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)
Hello hockey fans and welcome to another day of NHL action here at DFSR. Today, we have a medium sized five-game slate in store for us and let's get started with some picks shall we?
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 - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 17.63 DK - 4.41
Wow, is goalie ever an ugly position tonight, at least from a cash game perspective. I did my very best to try and find you the best option for cash games and I'll explain why I like Gibson today. First of all, the Leafs are on their dreaded west-coast road trip, which is from one extreme side of the continent to the other side of our massive continent. That affects the players in many ways and the Leafs lost 3-2 to the Sharks two nights ago and now they have to play in Anaheim. Gibson only allowed one goal in a victory in Tampa Bay last game to move his record to 5-4 and he has a save percentage of .921. Let's call Gibson the best of the worst today for your cash game lineups.
Opponent - SJ
Proj Pts FD - 14.36 DK - 3.59
This slate has a GPP feel to it and the Finnish superstar tender has been lights out lately. He has allowed two goals or fewer in his last six games and he has a record of 5-1-2 so far this season to go along with a .940 save percentage and a GAA of 1.86 which are both amazing numbers. The Sharks are ranked 23rd on offense, but since this is a road game for the Predators, the Sharks are currently listed as -140 favorites. I personally think that Rinne stands on his head (maybe not literally) and the Predators sneak out a victory today, therefore making him an elite GPP play.
Opponent - PIT
Proj Pts FD - 18.27 DK - 5.22
Value is very hard to find today at the center position so we will start at the very top of the salary pool on both sites and the young superstar has a very juicy matchup tonight against the Penguins and their dreadful defense who rank third worst in the league with 3.85 goals allowed per game. The Oilers have been struggling on offense but they should be able to score a few goals today and look for "McJesus" to be involved. He has two goals, an assist, 11 shots and four blocks in his last three games and the offense runs through him every single game. Because of his shot output, he has the safety we are looking for in cash games and he has massive upside on any given day because of his immense talent.
Stack with: Leon Drasaitl, Patrick Maroon
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 14.03 DK - 3.86
It is amazing what a boost of confidence will do to a human being and this guy is a perfect example. While being stuck on the third line for most of last season, he has been handed a role on the #1 line and the #1 PP unit for the Flyers and he has been sensational so far this season. He is tied for second in goals (9) with Auston Matthews and tied for 6th in points with 15. The young Canadian is on an intense four-game point streak with 5 goals, three assists, 16 shots and five blocks while averaging 22 minutes of ice time in those four games. Couturier is currently matchup proof and is an elite play in all formats.
Stack with: Claude Giroux, Jakob Voracek
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 16.19 DK - 4.84
The two-time Stanley Cup champ has had a great start to the year as he has four goals, nine assists and a third best 56 shots on goal through 13 games. He is on a four-game point streak with two goals, two assists and a whopping 20 shots on goal and he plays on the #2 line and the deadly #1 PP unit for the Penguins. The Oilers allow 3.30 goals per game which is 9th worst in the league and this could be a high-scoring game, so look for Kessel to be in on the action. He is a great play in all formats on Fanduel and an elite play on Draftkings where he is way too cheap for his current production.
PP Stack with: Evgeni Malkin, Patrick Hornqvist, Sidney Crosby
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 15.45 DK - 4.54
I've watched this young man play in person and he is one of the best pure skaters in the game and if he can avoid injuries in the future then he is going to be a superstar for many years to come. He has two goals, six assists and 13 shots on goal in his last five games and he's tied for fourth in the league with 10 assists. I'm not a fan of him in cash games, but like I said earlier, this slate feels more like a GPP only slate anyways, so stack him with his line-mates and try and take down a tourney or two today.
Stack with: Nico Hischier, Drew Stafford
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 10.07 DK - 2.9
This pick is simply a lineup filler, especially on FanDuel where he is ridiculously cheap. The Ducks change lines more than celebrities change relationships, but this guy has been playing a top-six role in every game this season. In his last three games, the young winger has a goal, an assist and 10 shots on goal and we need to pick on the Leafs and their 5th worst defense. It isn't pretty today, so you could do worse than Sifverberg in all formats.
Stack with: Andrew Cogliano, Andrew Vermette (But that will probably change)
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 11.25 DK - 3.3
How can you not love this guy? He plays his heart out every time he hits the ice and he has been promoted to the Flyers' #1 PP unit this season. The Russian sensation has a goal, four assists, 16 shots and 8 blocks in his last three games while averaging a whopping 26 minutes of ice-time. He is a must play for me on FanDuel in all formats and an elite play on Draftkings in all formats.
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 9.55 DK - 2.9
While this guy did almost nothing last game, he had a PP goal, an assist, and four shots on goal two games ago in Tampa Bay. He has averaged 23 minutes of ice-time in his last five games and he plays on Anaheim's #1 PP unit. He has huge upside potential against the Leafs and their awful defense. Fire him up in your GPP lineups.
Also Consider: Kris Letang (Pit)
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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