Welcome back daily fantasy hockey fans. Another Saturday, and another big slate that includes an early afternoon game between the Oilers and Wild and a late afternoon game between the Rangers and Bruins. For the purpose of this article, we will be concentrating on the nine-game main slate starting at 7:00 p.m. ET tonight and the game of the night will be the Canadiens and Senators playing outdoor in Ottawa. Don't expect a ton of scoring in that game however as it is expected to be -16° Celsius(3° Fahrenheit). Let's dig in and take a look at some of the top picks 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 - 19.75 DK - 4.94
Murray returned after a nearly a month on the shelf with an injury and while he was a hard-luck loser to the Golden Knights, was impressive stopping 24 of 26 shots. He was bested by his former teammate Marc-Ander Fleury and now moves on to Arizona where he is a big -170 favorite facing the Coyotes who have struggled lately losing five straight while scoring just five goals and remain ranked right at the bottom of the league when looking at the offensive rankings. I fully expect the Penguins to get back on the horse offensively giving Murray some support and with that, he is a top play in all formats.
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 15.84 DK - 3.96
As a Flyer fan, I feel I am stretching my positive vibes a little too far here but hear me out. Elliott has been a huge factor in the team turning their season around and he comes into tonight having won five straight games while holding opponents to two or fewer goals in each contest for an elite .947 save percentage. Should he get the start again tonight, which is likely with backup Michael Neuvirth on the IR, he makes a nice GPP option vs. a tough opponent in the Stars who rank 14th offensively and will be playing the second of a back to back on the road and their fourth game of the week(all on the road). Best of all, he comes at a big discount which helps us get some elite players in our lineups.
Also Consider: Andrei Vasilevskiy(TB)
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 12.95 DK - 3.88
Malkin has been terrific since returning from a minor injury at the start of December and although his six-game point streak came to an end last game, he should have no problem getting another started tonight. He and the Pens go on the road to Arizona tonight to face a Coyotes team that has dropped five straight and ranks dead last in defense this season giving up 3.44 goals per game. I have no issue rolling out Crosby in GPP formats but for cash games, I love taking the big discount with Malkin. Put them together with Hornqvist and Kessel for a very high upside powerplay stack.
Stack with: Phil Kessel, Jake Guentzel
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 11.95 DK - 3.67
If you are looking to go a little more balanced at the center position, I suggest riding the wave with the ex Moose jaw Warrior Brayden Point. We have been hammering the narrative of targeting an elite offense's second line on the road all season due to the home team really concentrating on shutting down the top line and it has been paying off for the Lightning. Point has scored in five straight games and has recorded a multi-point game in three straight and now gets to face the 24th ranked defense in Colorado. At his current price on both sites, he is in play in all formats despite elite shot volume.
Stack with: Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat
Also Consider: Kyle Turris(NSH)
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 15.46 DK - 4.53
He may not be in the same "upside" tier as Ovechkin, Kucherov, Gaudreau, and other wingers but he sure does provide us with an elite floor. He sits second overall in shots with 144 on the season trailing only the "Great 8" and when he shows up on a slate with the same guys he is, more times than not, lower owned presenting a huge opportunity for your GPP lineups. Tonight he and the Blues get a plus matchup vs. the Jets who have struggled lately losing four of their last five games while giving up 21 goals against. All things considered, Tarasenko is in play in all formats tonight.
Stack with: Vladimir Sobotka, Paul Stastny, Brayden Schenn(PP)
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 14.18 DK - 4.17
The Predators have shaken up their lines lately but one guy you can consistently count on no matter where he plays is Filip Forsberg. He lacks the elite shot volume we would like(2.6 shots per game) but has been on the scoresheet a ton and with points in three straight and seven of his last eight games and now has a total of 32 points through his first 31 games this season. He now gets a matchup vs. a Flames team that ranks 21st in defense but has been trending in the wrong direction lately giving up 3.3 goals per game over their last seven games.
Stack with: Calle Jarnkrok, Pontus Aberg
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 9.35 DK - 2.66
Coach Tortorella has also been shaking his lines up in an attempt to raise the level of his offense that ranks 20th overall and dead last on the powerplay. One player who has got the message has been Oliver Bjorkstrand who has taken the next step in his first full season in the NHL. He is coming off a three-assist game and has points in four of his last five games and now sits with 21 on the season. He lacks shot volume which leaves him as a GPP-only play on FanDuel but you can consider him in all formats on DraftKings where his price is still hovering below the $4K mark.
Stack with: Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg
Also Consider: Kyle Connor(WPG), Anders Lee(NYI)
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 13.68 DK - 4.11
If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times. If you are spending up at the defense position, especially in cash games, you should be targeting a player that can contribute in multiple areas. Enter Roman Josi of the Preds who has been doing just that while flashing upside with points in seven of his last nine games(21 on the season) and also providing a very high floor with 31 shots and 19 blocks in his last 10 games. Like I mentioned with Forsberg, the Preds get a plus matchup tonight vs. the Flames and Josi can be considered in all formats.
Opponent - TB
Proj Pts FD - 11.84 DK - 3.49
As long as his price stays in the sub $5K range, Erik Johnson is going to be listed in our articles on a daily basis. He may lack overall upside with just 12 points on the season but has provided an elite floor, especially lately with 29 shots and 29 blocks over his last 10 games for an average of 3.7 DraftKings/12.5 Fanduel points per game. With that kind of production, there is no way to not consider him in all formats, even in a tough matchup vs. the Lightning.
Also Consider: Seth Jones(CBJ)
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 today(only covering 9-game main slate):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W5cnYtJZ4yopWCn6np8latQO8SmKS_tmWbs0P15yEOQ/edit?usp=sharing