Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) skates during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Welcome back for the first night NHL action following the trade deadline yesterday. Now that teams have got most of their pieces in place, it's time to make the playoff push in the final 20 games of the season.
Tonight we have a big 10 game slate with five teams projected for three or more goals. If you are into high scoring games, tonight is right up your alley. Seven of the op 10 offenses are in action while eight of the bottom 10 defenses are in action. Let's get started on some picks!
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 - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 19.52 DK - 4.88
Easily the top goalie on the night as the Capitals lead the NHL with 91 points due to their 3rd ranked offense and most importantly for Holtby, a #1 defensive rating. Holtby has also been on a torrid pace in 2017 going 17-0-1 since the start of January. Amazing! The Caps are the biggest favorite of the night at -275 with the Devils coming to town with their 28th ranked offense. The floor has also been high lately as he has faced 30 or more shots in three straight games. He is safe in all formats.
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 18.92 DK - 4.73
Since returning to the lineup at the start of February, Anderson has been playing elite hockey between the pipes. He opened with a shutout of the Islanders and has won four of his six starts with an impressive .947 save %. The Senators are also big favorites(-240) as the bottom-feeding Avs come to town with a 30th ranked offense and defense and sit in the basement of the entire league. The best part about Anderson is the high volume of shots he faces every game giving him a very high floor and ceiling. He should also come with a nice gap in ownership from Holtby.
Also Consider: Carey Price(GPP)
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 14.95 DK - 5.08
Leading off the Center position tonight is the Sabres elite second-year player, Jack Eichel. He comes in just ahead of the Auston Matthews tonight due to the better matchup as the Sabres are at home to the 27th ranked defense in the Coyotes. Eichel has also been red hot with points in seven straight games and now has 16 points in the month of February. He is safe in all formats as he also provides elite shot volume and has fired 37 shots on goal in the last 10 games.
Stack with: Marcus Foligno, Sam Reinhart, Evander Kane(PP)
Opponent - LA
Proj Pts FD - 14.13 DK - 4.35
And then there is the potential rookie fo the year, Auston Matthews. The award won't come easy as the young talent in the league this year is like none other that I can remember. He sits just one point behind Patrik Laine and sits tied with him with 31 goals on the season. He, much like Eichel, provides elite shot volume with 41 shots in his last 10 games and is averaging over 3.5 per game for the season. That is unheard of from a center. Take it and run away with a GPP tonight.
Stack with: William Nylander, Leo Komarov
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 12.05 DK - 3.74
There isn't normally a whole lot of value down low at the center position and it has to do with shot volume. Turris comes at a nice discount from the above two options in the mid-range of salary and gets an elite matchup tonight. The Sens are the beneficiaries of getting to face the Avs tonight who rank dead last in defense and offense. Turris is also starting to heat up with goals in three of his last four games while tallying 15 shots on goal. He is safe in all formats.
Stack with: Ryan Dzingel, Mike Hoffman
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 16.25 DK - 5.07
Leading off the elite plays at the wing position is Jamie Benn of the Stars. He comes into tonight with points in four straight and eight of his last nine games and has been extremely consistent from a fantasy perspective this season. The defense and horrible road record has put the Stars behind the 8-ball as they sit seven points out of the Western Conference wildcard. With difficulty of leap frogging multiple teams, the Stars will need to crank it up and get to winning in a hurry. It starts tonight in a plus matchup at home vs. the Islanders who have given up an average of 3.4 goals per game in the month of February.
PP Stack with: Patrick Sharp, Tyler Seguin
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 12.07 DK - 3.59
Vrbata has been carrying the Coyotes offense all season and has been one of the hottest players in the league lately. He comes into tonight's road matchup vs. the Sabres with points in 10 straight games including a 30 shots on goal. He plays top line, top powerplay unit and has a 14 point cushion on the next best offensive weapon on his team. I compare his scenario in Arizona to that of Westbrook in the NBA. Not from a talent perspective but due to a lack of options around him. It puts a lot emphasis on his talents and because of that, he is a great play in all formats.
Stack with: Max Domi
Opponent - CBJ
Proj Pts FD - 10.33 DK - 2.97
Zucker provides a nice value in the $5K range tonight and has been relied on much more lately with the sickness going around the Wild dressing room. He doesn't get much powerplay run but has been red hot with goals in three of his last four games with 13 shots on goal. The matchup is a tough one, on the road in Columbus makign Zucker a high upside contrarian GPP play tonight.
Stack with: Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 15.39 DK - 5.06
I paid up at defense on Tuesday with Josi and was rewarded with two assists and six shots on goal. I am going against my value approach at defense once again tonight and leading off with the elite Erik Karlsson. It starts with the matchup at home vs. the Avalanche and their 30th ranked defense but that isn't the only reason to like Karlsson. He provides elite value with shot volume, shot blocking and has huge multi-point upside at a discount from Brent Burns at the top of the salary on both sites.
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 7.03 DK - 2.09
I haven't mentioned Johns since he burned me a few months back. He, in no way, provides any offensive upside but makes a nice punt option if you are playing Karlsson and a high priced goalie tonight. He does provide a nice floor for the price as he has recorded 27 blocked shots over his last 10 games while skating over 17 minutes per game.
Also Consider: Marc-Edouard Vlasic(SJ)
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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