Hump day is now behind us for another week as we move on to a very busy night on the ice. Thursday brings us 12 games starting at 7:00 p.m. ET with some excellent matchups for fantasy. With the day off Monday there are no teams playing a third game in four nights but three teams(PHI, VAN, PIT) will be playing back to back games on the road. Let's dig in and take a look at some of the top plays for tonight.
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 - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 14.64 DK - 3.66
The Caps open up as the biggest favorites on the board(-240) tonight and will be home to the Jets. Holtby isn't yet confirmed but should be back in the net after a stellar 3-2 win over these Jets on Tuesday, stopping 43 of 45 shots he faced. It was Holtby's second straight win and fourth of the season pushing his save percentage to .925 through seven games. He doesn't normally face a ton of shots(26.5 avg) but with the Jets sitting as a Top 10 team in shots for, he will have an extremely high floor for cash games and excellent win potential backing up his #1 position in my Thursday rankings.
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 13.7 DK - 3.43
For tournaments, I will be back on Jones tonight who let us down on Tuesday in what seemed to be a cinch matchup. Dig deeper, however, and you will quickly see the Sharks and especially Jones have struggled away from the Shark Tank this season. The good news is they will be back in their home barn tonight where Jones has recorded a 4-0 record and elite .958 save percentage. They also get another juicy matchup facing a Flames team that ranks 26th in goals against per game. Outside of the Capitals, the Sharks are the biggest favorite of the night(-210) giving Jones a very high win potential. I could see the argument for using him in cash games but I won't be as he has only faced 30 shots twice in his nine starts, limiting the floor.
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 13.19 DK - 4.2
First things first, I am not even a little concerned about the Flyers playing on back to back nights. Targeting any Flyer game(either side) is a winning proposition early in the season as they have seen nine of their 11 games end up with a total of six goals or more with one finishing with five. The reason for these high scoring games is simple. They have a top offense(2nd) but very weak defense(29th). The great news is they face a team with a similar story as the Islanders rank 13th in offense but 23rd in defense. Look for another high scoring game tonight.
PP Stack With: Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, Shayne Gostisbehere, Brayden Schenn
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 16.43 DK - 5.38
Feeding off everything I said for Giroux I will be stacking as many players as possible from this matchup starting with one of the best players in the game. Johnny T hasn't come out of the gates on fire this season but has recorded eight points through 10 games and is ranked 26th in shot attempts per 60(19.4), which gives him a very nice floor. The upside will most definitely be there tonight vs. the Flyers making him an elite play in all formats at a discount from the top players at the position.
Stack with: Shayne Prince, Josh Bailey
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 6.75 DK - 1.97
It's been a very slow start to the season for Lehtera and the entire Blues offense who rank 29th in offense scoring just an average of 2.2 goals per game. This explains the very low price and mention in today's article. The upside is they will be facing a team who is actually struggling even more. While the Blues have struggled offensively, their defense has been terrific. The same can't be said for the Stars who rank 24th in defense allowing 3.2 goals per game. Lehtera also benefits from playing alongside one of the best goal scorers in the league in Vladimir Tarasenko.
Stack with: Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 16.4 DK - 5.55
On the high end of the wingers tonight I like taking the value with Pavelski. He comes with a bit of a discount off Kane and Ovi and has actually out performed them in fantasy so far. He has 11 points through 10 games and offers a very high floor with 18.6 shot attempts per 60 and has benefited with just over three shots per game. It also helps that he gets an elite matchup vs. a Flames team giving up over 3.5 goals per game. Pavelski is safe in all formats and stacking the top PP unit is an excellent way to go in GPP's.
PP Stack with: Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Brent Burns
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 15.46 DK - 4.87
Dipping down into the mid tier we can find some amazing value with the reigning Calder trophy winner. He is riding a three game point streak, in which he has recorded multiple points twice, and plays alongside the league leader in points Artem Anisimiov. Chicago has one of the top matchup's on the slate with the third ranked offense(3.5 goals per game) going up against the Avs and their 20th ranked defense(3.0 goals against per game). Even without Patrick Kane on their the Hawks are still producing and benefited from the return of Marian Hossa.
Stack with: Artem Anisimov, Marian Hossa
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 17.25 DK - 5.94
It will be another great night to some Burns exposure. Who am I kidding. It is always a good night to get Burns in your lineup. He is the #1 fantasy producer through the first couple weeks with 10 points, 27 blocks, 56 shots and heavy usage averaging over 23.5 minutes per game. Even when he isn't producing offense he isn't leaving you with nothing. The only issue with Burns is trying to find enough value around him so yo can also get one fo the top goalies in cash games. This is much easier on a big slate like tonight. Lock and load.
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 13.14 DK - 4.46
From a PTS/$ perspective Ristolainen sits right near the top of ranks on both sites tonight. He is logging 25+ minutes on a nightly basis and contributes to his floor with shots and blocks. He has also shown that he can contribute multi point games and provide us upside for GPP's in DFS. Add to it that he gets a top matchup vs. the Leafs and their lack luster defense who is allowing 3.6 goals per game and you have a top value play at the position.
Also Consider: Erik Johnson (COL)
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.
image sources
Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks & Projections Playing NBA DFS Nightly? Join one…
Week 9 NFL DFS plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Packed slate of NBA action on FanDuel and DraftKings
Thursday night NBA picks for DraftKings and FanDuel
Daily Fantasy NFL Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings - Week 8 Sunday 10/27/24 Now’s…
A main slate of NBA DFS action on FanDuel and DraftKings.