Hello folks and welcome to my NHL Game Breakdown for Fanduel!
For those of you who are new to the DFS Army, new to NHL DFS, or just like to read different articles, my name is Matt Dell’Agnese and I’m an MLB and NHL coach and writer for the DFS Army. Hit me for a follow on twitter at mdellagnese14. If you are a DFS Army VIP member you will know that I’m fairly active in our NHL rooms and around to help coach for the amazing sport of Hockey. I was brought to the DFS Army in January and I wrote Painting the Black for baseball, analyzing pitching picks for the slates. If you’ve played MLB, NHL is very similar. The sports are both volatile and players can put up a 0 or low score at any time. Don’t get discouraged if you get cold, just keep with your process and the players will come around. For cash games, you want to correlate players who skate on the same line or same Power play line, in GPPs stack up the full lines. Thankfully, Chop has asked me to help out with our NHL content articles!
I’m not going to banter you with a bunch of words, let’s get right into this slate! First I will say though, it is just a 3-gamer and anything can happen. Lean more towards GPPs, 3-mans, and 100-mans on this slate today!
Nashville Predators @ Chicago Blackhawks
Pekka Rinne (P) @ Colin Delia (P)
Goalies: I’m favoring Rinne tonight in this matchup. Nashville is healthy and their defense is amazing. Delia has been amazing, but he has a tough task against the Preds. Delia will be lower owned though and if he starts can be solid in tournaments.
Offense Lines:
NSH2: NSH1 will be very popular, but I slightly prefer NSH2. They should see CHI2 a ton as Chicago’s 2nd line normally matches up with the opposing 2nd or 3rd line in home games. They are also the line allowing the most goals in the last 10 games for the Hawks. This line is Fiala, Sissons, and Craig Smith
Patrick Kane: I’m not interested in much from CHI tonight, but Kane is the key in their offense. If they are able to get a few power plays, he could be on the scoring end of one of them. Pair him with Alex DeBrincat for the PP1 exposure.
Defense:
Mattias Ekholm: My favorite D-Man in this game is Ekholm and he’s been on fire of late. He’s involved in scoring and assisting on the Preds goals, averaging 22 FD points in his last 5 games.
Roman Josi/Ryan Ellis: A way to get some NSH1 exposure. I prefer Josi and his higher shot volume tonight, but Ellis is a lower cost if you need it.
Erik Gustafsson: The only Chicago defense guy I want tonight. He has 30 SOGBS in his last 10 games and is averaging 19.5 FD points. He also plays on the PP1 with Kane and Cat.
Colorado Avalanche @ Calgary Flames
Semyon Varlamov (P) @ David Rittich (P)
GOALIES:
Neither are confirmed right now and if I was picking one it would be Rittich. If Smith starts, then I’m off goalies in this game entirely. Both offenses are lethal and Calgary is one of the hottest teams in the league right now.
Offense Lines:
CGY1: CHALK ALERT. They will be chalky, and I don’t mind eating it. They are the hottest line in the last 10 games and COL has been leaky. Gaudreau, Monahan, Lindholm.
CGY PP1: This brings in Matthew Tkachuk and Mark Giordano into the mix. both great plays tonight. The Avs are averaging 3.5 penalties per game in their last 10 games and average close to 4 this year on the road. I’m a little scared for whoever is in the nets for COL.
COL1: DUH. Did you think I was going to forget about them? They did just play last night, but they will need to score if COL wants to stay in this game. CGY1, while scoring a ton of goals, are also allowing 7 goals in their last 10 games. Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen. IF SMITH IS CONFIRMED, I LOVE USING COL TONIGHT MORE.
Defense:
Tyson Barrie: They will need him to continue his hot play of late. He’s taken 30 shots in his last 10 games and 20 in his last 5. He’s heating up. My favorite way to get COL1 exposure.
Mark Giordano: Already mentioned I love him above. He’s on fire with 26 blocks and 26 SOG in his last 10 games to go with 1 goal and 5 assists.
Noah Hanifin/Travis Hamonic: Both give you some exposure to the offense for CGY. They are both cheap and have been playing well of late.
Ottawa Senators @ Anaheim Ducks
Anders Nilsson (C) @ John Gibson (P)
Goalie:
Gibson is my goalie tonight. The Senators offense is brutal right now and are allowing over 4 goals per game in their last 10 games. Gibson may not see a ton of shot volume, but the safety for a win is there and the possibility of a SO tonight.
Offense Lines:
ANH1: I’m seeing they will be getting Rakell back on L1 tonight and I’m intrigued. In their home games, they normally see the opposing team’s 2nd line (near 50% of the ice time) and OTT2 has allowed the most goals of the lines for OTT. Anaheim’s offense has been brutal lately, but something will give tonight. Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell, Daniel Sprong. Sprong is dirt cheap and has 28 SOGBS in his last 10 games and has 17 in his last 5 along with 2 goals. IF RAKELL IS STILL OUT, Kase should remain on the top line and will be firmly in play.
OTTAWA: For OTT, I’m only going with 1-off’s. I don’t like their offense and they don’t have Matt Duchene for this road trip. Mark Stone will need to pick up his game and he’s been the hottest Senator of late.
OTT3: This line could be very sneaky. Dzingel and Ryan have been sneaky good lately and Jean-Gabriel Pageau could get more minutes with Duchene out. Over the last 5 games, they combined with 31 SOGBS and both averaging over 16 FD points in the last 5 games.
Defense:
Not too many of these defensive players are doing much for their teams. If I had to choose two guys, it would be Brandon Montour and Hampus Lindholm for the Ducks. Cam Fowler is being projected very high on the RS for this game and is cheap in just his 2nd game back.