Small slate tonight after a big slate last night. Tends to happen in the NHL on the regular. This slate is kind of gross, with one somewhat smash spot, and then a bunch of mostly dart throwing spots. Joey Daccord is my favorite goalie tonight if he starts in net, because his upside is massive. On such a small slate I am going to only give the cheap grinders to our subscribers at the DFSARMY; however, I will give you a bonus stack with my top 3 stacks of the slate.
Correlated Snipe #1 – Dylan Larkin – Alex Debrincat – Patrick Kane
The Wings may go overlooked tonight because they are up against the most expensive goalie on the slate in Anthony Stolarz. Stolarz has had an amazing season, and even though I do think he is actually good, his performance this year is not sustainable. If he was always this amazing, he would not have been a career backup. This top line for the Wings is affordable, and also all 3 are on the top powerplay unit as well. Auston Matthews is out, and even though he is known for his goal scoring, he is actually one of the best defensive centers in the league as well. Max Domi slots in at center and over his career he has sucked at both faceoffs and defense. Tavares at center is one of the slowest skaters in the league, so the Leafs top 2 centers are exploitable in my opinion, especially with a Detroit offense this fast and dynamic.
Oct 14, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin celebrates a goal by right wing Alex DeBrincat against Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Jonas Johansson during first-period action on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Detroit, Michigan. Mandatory Credit: Kirthmon F. Dozier-USA TODAY Sports
Correlated Snipe #2 – Dylan Strome – Alex Ovechkin
These 2 are both on fire, and are at home against a Penguins team that has no goaltending or defensive identity. Washington is going to be the most popular stack on the slate, but it for the most part is good chalk. We can throw in a Connor McMichael or a John Carlson to add to this stack if we want to, but Ovechkin is the bones of the stack. I don’t love the salary of Tom Wilson, but he has the potential to smash as well. The Penguins are a mess and they need to tear it down. The longer they try to hold on to hope with these players that should be in a retirement home, the longer their rebuild is going to be.
Correlated Snipe #3 – Mitch Marner – Matthew Knies
With Matthews out, these 2 remain on the top line, however, Knies slots in on that top powerplay unit. Knies is too cheap and is actually very good. He is a great skater, and is a very powerful athlete. Marner is everything. He is line 1, powerplay 1, penalty kill 1, the Leafs are going to rely on him a ton in this spot. These guys are simply too cheap for what they’re asked to do, as well as how talented they are.
