Joel Bartilotta 
Welcome to the Saturday Slapshot. Thanks to Thanksgiving, we have a much smaller than normal 5-game Saturday slate. This is much more manageable than normal and one we should absolutely smash tonight.
Let’s dig in and see if we can make some money.
NHL DFS Goaltending
Semyon Varlamov ($8.1K DK/$8.3k FD) vs. Philadelphia Flyers – With Ilya Sorokin playing last night, we’ll more than likely see Semyon Varlamov in the net tonight for the Islanders. He’s the clear number 2 on this team, but he gets a great matchup tonight vs. a Flyers team that is struggling to score goals right now. Over the last 2 weeks, the Flyers are scoring just 2 goals per game in the 8 games they’ve played.
While Varlamov is nothing spectacular, he has put up respectable numbers this season with a 2.97 GAA and a .914 save percentage. The Islanders are big favorites tonight so there’s a solid chance that Varlamov gets the W.
Vitek Vanecek ($8.1k DK/$8.4k FD) vs. Washington Capitals – The hot New Jersey Devils will look to continue their solid play tonight vs. an aging Washington Capitals team. My only concern with this pick tonight will be that the Devils don’t give up much in the way of shots so this may be more reserved for Cash games. That said, Vanecek stands an excellent chance at having a dominating night vs. a Capitals team that is scoring just 2.5 goals per game over their last 6 games.
Vanecek has been really solid this season with a 2.13 GAA and a .917 save percentage. He hasn’t let up more than 3 goals in any game this season and there’s no reason to think that will change tonight. There’s also a strong chance he gets shutout number 2 tonight.
NHL DFS Stacks
Vegas 1 (Eichel, Stephenson, Stone) + Pietrangelo vs. Vancouver
The Vegas Knights get one of the softer matchups of any team playing tonight. The Canucks have struggled defensively just about all season and if we look at a smaller sample size of the last couple of weeks, it’s no different. Over the last 2 weeks, they’re giving up over 35 shots on goal and 3.5 goals per game. This sets up nicely for the top line of Eichel, Stone, and Stephenson.
My core to this line is going to be Mark Stone. Stone has been the leading goal scorer of this team over their last 5 games with 5 goals. He’s also added an assist in there for good measure. Next up will be Jack Eichel. He too has 6 points in his last 5 games, just with 1 goal and 5 assists. I expect this line to be popular tonight but for good measure. They should smash.
Colorado 1 (MacKinnon, Lehkonen, Rantanen) + Makar vs. Dallas
While the Stars have the hottest player in the game in Jason Robertson, they’ve also been one of the poorer defensive teams right now. And with Dallas playing last night, they’ll be leaning on backup Scott Wedgewood to try and stop this powerhouse of a line. It’s going to be a long night for a Stars team already giving up nearly 3.3 goals per game over the last 2 weeks.
Surprisingly, the guy on the top line for the Avalanche doing the most damage right now is Artturi Lehkonen. Over his last 5 games, Lehkonen has 7 points thanks to 3 goals and 4 assists. He’ll be a lock in my lineup in this matchup and will look to build around him with either MacKinnon or Rantanen. MacKinnon has only scored 1 goal over his last 5 games but has an xG of 2.83. He’s due and that should happen tonight.
New York PP1 (Nelson, Lee, Pageau, Dobson, Barzal) vs. Philadelphia
Picking on the Flyers has been a successful strategy recently. The Flyers are 0-5-3 over their last 8 games while giving up more than 4 goals per game over that stretch. We’ll want to pick on them whenever we can and with already going with 2 pricey stacks, we’ll want to find some lower-cost plays. The Islanders top power-play unit will provide us with that.
The 2 guys I’m mostly focused on here will be Barzal and Pageau. Over his last 5 games, Barzal has 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points. He’s been playing great and that should continue tonight. Pageau is where we really find value. Although he plays on the third line, he does play on the top power-play unit and is only $3.1k on DK tonight. Over his last 5 games, he has 4 goals and provides some nice upside at a cheap price.
Other Stacks: Vegas 2, Dal 1, Col 1, Van 1, NJ 1 and 2, Tor 1, Pit 1
NHL DFS Top Value Defenseman
- Rasmus Ristolainen – $2.5k on DK
- Esa Lindell – $2.8k on Dk
- Luke Schenn – $3.1k on DK
- Ryan Graves – $3.1k on DK
Summary
Tonight should be a fun slate of NHL DFS. I plan on going heavy with the Vegas Golden Knights and will sprinkle in some Avalanche and Islanders.
Make sure to use our Projection model when setting lineups.
Good luck and hope to see you in the green!
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