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)
Happy Saturday daily fantasy hockey fans! The first week of 2017 was busy with at least six games in each of the last four days and it continues today with 12 games including three afternoon matchups. You can play an early or main slate on both sites but if you are wanting to play the all-day slate you will have to head over to FanDuel. Looking at the entire slate there are seven teams playing on a back to back and four teams playing a third game in four nights. Here they are:
With that, let's dig in and take a look at our 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.
Early Slate
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 18 DK - 4.5
Budaj isn't confirmed at the time of writing this article but is expected to start after a game off on Thursday. He has been pretty good filling in for the injured Jonathan Quick with a 17-10-3 record to go with a .921 save percentage. He has been even better lately winning two straight games allowing just one goal total. The matchup isn't great but on a small slatethe salary relief is nice if you want the upside Lightning players in your lineup.
Main Slate
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 18.26 DK - 4.56
The Oilers head East tonight for a matchup against the Devils putting Cam talbot in a great spot to pick up a win. At the time of writing this there is no Vegas data released so things could definitely change but as of now, I would think the Oilers should be around a -140 favorite. They have actually been better on the road this year with a 11-6-5 record and while te Devils are much better at home they rank 27th in offense. The other nice thing about Talbot is that he is facing an average of about 31 shots per game which gives him the opportunity to give us a high floor when he is on his game. He is safe in all formats.
Also Consider:
Early Slate
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 13.61 DK - 4.85
The center position is a little shaky from a PTS/$ perspective on the early slate. Jack Eichel is a perfect example as his salary seems to be in a place where it should be headed not where it is right now, north of $7K on both sites. I mean, that is a lot to pay for a player on the 28th ranked offense. Either way, it's a small slate and he is best for GPP anyway and comes with a ton of upside. He coems in hot scoring in two straight with points in five straight.
Stack With: Marcus Foligno, Kyle Okposo
Main Sate
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 12.25 DK - 3.91
It's about time Bergy started to heat up. He has been operating with a close to career low shooting percentage(5.8%) but has been providing elite shot volume averaging over 3.5 shots per game. Very positive to see goals in three of his last four games. This should provide a boost to one of the top lines in hockey making it a great time to jump on board before all of their prices start to go up again.
Stack with: Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 8.62 DK - 2.54
If you are mining for value tonight, it is very viable to take a shot with Berglund. He is playing his best hockey of the season right now with five goals in his last 10 games and has been seeing a huge uptick in powerplay minutes. He comes at a rock bottom price and helps you get a top goalie and elite forwards in your lineups.
Stack with: Robby Fabbri, Dmitri Jaskin
Early Slate
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 15.87 DK - 5.24
If you are playing just one lineup for the early slate or all day slate on FanDuel it is highly recommended to get Kucherov in your lineup. Despite losing Steven Stamkos to injury once again, he is having an excellent season with 38 points which is good for 8th overall in the NHL. To go along with the upside he has also provided a nice floor averaging over three shots on goal per game. He gets a boost in projection today facing off against a struggling Flyers team that is giving up over four goals per game during their five-game losing streak.
Stack with: Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat
Main Slate
Opponent - STL
Proj Pts FD - 15.9 DK - 4.63
Having linemate Jamie Benn go on the IR has not slowed down Tyler Seguin one bit. He comes into Saturday night's matchup with the Blues having recorded points in five straight and has ben averaging a point per game going back to mid-December. Like Kucherov, he doesn't just provide big upside but also provides a consistent floor for cash games averaging 3.5 shots on goal per game this season.
Stack with: Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 9.86 DK - 2.95
Yep, I am going there. Not often do we recommend Coyotes players as the team sits in the basement of the league with the 29th ranked offense. If you are going to roster one player from the Yotes it has to be Vrbata he leads the team with 24 points and offers nice value from a PTS/$ perspective averaging just under three shots on goal per game.
PP Stack with: Tobias Rieder, Martin Hanzal, Oliver Ekman-Larsson
DEFENSEMEN
Early Slate
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 14.96 DK - 4.84
Much like his teammate Nikita Kucherov, Hedman is a must play if yo are playing the early slate only and near must play on the all-day slate. His red hot last couple weeks(14 points last 10 games) has propelled him just one point behind Brent Burns for the lead among NHL defensmen. He also leads all D men with 18 powerplay points(attention FD users) and offers a high floor with a balanced game of shot blocking and shot volume. He is safe in all formats today in an elite matchup.
Main Slate
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 8.96 DK - 2.6
On the main slate I am going to roll out a much more value based defensive unit as I want to pay up for goalie and a few elite forwards in terrific situations. Matheson isn't going to provide a ton of offensive upside with just 12points on the season but is a nice salary relief option with a decent floor with shot volume despite the minimal powerplay ice time.
Also Consider: Travis Hamonic(NYI)
Hockey is back and with it comes 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.
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