Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid works for the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets during an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, March 4, 2016. The Blue Jackets won 6-3. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Welcome back for another night of daily fantasy hockey. After a night off the NHL is back with a loaded 12 game slate starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. Everyone should be rested after a night of tick or treating and ready to get back to the grind of 82 game season. As of now only a few goalies(Allen-STL, Hellebuyck-WPG, Crawford-CHI, Varlamov-COL, Jones-SJ) are confirmed starting. Let's take a look at some of the top plays from the projection system.
Hockey is back and with it come our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get access to our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.
If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create linueps with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 18.6 DK - 4.65
Picking my top option between the pipes tonight was a bit difficult as there are so many options. I don't think this matters much for cash games as we aren't too concerned with ownership, but for GPP's I think we can throw out the ownership narrative tonight. I do think Dubnyk will be one of the higher owned options but not high enough to completely fade. It is also going to be pretty hard to fade a home team that comes in as a -200 favorite vs. a struggling offensive team. Dubnyk has been red hot lately as well, allowing just one goal in three straight games picking up the win in each. He has pushed his impressive save % up to .952 on the season and if starting once again is an elite option in any format.
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 14.93 DK - 3.73
Jones is a goalie that I will only consider in cash game on most nights. He is always a big favorite with nice win potential as the Sharks rank as a top defensive team but unfortunately the upside is limited as they give up the 2nd fewest shots per game. He will have another great opportunity to pick up his fourth straight win tonight as the Sharks are -200 home favorites to the Coyotes who sit in the basement of the league with a 2-6 record and -9 goal differential. Lock Jones into those cash lineups.
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 14.82 DK - 5.13
From a PTS/$ perspective, Couture ranks as one of the top plays of the night at the position. He has been playing on a line with Joel Ward and Joonas Donskoi but that isn't where his value comes from tonight. It comes when the Sharks have the man advantage as he skates on the top unit with Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau. He is playing well over three minutes per game and has two powerplay goals to this point. He will get a shot to add to those totals tonight vs. the Coyotes who rank 27th on Penalty Kill early in the season.
PP Stack With: Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 17.73 DK - 5.69
McDavid is definitely going to be the chalk tonight but besides ownership I just can't find a good reason to fade him. He leads the league with 12 points, has huge multi point upside, and gets heavy usage on the top line with Lucic and Eberle. All this without mentioning the elite matchup vs. the Leafs tonight who have allowed the 3rd most goals per game(3.8) this season. If you think he will be 30% owned tonight just make sure to go overweight with your exposure. If you are entering 10 lineups use him in at least four.
Stack with: Milan Lucic, Jordan Eberle
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 11.75 DK - 3.7
If you are looking for value at the position take a shot wit Schwartz, especially on FanDuel at a price below $5K. That is an excellent price, regardless the matchup, for a player playing on the to line with one of the best goal scorers in the league. I think even in a tough matchup he is playable in cash averaging over 13 shot attempts per 60 and stacking the Blues top line si going to be a very low owned contrarian choice in GPP's tonight.
Stack with: Vladimir Tarasenko, Jori Lehtera
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 18.65 DK - 6.22
If McDavid is going to be the overwhelming chalk tonight then there is an excellent case to be made for Ovi. He has an incredibly high floor leading all skaters in shot attempts per 60(25.6) which is inflated a bit due to his heavy usage on the powerplay. He is an elite goal scorer and is once again on pace for another 50 goal season. He gets an ok matchup vs. the Jets who sit in the middle of the league in goals allowed per game(2.9) but sit near the bottom on the Penalty Kill.
Stack with: Nicklas Backstrom, Justin Williams, TJ Oshie(PP)
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 15.66 DK - 5.02
The Blackhawks offense has been clicking this season, ranking 5th, scoring 3.3 goals per game with the 10th best Powerplay that is operating at a 23.7% efficiency. The Hawks have changed lines around since the start of the season putting MVP Pastrick Kane up on the top line with Jonathan Toews but have left Panarin with Anisimov on the second unit. Last seasons Rookie of the Year has already recorded eight points in his first nine games and is still getting heavy usage on the powerplay(4:24 per game). He is safe in all formats in a great matchup vs. the struggling Flames giving up 3.4 goals per game.
Stack with: Artem Anisimov, Ryan Hartman
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 17.47 DK - 6.2
Burns is consistently a top play at the position but tonight he is an elite play and safe in all formats. He provides a very high floor averaging close to three blocks and five shots on goal per game and will have a sky high ceiling for GPP's tonight. The Sharks have an elite matchup vs. the struggling Coyotes who have allowed the most goals per game(4.1) in the league this season. His ownership could also be a beneficiary of Connor McDavid being one of the top plays tonight. Load up in all formats.
Opponent - NAS
Proj Pts FD - 10.56 DK - 3.29
Johnson is a much better play on FanDuel in the mid $4K range but but a very viable cash game play on any site that counts blocked shots. The provides a high floor averaging over two blocks and close to three shots on net per game and has even provided a little offensive upside this season with four points. When looking at low end plays at defense you also want a player logging heavy minutes and Johnson is averaging right around 24 minutes a game so far.
Also Consider: Rasmus Ristolainen (BUF)
Hockey is back and with it come our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get accessto our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.
If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create linueps with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
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