Fantasy Hockey

Welcome to the NHL DFS Man Advantage for the 2021-22 season.

If you are new to my articles, NHL, or WinDaily Sports then I will tell you that my articles are not going to give you the chalk plays or the obvious plays. I try to dig in and find ways for you to build lineups for GPP contests. I will always point out those top plays to help you build cash but that is not the point of this article.

It’s officially here, the opening of the 2021-22 season in the NHL! We start the season off with a small two-game slate. In the early game, we have the 2x Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning raising their banner against an injury-plagued Pittsburgh Penguins. The late-game focuses on the last two expansion teams as Vegas hosts newcomers to the league, the Seattle Kraken.

Five Seattle players (McCann, Johansson, Oleksiak, Jarnkrok, and Donskoi) entered into the league’s COVID protocol on Monday making them unavailable for Tuesday’s game. This certainly changes things both in real life and in fantasy. Vegas was already a huge favorite but this gives them a big bump. If you are playing cash games then Vegas will be where to pay up.

As for the early game, Tampa is the obvious favorite here. Pittsburgh will be without both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on Tuesday which puts them in a hole. While the Penguins do have some depth, they don’t have enough to potentially compete with this Lightning team. I expect Andrei Vasilevskiy ($8K, $8.7K) to be the go-to play in net, especially on DraftKings. If you are playing one lineup or single entry I won’t talk you off playing Vasilevskiy, but he won’t be my top goalie for GPP’s.

NHL DFS: Goaltenders

Usually, in this section, I will give you my favorite cash game goalie and a GPP play. With only two games and with two obvious plays in net (Vasilevskiy and Robin Lehner [$8.2K/$8.4K]) instead, I will discuss the merit of playing the other two goalies in GPP’s.

Tristan Jarry ($7.4K/$7.9K)

Jarry is facing a fully healthy Lightning team and he will most likely be the lowest owned goalie on this slate. I don’t love Jarry but I will be playing up to 10 lineups on this slate and will probably have 20-30% exposure to Jarry. Tampa Bay was tied for 9th in the NHL in shots for and that is one of the top stats we look for when picking goalies in DFS. We want goalies who will get work and have the opportunity to make saves, and Jarry will most likely see the most shots on Tuesday.

Philipp Grubauer ($7K/$7.3K)

Grubauer is the cheapest goalie on both sites so he will get ownership on that basis alone I believe. Vegas, like Tampa, shoots a lot so Grubauer will see a lot of rubber coming his way. Grubauer only faced 31 shots in the preseason, but he stopped 29 of those shots. I won’t fall back on the stats for Grubauer from last season because they were with one of the top defensive teams in the league, Colorado, but this season he is with an expansion team who will have their bumps along the way.

NHL DFS: Slate Overview

On a Small Slate Like This, You Need to Dig Deep!

With the Tampa Bay top power-play unit being the top play on this slate, we will need to find ways to be different if you want to takedown a GPP.

NHL DFS is very similar to MLB DFS where you need to stack in GPP’s. Also similar to MLB, people are deathly afraid to stack players at the bottom of the lineup (3rd and 4th lines in NHL). This is where you can sometimes find the advantage you need on small slates. Looking at this slate, there is one third line that has me intrigued.

This line will be the forgotten line in the chalk Vegas lineups. Unfortunately, Janmark is also in the NHL’s COVID protocol so we will have to see who plays on this line in his spot.

Both Patrick and Dadonov are looking for a new start this season and I think Vegas is the perfect place for them both. This line is also super cheap on both sites ($10.9K combined) which is what we need if you want to stack the Tampa first power-play unit. What makes both Patrick and Dadonov intriguing is the fact they are expected to skate on the top power-play unit for the Golden Knights. You can run three forwards and add in Mark Stone or Mac Pacioretty or you can go with a defenseman in Shea Theodore if you have the salary for these guys that is.

What to do With Seattle

Seattle is an interesting team on Tuesday night. I assume they will be the lowest own team on the slate and we get some exceptional value with them. With all the players going into the NHL COVID protocol, there should be some players seeing minutes we didn’t expect, one of those is Morgan Geekie ($2.8K/$3.0K). With Jared McCann likely out now, Geekie COULD see first-line minutes and power-play time with the top unit. Seattle let Geekie play in three preseason games and averaged over 12 minutes per game. We will have to wait until morning skate on Tuesday to see where he lines up. Make sure to check in discord throughout the day for updates on Seattle’s lines.

I also like both the Penguins top two lines if you want game stack the TB/Pit game. Jason Zucker and Kasperi Kapanen are inexpensive players that give you exposure to the Penguins top power-play unit.

NHL DFS: Defensemen

With this being just a two-game slate, I will show you who the power-play defensemen are for the four teams since we will want to focus on getting them into our lineups first.

