Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for FanDuel and DraftKings 3/5/18

Welcome back hockey fans. Monday night brings us a smaller five-game slate but with seven of the bottom 10 defenses in play, there is no shortage of top plays. Let's jump in and take a look at some of them 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.

GOALIE

Ben Bishop FD - $8600 DK - $8500
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 19.19 DK - 4.8

There are a lot of juicy matchups tonight but the goalie that stands out as the #1 option is Ben Bishop. He has been a bit up and down lately giving up four or more goals three times in his last 10 starts but is coming off a 35 save win against the Blues on Saturday. He has also been money on home ice with a 20-8-2 record with an elite .930 save % and four shutouts. He will also have a great shot to add to those numbers tonight as the Stars are huge -230 favorites vs. the Senators who have lost six of their last seven games and rank 24th overall in offense. Bishop is my top option in all formats tonight.

Also Consider: Triston Jarry(PIT) as a GPP pivot

CENTERS

**Evgeni Malkin and Connor McDavid are in terrific spots tonight but on a small slate I will be using them in GPP only and taking the discount at center to build a more balanced lineup.**

Tyler Seguin FD - $8200 DK - $7500
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 16.54 DK - 4.84

On a small five-game slate the center position is loaded at the top tonight but like I mentioned above, I will be taking the discount on both sites to construct a more balanced lineup. Enter Tyler Seguin who has been red-hot over the past week and a half and enters tonight with a five-game point streak that includes three multi-point games and nine total points. His upside may not be the same as McDavid or Malkin or are tied for second in points but Seguin has an enormous floor as he averages four shots per game on the season(third most). Fire him up in all formats vs. the Sens who rank 30th overall in defense.

Stack with: Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov

Ryan O'Reilly FD - $6200 DK - $6200
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 13.36 DK - 3.9

The Sabres offense has been brutal all season as they rank dead last scoring just 2.37 goals per game but that doesn't mean we can't pluck a few plays for fantasy in the right circumstances. Enter Ryan O'Reilly who has been centering the top line for some time now and offers not only a high floor but also some upside for GPP formats. He has been the most consistent player on the Sabres this season and over his last 10 games, he has averaged a point per game(five on the powerplay) to go along with 34 shots on goal. He makes a good play in all formats tonight.

Stack with: Benoit Pouliot, Sam Reinhart

Also Consider: Nazem Kadri(TOR)

WINGERS

Brock Boeser FD - $6600 DK - $6400
Opponent - NYI
Proj Pts FD - 12.09 DK - 3.53

Anytime we get a chance to pick on the Islanders and their league-worst defense we better take the opportunity and run with it. Tonight it's the Vancouver Canucks turn and while they don't have an offense you write home to mom about, Brock Boeser is one player who stands out. He is having a terrific first year in the NHL and leads all rookies with 29 goals and is second to Matthew Barzal in points. He skates on the top line and has been consistent lately with eight points in his last 10 games with 27 shots on goal. All things considered, he is a great play in all formats.

Stack with: Brendan Leipsic, Bo Horvat

Patric Hornqvist FD - $6000 DK - $6500
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 11.65 DK - 3.45

If you want a piece of the Penguins fifth-ranked offense and #1 rank powerplay, take the discount and roll with Patric Hornqvist. He skates on the second line with Evgeni Malkin and also joins Malkin on the top powerplay unit with Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel. While he doesn't provide elite upside like his teammates, he does provide a high floor for cash games skating over 17 minutes per game and averages 3.3 shots per game on the season. Considering the talent around him and the matchup vs. the struggling Flames, Hornqvist is in play in all formats.

Stack with: Evgeni Malkin, Carl Hagelin, Sidney Crosby(PP), Phil Kessel(PP)

Also consider: Matthew Tkachuk(CGY)

DEFENSEMEN

Brian Dumoulin FD - $3800 DK - $3500
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 8.55 DK - 2.47

Considering the amount of high-dollar plays combined with a smaller slate, I will be rolling out a value/punt defense combination tonight. It starts with Brian Dumoulin who have discussed at length recently as he skates on the top pairing with Kris Letang on the top 5 offense in Pittsburgh. He has six points in his last 10 games and while he has gone two straight without getting on the scoresheet, he has blocked eight shots in those games to still provide us value in cash games. All things considered, he is a terrific punt in all formats.

Kris Russell FD - $3900 DK - $3900
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 9.59 DK - 2.83

This is also not the first time we have mentioned Kris Russell in our articles either and it is mainly due to his high floor as he is a shot blocking machine. He has 34 over his last 10 games and leads the league with 194 on the season, good for an average of 3.1 per game. Wow. He does add a little bit of upside with 21 points while skating over 19 minutes per game and with a price in teh sub $4K range is another top punt in all formats.

Also Consider: Ryan Pulock(NYI)

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.