Welcome to the DFS Army NHL Game Break!! You have to start your research somewhere, and often times going game by game thinking about matchups and key players is the first step in our process. I’m your buddy @Choppodong and you can find me on both Twitter and YouTube with supplemental commentary and teaching. But, you’ll really find me in our VIP coaching forums inside coaching and detailing plays and strategic hockey maneuvers across all our main sports. If you are looking for it, we cover it! Follow me, watch me, interact with me, I welcome it all.
NHL DFS Matchup Rankings L10 Games
Last 10 games sample size. NHL Home teams in white, away in gray. GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against. MU Score is a combined metric showing how one matchup tonight compares to the others on paper. Green is good, red is bad. We are looking for the best matchups of teams scoring goals facing teams allowing goals. Not exactly rocket science, so don’t overthink it. PPMU is another telling metric, but I save that one for VIPs. Just ask me in our coaching forums…
My plan is to describe the NHL games some and drop quality players in these lists. You will get my player pool (VIPs might get bonus plays in our coaching forums later). My cash players are those I would happily use in head-to-head formats, 5050 contests, small leagues, and even some larger leagues. They will anchor my lineups in all formats and contain a lot of value plays and/or punts. The core gets you to the dance. The slightly funky plays off your core push you into the gpp money. Your core is everything! Even gpp-only players need a core of solid production to build from.
Philadelphia Flyers @ Toronto Maple Leafs
Odds: TOR -190, 6.5 o/u
Philadelphia and Toronto carry the highest game scores on the night at 69 and 71, respectively. By far, these numbers lead the slate and we need to exploit the scenario. Game stacks completely viable, and all the big names with the odd value play mixed in for gpps. Goalies – Neither in potential shootouts being a lot of our skaters should be coming from both sides of this one.
5 star plays – Laughton (C), Lindblom (W), Coutrier (C)
4 star plays – Giroux (W), Gostisbehere (D), Raffl (W), Van Reimsdyke (W)
Cash viable – Laughton, Coutrier, Sanheim (D)
GPP Sleeper – Laughton/Raffl/Gostisbehere
5 star plays – Rielly (D), Tavares (C), Marner (W), Matthews (C)
4 star plays – Muzzin (D), Johnsson (W), Nylander (W)
Cash viable – Marner, Rielly
GPP Sleeper – Ennis (W)
Carolina Hurricanes @ Columbus Blue Jackets
Odds: CBJ -130, 6 o/u
Carolina is another viable option tonight with a 62 MU Score of their own. The slate really drops off from here. Carolina has posted 3.5 goals per game in their last ten, but Columbus has played well defensively. It’s not a super hot matchup…..it’s just what we have ranking above the trash the rest of the way tonight. Goalie – I worry a little about Vegas favoring Columbus, so I’d keep him to gpps.
5 star plays – Aho (C), Neiderreiter (W), Williams (W)
4 star plays – Teravainen (W), Pesce (D), Faulk (D), Hamilton (D)
Cash viable – Aho, Pesce
GPP Sleeper – PP1 won’t be “sneaky” though
Columbus is hard-pressed for scoring right now. I might look at a Josh Anderson, but Carolina plays tough defense. I’m really not going to like much on this slate the rest of the way… Goalie – For gpps, sure. Bob can rise up, but he can also crash and burn.
5 star plays – Anderson (W), Werenski (D)
4 star plays – Jenner (C), Atkinson (W), Jones (D)
Cash viable – none
GPP Sleeper – CBJ3 (Jenner/Anderson/Foligno/Werenski)
Vegas Golden Knights @ Dallas Stars
Odds: VGK -130, 5.5 o/u
Vegas travels to see a defensive Stars club allowing only 1.8 goals in their last ten while sporting a hot goalie. I’ll pass for the most part. Goalie – I’m probably not on the goalie here, either.
5 star plays – none
4 star plays – none
Cash viable – none
GPP Sleeper – Stone/Karlsson/Theodore for PP1 correlation, if you must.
Dallas isn’t an offensive juggernaut, but would be my preference if targeting this game at all. Roope Hintz is priced right, and the defensemen in Klingberg and Lindell can jump into the play, but there just isn’t a lot to like here for the prices. Goalie – I would love Bishop, but being Dallas played last night, we should see Khoubidin. Not as exciting, but not a horrible gpp pivot from the chalky Calgary goalie tonight.
5 star plays – none
4 star plays – Radulov (W), Seguin (C), Hintz (W)
Cash viable – Hintz
GPP Sleeper – DAL1
What a weekend for NBA!! Our coaches have done a lot of explaining, and our members have done a lot of winning. The edge clearly resides in coaching. Content and tools are nice, but how can you exploit your opponents when you don’t have the experts teaching you how to apply the content and tools? That’s where DFS Army steps in. Become a VIP and see what all the fuss is about…..#RaiseYourEdge!!