Tampa Bay: PP1: Victor Hedman ($6.3/$6.7K), PP2: Mikhail Sergachev ($3.4K/$4.8K) – Sergachev is a great value pivot for DK

Pittsburgh: PP1: Kris Letang ($5.8K), PP2: Marcus Pettersson ($2.7K/$3.5K), John Marino ($4.3K/Not on FanDuel)

Vegas: PP1: Shea Theodore ($5.7K/$6.2K), PP2: Alec Martinez ($5.5K/$4.6K), Alex Pietrangelo ($6K/$6.4K) – Martinez is one of the best FPTS/$ plays on this slate for FD.

Seattle: PP1: Mark Giordano ($5.6K/$4.6K) – Again, like with Martinez, Gio is one of the best FPTS/$ plays on this slate. PP2: Vince Dunn ($4.9K/$4.5K)

Thanks for reading this article on the NHL DFS Man Advantage for today. 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.

Welcome to the NHL DFS Man Advantage for a Monday night and we have a small 2 game playoff NHL slate to break down!

This will be my last NHL article for the 2021 season, so I just wanted to use the open to say thank you! Thank you to every single one of you who read my Man Advantage articles this season. Thank you for all the interactions in discord every game day. You all make this “job” of writing and producing content for WinDaily Sports fun and enjoyable each day. I look forward to getting back to talking line stacks, value Dmen, and why we don’t roster Jordan Binnington again in the fall, but in the meantime, enjoy your summer and I will see you for a new season in October (unless you are in the NASCAR discord, then I will see you this weekend!)

NHL DFS Breakdown:

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Montreal Canadiens

This series has no business going 7 games, but here we are. Toronto should have ended it in five, but anything can happen when you have two rivals like this. I think Toronto ends it on Monday, but it has game stack written all over it. Only twice in the 6 previous games in this series did these teams score less than 4 goals.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi leads the Canadiens in goals this series with 3 after missing game 1. Both Joel Armia and Tyler Toffoli have four points to lead the Canadiens. This makes it difficult to stack the Habs because none of them play together. Nick Suzuki does center the 2nd line with Toffoli so that is a two-man stack I am interested in. Adding Jeff Petry on defense gives you a nice 3 man with exposure to both PP units

William Nylander has been the Leafs’ best player this series leading the team in goals (4) and points (7). It does seem like Nick Foligno will be back for Toronto on Monday so that means Alex Kerfoot loses some value now. Both Alex Galchenyuk and Jason Spezza make for good value for the Leafs, especially Galchenyuk who plays with the aforementioned Nylander and Foligno.

New York Islanders @ Boston Bruins

Call me a hater or bitter, but the Islanders showed that they did not belong on the ice with the Bruins in game 1. They slipped through in round 1 thanks to some horrendous goaltending from Jarry and some amazing goaltending by Sorokin. Boston dominated the Islanders in game one, especially David Pastrnak. Pasta had a hat trick on Saturday night and he alone with the rest of line one is my top overall stack on this slate and should be pretty chalky. I do think you need at least some exposure to them on Monday night.

If you want to be different than using the Islander second line would be my choice. Anthony Beauvillier has been the Isles best player this postseason and would be the first place I go for Islanders exposure. Beauvillier leads the team in goals (4), points (8), and is second in assists (4). If I am stacking Islanders and want to be different, I would add Jean-Gabriel Pageau with Beauvillier as a PP1 stack. You can of course add Jordan Eberle or Mathew Barzal for a 3 man forward PP1 stack or go Noah Dobson to get a defenseman in the mix.

Thanks for reading this article on the NHL DFS Man Advantage for today. 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.

Welcome to the NHL DFS Man Advantage for a Tuesday night and we have a small 2 game playoff NHL slate to break down!

Since it’s just a two game slate on Tuesday I will just give you some plays I like for this small slate instead of doing the live stream. We should be back for Wednesday’s slate (if there is slate).

NHL DFS Breakdown:

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Montreal Canadiens

This is the second night of a back-to-back for these teams and we pretty much want the same plays as we did on Monday. I think Campbell is the best play in net on this slate, but on small slates like this it is ok to throw 1 or 2 plays against your goalie. Obviously Auston Matthews is one of, if not, the best plays on this slate. He will probably come in over 40% owned so a GPP fade is not a bad idea. You just have to hope he doesn’t go off for a multiple points so you can have a big advantage on the field. If Nick Foligno (LATE scratch on Monday) is out again then Alex Kerfoot becomes one of the top value plays on this slate. Kerfoot should be centering the Leafs second line again with Nylander and Galchenyuk.

