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 @LowOwnedWR and you can find me out on Twitter talking hockey and football, even a little WNBA. But, you’ll really find me in our VIP coaching forums inside coaching and detailing plays and strategic hockey maneuvers in an attempt to make our members better, more fundamentally sound players. If you are looking for it, we cover it as a team! Follow me, follow us, interact with me, interact with us, we welcome it all.
NHL DFS At A Glance
The first thing I do when starting my research is to look for strong teams facing weak defenses. I want the best odds I can find to score goals. I like the old Corsi number, as it denotes any shot attempt directed towards the net. It doesn’t matter if this shot attempt goes wide, gets blocked, or finds the back of the twine. You can’t score if you don’t shoot. I also love the “High Danger” metrics. These shots come from the slot (between the dots) and off quick passes or rebounds. They are what they say they are, and teams allowing a lot of high danger chances also tend to give up goals in bunches….perfect for the DFS player to attack.
If you have questions regarding these numbers or this chart, don’t hesitate to ask me on our coaching forums. Simply tag me (same name as my twitter name) and let’s get on the same page. First and foremost, I’m here to teach people wanting to learn the DFS side of this glorious frozen sport.
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Boston Bruins
Odds: BOS -145, 6.0 o/u
Toronto Maple Leafs: Matthews, Reilly, and Kapanen all have at least 11 shots on goal so those are the main plays from the Leafs to me. As is this case for the Leafs every slate until they change lines around, Tavares and the rest of TOR1 will take a backseat to TOR2 ownership wise, so they are the better GPP play. On a two-game slate, the Matthews/Tavares stack is very much in play as that will be a unique way to roster the Leafs.
5 star plays – Matthews, Tavares, Reilly
4 star plays – Kapanen, Johnsson, Marner
Cash viable – DO NOT PLAY CASH ON 2 GAME SLATE
GPP Sleeper – Nylander
Boston Bruins: You should not need me to tell you that BOS1 is a good play here, but in case you do, BOS1 is a good play. Outside of them, the DeBrusk line has been playing good hockey with 9 high danger chances between DeBrusk and Krejci, and they get a nice boost at home.
5 star plays – Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak, Krug
4 star plays – Krejci, McAvoy, DeBrusk
Cash viable – DO NOT PLAY CASH ON 2 GAME SLATE
GPP Sleeper – Johansson
Colorado Avalanche @ Calgary Flames
Odds: CGY -175, 6.0 o/u
Colorado Avalanche: Barrie, MacKinnon, and Landeskog are all top 7 in shot attempts through the playoffs so far, making them the cream of the crop plays from Colorado. With the line swinging back in Calgary’s favor hopefully it will take some ownership off of them but I doubt it after them taking a 3-1 lead. Rantanen scored two goals last game, including the game-winner but him not being on COL1 should keep his ownership reasonable. If you are looking to play him and Colorado’s other studs I recommend taking out Landeskog or adding him to the other 3 for a 4 man stack. The other move, while not as optimal, would be pairing him with his linemates Colin Wilson, who is on PP1, and Soderberg.
5 star plays – MacKinnon, Barrie, Landeskog, Rantanen
4 star plays – Wilson, Kerfoot, Johnson
Cash viable – DO NOT PLAY CASH ON 2 GAME SLATE
GPP Sleeper – Wilson
Calgary Flames: After their blow up last game, I do not have a lot of faith in them here, as they really haven’t produced tangible offense this series. With the line moving heavily back towards them, the goal is it will create some chalk and we will fade it with success.
5 star plays – none
4 star plays – Tkachuk, Giordano
Cash viable – DO NOT PLAY CASH ON 2 GAME SLATE
GPP Sleeper – Bennett
DFS NHL Goalies for Today:
Philipp Grubauer (GPP): Leading the playoffs in save percentage and playing a Flames teams that look to be burning out, he is my favorite goalie on the slate.