New Jersey Devils Vs. Washington Capitals
The first game on tonight’s slate is a complete mismatch between the New Jersey Devils and the Washington Capitals. The Capitals come in with a team total of four and are -315 favourites to crush the Devils. You’ll definitely want to get a piece of the Capitals in DFS, or you risk falling behind.
Let’s start with the obvious-- WSH1. The top line of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson will be very chalk on this slate, and for good reason. The trio will cost a fortune to roster, but they are worth the price tag. Ovechkin can be used as a single bullet in cash games if you don’t want to go full stack.
A secondary option that could work is Nicklas Backstrom and T.J Oshie. Both players play together on the second line and on the top power play unit. It’s going to be hard to fade Ovi, considering how elite his matchup is, but the Backstrom-Oshie ownership should be lower, so that’s something to consider.
On the back end, John Carlson is a great choice, but there’s no need to pay his price tag in cash games unless you want to go with a full power play stack. There are other value defencemen on this slate that should be considered before him.
Assuming Holtby gets the star for the Capitals, he becomes the goalie to play on this slate. It’s never the best idea to pay up for the top goalie on the slate, but considering just how much better the Capitals are than the AHL Devils, if you’re solely chasing the win, Holtby gives you the best chance at doing that. You’ll have to get creative with your lineup to fit Ovechkin and Holtby, but that’s not a terrible problem to have.
Minnesota Wild Vs. Florida Panthers
Both teams are playing back-to-back games, but this isn’t a matchup that should be avoided. The Wild are coming off a 3-0 victory against the best team in the NHL, while the Panthers failed to get past the Boston Bruins, losing 4-3 in regulation. If you are looking to stack one team from this matchup, it’s for sure the Minnesota Wild. They’ve played much better as of late and they are scoring goals, everything you want in DFS.
Everyone is going to be looking at Jason Zucker after his hat trick the night before, and at $4600 on DK, he’s going to be a chalk option. He’s also seeing time on the top powerplay, so he’s an excellent single-bullet option in cash games. If you want to go with a mini-stack, Ryan Donato is playing on the top line and top power play unit. He’s $3600 on FD, so you can play both Zucker and Donato as bargain plays and still have enough salary left to build a competitive lineup. If you want to go with a full line stack, Eric Staal is the centerman playing between them.
I mentioned value defensemen earlier, and we have one in this game. Brad Hunt is seeing top power play minutes and he’s only $3500 on DK. He’s averaging only 1.3 FPPG over his last ten games on DK, but he’s a value play on a short slate that will allow you to spend elsewhere. All he needs to do to hit value is pick up a point, and even though he’s only seeing about 12 minutes per game, his price tag is just low enough to use him in cash. He’s not a safe play, but he’s is a value play.
On the flip side, the Panthers do have a decent matchup on paper, but there’s no reason to go crazy stacking this game. The top line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov is a line to consider in a GPP, but that’s about it. If you want to get extra bold, Mike Hoffman joins the trio on the top power play unit, so you can go with a four forward power play stack.
Winnipeg Jets Vs. Carolina Hurricanes
This matchup is going to shave ten years off my life. The Jets are a good team, but they like to play like trash on the road. There’s no question that they can score goals, but the Carolina Hurricanes are actually a pretty good team defensively, allowing only 28.2 SA/G, the lowest in the NHL. That being said, Carolina has a 3.7 team total, and that just doesn’t seem right. They love to take a bunch of shots on goal, but we’ve all be burned by Carolina as some point this season because they weren’t able to score goals. If everyone wants to look at the Hurricanes as a good DFS play, we will go the other way and look at Winnipeg.
As much as WPG1 is the line to target, WPG2 is where the value is at. Kyle Connor, Kevin Hayes and Nikolaj Ehlers have an excellent matchup on paper and you get exposure to both power plays going with that line. You can roster Hayes-Ehlers for just under 10K on DK, which isn’t terrible on a short slate. There is a chance that WPG does absolutely in this game, so I’m a little afraid to go all out on that top line in cash games, especially when WSH1 is going to be heavily owned. If you have to pick just one line to target, the second line has the best value.
On the back end, Jacob Trouba is under 5K on DK and is probably my second favourite defenceman on this slate. The Hurricanes like to fire the puck at the net, and Trouba is on the ice for a large part of the game. He can rack up the shots on goal, and also block some shots. He has six points over his last ten games, so he’s a safe cash game option to consider.
Laurent Brossoit is confirmed to get the start for the Jets today, and as much as he could get lit up in this game, the fact that he is going to see a large volume of shots is enough to seriously consider him in cash games. His price tag on DK is $7900, so you can fade him there, but on FD, he’s $7800, which is a ton of value. Again, he’s not a safe play, but a value play.
Montreal Canadiens Vs. Anaheim Ducks
The Habs have surprised everyone by being decent this season, but they still can’t find a way to win in California. They are coming off a 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks and now have the task of beating the Ducks. Let’s be honest for a moment-- the Ducks are a hot mess, but they actually have a chance tonight. Everyone is throwing money at Montreal winning tonight, but trust me, they aren’t going to dominate the Ducks at home.
Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are basically free across the board, but they are exceptionally cheap on DK. They are the two best players on the team, and anything that happens offensively will start with them.
Now here is a super bold combination that could work-- Sam Steel and Rickard Rakell. Steel is $3300 on FD and Rakell is $5700. While I do prefer the Getzlaf/Perry combination, the second option will go way under the radar and their matchup on paper is decent, enough to be a cash game option. ANA2 is a high risk play, but they could win you a GPP. If you are going very heavy on the Washington Capitals, you’ll need some value elsewhere, and that second line gives you all the value you need.
Hampus Lindholm is $3900 on FD and is playing on the top power play unit. You could go with a Perry-Getzlaf-Lindholm power play stack and still have salary left to burn. At that value, it’s going to be real hard to say no.
In goal, John Gibson is likely to get the start for the Ducks. He is just as elite as Carey Price, but he’s playing on a terrible team. The Habs are fourth in S/GM (33.4), but 22nd in Sh%, which is why Gibson is a very good play on this slate. He’s $7100 on DK, so I don’t know how you say no to that.