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 hockey fans. We have another action packed Saturday in the NHL with two matinee games followed by eight games on the main slate tonight. The New York Rangers and Anaheim Ducks are the only teams playing a back to back tonight but the Ducks along with the Red Wings and Blues are playing their third game in four nights. Let's take a look at some of the top picks from the projection system for the eight-game main slate.
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 - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 18.87 DK - 4.72
Vegas is telling us there are some very close matchups tonight pointing us right in the direction of Cam Talbot. The Oilers are huge favorites(-240) at home to the struggling Canucks who have lost five straight and seven of their last 10 games. Talbot has been up and down but comes with a high floor facing right around 30 shots per game and is coming off back to back wins vs. the Stars and the Bruins. He is a great play in all formats, especially on FanDuel as he is the 8th ranked goalie in salary.
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 17.26 DK - 4.31
While Talbot is the chalk play for cash games, Dubnyk should provide some ownership separation for tournaments, especially on FanDuel where he is the same price. He hasn't been quite as sharp as he was before the All-Star break but he has held his opponent under three goals against in seven of his last 10 games. Tonight's matchup vs. the Rangers should also steer people in another direction in tournaments opening up that value even more. His best value comes on DraftKings where his salary remains in the sub $8K range.
Also Consider: Corey Crawford(CHI)
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 16.14 DK - 4.61
The center position is tough tonight with so many close matchups and just like Talbot, has me going right to the top with McDavid. The fact that he is going to be the chalk tonight will have me going over weight with my exposure in tournaments. If I end up building 10 lineups, I will most likely have McDavid in 80% of my lineups. He is neck and neck in the points race with the game's elite talents(Kane, Marchand, Crosby, Malkin, Kucherov) and trying to put the Oilers on his back and back into the playoffs. With some tough matchups in the final few weeks, you will want to capitalize on McDavid's elite matchups like tonight vs. the Canucks. The Oilers come in red hot offensively as well, scoring 14 goals in their last two games.
Stack with: Leon Draisaitl, Patrick Maroon
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 8.01 DK - 2.2
Paying up for McDavid means we are going to have to mine for some value with two or three of our other roster spots. No problem tonight as there are a ton of PTS/$ plays with big roles at the moment. It starts with Schmaltz who has been playing terrific recording 10 points in 10 February games playing with Panik and Toews. He is now getting an opportunity to center the top line with Kane and Panarin as Anisimov is now out two to three weeks. At a low $4K price tag, he is a top value in all formats.
Stack with: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 8.29 DK - 2.4
Another value play, maybe a bit lesser owned as he doesn't stand out with recent performance as much, is Patrick Bergland of the Blues. He has just four points(3 on PP) in his last 10 games but gets an elite matchup vs. the Coyotes who rank 27th in defense allowing 3.17 goals per game. The Blues top line is going to be popular so pivot to the second line in GPP's to get some ownership separation.
Stack with: David Perron, Alexander Steen
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 13.71 DK - 3.84
Arvidsson has taken a huge step forward in his second full season in the NHL and makes a terrific DFS option in all formats tonight. After recording just 16 points in 56 games with a -8 rating last season he has tallied 51 points in 68 games with a very impressive +16 rating. He skates on the top line and powerplay unit with Forsberg and Johansen and comes into tonight averaging a point per game since the start of February.
Stack with: Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg
Opponent - MON
Proj Pts FD - 12.37 DK - 3.63
His price is getting up there on FanDuel making him a GPP only option but on DraftKings he is in play in all formats under $6K. He provides an elite floor ranked 10th overall in shot attempts per 60 minutes which he has translated into an of around 3.1 shots on goal per game. Hoffman comes into tonight averaging a point per game over the last couple weeks and should come lower owned than usual in a matchup vs. the Atlantic Division leading Habs.
Stack with: Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Kyle Turris(PP)
Also Consider: Alex Ovechkin(GPP)
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 12.31 DK - 3.68
From a PTS/$ perspective, Pietrangelo sits right near the top on both sites tonight. He comes with a very affordable mid $5K price tag and provides value in a number of ways. Over his last 10 games, he has put together a very balanced fantasy attack of 23 shots and 22 blocks for a high floor and also added eight points, five of which came on the powerplay. Combine that with an elite matchup vs. the Coyotes and you have a top play in all formats.
Opponent - MON
Proj Pts FD - 7.69 DK - 2.33
If you are looking to punt one of your D spots like I do on a nightly basis, consider Ceci on both sites. He is an elite PTS/$ value play on the projection system as his price remains in the mid $3K range. He doesn't provide a whole lot of offensive upside(13 points on season) but blocks shots and has enough shot volume to be effective. He also gets time on the powerplay and penalty killing units and is averaging 2.8 DK/9.5 FD points per game over his last 10 games.
Also Consider: Alex Goligoski(ARI)
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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