Toronto Lines to Stack: Line 2 (GPP), Line 1 (CASH), PP1

Montreal Lines to Stack: Line 2, Line 3, Both PP units

Nashville Predators @ Carolina Hurricanes

This series is the definition of a shootout. Only once in four games have these teams combined to score under seven goals (games 2 – 3-0 Canes win). They have gone to double overtime in back-to-back games with Nashville winning them both. I don’t know how many lineups I will build on Tuesday but if I am doing MME I will definitely have a couple of shares of both Juuse Saros and Alex Nedeljkovic because each team has taken over 30 shots in each game except for Nashville in game 1. At the same time I will be having plenty of stacks in all different combos to maximize my exposure to the plethora of goals that could potentially be scored here. I think I just talked myself into doing MME on Tuesday.

Carolina Lines to Stack: Line 2, Line 1, Line 3 – Pay up for Hamilton on this slate

Nashville Lines to Stack: PP1, Line 1, Line 2, PP2 — Carolina is taking almost 5 penalties per game in this series so far and allowed a PPG in each of the last two games

Thanks for reading this article on the NHL DFS Man Advantage for today. 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.

Welcome to the NHL DFS Man Advantage for a Monday night and we have a 5 game playoff NHL slate to break down!

Things are being done a little differently for the playoffs. The NHL crew got together and broke down tonight’s slate in video form. You can watch “What The Puck?” with me, Allan, and Keith. We break down the slate from a DFS perspective and go over the best bets for Monday’s big slate.

NHL DFS Breakdown:

New York Islanders @ Pittsburgh Penguins

This is one of the games I want to stack up on Monday. My favorite line in this game is the Penguins’ third line. I also really like the Islanders’ top line, but I would play Beauvillier with Barzal and Eberle for a power-play stack. Pittsburgh has been taking some penalties in the last couple of games, and also Komarov is useless in fantasy.

Toronto Maple Leafs @ Montreal Canadiens

With Tavares still out due to his concussion, Toronto had to switch up their second line. I think they will be a low-owned play and a way to get exposure to Leafs without having to pay up for Matthews and Marner. As for Montreal, their second line is where I want to look. If you are playing SE or cash then I would use Jack Campbell as a pivot off Fleury. Both teams have some value on D in Edmundson (MTL) and Holl (TOR) which interest me tonight as well.

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Florida Panthers

This is another stack-up game, but it will also be popular. Both of these teams’ top lines will be pay up spots but I would rather play both team’s secondary scoring. Alex Killorn is one of the best plays in this game. In this series, Killorn has 3 goals and 4 assists and makes for a good cheap one-off as well. David Savard and Radko Gudas are two of my favorite cheap d men. Both get the fringe points and give you some much-needed salary relief on this slate

Edmonton Oilers @ Winnipeg Jets

This is probably our least favorite game on the slate. I do like Hellebuyck in net for the Jets on Monday, but other than that there isn’t much to like. Who am I kidding, you gotta love both McDavid and Draisaitl in this one. This is a must-win game for the Oilers and you better believe these two will show up. I am not stacking here though, this is a one-off type of game for me.

Minnesota Wild @ Vegas Golden Knights

Fleury is the top goalie on the slate for us and it’s not close. I do think he is ok to fade in GPP’s, especially in large-field tournaments. Outside of Kaprizov and maybe Fiala, we don’t want much from the Wild side of the game. Vegas’ second line is the top play in this game, but I don’t mind the top line being a contrarian play. Of course, both Pietrangelo and Theodore are in play for Vegas as well if you are paying up on D.

Thanks for reading this article on the NHL DFS Man Advantage for today. 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.

Welcome to the NHL DFS Man Advantage for a Tuesday night and we have a 3 game playoff NHL slate to break down!

Things are being done a little differently for the playoffs. The NHL crew got together and broke down tonight’s slate in video form. You can watch “What The Puck?” Episode 2 with myself, Allan, and Keith. We break down the slate from a DFS perspective and go over the best bets for Tuesday’s Game 2’s.

NHL DFS Breakdown:

New York Islanders @ Pittsburgh Penguins

This was a back and forth affair on Sunday and we expect much of the same on Tuesday. We discuss the impact on the Penguins lines if Malkin returns to the lineup. I also breakdown how I prefer to stack the Islanders on Tuesday as well. Keith tells you about how the script has flipped in the futures bets for this series after the Islanders Game 1 win.

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Florida Panthers

Sam Bennett is suspended for this game for the Panthers and Keith and I discuss the impact that will have and who may fill in for the suspended center. Allan and myself also roll through the Lightning lines and tell you which one is the best option for Tuesday

Minnesota Wild @ Vegas Golden Knights

Allan and I agree that Vegas’ second line is the way to go in this game. They are the most consisted and have the familiarity that the Golden Knights other lines don’t have. We also discuss which Wild lines might be the targets for this game.

Thanks for reading this article on the NHL DFS Man Advantage for today. 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.