Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane celebrates after scoring his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Edmonton Oiler,s Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015, in Chicago. The Blackhawks won 4-2. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Welcome back for another slate of playoff hockey with the DFSR team. Saturday brings us four games, one of which(BOS vs. OTT) will take place in the afternoon. We will continue to provide a game by game breakdown with our favorite plays. Let's dig in.
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BOS Offense (16th) vs. OTT Defense (9th)
OTT Offense (19th) vs. BOS Defense (10th)
Series Update - BOS 1-0
Now we are cooking with fire. The NHL playoffs and an afternoon sweat on Saturday are just what the doctor ordered if that doctor was me, of course. The Bruins made it through the second period where they didn't record a shot then capitalized on forechecking with two goals in the third period to take a one-game lead in the series. The win on the on road should be a huge boost for the Bruins going into this game but I still expect a low scoring affair. If you do decide to get some skin in on the all-day slate, let's ake a look at some of the top plays from each team.
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 13.44 DK - 4.02
I love the top line for Boston on so many levels. All three of them skated over 20 minutes(Pastrnak was actually 19:55) in game one and over four minutes each on the powerplay. I lean Bergeron over Marchand for one reason. Marchand can't get points from the penalty box and Bergeron just doesn't go to the sin bin. He struggled during the regular season with just one point in four games vs. the Sens but picked up an assist already in game one with two shots and a block.
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 7.52 DK - 2.33
If you are looking for a value play in this game rather than paying up top line guys, take a shot with Spooner. He didn't record a point in game one and was a -1 overall but he skated nearly 17 minutes, over four minutes of which came on the powerplay. If Ottawa keeps taking this many penalties their chances of advancing are greatly reduced and the value of Spooner shoots through the roof.
Opponent - BOS
Proj Pts FD - 8.28 DK - 2.48
If you have been following our NHL content this season you have seen Ceci's name before. I absolutely love my value D-men as they open up at on of cap space which is even more important in small slate playoff hockey. Ceci isn't known for his offense skills but for daily fantasy, we will take his elite shot blocking ability which gives us a PTS/$ value at that price. He skates on the penalty kill which helps and he recorded six blocks in game one.
TOR Offense (5th) vs. WSH Defense (1st)
WSH Offense (3rd) vs. TOR Defense (22nd)
Series Update - WSH 1-0
The Capitals showed no panic in game one after going down 2-0 to the Leafs early in the first period. The responded quickly with a Justin Williams powerplay goal and then tied it with 4:00 remaining in the second with another goal by the playoff wizard himself. Both goalies played incredible in the third sending the game to overtime where Tom Wilson capitalized(pun intended) on a turnover and scored from the right boards. No game in the playoffs has gone over five total goals but this series sure seems to be trending in that direction. Let's look at some picks.
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 11.5 DK - 3.29
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 12.3 DK - 3.6
The young Leafs were impressive in game one and it was rookie Marner who gave them the early first-period lead and almost the late third-period lead. JVR turned out to be a great play in game one leading the team with seven shots and picked up an assist. The second line will be my target on the Leafs once again tonight and hope the ownership stays in the sub 10% range.
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 12.74 DK - 3.81
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 10.68 DK - 3.07
Both the top lines of the Capitals were chalk in game one and it was Mr. Playoffs that stepped up and got the Caps back into the game. On small slate playoff hockey the value is very important and Williams is one of the top ones of all 16 teams in the postseason. Stack him with Kuznetsov and Johansson who both play on the powerplay with Ovi who doesn't really leave the ice.
On defense, Shattenkirk is an excellent PTS/$ play in the $6K range on both sites. He led both teams in shots with nine and also picked up an assist with two blocks in game one while skating just over 22 minutes. High floor and high upside play for all formats.
NSH Offense (11th) vs. CHI Defense (11th)
CHI Offense (9th) vs. NSH Defense (15th)
Series Update - NSH 1-0
The Predators went into one of the toughest barns in the NHL in front of an electric crowd and pulled out the incredible 1-0 shutout in game one. It was the JOFA(Johansen, Forsberg, Arvidsson) who struck first on a beauty tip in front by Arvidsson. After that, it was Pekka Rinne and the defense taking over the game. Corey Crawford only saw 19 shots but was also impressive making some huge saves to keep the Hawks in the game until the end. While I am pulling for the Preds in this series(hockey draft sleeper team), I do think game two will be higher scoring from both sides.
Opponent - NAS
Proj Pts FD - 15.9 DK - 4.6
Look for the best player on either team to step up and get Blackhawks back in this series on Saturday night. He tallied a team-high six shots in game one and showed off his speed multiple times. He trailed only Duncan Keith in ice time(24:23) and comes with crazy upside and the Blackhawks need it more than ever.
Opponent - NAS
Proj Pts FD - 10.9 DK - 3.17
The Blackhawks were chalky in game one but Hossa was still only the seventh highest owned on the team. He also provides nice PTS/$ value with a very affordable price tag and was second to only Patrick Kane in shots in game one with four. He is skating on the third line but also skated with both powerplay units during the game.
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 13.9 DK - 3.93
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 10.5 DK - 3.09
The Preds, as expected, were low owned in game one with just one player(P.K. Subban) inside the Top 30 in ownership in the DK $4 Forecheck. Arvidsson was very impressive picking up the beauty tip in the first and almost picked up another in the third period with a nasty backhand that beat Crawford but not the crossbar. He also added four shots and two blocks. If you believe it will be higher scoring in game two(like me), pair him with Forsberg and Johansen for GPP stacking upside.
On defense, Ellis makes one of the best PTS/$ plays on the slate. He has a very affordable price and was terrific in game one. He had over 26 minutes of ice time which trailed only his teammate Roman Josi in the entire game and tallied three shots and three blocks.
CGY Offense (16th) vs. ANH Defense (3rd)
ANH Offense (18th) vs. CGY Defense (14th)
Series Update - ANH 1-0
Anaheim's captain Ryan Getzlaf made a statement early, scoring the opening goal in the first minute of the series. The Flames rebounded with the next two goals and had the lead halfway through the second period. The Ducks took advantage of an absolutely awful line change by the Flames and Rickard Rakell tied it and before the second period ended, Silfverberg gave the Ducks the final lead of the game.
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 20.59 DK - 5.15
Gibson opened the series making 30 saves on 32 shots for the 3-2 win and was absolutely amazing in the third period, preserving the one-goal lead. He is now 4-0 vs. the Flames this season, allowing just six goals total.
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 14.6 DK - 4.2
The Ducks captain set the pace in game one with an early goal and an assist on Rakell's goal in the second. He skated just shy of 24 minutes, eight of which were on the powerplay and he also recorded four shots on goal. Look for Getzlaf to fire up his team to grab that 2-0 lead before heading to Alberta for games three and four.
Opponent - ANA
Proj Pts FD - 7.75 DK - 2.34
Back on the value train at defense tonight and it starts with Stone. He lacks upside with just 15 total points all season but he does provide a high floor at a very low cost. He showed this in game one with five blocks in just over 17 minutes of play. I expect a similar fantasy line in game two and he is more about what you can access with the salary savings.
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 lineups with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
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