After a weird Monday slate, we get to break down a massive 12 gamer tonight. There should be quite a few different paths to the top of the leaderboards tonight, so don’t worry too much about ownership. Quite a few teams are on a back-to-back, and there are a few obvious spots on the board. Check out our NHL DFS picks for FanDuel and DraftKings below. Good luck!
Goalies
Ilya Samsonov – Toronto Maple Leafs: The Leafs host the Ducks tonight in what should be a very, very tough game for the Ducks. Toronto and Anaheim are not on the same level at this point in their franchises, and Toronto should be able to handle this game easily. Samsonov is your cash goalie on the night, as the Ducks come into this one scoring less than a goal per game on the road over their last five. Oh yeah, they played last night, too.
James Reimer – San Jose Sharks: Reimer returns after a short IR stint to face the Coyotes, which is a nice way for him to ease back into action. He should be able to get a win tonight, albeit with limited upside.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – Tampa Bay Lightning: The Lightning host the Kraken tonight, and Vasilevskiy should have a decent chance to dominate tonight. There could be a slight issue with the number of shots he faces, but Vas feels like a solid play overall.
Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets: The Jets host the Eichel-less Golden Knights tonight, and Hellebuyck looks like a solid play tonight.
High Risk Goalie Pick – Ville Husso – Detroit Red Wings: The Wings host the Hurricanes tonight, who love to shoot the puck. There is some upside here for Husso, who has some solid numbers recently. There is also some risk, because we know the Canes can score. Without Aho, Carolina is a little less daunting, so this is a solid play tonight.
Others to Consider: Linus Ullmark (BOS), Pyotr Kochetkov (CAR)
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 Power Play – Auston Matthews/John Tavares/Mitch Marner/William Nylander/Rasmus Sandin: This is about the best spot there can be for DFS purposes. The Toronto power play is ranked in the top 10 of the league, while the Ducks’ PK is next to last. Sandin has been very solid playing on this unit, so he and AM34 are a must tonight. The formula is there for these guys to break the slate.
San Jose Sharks 1 – Tomas Hertl/Timo Meier/Kevin Labanc/Erik Karlsson: The Coyotes are just bad. They are ranked second in the league in HDCA/60 on the season so far, and the Sharks should be able to take care of business tonight. This top line is a great late night play, and they should have their chances. You can also consider adding Couture/Barabanov in with Hertl/Meier/Karlsson, which creates a power play look.
Washington Capitals 1 – Dylan Strome/Conor Sheary/Alex Ovechkin/John Carlson: The Caps head to the Windy City tonight to take on Mrazek and the Blackhawks. Mrazek is back after a week or so off with a groin injury, and tonight is going to be a tough game for him. The top six line matching scheme for the Hawks sets this line up for a nice night tonight.
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).
Buffalo Sabres 2 – Dylan Cozens/JJ Peterka/Jack Quinn: The Sabres get a date with the Kings tonight, and it looks like LA will be rolling Pheonix Copley in net. The way they match their lines, this second line should see a good bit of the Kopitar line tonight, creating a plus matchup. They aren’t the most prolific scoring line in the league, so they are a riskier play, but worth a look tonight.
New Jersey Devils 2 – Erik Haula/Jack Hughes/Dawson Mercer: This play is a little more about recent data than it is about matchup. Dallas has been okay on defense all year, but this line has been scorching hot of late. It looks like Wedgewood suits up for the Stars in net, so this could be an interesting spot.
Tampa Bay Lightning Power Play – Brayden Point/Steven Stamkos/Brandon Hagel/Nikita Kucherov/Victor Hedman: The Lightning power play gets a nice matchup against Seattle’s 28th ranked penalty kill tonight. They fall under high risk because the Kraken have been surprisingly stingy on defense all year. However, their recent numbers show them being a little worse on defense than their season long baseline, so this is a very interesting play tonight.
Florida Panthers 1 – Aleksander Barkov/Carter Verhaeghe/Sam Reinhart/Aaron Ekblad: The Panthers have a massive total tonight, and they get to face Merzlikins in net for the Blue Jackets. That sets them up for a very nice overall matchup. However, there is some risk in playing these guys tonight, as the Jackets are actually somewhat limiting defensively. This line should have some chances, but they will have to capitalize on every one they get. They are worth a look, but proceed with caution.
NHL DFS Honorable Mentions: BOS1, COL1, FLA2, EDMPP, WPG1, CBJ1, CAR1, DET1, BUF1
Value Options – DraftKings
Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on DraftKings. Be sure to stack!
Center: Paul Stastny ($3500) – Carolina Hurricanes
Wing: Casey Mittelstadt ($3600) – Buffalo Sabres
Defense: Jonas Siegenthaler ($3000) – New Jersey Devils
Value Options – FanDuel
Consider these NHL DFS plays to help save you some salary in your lineups on FanDuel. Be sure to stack!
Center: Paul Stastny ($4100) – Carolina Hurricanes
Wing: JJ Peterka ($4200) – Buffalo Sabres
Defense: Jonas Siegenthaler ($3700) – New Jersey Devils
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: Timo Meier – San Jose Sharks
Defense: John Carlson – Washington Capitals
Goalie: Ilya Samsonov – Toronto Maple Leafs
Player Props
In this section, we will highlight some NHL player props that we like for the upcoming NHL slate.
Auston Matthews (TOR): over 1.5 points (-105 on DK Sportsbook)
Nikita Kucherov (TBL): over 3.5 shots on goal (+110 on DK Sportsbook)
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