NHL DFS Picks, Projections, Lineups & Stacks Today: Monday Playbook
Published: Mar 17, 2025
Welcome to our Monday Playbook and NHL DFS picks today!
The NHL regular season ends in exactly one month, which means teams are down to their final 15 games or so. It's crunch time, so let's jump into some NHL DFS projections!
NHL DFS Picks & Daily Fantasy Playbook Today, March 17th
We're seeing a few line changes here or there around the league as teams are trying to grab every point they can.
Those changes can offer some value for NHL DFS picks today with lower-priced players moving up in the lineup quickly.
NHL DFS Pick'em Picks on Underdog With Promo Code ALARM
- Mason Lohrei Higher Than 1.5 Shots on Goal
- Brayden Point Higher Than 0.5 Points
- Auston Matthews Higher Than 3.5 Shots on Goal
Mason Lohrei and the Boston Bruins come in with a modest 2.9 implied goal total but there should be plenty of offense against the Buffalo Sabres. Since the start of March, the Sabres have allowed 3.42 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the worst in the league. Lohrei is the defender on the first power-play unit and comes in with 26 shots on goal over his last 10 games. They should look to drive the puck to the net against this bad defense.
Brayden Point has six points in his last 10 games and the Tampa Bay Lightning are in a spot versus the Philadelphia Flyers where he can add to that total. The Flyers are another team struggling defensively right now with 3.07 Goals allowed per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations since the start of March, which is the third-worst in the league.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have hit a bit of a bump in the road with five losses in their last six games, they simply need to get things going at home against the Calgary Flames. Let's turn to their captain, Auston Matthews, who needs to ramp up the shot production against a very susceptible defense, which has allowed 62.27 Total Shot Attempts per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations since the start of March, which is the third-worst in the league.
Monday Salary Cap DFS Picks
Goalie Of The Day: Filip Gustavsson - MIN
Filip Gustavsson is very affordable tonight and the matchup against the Los Angeles Kings isn't one we need to be overly worried about. At face value, Gustavsson's production has been okay recently but the defense in front of him is very solid and as a team, the Wild have allowed 1.71 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the sixth-best in the league since the start of March.
As for the Kings' offense, they are struggling right now with only 1.81 Goals scored in those same situations since the start of March, which is the sixth-worst in the league. Gustavsson has a good matchup and a great salary tonight.
Play Of The Day: David Pastrnak - BOS
When it comes to true goal-scoring potential, David Pastrnak is one of the best in the league and given the matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, we have to put him at the top of our lists tonight.
As noted above, the Sabres have allowed 3.42 Goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations since the start of March, which is the worst in the NHL. Pasta is a high-volume shooter with multi-goal potential every single night. He's probably going to be very chalky but seeing him post 20+ DK points is nothing to shy away from.
Value Play Of The Day: Casey Mittelstadt - BOS
Casey Mittelstadt has been solid since being traded to the Bruins with three points and six shots on goal in four games. They slotted him right onto the second forward line and the first power-play unit, which is an awesome role for a player at only $3.8K on DraftKings.
I'll continue to mention how awesome this matchup is against the Buffalo Sabres, who are a complete disaster on defense this month and really for the entire season.
Stack Of The Day: CBJ 1 (Yegor Chinakhov, Dmitri Voronkov, Kirill Marchenko)
Just to note, I also really like the Tampa Bay Lightning's first power-play stack today, as they come in with a 3.5 implied goal total against the Philadelphia Flyers. However, that stack of Point, Guentzel, and Kucherov, is very expensive. I will certainly have some exposure to them tonight but we should also look to mix in some Columbus shares.
This Columbus trio is very, very affordable tonight and can frankly be used as a bit of a secondary stack alongside Tampa, Boston, or Toronto. This trio hasn't played together a ton this year, but per DFO, they were strong last season, out-scoring opponents 13-8.
Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D | G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Auston Matthews  $8,700 |  David Pastrnak $8,600 |  Zach Werenski $7,000 |  Andrei Vasilevskiy $8,200 |
 Tage Thompson $8,200 | Nikita Kucherov $8,900 | Victor Hedman $6,400 | Joseph Woll $8,000 | |
| Brayden Point $7,700 | Brandon Hagel $7,900 | Rasmus Dahlin $6,500 | ||
| Jake Guentzel $7,200 | ||||
| William Nylander $8,000 | ||||
| Medium |  Nazem Kadri $7,000 | Kirill Marchenko $6,800 | Owen Power $5,300 |  Filip Gustavsson $7,500 |
 Nico Hischier $7,300 | Jesper Bratt $7,100 | Brock Faber $5,000 | ||
| Adam Fantilli $6,300 | Matt Boldy $7,000 | Morgan Rielly $5,200 | ||
| Anthony Cirelli $6,000 | Timo Meier $6,400 | |||
| Boone Jenner $6,300 | ||||
| Low | Elias Lindholm $5,700 | Yegor Chinakhov $5,400 | Mason Lohrei $4,700 | |
| Casey Mittelstadt $5,400 | Bobby McMann $5,200 |  Brandt Clarke $4,700 | ||
| Nick Paul $0 | Andrei Kuzmenko $5,100 | Oliver Ekman-Larsson $4,600 |
Stacks
| Blue Jackets | Kirill Marchenko | Dmitri Voronkov | Yegor Chinakhov |
 DraftKings | 5900 | 5100 | 3700 |
| Fanduel | 6800 | 6200 | 5400 |
| Lightning | Jake Guentzel | Brayden Point | Nikita Kucherov |
| DraftKings | 7500 | 6900 | 8700 |
| Fanduel | 7200 | 7700 | 8900 |
| Blue Jackets | Kirill Marchenko | Dmitri Voronkov | Yegor Chinakhov |
| DraftKings | 5900 | 5100 | 3700 |
| Fanduel | 6800 | 6200 | 5400 |
| Lightning | Jake Guentzel | Brayden Point | Nikita Kucherov |
| DraftKings | 7500 | 6900 | 8700 |
| Fanduel | 7200 | 7700 | 8900 |
Player News
Dolphins signed No. 13 overall pick DT Kenneth Grant to a four-year contract.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Grant will sign his contract today. The former Michigan defensive tackle is expected to fill a major void left by Christian Wilkins, who left for the Raiders in the 2024 offseason. Grant totaled 32 tackles, three sacks, and seven TFLs in his final season at Michigan and excelled at stopping the run while also generating 27 pressures in his final season, per PFF.
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.