Los Angeles Kings

Welcome to the Saturday Slapshot.  I’m Jared and I’ll be your host.  Tonight we have a nice sized 8 game slate where I’ll be highlighting some of my top plays for tonight’s NHL slate on Fanduel and Draftkings. 

Before we dive in I want to highlight some terms you’ll see in my article that may be foreign to you:

• Corsi – Any shot attempt (goals, shots on net, misses and blocks) outside of the shootout
• Even Strength – Play where both teams have the same number of players (including goalies) on the ice. Includes 5v5, 4v4, 3v3
• Power Play – Play where the team has more players on the ice than their opponent due to penalties. Includes 5v4, 5v3, 4v3
• Penalty Kill – Play where the team has fewer players on the ice than their opponent due to penalties. Includes 4v5, 3v4, 3v5

Goaltending

Jacob Markstrom($7.9k DK/$7.9k FD) vs. Winnipeg Jets – Jets are a team that have some fire power, but recently they’ve been shooting blanks.  Over the past 2 weeks the Jets have one of the worst shooting percentages of any team on tonight’s slate.  It’s sitting at just 5.37%.  They’re firing at will as they have been averaging over 34 shots per game during that stretch but nothing is finding the back of the net. 

The Jets have been averaging just 1.86 goals per game over their past 7 games.  In Markstrom we have an elite goalie who has a 1.73 GAA on the year and a .940 save %.  All signs point to Markstrom having a solid night and being one of the best values in net. 

Ville Husso ($7.8k DK/$7.8k FD) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets – Husso has only played in 2 games this season.  1 game he was brilliant, the other game he was average.  Tonight he faces a Blue Jackets team on the tail end of a back to back set. 

They’ve been averaging around 33 shots per game over the past 2 week so we know there’s a good chance that Husso gets some volume tonight.  If he plays like he did in his first start with that type of volume he stands a good chance of having a solid night tonight. 

Goalie is a train wreck in my opinion tonight.  Outside of Markstrom I have little comfort in any goalie.  Normally I’d put a goalie vs. the Canadiens, but have no interest in DeSmith.  You could make a case for Cal Petersen but he’s more than I’d like to pay for a goalie.  

Stacks

Detroit 1 (Larkin/Bertuzzi/Raymond) + Seider or DeKeyser

If you have followed me this season, you know my affinity for the Red Wings.  They are a high risk, high reward type of team.  Tonight I love the spot for them.  The Sabres as a team are a mess defensively.  They’re giving up more than 4 goals per game on average in their last 7 games.  As per usual with the Red Wings, Larkin and Raymond are my priority. 

The two of them have combined for 6 goals and 12 points over their past 5 games.  They also play together on the top power play unit.  For this stack, I’d also consider adding in Seider.  While his price has crept up there, he plays with Larkin and Raymond on the top power play also.  He’s also getting more than 4 shots plus blocks in his last 5 games. 

Los Angeles 1 (Kempe/Arvidsson/Kopitar) + Roy

The Kings have been struggling of late.  Over the past 2 weeks they’ve only scored 9 goals in their 5 games.  There’s no better slump buster than the Ottawa Senators.  This is a great bounce back spot for the Kings.  While they haven’t been scoring much of late, the top line is where I want to stay tonight.  Kempe and Arvidsson are my priorities here as they are the ones playing the best of late. 

Over their last 5 games they each have individual corsi’s of at least 25.  Between the 2 of them they have 20 high danger chances over that stretch too.  At some point, they’re going to break back through and it should be tonight.  Kempe, Arvidsson, and Roy all play together on the top power play as well so they’ll correlate throughout the game. 

Pittsburgh 1 (Crosby/Guentzel/Kapanen) + Letang

The Canadiens are another team that is an absolute mess.  Over their last 7 games the are giving up more than 4.2 goals per game and over 37 shots.  Teams are just firing at will against them.  The Sabres had 39 shots and 4 goals against them last night.  There’s no reason to think that the Penguins can’t replicate that tonight. 

I love both the top lines for Pittsburgh tonight but my preference is the top due to how well Guentzel has been playing.  Over his past 5 games he has 25 scoring chances, with 15 being considered high danger.   My priority here would be Guentzel and Kapanen.  Crosby is starting to heat up a bit as he has 11 shots over his past 3 games. That said, $7.1k on DK is still a lot to pay for someone that hasn’t been scoring. 

Other stacks (Both top lines for Edmonton, Pittsburgh 2, STL PP1, Col 2, CGY 1)

Top Defenseman

• Cale Maker – Colorado Avalanche
• Roman Josi – Nashville Predators
• Jakob Chychrun – Arizona Coyotes
• Esa Lindell – Dallas Stars
• Kris Russell – Edmonton Oilers
• Vladislav Gavrikov – Columbus Blue Jackets

Summary

We may see some sloppy hockey tonight as nearly half the teams playing tonight played last night.  Sloppy normally means some extra goals.  Markstrom is my top goalie tonight and it’s not really close.

Good luck and hope to see you in the green!

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