The NHL took a much needed night off last night after almost 3 weeks of non-stop action.
Three teams have already played 10 games, with one of them (Calgary) in action tonight for their 11th. With such a packed schedule in a physically demanding sport, these nights off are necessary and should probably become more routine going forward. It’s in the athlete’s best interests.
As DFS players, we should also embrace these breaks when they come.
If you’re like me, then you’ve played NHL DFS every single day since opening night. If you’re taking it seriously, then it can get tedious, especially if things aren’t going your way.
This is when a break being forced upon you can be more of a blessing than anything else.
For me personally, I am still trying to figure out the best (AKA most profitable) way to approach this season. After three weeks, it’s clear that this season will be different than the last several, with both the play on the ice and the rule changes on FD.
Because of these factors, it’s important to remember not to force anything. If you’re not feeling it one night, then lay off. Maybe watch some games objectively or do some research to pick up information that will benefit you down the line.
Also, don’t be afraid to try new techniques. One of the things I am starting to focus on is moving way from stacking two full lines in a game, as i don’t believe this is the best approach anymore. I haven’t seen as many “line goals” this season where a player scores and is assisted by both line mates.
So, even if one of your main targets has a good night, his linemate throwing a goose egg will cost you in the standings. You’re probably already beginning to notice this. So have some fun trying to work around this issue and build better lineups to stay ahead of the ever-changing DFS strategy.
Tonight we have a full slate of 12 games. Every team should be rested and playing to potential. Keep that in mind, and good luck finding the goals!
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Now let’s take a look at tonight’s slate.
7 p.m. St. Louis Blues at New York Rangers
If nothing else, the Rangers have proven they can score goals with the best of them, tallying 35 through 9 games this year.
Leading the charge is rookie Jimmy Vesey who is tied for the team lead with 5 goals.
He has proved to be worth the courtship New York pressed on him this summer, and he’s a complete player that will be a bright spot for a long time to come.
Vesey has a nose for the net with the instincts you can’t teach, I would like to see him shoot the puck a bit more, he has just 16 so far, but he will see plenty of opportunities playing on the top line with Rick Nash and Derek Stepan.
I like this line as a very high upside GPP play and borderline cash play, even with a tough opponent such as St. Louis.
The Rangers also look to get Chris Kreider back and he should be a solid play in all formats, as he was hot as Margot Robbie before his injury, scoring 3 goals with 7 points in 5 games this year. His line mates, Mats Zuccarello and Mika Zibanejad are GPP options as well, and should be lower owned than the top line.
If you’re looking for a punt option, New York offers two in Michael Grabner and Brandon Pirri. They have 5 and 4 goals, respectively, while playing on different lines in the bottom 6, however Pirri does see time at the top of the umbrella on the top power play unit.
St. Louis is also looking healthy, and if it weren’t for the matchup i’d be all over the top 6 in cash games. For tonight, we will call them GPP plays as well.
The STL line is back together, Jaden Schwartz, Vlad Tarasenko, Jori Lehtera have built tremendous chemistry over the past year. They’re seeing second line minutes and both Tarasenko and Schwartz see time on the PP1.
I like the STL line a bit more than the top line of Paul Stastny, Alex Steen and David Perron at the moment. This line loses something without David Backes and I’m not sold on Perron being the solution just yet.
On the back end, i still like Kevin Shattenkirk a lot. He has 3 goals and 6 points so far this year, and he’s still anchoring the Blues high-powered PP1. He works as a standalone and also stacked with 2 of the forwards if you choose not to go with a full line stack.
7 p.m. Dallas Stars at Columbus Blue Jackets
Do the Columbus Blue Jackets suck or are the Columbus Blue Jackets actually a decent team?
I think maybe it’s both. Maybe both is happening at the same time.
They’ve booked a couple impressive wins this year, namely a 3-2 decision over Chicago and most recently a 4-0 decision over Anaheim on Friday.
They’ve also looked completely lost in losses to San Jose (3-1) and Boston (6-3).
But they’ve played to a 3-3-1 record, even with coach John Tortorella constantly shuffling all 4 lines.
So how do we take advantage of this information as DFS players?
We follow the trends.
Nick Foligno is leading the team with 8 points through 7 games, and he’s playing on a line with Alex Wennberg (7 points) and Brandon Saad (5 points). Of these 3, Wennberg and Foligno see the PP1 minutes.
This has been the Blue Jackets most consistent line. And with them playing a still-beat-up Dallas team (who they beat 3-0 nine days ago), they have a sneaky good matchup for goals.
Also be aware of Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski. Tortorella has turned the top power play unit over to the 19-year old and he hasn’t disappointed with 2 goals and 6 points in 7 games. He also shoots the puck. A lot.
