New Jersey Devils' Taylor Hall passes the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
Happy Saturday hockey fans. The day starts out with two afternoon games as Philadelphia travels to Ottawa and Colorado travels to Calgary. For fantasy purposes, we will be looking at the 10-game main slate starting at 7:00 p.m. ET tonight. Let's jump right 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 - MON
Proj Pts FD - 15.42 DK - 3.86
I don't normally lead off with a goalie on the road but the options are somewhat limited tonight with road goalies or goalies who are struggling lately. Enter Vasilevskiy who has won seven of his last 10 starts while facing 34.5 shots per game and has been money on the road this season with an elite .937 save % and a whopping six shutouts. The Habs rank dead last in offense on the road and aren't much better at home either ranking 21st and overall have scored just an average of 2.1 goals per game over their last seven games. Fire up Vasilevskiy in all formats tonight.
Opponent - BUF
Proj Pts FD - 14.94 DK - 3.74
I am making an assumption here that the Capitals will be starting Grubauer tonight and it has to do with Holtby's struggles lately as he has lost five straight starts giving up 22 goals. Grubauer, on the other hand, has won each of his last two starts giving up just two goals in each game, both on the road. He has also seen a ton of rubber in those starts as he faced 34 shots in each. Whoever is between the pipes gets a fantastic matchup tonight vs. the Sabres and their 31st ranked offense. If it's Grubauer, I would even consider him in cash games, especially on FanDuel as a salary relief option to jam in some big names at the forward position.
Also Consider: Jonathan Quick(LAK) in GPP formats
**The Penguins are playing on a back to back on the road tonight but get plus matchup vs. the Panthers so Malkin and Crosby are both in play but I will reserve them for GPP only.**
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 13.53 DK - 4.33
Kopitar has been playing very consistent lately with 11 points over his last 10 games and has also raised his floor in that time with 31 shots on goal making him a prime target for cash games tonight. He and the Kings get a great matchup vs. the Oilers who have struggled mightily in February losing eight of 11 games while giving up an average of 3.5 goals per game. During that stretch, they also lost all three games on their last California swing giving up 14 goals in the three games against the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks. At these prices, Kopitar is my top center of the night.
Stack with: Dustin Brown, Alex Iafallo
Opponent - MON
Proj Pts FD - 12.6 DK - 3.58
No reason to shy away from Point now. He came through for both me and Ryan this week and now has four goals in his last three games. That's now nine points since the All-Star break and he has also seen an uptick in shot volume since then as well with an average of 3.2 shots per game(2.5 pre-All-Star). Tonight he and the Bolts get a plus matchup vs. the Canadiens who have dropped six of their last seven games and have dropped down to 23rd overall on defense. All things considered, Point is a safe play in all formats.
Stack with: Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 10.81 DK - 3.09
Barzal is the not the player we should be targeting for cash games as the offense is inconsistent and the shot volume has been very low(2.1 shots per game on the season). For GPP formats, however, we are looking for multi-point upside and he provides just that with 14 of those games this season and has recorded five points on three separate occasions. I will be digging deeper but I am pretty sure he is the only player to do so this season. The Devils are slightly better on defense at home but still rank just 19th on the season so make sure to get some exposure to the Isles second line tonight in your tournament lineups.
Stack with: Jordan Eberle, Anthony Beauvillier
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 16.65 DK - 4.85
We probably sound like a broken record here at DFSR but if you fading Hall right now, at least in cash games, you are just doing it wrong. He extended his ridiculous point streak to 20 games on Thursday night and in that time has 28 points and is averaging 4.2 shots per game. Making the play even more enticing tonight is the fact he and the Devils get a prime matchup vs. the Islanders and their bottom feeding defense which is ranked dead last in the league.
Stack with: Nico Hischier, Kyle Palmieri
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 12.83 DK - 3.55
The price trending down is just one reason why Panarin stands out as top winger tonight from a PTS/$ perspective. He comes in hot having picked up points in three straight games and has been consistent since the All-Star break with 10 points in 12 games played with 35 shots on goal(2.9 per game). On top of that, he gets a plus matchup vs. a struggling Blackhawks team that has dropped nine of 11 games in February(going into Friday night) while giving up 38 goals(3.5 per game). All things considered, the bread man is in play in all formats tonight.
Stack with: Pierre-Luc Dubois, Cam Atkinson
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 9.66 DK - 2.76
Like the Penguins, the Jets are playing on a back to back on the road but it will be very tough to avoid their top line. To get some cheaper exposure to the line, roll out Kyle Connor who has been hot with nine points in his last 10 games(currently has two points as I write this) with 30 shots on goal giving him a high floor and big-time upside skating alongside Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. I would hesitate to use him in cash as Dallas is a Top 5 defense on home ice but Connor is a nice value and stackign him with his linemates provides a ton of upside at a possible low ownership tonight.
Stack with: Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler
Opponent - NJ
Proj Pts FD - 9.64 DK - 2.84
I am going to continue to ride or die with Ryan Pulock who is just too cheap on both sites at the moment considering the value he offers. He not only has points in back to back games but in those two games has seven blocks and 12 shots on goal. That is now 34 shots and 23 blocks over his last 10 games for an average of 4.1 DraftKings/13.9 FanDuel points per game. At these prices, it's an easy decision to use him in all formats.
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 8.51 DK - 2.5
Johns is in the same price range as Pulock on FanDuel and is even more attractive on DraftKings as the price sits in the mid $3K range tonight. He doesn't provide much upside with just 14 points on the season but has been providing a very high floor lately with 24 shots and 28 blocks over his last 10 games for an average of 3.7 DraftKings/12.7 FanDuel points per game. Put both Johns and Pulock together in your lineup and you will be able to roster multiple big names at other positions.
Also Consider: Seth Jones(CBJ) in GPP 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.
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View Comments
NHL sheet for Saturday:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GdTYJupRwNEjGHi_Ompp8DXV8RVGtdNoIYDwb0Rbwk8/edit?usp=sharing
Thanks, Chris!