We’re back for another Friday of WinDaily NHL content! Although we have a smaller slate tonight, all three games are packed with action! For tonight’s 12/2 NHL slate, we have a small-sized three-gamer, and the slate begins at 7:00 pm ET. Don’t forget to lock your lines and check the discord for any updates! Let’s get right into it!
— The Jets have the best odds and the highest implied total of this small three game slate with -245 and 4.1 xG respectively. This is because this matchup pits one of the best all-around teams in the league against one of the worst all around teams in the league this season. Not only that but going into this matchup the Jets are coming into this game on a three-game winning streak, while the Blue Jackets are coming into tonight’s game on a two game losing streak. The Jets have relied heavily on their top two lines for the majority of their scoring throughout the season and I am slightly leaning towards the Jets’ top line as they have been a little more consistent as of late. In their last game alone, Winnipeg’s top line put up four goals and six assists amongst themselves! On top of that, the goalie they’re going up against tonight, Joonas Korpisalo, holds a 3-4-1 record, a 3.76 goals against average and a save percentage below .900. Simply abysmal but not surprising given the season the Jackets have had to this point. One final note on this game is that the game will be taking place in Winnipeg and the Jets currently hold a home ice record of 8-2-0, whereas the Blue Jackets are a measly 1-4-1 on the road, talk about a home ice advantage!
Ideal Defensive Partner(s): Josh Morrissey
— Although not as lopsided as the Jets and Blue Jackets game, the Rangers vs Sens game also has a clear favourite with a high implied total at 3.8 xG. These two teams actually just played each other two days ago in Ottawa and the Rangers were able to snap a three game losing streak and walk away with a 3-1 win with the Rangers top line contributing in two of the three goals scored. Tonight, these two teams will meet up again at MSG with all the momentum on the Rangers side of the ice. Although these two teams have similar offensive stats this season, their defensive stats show a stark difference. The Rangers are near the top of the league in goals allowed and shots allowed with 2.79 and 29.2 respectively, whereas the Sens give up 3.36 goals per game and nearly 34 shots against respectively. These are stats that you can’t give up against any team, let alone the Rangers. The Rangers will rely heavily on their top line tonight and I think they will walk away with the win here, comfortably.
Ideal Defensive Partner(s): Adam Fox (value option Ryan Lindgren)
Honorable Mention(s): New York Islanders 2 (Lee-Nelson-Beauvilier), Ottawa Senators 1 (B. Tkachuk-Stüzle-Giroux)
Best (Goalies to Roster)
Worst (Goalies to Target)
1. Joonas Korpisalo
Honorable Mention(s): Kevin Lankinen
Morgan Barron
– The late 2017 draft pick has successfully secured a spot on the Jets roster and thus far he has not disappointed. He’s put up five points over his last six games (1 goal, 4 assists) and is steadily seeing more ice time with each passing game. In his last game, he saw 16 minutes of ice time and was on the second line alongside Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois. It’s been amazing to see his steady rise and I don’t think he’s done yet, Barron still has a lot to prove if he wants to keep his spot in the top six down the line.
Honorable Mention(s): Zach Parise, Ryan Pulock, Ryan Lindgren
Core Four: (ALWAYS BE STACKIN’)
Center – Mika Zibanejad
Winger – Blake Wheeler
Defenseman – Ryan Lindgren
Goalie – Igor Sharangovich
Honorable Mention(s): Main Slate (7:05 pm) 2/2 Rapidfire
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Let’s get ready for a huge Thursday night hockey slate to kick off the month of December!
Aside from reading the article, don’t forget to check out our NHL DFS Projection Model which is available every morning.
*All odds and player pricing below have been obtained from DraftKings and are accurate as of the time of writing*
Colorado Avalanche (-200) at Buffalo Sabres (+170) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Nashville Predators (+180) at New Jersey Devils (-210) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Tampa Bay Lightning (-215) at Philadelphia Flyers (+185) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Vegas Golden Knights (+100) at Pittsburgh Penguins (-120) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Edmonton Oilers (+125) at Minnesota Wild (-145) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Carolina Hurricanes (-135) at St. Louis Blues (+115) – 5.5 Projected Goal Total
Anaheim Ducks (+245) at Dallas Stars (-295) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Montreal Canadiens (+240) at Calgary Flames (-285) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Washington Capitals (+105) at Seattle Kraken (-125) – 6 Projected Goal Total
Florida Panthers (-140) at Vancouver Canucks (+120) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
Arizona Coyotes (+210) at Los Angeles Kings (-250) – 6.5 Projected Goal Total
This line should not come as a huge surprise to most. Colorado One will be chalky as playing early as -200 favorites against the Sabres. After a slow start, they are also the NHL’s leading line in terms of SATF/Expected goals over their last ten games, registering 148 SATF.
After a decent start to the season, the Sabres have been falling hard with a 2-7-1 record over their last ten games. That’s tied for third worst in the NHL across that stretch. Furthermore, they have allowed an alarming 79 goals this season, the sixth-worst amount allowed in the NHL. Most of the other heavy favorites on this slate aside from the Avs are in six total games facing better goaltenders. Buffalo comes in on the second night of a back-to-back as well. In other words, it’s a good night to fire up the champs’ top unit.
This line has made the list before and has been rather mediocre when previously listed. However, considering once again they are a top ten line in terms of peripheral stats, more production is bound to follow. They have 110 SATF over their last ten games “they are at the bottom of the graphic above”. However, they only have a paltry two goals to show for it. This game is a 6.5 total and considering the Kings are -250 home favorites, most of that production isn’t expected to come from the lowly Coyotes. The fact they provide salary savings is also a huge bonus on a slate where most of the lines you’d want to use are expensive. Let’s get some exposure to what could be a true late-night hammer!
Defensemen
Jeff Petry – Pittsburgh – $4,400 – With Kris Letang injured, Jeff Petry will be seeing extended minutes and a role on the top power-play unit. He might be a good source of some “Petry dishes” if you will. Given his price, there is some value to take in here at a position that I hate spending on. Shea Theodore is similarly positioned tonight with Alex Pietrangelo out. However, at $5,400 that would be the most I spend on a defender unless my build on whichever line was rather unique. Between the two I’ll take the $1,000 savings on Petry.
Ryan Graves – New Jersey – $3,400 – Cheap play with goal-scoring upside. If not spending up on both Petry and Theodore, I’d play at least one defenseman in the $3,000-$3,400 salary range.
Florida Panthers/Vancouver Canucks – O 6.5 (-130) – DraftKings – 1 Unit – Classic book watching, this total trending down from the O/U 7 that it opened at.
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