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 DFSR family! Hope everyone had a great week of daily fantasy sports, especially on the hockey side of things. Today we have another weekend split slate with two afternoon games(STL vs. WPG & CAR vs. CBJ) followed by nine games on the main slate with the first puck drop at 7:00 p.m. ET tonight. Five teams(BUF, CAR, MON, NJ, EDM) are playing on a back to back with four teams(MON, ARI, EDM, SJ) playing a third game in four nights.
The following picks will be focused around the nine-game main slate tonight. Let's dig in.
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 - COL
Proj Pts FD - 19.85 DK - 4.96
Looking at the Vegas odds for tonight, we see that the Sharks are by far the biggest favorites(-290) on the slate. It has everything to do with the matchup vs. the elite matchup they get against the Avs who sit dead last in league standings and also rank dead last in offense and defense. Jones has been good, not great, lately winning four of his last five starts but has allowed 13 goals against in those games. The play is a little risky for cash games as the Avalanche only average under 30 shots for per game while the Sharks allowed under 28 per game. This lowers the floor quite a bit but the matchup and win potential is too hard to pass up tonight.
Also Consider: Ben Bishop(TB)
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 16.66 DK - 4.83
To kick off the center position I am going to travel right to the top of the salary. After a mini-slump at the end of December had him slip out of the points lead, he has caught fire once again taking over the top spot. In 10 January games, McJesus has tallied 12 points including four multi-point games. While it may look weird that he has only one goal in that time, it isn't for a lack of shot volume as he has added 34 shots in those 10 games.the goals will come. He also loves playing the Flames as evidence by his six points through three games this season.
Stack With: Leon Draisaitl, Patrick Maroon
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 14.24 DK - 4.59
If you are looking to save some salary at center for GPP's don't think twice about rostering Backstrom tonight. He comes at a big discount from McDavid, mostly due to the lack of shot volume and safe floor, but has shown very similar upside lately. He has been centering one of the great goal scorers of our time and has 14 points over his last eight games. He gets a great matchup to continue his run against the Stars who rank 28th in defense.
Stack with: Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 12.36 DK - 3.94
While I prefer Backstrom on FanDuel for just $200 more, there is some huge value to be had on Draftings going down to Sean Monahan. He comes in with a mid $5K price tag and has been on fire lately scoring in four straight with nine points over his last 10 games. Not only that but he has provided a very safe floor as well averaging over 3.5 shots on goal over those previous 10 games.
Stack with: Kris Versteeg, Troy Brouwer
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 13.41 DK - 4.1
The fact the Habs are playing a back to back and third game in four nights has me a little worried but Patches recent play can't be ignored. He is coming off a goal in a 3-1 win vs. the Devils and has scored six in his last 10 games to go with two assists and a whopping 43 shots on goal. That kind of shot volume can't be ignored when looking for a cash game staple. Even with the busy schedule, the Habs are still big home favorites and one of two teams projected for three or more goals tonight.
Stack with: Alexander Radulov, Phillip Danault
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 11.59 DK - 3.82
If it's more mid-tier value you are looking for, Drouin should be right up your alley. Even with the team struggling to pick up wins, Drouin hasn't let up with the offense with nine points(five on the powerplay) in his last 10 games and now has 30 over 39 games this season. He is always an excellent cash game candidate as he is averaging right around three shots on goal per game. he will also carry a ton of upside for GPP's tonight in a matchup vs. the Coyotes who sit right near the bottom in defense this season.
Stack with: Brian Boyle, Valtteri Filppula
Opponent - PHI
Proj Pts FD - 10.7 DK - 3.53
Even at his value price, it will be hard to trust Palmieri in cash games with his low shot volume. That is not the reason for his place in the article today, however, as he comes with tremendous upside against one of the worst defensive teams in the league. That is had to say against my beloved Flyers but it's true as they have given up 19 goals in their last FOUR games! Yes, I was yelling there. As for Palmieri, three times in his last10 games played he has recorded multiple points and could very well do it again tonight.
Stack with: Travis Zajac, Mike Cammalleri
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 16.48 DK - 5.44
Both Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson have terrific matchups tonight but I side with Senators top D man mainly because of the savings. He is $800 less on FanDuel and $1,500 less on DraftKings. With Burns being the hotter player offensively and at home tonight, Karlsson is an excellent GPP play with projected low ownership and huge upside. He also provides a high floor if you like paying up for D in cash games with his elite shot-blocking ability(2.7 per game). In two previous games vs. the Leafs, he has also tallied four points with five blocks and eight shots on goal.
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 9.87 DK - 3.11
At times it probably looks like we are copying and pasting the same guys over and over again. This isn't the case at all. In daily fantasy hockey, well any fantasy sport for that matter, you really have to ride players who are hot and the trick in DFS is knowing when the salary is too high and when to jump off. Sekera hasn't reached that point yet as his salary continues to sit in the mid $4K range on both sites. Even when he didn't record a point last game, he provided a nice floor(for the price) with three blocks and two shots for 2.5 DK/8 FD points. Take the savings and pay up for a top goalie and elite stack tonight.
Also Consider: Ivan Provorov(PHI)
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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