(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Welcome back hockey fans. While Monday only brings us four games, the slate lines up well for offense as two games(Nsh@Det, Ari@Edm) have a 6.0 Vegas total while the other two(Pit@Bos, Ott@Nyr) are sitting 6.5 tonight. Let's jump in and take a look at some of my core plays at each position.
Now’s your chance to get DFSR PRO, which will give you access to our NHL optimizer! Get started for free by clicking the button below.
First time with NBA? Be sure to read our free NBA Ebooks on building lineups, general strategy and more. We've got you completely covered.
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 14.77 DK - 11.51
Despite this being a smaller slate, we have some interesting decisions to make at the goalie position. Let's start with Pekka Rinne who is coming off his worst start of the season(6-5 loss vs. CGY) but had back to back shutouts going into that game and has held opponents to two or fewer goals in seven of his nine starts this season for an above-average .920 save %. The Preds are a better team on home ice but on this slate, it will be hard to ignore the matchup as the Red Wings have dropped 10 of their last 11 games while averaging just 1.7 goals per game. All things considered, Rinne is the safest option on this slate and in play in all formats.
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 18.72 DK - 14.9
I started out writing up Lundqvist as a GPP play but as I was doing that, the Rangers announced they will be giving Georgiev his third straight start. It is much deserved as he has been terrific lately stopping 61 of 63 shots against the Lightning and Predators who rank 11th and 2nd in offense respectively. On the season, he has been excellent with a .933 save % and the most impressive part is that he is performing this well while facing just over 33 shots per game(in his five starts) providing us a high floor and ceiling. He is in play in all formats.
Opponent - PIT
Proj Pts FD - 17.08 DK - 12.17
The Penguins have been playing much better defensively lately but there is no way I am fading arguably the best line in the league at home on a four-game slate. On DraftKings the decision is close between him and McDavid but I lean Bergeron overall with the $900 discount on FanDuel. The shot volume has also been much better than McDavid as well as Bergeron has 39 over his last 10 games backed up by a 18.1 iCorsi/60 rating on the season. All things considered, he is my top center on this slate.
Stack with: Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 9.81 DK - 6.84
The Rangers provide us with some much-needed value on this small slate and it starts at the center position with Ryan Strome. He comes into Monday red-hot with points in six straight games including three multi-point efforts. The shot volume is below average but the cost is low and he and the Rangers also get a plus matchup against the Senators who have struggled to a 3-8-1 record overall and have really struggled on defensively on the road allowing 3.8 goals per game. Fire up Strome in all formats.
Stack with: Artemi Panarin, Jesper Fast
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 17.94 DK - 12.57
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 12.05 DK - 8.48
The Predators are right at the top of my list on Monday in an excellent matchup against a Red Wings team that has lost 10 of their last 11 games. I mentioned their offensive struggles above with Rinne and the defense has been no better as they are giving up an average of 4.2 goals per game during that stretch.
My exposure to the Preds starts with Filip Forsberg who has tallied an assist with eight shots on goal in his two games since returning from injury. The shot volume is nothing new for Forsberg who has posted a ridiculous 20.1 shot attempts per 60 minutes since the start of the 2017-18 season. For value, I will still be turning to Calle Jarnkrok who may have lost some powerplay time in Forsberg's return but is still skating on the top line and has been consistent lately with six points in his last six games while averaging three shots per game. The correlation is not there if stacking for GPP but for cash games, I like stacking them together to get exposure to both top lines in this plus matchup.
Stack Forsberg with: Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund
Stack Jarnkrok with: Ryan Johansen, Viktor Arvidsson
Opponent - NYR
Proj Pts FD - 10.52 DK - 7.49
I know wrote up Georgiev at goalie but I just can't ignore the elite PTS/$ production Duclair has been providing lately. He not only has points in four straight games but 19 shots on goal as well and I don't think it is a flash in the pan as he is also averaging 20.6 shot attempts per 60 on the season. I will have exposure on in all formats but his best value is easily on FanDuel where he remains in the sub $4K range.
Stack with: Brady Tkachuk, Logan Brown
Also Consider: Leon Draistail(EDM) or Dominik Simon(PIT)
Opponent - OTT
Proj Pts FD - 16.19 DK - 12.39
Roman Josi sits easily atop the raw points projections in the system but from a PTS/$ perspective, I love the value with Jacob Trouba. He doesn't come with the same upside as Josi or Ellis but the floor is about as high as it comes as he has averaged 5.5 combined blocks/shots per game this season good for an average of 13.3 DK/13.7 FD points per game. Not that there isn't any upside there as he does skate on the second powerplay unit and gets a plus matchup against the Sens. He is my top D-man in all formats.
Opponent - NAS
Proj Pts FD - 8.37 DK - 6.63
On smaller slates like this, I am more likely to outright punt at least one of the two D spots and Patrick Nemeth most definitely stands out from a PTS/$ perspective in the system. The upside is most definitely limited as he gets little to no powerplay time but still averages over 21 minutes of ice-time with a combined 3.3 shots/blocks per game as well. He is near min price on both sites and helps us jam in a top goalie and top stack on this small slate.
Also Consider: Ryan Ellis/Roman Josi(NSH) or Justin Schultz(PIT)
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.
Week 12 DraftKings and FanDuel cash game NFL plays.
DraftKings and FanDuel Week 11 cash game NFL plays
Week 10 NFL cash game picks for DraftKings and FanDuel
Daily Fantasy DraftKings and FanDuel NBA Picks & Projections Playing NBA DFS Nightly? Join one…
Week 9 NFL DFS plays for DraftKings and FanDuel
Packed slate of NBA action on FanDuel and DraftKings