Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, right, of Russia, is congratulated by center Steven Stamkos after scoring against the Los Angeles Kings during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker)
After a night off for Thanksgiving, the NHL is back with a massive schedule on Friday that includes 15 games. It starts with an early afternoon game between the Flyers and Rangers and if you want to play that game you will have to play the all-day slates. For this article, I will be looking at the top plays at each position for early and main slates. Let's get started.
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Early Slate
Opponent - MON
Proj Pts FD - 16.85 DK - 4.21
The goalie position isn't very deep on the early slate today but one name that stands out above the rest is Carter Hutton. He signed a three-year contract in the offseason in hopes of becoming a #1 goalie for the first time after impressing as a backup for the Blues. He has taken that role and run with it in Buffalo and comes in red-hot having won six straight games and pushing his save % up to .917 for the season. He has also been better at home this season going 6-2-1 and is a -135 home favorite against the Habs who have dropped two straight and six of their last 10 games. Fire up Hutton in all formats.
Also Consider: Braden Holtby(WSH) in GPP formats
Main Slate
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 13.88 DK - 3.47
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 14.82 DK - 3.7
Jones is the clear starter for the Sharks this season and is projected to start on Friday night and despite those struggles is in a terrific spot. The Sharks are huge -270 home favorites against a struggling Canucks team that has lost seven straight and eight of their last nine games and are scoring under three goals per game on the road this season(18th). The save % has yet to be there for Jones this season but he(6-2-2) and the Sharks(7-3-2) have both been better on home ice. It comes down to matchup and whoever starts for the Sharks tonight is in play in all formats.
Also Consider: Pekka Rinne(NSH) who has been good on the road(3-1-1, .943 save %) facing a Blues team that has lost five of their last six games scoring just seven total goals
Early Slate
Opponent - MON
Proj Pts FD - 13.85 DK - 5.09
I wrote up Eichel on Wednesday and despite his price going up on FanDuel, I am going right back to him today. He checks off every box starting with his sky-high floor as he is averaging four shots on goal per game backed up by an elite 19.4 iCorsi/60 rating. Next comes the upside as he comes in with points in four straight and has five multi-point efforts in his last 10 games. On top of that, he gets a home matchup against the Habs who will be starting Antti Niemi who is coming off a start where he allowed six goals and has yet to hold a team under three goals in any of his six starts. I will be building around Eichel in all formats this afternoon.
Stack with: Jeff Skinner, Jason Pominville
Also Consider: Nicklas Backstrom(WSH) who has been centering the top line with Kuznetsov out of the lineup and Lars Eller(WSH) who is centering the second line and also skating on the top powerplay unit
Main Slate
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 10.88 DK - 4.06
Stamkos got off to a slow start this season with just five points in his first 10 games which really helped push his price down out of the top tier. Since those early struggles, he has started to heat up with 16 points in his last 12 games while also averaging over three shots per game. The Bolts now get an elite matchup with the #1 offense and #5 powerplay play going up against the struggling Blackhawks defense that ranks 26th while their penalty kill ranks 29th on the season. Take the value and fire up Stamkos in all formats tonight.
PP Stack with: Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov
Also Consider: David Krejci(BOS) who is now centering the top line and powerplay unit with Patrice Bergeron out for at least four weeks
Early Slate
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 9.37 DK - 4.18
If you have the salary to pay up for Ovechkin or Hall on this slate, that is definitely the way to go but it will be tough on a smaller slate so I will go a different direction here. One name that stands out in the mid-range of pricing is Andreas Athanasiou who has been a big part of the Red Wings turning things around after a terrible start to the season. Over his last 10 games, he has tallied 11 points but what stands out more than that upside is the floor he is providing us for cash games as he has 38 shots on goal in that time and I believe it is fully sustainable with his elite 22.5 iCorsi/60. The matchup doesn't jump off the page but the Capitals defense has been nothing more than mediocre this season ranking 22nd(3.24 goals against per game). Fire up Athanasiou in all formats today.
Stack with: Frans Nielsen, Gustav Nyquist
Also Consider: Rickard Rakell(ANH) who is underpriced on DraftKings and has 38 shots over his last 10 games
Main Slate
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 9.86 DK - 4.27
Despite hitting a season-high price tag on DraftKings tonight, Cam Atkinson is still an elite PTS/$ play at the wing position. I have mentioned many times about his high floor as he averages four shots on goal per game which is more than sustainable with an elite 19.7 iCorsi/60 and now he is also providing a ton of upside. He comes into tonight with four straight multi-point games and goals in five straight games and is now averaging over a point per game on the season skating on the top line and powerplay unit. The Leafs have been a good defense this season but have been slightly worse on the road meaning Atkinson is a good play in all formats.
Stack with: Artemi Panarin, Pierre-Luc Dubois
Also Consider: Craig Smith(NSH) if he is still skating on the top line for the Preds
Early Slate
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 6.09 DK - 2.8
I will turn to a PTS/$ value strategy on defense on the early slate and it starts with Brandon Montour of the Ducks who has been trending lately. Not only has he flashed upside with seven points over his last 10 games while skating over 22 minutes on the second pairing and top powerplay unit but he has also provided a nice balance of shots(27) and blocks(15) giving him a nice floor for cash games as well.
Also Consider: Andy Greene(NJ)
Main Slate
Opponent - DAL
Proj Pts FD - 10.21 DK - 5.1
Chabot has been one of the more surprising players in the entire league this season and while the price has started to go up the PTS/$ value is still there. He is second among defensemen in points(25) behind Morgan Rielly, seventh in shots on goal(65), and is getting a heavy dose of ice-time(23.4 minutes per game) with Erik Karlsson now out of town. On this slate, he has value on both sites with the second highest average fantasy points per game but is still just sixth in DraftKings pricing and a whopping 16th in FanDuel pricing.
Also Consider: Ryan Ellis(NSH) in all formats and Justin Faulk(CAR) in GPP formats in a PP stack
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NHL sheet for today:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LY6WGhgPLGzVLn8-wcLLCV4sQXqADchILcGjCnIDTAs/edit?usp=sharing