Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 2/17/18

Hello hockey fans and welcome to another day of exciting NHL action here at DFSR. Today, there are 11 games in total, but for the purpose of this article, we will be concentrating solely on the seven-game main slate on both sites. We have a lot of fast-paced action in store for us this evening, so let's not waste any more time and dive right into the picks.

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 NBA DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NBA 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.

GOALIE

Marc-Andre Fleury FD - $8600 DK - $8500
Opponent - MON
Proj Pts FD - 20.47 DK - 5.12
Fleury and the Golden Knights are in a terrific spot tonight as they welcome the Canadiens and their 29th ranked offense to town, who have lost four straight while scoring only seven goals during that span. The Canadiens are a complete mess right now and they should actually just party all night and slam back a bunch of Grandpa's old cough medicine while they're in Sin City before they hit the ice, just to see if that helps. Anyways, the veteran tender is playing at an elite level this season as he is 18-6-2 with a stifling .933 save %, a 2.04 GAA, and he has allowed only three goals in his last two victories. The Golden Knights are listed as massive -245 favorites to win this game, so with all of these things considered, Fleury is an elite play and my top goalie in all formats.

Pekka Rinne FD - $8800 DK - $8400
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 20.1 DK - 5.02
This guy let me down last game as he had a rare outing where he struggled as he allowed four goals in a loss to the Flames. Well, it's not a good idea to hold personal grudges for DFS purposes, so I'm going back to the well tonight as the veteran workhorse is an impressive 29-9-4 this season to go along with five shutouts, a .925 save %, and a 2.36 GAA. The Predators are also massive favorites to win this game(-235) and the Wings are ranked 26th defensively, so Rinne is a solid play in all formats this evening.

Also Consider: Tuukka Rask(BOS) GPP formats only

 

CENTERS

Patrice Bergeron FD - $8200 DK - $7600
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 17.51 DK - 5.23
We have seen this superstar center here many times and as long as he keeps firing on all cylinders, nothing is going to change. During his current four-game point streak, he has five goals and two assists to go along with a whopping 18 shots on goal, which gives him 51 points in 50 games and an average of 3.68 shots per game, which is third-best amongst centers. This is the kind of safety and upside that we look for on any given night and the Canucks are ranked 26th defensively, so all things considered, Bergeron is a terrific play in all formats.

 

Stack with: Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak

Nicklas Backstrom FD - $7200 DK - $6000
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 13.41 DK - 3.99
The Capitals reunited this guy with his buddy Alexander Ovechkin on the top line a few games ago and it has paid off handsomely as the veteran has three goals, an assist, and seven shots in his last three games, and five goals and two assists in his last six. The Hawks have lost a whopping eight games in a row while allowing 32 goals and they've slipped all the way down to 17th defensively. While Backstrom averages under two shots on goal per game, I wouldn't use him in cash games, but where he is an elite play this evening is in GPP lineups stacked with Ovechkin against a leaky Hawks defense.

Stack with: Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson

 

Also Consider: Vincent Trochek(FLA)

 

WINGERS

Nikita Kucherov FD - $8900 DK - $7800
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 19.02 DK - 5.54
I said in my most recent article that this guy could be on the verge of one of his famous hot streaks, so the Lightning went ahead and scored four goals, with this guy recording points in all four of them(one goal, three assists), which gives him four goals, six assists, and 25 shots during his current five-game point streak. The superstar sensation easily leads the league with 76 points in only 58 games, which puts his upside through the roof and he averages 3.52 shots on goal per game to give him an elite floor. Fire up Kucherov in all formats and don't think twice against the Devils and their 22nd ranked defense.

Stack with: Steven Stamkos, Vladimir Namestnikov

Johnny Gaudreau FD - $8000 DK - $6800
Opponent - FLA
Proj Pts FD - 15.09 DK - 4.35
"Johnny Hockey" is good at hockey as he is now on a lengthy eight-game point streak with four goals and seven assists to go along with 27 shots on goal. The superstar winger now has 68 points in 58 games and the Flames have been scoring goals in bunches lately. While he averages just under three shots on goal per game, safety is a tiny issue here, but with the Panthers owning the league's 25th ranked defense, I believe that we can consider him in cash games and he is an elite GPP play as the Panthers haven't seemed to be able to stop a beach ball lately.

Stack with: Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk(PP)

Zach Aston-Reese FD - $3800 DK - $3800
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 6.93 DK - 2.01
We need to find value so that we can fit the above superstars into our lineups this evening, so enter this young man, who was promoted to the top line beside Sidney Crosby last game and he did not disappoint as he scored two goals on four shots. What is even more impressive, is the fact that the Penguins gave him some time on the lethal #1 powerplay unit where he scored one of his goals, so at these dirt cheap prices on both sites, Aston-Reese is a solid play in all formats.

Stack with: Sidney Crosby, Conor Sheary

 

Also Consider: Filip Forsberg(NSH) GPP formats, Reilly Smith(VEG) Cash game formats.

 

DEFENSEMEN

Aaron Ekblad FD - $5900 DK - $5200
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 10.45 DK - 3.13
The veteran point man has been playing like a top line forward lately as he is currently on a five-game point streak with three goals and four assists to go along with 15 shots and four blocks. This should be a high scoring affair this evening as both teams have been finding the twine quite often lately, so if you are spending up at defense, lock and load Ekblad, especially for your GPP lineups.

Deryk Engelland FD - $3800 DK - $3600
Opponent - MON
Proj Pts FD - 6.9 DK - 2.02
When looking from a value standpoint, this guy stands out a ton as he is at near minimum prices on both sites and he has two assists, three shots and six blocks in his last two games, while averaging around 21 minutes of ice-time. The veteran big man excels on the penalty kill for the Golden Knights where he has 116 blocks in only 57 games, so lock Engelland into your cash game lineups and spend up elsewhere this evening.

 

Also Consider: Dougie Hamilton(CGY) All formats, Dmitry Orlov(WSH) Cash game formats.

 

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.