Werenski has 24 shots this year, which is over 3 per game. Be ahead of the curve with this kid and get him in your lineups. He’s a solid play in all formats.
I’m also optimistic that Columbus will finally be the place that center Sam Gagner gets to stick. He is a very talented player that has found some bad luck with stints in Edmonton, Arizona and Philadelphia.
Right now he is listed as a fourth line wing, but centering the top power play unit. He has steadily seen an increase in playing time since the first game, and responded with 2 goals on Friday, one on the power play.
He’s not a definite play just yet, but keep an eye on him. And if you want to take a chance with him as a standalone punt in a GPP, he just might be the under owned flier that you need if he pops.
As for Dallas, it’s been real easy to key in on studs Tyler Seguin and Jamie Been with injuries to four of their regular forwards.
The Stars have gone 1-3-1 in their last 5 and have been shut out twice.
Seguin and Benn were cash game staples for the last 2 years. They’re still capable of multi-point efforts, but on a full slate like tonight, there are more reliable options at the moment.
They should still get some GPP looks, but they will be expensive. Luckily their linemate Patrick Eaves should be cheap and could give you exposure to the top line and also the top power play unit.
7:30 p.m. Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers
Boston is another team that’s catching the injury bug early this year, but only David Backes is removed from their top 6.
Meanwhile Florida finally got some secondary scoring in a 5-2 win on Sunday against Detroit. The second line and a huge game, with Colton Sceviour scoring a hat trick and Vincent Trochek chipping in multiple points. Rounding out the line was Reilly Smith with a solid game as well.
It was good to see, as Florida has been playing a defense-first system, and it reminds me how deep they can be, especially once Nick Bjugstad and Jonathan Huberdeau return from injury.
Keep an eye on this offense going forward, because once they are fully healthy they will be a steady under owned cash game play.
For now, the top line is still a solid play in all formats. Jonathan Marchessault continues to roll working with Jaromir Jagr and Alex Barkov. Marchessault also scored in Sunday’s win and has 11 points in 9 games. Get him in your lineups with a good matchup tonight.
I also really like Roberto Luongo in net tonight should he get the start.
Boston is struggling to score. They have 18 goals in 8 games, and 6 of them came in one game against Columbus.
That leaves 12 goals for the remaining 7. Not a very good average.
The only players contributing right now for the B’s are Brad Marchand with 10 points in 8 games and David Pastrnak with 8 points in 7.
After these two, the scoring drops off a cliff with Backes being third on the team with 4 points and he’s missed the last 3 games.
7:30 p.m. Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators
Any hockey fan should look at this matchup and like it for goals immediately.
I think both sides of this game can be targeted and you’ll fall in to a couple gino’s.
Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, and Lee Stempniak have been blazing hot to start the year. Skinner has 5 goals and 11 points while Rask has 4 and 10.
This line is a play in all formats with a solid matchup tonight.
I watched Carolina play on Sunday in a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia, and the player that stood out the most was 19 year-old Sebastian Aho. His stat line was 0 points and -1 but he was all over the puck and fired 4 shots.
He has 5 assists through 9 games early this year, and the potential for production is there. He’s a cheap GPP option along with line mates Joakim Nordstrom and Jordan Staal.
The Canes have also turned the top power play unit over to sophomore defenseman Noah Hanifin. This impacts Justin Faulk’s value significantly.
They each have 6 points this year, but Faulk has 3 goals to Hanifin’s 0.
However, at his price point, Hanifin is probably one of the best defensive options in NHL DFS right now.
For Ottawa, we all know that defenseman Erik Karlsson is a play in all formats. He has 8 points in 8 games and he blocks shots as well.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s try to dissect this offense a little bit.
The top 6 has been pretty balanced. Right now the top line is Kyle Turris centering Mike Hoffman and Tom Pyatt. The production has been decent with this line, Turris has 6 points and Hoffman has 5, but not consistent enough to look to them in cash games.
I like Hoffman a lot, because even though he only has 1 goal, he shoots the puck a lot. He leads the team with 30 shots, nobody else has 20. Because of this reason, he and his line mates are the better option in Ottawa tonight.
That’s not to say that the second line should be overlooked. Right now it’s Derick Brassard with Bobby Ryan and Ryan Dzingel.
Dzingel has actually been the most productive Sens forward with 7 points, but most of those were accumulated in a bottom 6 role. Ottawa is giving him more minutes with talented players, and he, Ryan, and Brassard should definitely get some GPP consideration.
7:30 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders
Tampa started he year 5-1 despite falling behind early in most of their games. It looks like that habit has come back to bite them now as they’ve lost their last 3 and currently sport a record of 5-4.
In spite of all this, Steven Stamkos continues to find the scoresheet with 6 goals and 10 points in 9 games.
