Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, right, of Russia, is congratulated by center Steven Stamkos after scoring against the Los Angeles Kings during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker)
Happy Saturday daily fantasy hockey fans. We have a big 12-game slate today with one afternoon game featuring the St. Louis visiting Detroit to face the Red Wings but we will be concentrating on the 11-game main slate for fantasy purposes. There are four teams(CBJ, NYR, NJ, VEG) playing on back to back, two other teams(CGY, OTT) playing their third game in four nights and on top of that, the Flames and Islanders are also playing their fourth game of the week(Isles having played all four on the road). Let's now jump in and take a look at some of the top plays at each position and don't forget to grab a copy of my cheatsheet in the comments and chatroom.
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 - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 17.97 DK - 4.49
Quick continued his hot streak on Tuesday night vs. the Wild as he picked up his fifth straight win while allowing two or fewer goals in each game. He has been a huge reason the Kings sit as the #1 defense this season and the only real issue lately with rostering him in GPP formats is the limited upside as he has only faced an average of 25 shots over the last 10 games. That could change tonight as the Hurricanes come to town and lead the league with an average of 35.1 shot on goal per game but rank way down in 25th when looking at overall offense. The Kings are -145 favorites and all things considered, Quick can be considered in all formats.
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 14.75 DK - 3.69
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 15.31 DK - 3.83
It honestly doesn't matter who starts for the Sharks tonight as this pick has more to do with the matchup. The Senators have been struggling(understatement) lately losing 10 of their last 11 games and have scored just 18 goals in that time(1.6 per game) and have been shutout three times. I would actually prefer if backup Aaron Dell started as Jones has struggled since his return from injury losing two of three games giving up four or more goals in each. Dell, on the other hand, was fantastic in his last start stopping 39 of 40 shots for his fourth win of the season and best of all comes at a discount on both sites. Stay tuned for the confirmation this afternoon.
Also Consider: Mike Smith(CGY)
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 14.94 DK - 4.27
Trocheck has been incredible lately with points in three straight games including two goals in a big win over the Jets on Thursday. He has not only shown big upside with 29 points this season but has also provided a very high floor with 94 shots on goal(3.4 per game) and now may see some added ice-time and opportunity with Aleksander Barkov in the concussion protocol after leaving Thursday's game after a big hit. He is my top center and one of my favorite plays at any position tonight and safe in all formats.
Stack with: Nick Bjugstad, Jonathan Huberdeau
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 16.5 DK - 4.88
I mentioned both Stamkos and Crosby on Thursday and both hit value but tonight I will be leaning on Stamkos for a couple reasons starting with the $700 discount on FanDuel. With that three-point performance on Thursday, Stamkos once again took over top spot in the league with 41 points and while he has only tallied 25 shots in the last 10 games is still averaging three per game on the season. The other reason I favor him over Sid tonight is the matchup as Crosby faces a Leafs team that is playing excellent while Stamkos faces a Jets team that has struggled on their current road trip losing two in a row while giving up 11 goals.
Stack with: Vladislav Namestnikov, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov(PP)
Also Consider: Mathew Barzal(NYI) who leads all rookies with 27 points and Pierre-Luc Dubois(CBJ) who is a nice punt play skating with Artemi Panarin & Josh Anderson vs. a weak Coyotes defense.
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 16.01 DK - 4.83
While I will reserve Crosby to GPP formats tonight, I will be building my lineups in all formats around Phil Kessel who leads the team in goals with 14, points with 35 and for cash game safety, shots on goal with 114. He is fairly priced on both sites giving him a near-elite PTS/$ value and has also been one of the more consistent players in the league this year with points in all but seven games combined with eight multi-point efforts. The narrative is also strong as he returns to Toronto where he spent six seasons.
Stack with: Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 15.85 DK - 4.42
We cannot have a discussion on PTS/$ without talking about the Vegas Golden Knights and specifically Jonathan Marchessault. He leads the team with 15 assists, 25 points, and 87 shots on goal and has been a beast lately with 15 points in his last 10 games while averaging over four shots per game. Normally, I would be recommending him in all formats but tonight Vegas is playing the second of a back to back on the road. The upside for GPP formats is still there, however, as he faces a Stars team that has been inconsistent all season and has lost two straight while giving up eight goals.
Stack with: William Karlsson, Reilly Smith
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 13.23 DK - 3.82
For value, at least on DraftKings, I am going back to old faithful Brandan Gallagher tonight. The offense has been sporadic all season as he has recorded just 19 points overall but he is a natural goal scorer and leads the team with 13 goals, five of which have come in the last nine games. The thing that draws me to Gallagher more than anything else is the safety created by his shot volume as he is averaging 3.5 per game. Tonight he gets a plus matchup vs. a struggling Oilers team that has fallen to 27th overall in defense after giving up a total of 42 goals over their last 10 games. Ouch! Fire up Gallagher in all formats tonight.
Stack with: Tomas Plekanec, Charles Hudon
Also Consider: Tyler Toffoli(LAK)
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 14.88 DK - 4.12
I hardly ever spend all the way up for a D man in cash games but if you are paying up in GPP formats, my favorite option is Brent Burns. He got his safety blanket back last game when Paul Martin returned to the lineup and was immediately paired with Burns who, in turn, scored a goal and added an assist. It was his first multi-point game since late October and he now has points in six of his last eight games. While the upside has been lacking for most of the season, Burns has provided a very high floor as he leads all defense with 106 shots(3.9 per game) and tonight gets an elite matchup vs. a struggling Sens team that has dropped 10 of their last 11 games while allowing 40 goals against.
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 10.92 DK - 3.22
Johnson has nowhere near the upside of Burns or others at the top of the salary but is one of the top PTS/$ plays on the point tonight. He has tallied four of his 10 points in his last 10 games but what intrigues me the most is the 34 shots and 21 blocks he has recorded in that time giving him a very high floor. Fire him up in all formats.
Also Consider: Seth Jones(CBJ) and Kris Russell(EDM)
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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NHL sheet for tonight. Stay tuned for odds and stacks updates.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U5vZcoOh955rTVqC8T8X1VKwPnoAb14D9ZQkiqOjBNU/edit?usp=sharing