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 to another busy night in the National Hockey League. Tonight we have seven games on tap with two teams(TB, MIN) playing the second of a back to back and three teams(ARI, MIN, VAN) playing their third game in four nights. It is also noteworthy that the Coyotes and Wild have played all of those games on the road. These are some situations we can take advantage of so let's jump in and pinpoint some of the top plays at each position.
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 - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 14.06 DK - 3.52
Easily the top choice in all formats tonight as the Blues are huge -235 favorites facing the Coyotes who not only rank 29th in offense(2.41 goals per game) but are playing their third game in four nights, all on the road. On top of that, Allen has also had an excellent start to the season with a 9-3-1 record, .921 save %, and has a ton of upside facing 30+ shots per game. He is in play on both sites but his best value comes on FanDuel where he is the fourth most expensive option.
**Update - Carter Hutton has been confirmed as the Blues starting goalie for tonight. He has been excellent in a backup role this season(.950 save % with a 3-0 record). He is in play in all formats**
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 14.69 DK - 3.67
The Habs are going to have some decisions to make when Carey Price is healthy and back between the pipes as young Charlie Lindgren has been nothing short of amazing in his absence. Through two starts, he saved 67 of 69 shots and picked up two wins including a shutout vs. the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. He gets one of the top matchups of the night as the Habs are favored at home vs. the Minnesota Wild who are playing on back to back nights and their third game in four nights, all on the road. Lindgren comes at a discount from the top goalies and is in play in all formats.
Also Consider: Jonathan Quick(LAK)
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 18.24 DK - 5.23
Looking at the top of the salary at not only the center position but all positions, it is McDavid who shows up as the top projected player tonight. He edges out Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov as they go on the road to face the #1 overall defense in the Kings. As for McDavid, he gets a terrific matchup at home vs. the 21st ranked Devils who are giving up over three goals per game including 14 during their current three-game losing streak. McDavid got the overtime winner two nights ago on the Island and has recorded 12 points in his last 10 games while averaging three shots per game. He is worth every penny and is safe in all formats.
Stack with: Patrick Maroon, Leon Draisaitl
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 9.57 DK - 2.75
One of the mid-tier values I will be rolling out in GPP's tonight is Dylan Larkin of the Red Wings. There are a few reasons he will be a GPP play only for me tonight starting with the fact the Red Wings rank 23rd in offense(2.69 goals per game) this season facing a Flames team that ranks 13th in defense(2.87 goals per game). The good news is that the Flames have given up nine goals in their last two games and Larkin comes in on a roll with points in four of his last five games and leads the team with 14 points on the season.
Stack with: Anthony Mantha
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 9.23 DK - 2.35
Anytime we are planning on rostering multiple elite players, we are going to be looking for value plays to help us get in under the salary cap. Tonight one of those players is Derek Grant who has been thrust into a larger role with the Ducks with the injury to Ryan Getzlaf. Grant has spent the last two games skating on the top line with Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell and most importantly has seen his powerplay time increase substantially. Even before the promotion, he was playing terrific and enters tonight's game with points in five straight and eight of his last nine games. He is my top value play in all formats.
Stack with: Rickard Rakell, Corey Perry
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 17.29 DK - 5.03
Leading the way at the wing position and just slightly behind Connor McDavid in the overall projections is Vladimir Tarasenko. He went into the Blues last matchup as a game-time decision and after making the start, flashed once again with his second straight and third multi-point game in four outings and now sits in a tie for 5th overall in points with 19 on the season. There is a very high probability he continues his hot streak Thursday night as he gets an elite matchup vs. the Coyotes who rank 30th in defense(4.00 goals against per game) and are playing their third game in four nights, all on the road. Lock Tarasenko into your lineups in all formats.
Stack with: Brayden Schenn, Jaden Schwartz
Opponent - TB
Proj Pts FD - 9.15 DK - 2.61
There are other viable options(see the cheatsheet provided in chat) at the wing position but I am concentrated on fitting both McDavid and Tarasenk0 into my lineups tonight and that means we will need multiple value plays. Tanner Pearson is one of the ones I am looking at tonight as he is on a roll lately as he enters this matchup on a four-game point streak and during that time has tallied 17 shots on goal providing us a very high floor. The matchup isn't the greatest vs. the Lightning who rank inside the Top 10 in defense but the good news is they are playing the second of back to back games on the road and should be a bit tired.
Stack with: Tyler Toffoli, Adrian Kempe
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 9.02 DK - 2.58
When looking for value on any given night, I am looking for either shot volume, opportunity, or upside and Michael Ferland provides us with all three. He skates on the top line with Johnny Hockey and Sean Monahan and enters tonight with a point in four of his last five and five of his last seven games. On top of that, he has seen an uptick in his shot volume lately with 15 shots over his last four games(3.8 per game) and most importantly, he comes to us with a low to mid-tier price tag on both sites.
Stack with: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - MIN
Proj Pts FD - 14.89 DK - 4.49
For cash games, I prefer to pay up for multiple forwards and roll out two value defensemen but for GPP's paying up on the point can help separate your lineup from the masses that do the same. There are two D men I will be paying up for tonight and I lean Weber over Pietrangelo slightly due to the discount on both sites. After a very slow start to the season, Weber has come son strong with four multi-point games in his last 10 played for nine total points and has also provided a safe floor with 30 blocks and 36 shots in that time.
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 8.75 DK - 2.55
One of those value plays I will be using in cash games tonight will be Adam Larsson of the Oilers who despite getting minimal powerplay time is skating over 21 minutes per game. He lacks upside with just three points on the season but gives us a nice floor for the price and has recorded 23 blocks and 21 shots on goal over the last 10 games. Most of all, his mid $3K price tag allows us to stack McDavid with another top projected forward in cash games.
Also Consider: Alex Pietrangelo(STL), Alec Martinez(LAK)
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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Also be sure to jump into chat and grab a copy of the NHL cheatsheet as well. To find the link click on the gray menu button on the bottom right, then click chat, then PGA/NHL/NASCAR chat which takes you to the niche sport chat where I post all my spreadsheets for easy access. If you have any questions be sure to ask.