Stamkos is a play in all formats tonight, and if you’re looking to stack he’s playing with Nikita Kucherov and Vlad Namestnikov. Kucherov has 8 points in 8 games and has played well this season wherever the Bolts have put him.
Tampa’s second line really needs to get going. Center Tyler Johnson has just 4 points in 9 games and is playing to a -8. That’s awful for a player of his caliber, but it doesn’t affect us as DFS players anymore.
What does affect us is just 2 goals on 12 shots. They’ve shuffled the lines a bit and he’s now playing with Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat. This line is a low end GPP option at best.
Here’s an up-and-coming stack for you: Islanders John Tavares and Josh Bailey.
They’re playing together on the top line and also on the top power play unit. I watched their 5-1 win over Toronto in it’s entirety on Sunday. It took them until the last minute to get on the scoresheet (A beautiful goal by Bailey assisted by Tavares), but the scoring chances were flowing.
Bailey and Tavares were taking turns getting behind the defense and finding open ice. Tavares had a breakaway in the second period but Jonas Enroth made a great save. I’m also impressed with Tavares’ work along the wall. He wins a lot of battles in the corners which lets him get the puck to his line mates in the middle of the ice.
They are a play in all formats tonight.
So is Isles second line center Brock Nelson.
Nelson leads the team with 9 points in 9 games, but his line mates are not keeping the same pace. Andrew Ladd has just 1 point in 9 games, but he’s way too talented of a player to stay off the scoresheet for long. Look at these two with Shane Prince as a GPP option that will most likely be under owned tonight.
7:30 p.m. Edmonton Oilers at Toronto Maple Leafs
Here’s another game that looks like there’s goals on the table.
The Edmonton Oilers at 7-2.
Stop and read that again.
It seems like for the last 5-10 years the Oilers have been one of the most exciting teams in the league. Loaded with young talent and capable of scoring, but it wasn’t quite clicking as the roster would turnover year after year.
It looks like they’ve finally found the right mix.
The top line of Connor McDavid, Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle have played amazing together. They’re a play in all formats with the matchup they have tonight, but keep in mind that they will most likely be the chalk play of the night
If you’re looking to go against the chalk and still take advantage of this matchup, look at the Oilers third line. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is centering Benoit Pouliot and Zack Kassian.
They get plenty of playing time and all 3 of them have 4 points in 9 games. Those numbers don’t jump off the page, but they’re finding chemistry together and RNH and Pouliot also see PP2 minutes. This is a good GPP play tonight.
Andrej Sekera runs the PP1 for the Oilers and is one of the better defensive options tonight. He’s a play in all formats.
You could say that the Leafs have just as good a matchup tonight getting the Oilers at home. They might not be the favorite to win, but they should get scoring chances in what figures to be a wide-open game.
The thing i love about this Maple Leafs team is that they shoot the puck. Those shots are guaranteed points for your fantasy rosters.
William Nylander has actually overtaken the scoring lead with 11 points in 9 games. He has 31 shots on goal. His linemate Auston Matthews has 6 goals and 10 points to go with 36 shots on goal.
These two are a play in all formats tonight.
The second line is also a solid GPP option and i’m going to keep rostering them until they win me one.
James vanRiemsdyk, Mitch Marner and Tyler Bozak are an exciting line to watch play. JVR and Marner each have 6 points, and they also love to shoot the puck. JVR has 31 shots on goal while Marner has 24. This is a high-upside GPP play.
8 p.m. Washington Capitals at Winnipeg Jets
Normally I’d be all over this Winnipeg offense but the Capitals are just one of those teams i hate to pick against. They’ve allowed only 17 goals in 8 games while scoring 22.
So what do we do about the Capitals? This offense is a powder keg and need to be used tonight against a weaker Jets team.
Second line wing Marcus Johansson is the hot play for Washington right now with 5 points in the last 2 games. He’s skating with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson.
Obviously Alex Ovechkin is always an option as long as he’s lacing them up. His line tonight figures to be with Nick Backstrom and Justin Williams.
8 p.m. Buffalo Sabres at Minnesota Wild
This is a good matchup for the 6-2-1 Wild who are 4-0 at home this season.
For starters, Devan Dubnyk is a play in all formats tonight if he’s in net.
So is defenseman Ryan Suter who is crushing the league this year with 10 points in 9 games.
The most consistent line for Minnesota so far this year has been Eric Staal, Charlie Coyle and Joel Eriksson Ek. Staal and Coyle each have 7 points, and Eriksson Ek keeps finding his way onto the scoresheet as well with 2 goals and 3 assists.
This line, especially Staal and Coyle, are a high-ceiling GPP play and borderline cash.
Also getting looks should be Zach Parise with 6 points in 8 games. More importantly he gets the guaranteed points as he’s fired 28 shots this year to lead the team. He’s playing with Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund.
