Welcome back for another night of daily fantasy hockey. Saturday brings us a huge 14-game slate that is not short of top plays at every position. Let's dig in and take a look at my top plays for tonight.
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 lineups 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 - 17.73 DK - 4.43
The Dallas Stars are currently the biggest favorites(-210) on this huge 14-game slate and immediately pushes Bishop to the top of the list of goalies who are safe in all formats. It was a down year for Bishop in 2016-17 as he fought a knee injury and was limited to just 37 starts and posted a career-low .910 save %. He is off to a nice start with his new team this year already posting a .932 save % and will be heavily relied on as the top option after years of a two-headed monster in Dallas. He gets a nice matchup tonight vs. a young Avalanche team who is playing on back to back nights. Fire up Bishop in all formats.
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 17.21 DK - 4.3
Right now I am leaning splitting Bishop and Quick in cash games, at least on FanDuel where they come at the same price. The Kings are currently the second biggest favorite(-185) on the slate at home to the Buffalo Sabres who are barely scoring two goals a game right now. Quick is coming off a down start where he allowed four goals on 37 shots but still holds an elite .948 save % through three games and has a terrific defensive team in front of him. Look for a nice rebound tonight and consider Quick in all formats.
Also Consider: Matt Murray(PIT) & Cam Talbot(EDM) in GPP formats
**Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid are both at home and in great spots tonight if you can afford them. If you are looking to go a bit more balanced I have a couple others options for you at the position.**
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 17.28 DK - 5.33
It has been a rough start offensively for the Stars in general as they have only scored eight goals in their first four games but the good news is two of them came from Seguin. Even better news is that Seguin comes with a second tier price on DraftKings and is producing elite shot volume which makes him a safe option in all formats. He currently leads the league with 29 shots on goals but sits with a career-low 6.9 shooting % so get ready for some positive regression coming his way. He gets a plus matchup tonight vs. an Avs team who is somewhat overperforming and is playing on back to back nights. Roll him out with confidence.
Stack with: Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 10.73 DK - 3.17
Speaking of rough starts, the Montreal Canadiens have been offensively punchless scoring just five goals in their first four games. That is not how Jonathan Drouin envisioned the next step in his career going after coming over from Tampa Bay in the summer. It seems to be the theme of the article as I have mentioned players who are due for some positive regression. Drouin is another that has shown signs of breaking out as he has tallied 17 shots in those games while playing heavy minutes on the top line and powerplay unit. He is coming off a 53 point season and for the Habs to climb back up the standings he will have to find that scoring knack soon and I feel it starts tonight vs. a Leafs team that has allowed four goals per game to start the season.
Stack with: Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov
Also Consider: Mark Scheifele(WPG)
**Alex Ovechkin is playing at an elite level but is on a back to back on the road and the most expensive overall player on DraftKings. I would reserve him for GPP only if you can fit him into your lineups. Below I will provide three cheaper value options**
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 11.27 DK - 3.26
Early in the season, it appears the Penguins are going to have to rely on their offense if they are to have a shot at a three-peat. They definitely have the firepower and I wouldn't blame you if you rolled out Sid theKid in cash games but I prefer to go with his linemate Guentzel who provides some salary relief giving you a more balanced lineup. He plays the top line and second powerplay unit and has recorded points in three of five games and has really started to fire the puck more with 10 shots over his last two games. Despite winning two of their first three games, the Panthers have allowed 11 goals making for a nice matchup for the Pens at home.
Stack with: Sidney Crosby, Connor Sheary
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 12.49 DK - 3.55
Skinner was held scoring in a 5-4 win to open the season but then rebounded and scored the Canes lone goal in 2-1 loss to Columbus the other night. He also recorded five shots and that is exactly why he shows up as a top value play most nights. He is coming off a season where he averaged over 3.5 shots per game with a career-high 37 goals. The shot volume gives him a very high floor for cash games and the elite matchup vs. the Jets who have allowed 17 goals in four games gives him huge upside for GPP's.
Stack with: Derek Ryan, Victor Rask(PP)
Opponent - STL
Proj Pts FD - 12.16 DK - 3.84
He has been somewhat quiet over his first three seasons in the show not going over 35 points once but it appears that could change in a big way in 2017-18. He has started the season skating on the top line with superstars Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov and has already reaped the benefits with four points in as many games. If this production continues his salary will quickly rise, so now is the time to jump on board as he is currently safe in all formats.
Stack with: Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov
Also Consider: Nikolaj Ehlers(WPG), Evander Kane(BUF) in GPP
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - TB
Proj Pts FD - 17.18 DK - 5.13
When paying up for a high-priced defenseman, I am looking for a combination of things. I want a guy who plays top minutes, has some nice shot volume, gets some blocks, and plays on the powerplay. Pietrangelo hits on almost all of those in a big way. He leads the league in ice time(26:36 per game), plays on the Blues top pairing and powerplay unit and has recorded four shots per game to this point in the season. The only knock is that he has yet to record multiple blocks in a game but that doesn't worry me as he is elite in all other areas. He is more than worth the cap space in all formats.
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 7.98 DK - 2.43
There are some players who you are going to see a lot in my articles this season and Savard is one of them. His price is slowly going up but the lack of offense, I believe, will keep the salary South of $4K for the time being. Savard is skating on the second unit is also getting some powerplay time and provides an elite floor for the price as he is averaging over three blocks and shots per game. He is an elite cash game play and the salary relief he provides also has him in play in GPP's.
Also Consider: Drew Doughty(LAK), Nikita Zaitsev(TOR)
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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