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 hockey fans. It's been a slow few days in the National Hockey League but we are back tonight with a nice five-game slate. There are four teams(WSH, CAR, CGY, CBJ) playing the second of a back to back with the Capitals, Flames, and Hurricanes also playing a third game in four nights. Let's dig in and take a look at 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.
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Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 14.94 DK - 3.74
The Capitals dropped the first game of the home at home series last night and now head to Carolina to try and seek revenge. Tonight it will be backup Phillip Grubauer between the pipes and although he has yet to pick up a win on the road this season, has been in fine form in his last two starts going 1-0-1 while stopping 74 of 75 shots. The matchup also lines up in his favor, despite the loss last night, as Carolina ranks 21st on offense(2.8 goals per game) and there is also upside there as they average just over 34 shots for per game. With limited options and question marks of who will be starting with all the back to back's, I will be using Grubauer in all formats.
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 15.34 DK - 3.83
It was a bit of an odd night last night as all three favorites lost including Bob and the Blue Jackets losing in Buffalo. He is expected back in the net tonight as the Jackets return home to get another prime matchup vs. the Canucks who have dropped nine of their last 10 games while scoring just 24 goals and now rank 29th in offense on the season. Bob has turned his season around after a rough stretch as he has gone 3-1-1 over his last five starts while allowing just two goals against in each start. He is a two-time Vezina winner and if back between the pipes tonight, makes an excellent play in all formats.
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 15.32 DK - 4.44
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 16.67 DK - 4.88
It's a small slate tonight but there are a ton of options at the center position, especially at the top of the salary. For cash games, I will lean on Wheeler who enters tonight with a seven-game point streak that includes four multi-point efforts. He has been carrying the team on his back since Mark Scheifele went on injured reserve and has also provided safety with 33 shots over his past 10 games and 135 on the season(3.1 per game).
Stack Wheeler with: Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor
For GPP formats, I will be pivoting off Wheeler in a lot of lineups and riding Connor McDavid. It has been a rough year for the Oilers overall but McJesus has still been elite as he sits Top 10 in points with 48. He has also seen a big uptick in shots lately with 21 over his last four games and 37 over his last 10 games. The Oilers, despite being on the road, get an elite matchup as they travel to Arizona to take on a Coyotes team that has given up 150 goals on the season and rank 29th overall in defense.
Stack McDavid with: Patrick Maroon, Leon Draisaitl
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 9.26 DK - 2.61
You likely won't be able to play both Wheeler and McDavid together on a five-game slate so here is a value play I will be pairing with them in all formats. Dubois is centering the top line in Columbus with Artemi Panarin and Josh Anderson and has seen an uptick in ice-time lately skating over 19 minutes per game(15.4 per game on the season). He has also been very consistent with eight points in his last 10 games(five on the powerplay) to go with 29 shots on goal. Of all the centers tonight, he arguably gets the best matchup as well against a Canucks team that has dropped nine of their last 10 games while giving up 43 goals.
Stack with: Artemi Panarin, Josh Anderson
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 13.69 DK - 3.98
Like I mentioned in the intro, the Flames are playing the second of a back to back and third game in four nights on the road but fading Johnny Hockey right now would be a mistake. He went into last night's action with points in four straight games with three multi-point efforts and currently has a goal and an assist against Tampa Bay in the second period. He also gets a matchup tonight vs. a much weaker Florida defense that ranks 25th overall this season. Fire up Gaudreau in all formats at a nice discount from Ovechkin on both sites.
Stack with: Michael Ferland, Sean Monahan
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 12.33 DK - 3.54
Keller was somehow snubbed from the All-Star team for teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson after a tremendous start to his rookie season. He currently sits third in rookie scoring with 32 points(11 on the powerplay) while adding 118 shots (2.7 per game). What makes those numbers even more impressive is the fact he plays for a Coyotes team that ranks 30th overall in offense and sit dead last in the NHL with just 10 wins on the season. Tonight he gets a plus matchup as the struggling Oilers come to town after dropping seven of their last eight games while giving up 30 goals(3.8 per game). All things considered, I will be using Keller in all formats tonight.
Stack with: Max Domi, Christian Fischer
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 10.19 DK - 2.99
If you are looking for a value play in GPP's to help you fit some of the top players and/or stacks in your lineup, consider Evgenii Dadonov. He doesn't provide much safety with an average of 2.3 shots per game on the season but is currently skating on the top line with Huberdeau and Barkov and comes in with points in three straight and six over his last 10 games. He also comes with a sub $5K price tag on both sites and while he gets a matchup vs. a red-hot Flames team, they have played three games in their last four days which could lead to a higher scoring game.
Stack with: Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 13.27 DK - 3.84
The Blue Jackets are another team playing on a back to back tonight but like Gaudreau, Jones is too hot to fade right now. He went into Thursday night's game with 11 points over his previous 10 games with 28 shots and 10 blocks and added to that total with an assist and seven shots in a loss to the Sabres. The price is getting up there on DraftKings where I will be playing him in GPP only but on FanDuel he remains in the mid $5K range and is in play in all formats vs. the struggling Canucks.
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 9.44 DK - 2.89
On a five-game slate, we are going to need some value to fit the top guys in our lineup and from a PTS/$ perspective, Kris Russell is right at the top of the list. He isn't going to give us a whole lot of upside with 16 points on the season but provides an elite floor, especially considering the low $4K price tag on both sites. Over his last 10 games, he has tallied a whopping 30 blocks and leads the league with 129 on the season(2.9 per game). All things considered, I will be using him in all formats tonight.
Also Consider: Jordan Oesterle(CHI)
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:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ymeony5OI86hKigwqIt3p7N4Pnq3Fo5eq8Id8j-mi_8/edit?usp=sharing