DFS NHL Short Slate Tactics for Nov 8 (Cheatsheet Substitute)

Below are the notes posted in slack for VIPs. Those of you with LITE memberships deserve access to this content, too. For some reason, access is being declined to the cheatsheet edit function, so for sake of efficiency, I’m putting this together for all our VIPs to get info out with enough time to process. Thank you for understanding.

11/08 Main Slate Notes – Cheatsheet

Goalie
Rask – Chalky with the -250, but you also saw what happened to some big favorites last night. He’s your cash goalie option, but can be stacked against for gpps.
Hellebuck – 2nd favorite on slate, but rather up and down by nature. Not typically a cash safe goalie, but on very limited slates like this one, it’s sort of ok.

Defense

Ethan Bear – Value play where you are going to need a couple tonight. Decent price, EDM defensemen are popping in most projections based on matchups, and gets you away from Klefbom/Nurse a little……but you can also play 2 EDM defensemen if you like. CORE CASH PLAY

Darnell Nurse – Solid floor, blocks shots and serves on top pairing. No need to overthink things tonight. The slate is wide open.

Oscar Klefbom – Putting all 3 defensemen on the list doesn’t mean don’t play any others. It means these guys, imo, are in the best spot and I’d be using them a lot in multi-lineup builds. And, I’d have one, if not two, in cash games.

Wings
Draisaitl – Cheaper floor, honestly strong upside, price-considered……where I’d start all my builds tonight both cash and gpp. CORE PLAY

Pastrnak – Probably highest upside on slate, but going to cost you. Will obviously be chalky too.

Chiasson – Another value-oriented play you are going to need to make things work. Access to top EDM scorers at fair pricing.
Miles Wood – Differentiates out of BOS and EDM while providing an “ok” shooting floor lately. Cheap for a reason, though….not super safe, but doesn’t kill you if he duds. CORE VALUE PLAY

Center
Nugent-Hopkins – Yes, more EDM. Pricing, small slate options, and matchup are dictating this for safer/floor builds. You can certainly look to get away from the Oilers tonight in gpps. But, in cash, you likely need exposure. RNH provides solid floor, access to top power play, and plays alongside James Neal who is having some kind of year compared to his career numbers.

Sean Kuraly – I hate recommending this play, and I hate 4th liners in general, but Kuraly gives some access to a powerful BOS offense and has been delivering 2-4 sog the past few games….so you do get a little something for your basement pricing. I don’t like 0s and your odds are good you don’t land on a 0 here. That said, he still sucks. CORE VALUE PLAY

Stacks
EDM2 – Pricing play here to fit other stuff around it. Access to PP1 through them and a good matchup.

BOS1 – Duh. Top potential every night. But, with limited options tonight, they force you to punt pretty hard. Should your punts pan out…..you might actually have some lower ownership if you can get all three. Sure, Marchand or Pastrnak might look scary on the sites with 30%+ ownerships individually. But, that doesn’t mean everyone ran the full stack.

GPP players – get pieces of the underdogs. NHL is wildly volatile, as you know, and you are rarely doing it wrong if you just stack against any chalk you find in hockey. Smaller slates make this type of contrarianism absolutely ripe because many times the chalk really concentrates like minnows in a puddle. Shoot those fish in the barrel with the most obvious contrarian play in the book……even if it’s a crap team on paper, do it anyway. More than 20% of the time, you will wind up thanking me in hockey.

Method 2 – Balance. Don’t even stack. Keep yourself to pairs only. If no team explodes tonight and we get a bunch of 4 and 3 goal games, you reap the benefits where everyone else thinks you have to stack to win. Spread way the hell out and not only increase your floor but laugh at the suckers on low scoring nights.

MME players…………….do both. Stack and don’t stack. Cover your bases. Short slates like this mean you can get more accomplished than usual. But, MME and gpp players need to think about those 3rd and 4th lines. Those tend to be difference makers on short slates. Hint – Go to RS or a dailyfaceoff and look at the L5 and L10 numbers for teams. You will find the 3rd lines actually shooting…..focus on them.