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.
Dallas Stars @ Nashville Predators
Odds: NSH -140, 5.0 o/u
Dallas Stars: Benn, Seguin and, Radulov are back together on the first line and Jamie Benn is quite the upgrade from Dickinson. Seguin and Radulov have been playing very well and the addition of Benn to that line will only help. Zuccarello is on PP1 so I like him for value and upside.
5 star plays – Seguin, Radulov, Benn
4 star plays – Heiskanen, Klingberg, Zuccarelo
Cash viable – Seguin, Benn, Zuccarelo, Radulov
GPP Sleeper – Zuccarello
Nashville Predators: Even at home this Predators team is just not one I am wanting to roster. The power play has been horrendous for months and they are not producing high danger chances against Dallas. Bishop had been a little shaky but he is now coming off a game where he stopped 34/35 shots, as I said, just not a lot of love worth showing to the Preds.
5 star plays – none
4 star plays – none
Cash viable – none
GPP Sleeper – Arvidsson
Carolina Hurricanes @ Washington Capitals
Odds: WAS -145, 5.5 o/u
Carolina Hurricanes: After going down 2-0 this Carolina team has done a great job showing us what they are made of. The Capitals have the least amount of high danger chances during these playoffs. CAR1 presents a whopping amount of value and upside between Aho-Teravainen-Niederreiter but they will most likely be one of if not THE chalkiest line on the slate. Foegele has goals in his last 2 games, he and Staal make for a good GPP mini stack. Despite having 5 assists in the last 3 games, Slavin continues to go low owned, adding him to any of your Carolina stacks is a great move.
5 star plays – Teravainen, Aho, Niederreiter
4 star plays – Staal, Foegele, Slavin, Hamilton
Cash viable – Aho, Teravainen, Niederreiter, Slavin, Foegele
GPP Sleeper – Williams
Washington Capitals: Now down TJ Oshie, at least for this game, the Caps upside is very much limited outside of their stars. They just have not been able to produce enough scoring chances and or shots against Carolina. Outside of Ovechkin and Backstrom, there really isn’t anything standing out here.
5 star plays – Ovechkin
4 star plays – Backstrom, Carlson, Wilson
Cash viable – Ovechkin
GPP Sleeper – Eller
Winnipeg Jets @ St. Louis Blues
Odds: STL -145, 5.5 o/u
Winnipeg Jets: I still cannot believe they blew that game, but here we are. Ehlers left the game after blocking a shot and did not return, really hurting the upside of the Jets. I felt like they would have taken this series if they won the last game with Binnington being “rattled”, but after them blowing that lead all the momentum now shifts in the Blues favor who are at home and need one more win to advance. I believe the Blues end this series tonight and for that reason, I am off of the Jets, as this series has been mostly low scoring.
5 star plays – none
4 star plays – none
Cash viable – none
GPP Sleeper – none
St. Louis Blues: O’Reilly and Schenn scored last game which was great news for the slumping STL1. This team rises and falls based on how well that line does and that is the line I will be targeting here. David Perron remains on PP1 making him a nice one off if you are not looking to go heavy on the Blues.
5 star plays – O’Reilly, Tarasenko
4 star plays – Schenn, Pietrangelo, Parayko, Perron
Cash viable – O’Reilly, Schenn, Tarasenko, Perron
GPP Sleeper – Perron
Quick Read: NHL Cash Game Basics – Get The Fundamentals First
DFS NHL Goalies for Today:
Jordan Binnington (GPP): Only allowing 4 goals over his last 70 shots faced, Binnington is staying true to his word and does not look worried. Look for him and the Blues to close this series out tonight.
Ben Bishop (BOTH): As has been the case for the whole series, Nashville just keeps throwing the puck on net and it is resulting in no high danger chances and easy fantasy points for Bishop.