8:30 p.m. Calgary Flames at Chicago Blackhawks
Which Chicago team will show up tonight? And maybe more importantly, which Calgary team will show up tonight?
The Hawks are 4-1-1 this year at home, so odds are that the good team shows up tonight.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are still playing together on the top line, but the best line has been the second unit of Artem Anisimov, Artemi Panarin, and Marian Hossa.
These 3 have combined for 26 points in 9 games this year, and are a solid play in all formats tonight against a Flames team that has let in 35 goals, tied for worst in the league.
Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook both see PP1 time on the Hawks blue line. Keith has 7 points this year and Seabrook has 6. Keith is probably the better option because he shoots more, with 24 shots to Seabrooks 14.
In the early season, the Flames are actually playing better on the road going 2-1-1 away from Calgary.
Look at the top of the Flames stats and you’ll see the familiar Johnny Gaudreau leading with 7 points, but again, the more impressive line has been the second line.
Sam Bennett and Troy Brouwer each have 3 goals and 6 points, and have been generating tons of scoring chances.
Bennett is one of those puck magnets, the play always seems to find him, and he has above average hands to finish off plays. Look at these two along with linemate Kris Versteeg as a GPP option even with the matchup.
9 p.m. Nashville Predators at Colorado Avalanche
This is a tricky game to call because the Preds are a much better team on paper than they’ve played to this year, going 2-5-1 through 8 games.
Meanwhile the Avs are 4-3 with just 19 goals for and 19 goals against.
I want this to be a wide-open game because of the talent on both sides, but something tells me that it won’t be.
Instead, there are a few GPP options here, and if I was picking a side I’d go with Colorado’s Matt Duchene and whoever he’s playing with. Currently It’s Gabriel Landeskog and Jerome Iginla.
A good twist in Colorado is that Erik Johnson is now running the PP1 along with Duchene, Landeskog, Iginla and Mikhail Grigorenko.
Johnson doesn’t have the puck rushing skills that Tyson Barrie has, but he has a decent shot and he also picks up blocks. It’s a good time to use Johnson in your lineups as he can pick up points with the talented power play unit and also get you the guaranteed points for blocks.
The Predators have been shuffling the lines in an attempt to find goal scoring. It looks like they’ve opted to stack a line as Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and James Neal have been skating on the first line in practice since Saturday’s 4-1 loss in San Jose.
This line is a high-upside GPP play, but they’re not scoring at a steady enough clip to be used in cash games just yet.
The Preds have also broken up their top defensive line of PK Subban and Roman Josi. It makes sense because they’re playing to a -7 and -6 respectively, and they also bumped Subban off the top PP unit.
Josi will be the PP1 QB along with the forwards from the top line and Mike Fisher. These five players are the only ones i’d consider for GPP lineups in Nashville.
10 p.m. San Jose Sharks at Arizona Coyotes
I’ve been using the Sharks Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns as a stack to moderate success over the last week and a half.
These two are obviously fantasy studs, as Pavelski, a forward, and Burns, a defenseman, see a ton of ice time together and they have combined for 75 shots in 9 games between them.
The reason i’ve been stacking them together is because they’re expensive so it’s tough to stack a full line, but also because Pavelski’s line mates have lost some of their value with the new rules on FD.
Joe Thornton has a respectable 8 points in 9 games. He’s playing to a +3 with 3 power play points. These are great numbers and usually would lead to cash game value, but what i’m seeing is that the +3 doesn’t matter any more and the poweplay points add very little. Add to this that he has taken just 6 shots on goal through 9 games, and his only real value comes from assisting on goals by Pavelski or Burns.
So while this stack still can add points for you, Pavelski (11 points, 4 power play points, 30 shots) and Burns (10 points, 2 power play points, 45 shots) add much more value to the fantasy scoresheet and should be stacked together wherever possible, especially with a solid matchup against the Coyotes tonight.
This isn’t the best matchup for the Coyotes as Arizona’s offense is based on speed while San Jose plays more of a slower control game. Because of this I’d say Arizona’s talented young forwards are a fade tonight, but will have plenty of opportunities to make it into your lineups this season.
10:30 p.m. Anaheim Ducks at Los Angeles Kings
This matchup is always fun as these teams hate each other and if you’re watching you’ll see a physical battle.
This doesn’t always lead to scoring though, and both of these teams are struggling to score lately, as the Ducks were shutout 4-0 buy Columbus in their last game, and the Kings were shutout 3-0 by Chicago in theirs.
Look for another low scoring, tight-checking game tonight, and it might be a good matchup to pick a winning team and roster their goalie.
I think i’d go with Anaheim, as LA has been running with backup tenders and Josh Gibson has played pretty well for the Ducks, even though he hasn’t enjoyed the early season success that he’d want.
Best of luck tonight and those of you who are VIPs I will see you in the DFS Army SlackChat!