Anaheim Ducks @ Colorado Avalanche
Odds: COL -185, 5.5 o/u
Anaheim is a no-go from me outside a couple one-offs. Just not any offensive support on even medium sized slates like tonight. Goalie – probably not.
5 star plays – none
4 star plays – Rakell (W), Silvferberg (W), Sprong (W)
Cash viable – Silvferberg
GPP Sleeper – PP1 flashed a few weeks ago…..
I would lean more on the Colorado side here, but it’s tough to find some skaters producing. I’d keep them to gpps being Anaheim does have decent defensive tendencies, too. Goalie – Probably won’t implode your lineup, but I’m not sure the upside is there to win you a gpp.
5 star plays – Rantanen (W)
4 star plays – Barrie (D), MacKinnon (C), Compher (W)
Cash viable – Rantanen, Barrie
GPP Sleeper – going to have to get lucky, but I’d look at COL1 with Barrie
New York Rangers @ Calgary Flames
Odds: CGY -305, 6 o/u
New York is a major underdog tonight and people will be on Calgary. Your best gpp play is to stack Rangers against that goalie and hope for the best. Goalie – If you really want to max the narrative, run the NYR goalie, too. You are not hoping for a blowout, just that you pick up the win here and don’t give up too many goals in the process.
5 star plays – none
4 star plays – none
Cash viable – none
GPP Sleeper – Strome/Namestikov/Shattenkirk….centered on the PP2
Calgary will be chalky tonight based on the lazy researcher’s obvious -305 coming from Vegas. Oh…..and the massive Johnny Hockey game he hung on the Devils last time out. Tonight’s slate may dictate we chase some points here, even though I don’t like making a habit out of doing so. Goalie – Oh yeah……chalky and heavily favored. Probably the safest cash goalie on the slate where win, lose, or draw he can’t hurt your lineup. But, in gpps, the fade is definitely in play….any goalie but this one and hope he loses.
5 star plays – Tkachuk (W), Gaudreau (W) ….welcome back, Johnny….feels like it’s been forever.
4 star plays – Backlund (C), Monahan (C), Giordano (D), Hamonic (D), Lindholm (W)
Cash viable – Tkachuk, Giordano, Hamonic
GPP Sleeper – running both Gio/Hamonic is likely enough to set you apart here.
New Jersey Devils @ Vancouver Canucks
Odds: VAN -160, 6 o/u
I can’t say enough about the trainwreck that is Jersey. But, I will say they aren’t completely devoid of DFS plays. Always sneaky, and sometimes surprise. On a slate like this, they become worth a look again. Goalie – in a lower scoring affair, it might work out for you. But, it’s a long shot.
5 star plays – none
4 star plays – Coleman (W), Severson (D), Zajac (C), Agostino (W)
Cash viable – Zajac, Agostino, Coleman, Severson
GPP Sleeper – NJD1 with Severson….then go guns blazing with a big expensive stack for all the glory.
Vancouver has Edler, Boeser and maybe some cheaper punts like Biega and Leivo right now. There isn’t much else to like. I’d stick with one-offs here and just take the value without overexposing myself. Goalie – Not the safest win, but not terrible if trying to get off the Calgary chalk with your goalie.
5 star plays – Edler (D)
4 star plays – Boeser (W)
Cash viable – Edler, Leivo (as a punt)
GPP Sleeper – not stupid on this slate, but low odds at a stack here helping you win the whole gpp.
Here is a skater-stats view of our NHL Research Station page. My videos typically walk you through the slate and point out how I quickly decipher the best games on the slate. However, as a VIP, you unlock access to this page, and you get team stats with large and small sample sizes to pick up trends, all the basis statistics, pricing, scoring lines, power play lines, scoring production including shots and blocks, and you get it all in one easy to read view. 99% of the stats I reference are directly from this single page. Your research has never been easier!!
Hockey is incredibly similar to baseball. Are you getting spring fever? Fire up a quick refresher with The Top 5 Stats You’ll Only Find At DFS Army!
Favorite NHL DFS Stacks for Tonight…
What is NHL without stacking?!
PHI2
TOR1
TOR PP1
CAR1
CGY1 combos using Gio or Hamonic
GPP Sleeper stack = NJD1 – Zajac/Severson/Coleman – cheap production no one ever runs to……exploit it.
Hopefully, those pointers get you started in your research. I will be bouncing in and out of our NHL coaching room all day, with the rest of our coaches, to guide anyone with questions. I plan to drop a slate video showing our research process most days, and with a little time, our VIPs request shorter, strategy videos to help them shore up fundamentals, too. All free videos can be found on my YouTube channel, but all VIP videos need the key to unlock the vault.
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I hope to see you inside soon. Have a blessed day.