp/David Perron/Filip Zadina: The Red Wings’ second line has been interesting all year, and tonight they have a matchup against the second line for the Kings. They may not be flashy, but they should get some opportunities. The Kings have historically not been great on the road, and Quick has been iffy so far this season.
New York Rangers 2 – Vincent Trocheck/Alexis Lafreniere/Artemi Panarin: The second line for the Rangers is another interesting way to play them. It will get you off the chalkier top line, but with a very good chance at upside.
Carolina Hurricanes 2 – Jesper Kotkaniemi/Martin Necas/Andrei Svechnikov: This has been one of the sneakier second lines in the league so far this year, and they have a great chance tonight in Seattle to continue that. Late night hammer time, too!
NHL DFS Honorable Mentions: BOSPP, FLA1, FLA2, DAL1, LAK1, PIT2, WSHPP, VAN1
Value Options – DraftKings
Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on DraftKings. Be sure to stack!
Center: Jesper Kotkaniemi ($2800) – Carolina Hurricanes
Wing: Alexis Lafreniere ($3000) – New York Rangers
Defense: Brian Dumoulin ($3300) – Pittsburgh Penguins
Value Options – FanDuel
Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on FanDuel. Be sure to stack!
Center: Jesper Kotkaniemi ($4600) – Carolina Hurricanes
Wing: Conor Garland ($4500) – Vancouver Canucks
Defense: Brian Dumoulin ($3900) – Pittsburgh Penguins
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: Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs
Wing: Chris Kreider – New York Rangers
Defense: Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche
Goalie: Igor Shesterkin – New York Rangers
Player Props
In this section, we will highlight some NHL player props that we like for the upcoming NHL slate.
Artemi Panarin (NYR): anytime goal scorer (+205 on DK Sportsbook)
Conor Garland (VAN): over 2.5 shots on goal (+125 on DK Sportsbook)
Cale Makar (COL): over 1.5 points (+180 on DK Sportsbook)
Martin Necas (CAR): over 0.5 points (+100 on DK Sportsbook) **risky
Make sure to hop in our Expert Discord Chat for FREE! Jon and the NHL team will be there answering questions right up until lock! Be sure to be on the look out for future articles at https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-hockey/
All line combinations are courtesy of www.dailyfaceoff.com, and any advanced rates referenced in the above article are pulled from www.naturalstattrick.com.
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