Welcome to another NHL season of the combo tag team of myself and Rob Geriak, who provided a solid Point Shot article for last nights two game slate. The format most nights will be just one article, especially early in the season while there are multiple other sports still going on. As we get into later December and January then you may see two articles on some of the larger slates.
Thoughts on tonight’s slate & NHL DFS in general
AM34, McDavid, Nate MacKinnon, Draisaitl…. We got em all on this slate tonight probably for the 1st of about 67 times as they always seem to coincide with each other. Early in the year we have the annual DraftKings tradition of guys being cheap and so building a core lineup that has AM34, McDavid and MacKinnon is actually possible tonight but not necessary. One thing that I have found over the years in NHL DFS is that if you are playing a single bullet lineup every night you need to be patient and trust your process.
What I mean by that is, there will be plenty a night where fading the big name skaters pays off because their full line build doesn’t come through and you can pivot down to a better 3 man build that costs less and allows for the proper one offs around them. In that scenario, stick with my stack section and the key one offs. If you are building a second lineup which you want to try and double up your money each night (Cash/SE/H2H) then the Key skaters is the starting point. Mix and match them certainly, but that should hopefully help with how and where to go each night.
You’ll find that I love hunting for goals and assists from DEF in the 4k to 6k range.
You’ll find that I love a two man C-W correlation with a cheap DEF player as well as my core 3 man stack. Finding a C+W+D combination who are around 6500-6200-4700 as an example allows for a great build around that for key one off wingers and maybe that pay up player on the night.
You’ll find that I do not mind taking risks on cheap goalies.
You’ll find that I never tout the Penguins.
And you’ll find that whenever I miss a T.J. Oshie multi-goal night I get really upset…
The NHL Dashboard is your source for up to date information. Accessible on mobile and cleaner on the Desktop this will help you build winning line-ups. If you have comments, feedback, complaints or requests please send them to me in Discord, on Twitter or via telegram with some hot attractive woman who has a nice accent.
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Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina HurricanesThe ‘canes are one of the pre-season picks to win the Stanley Cup this season when you get past the Avs and Lightning default love. This is a good team no doubt who always has played very well at home and should be able to put up a 4+ spot on Columbus.
- C- Sebastian Aho
- W- Teuvo Teravainen
- D- Brent Burns
Anaheim Ducks
Quack! Quack! The young Ducks are good and this team is is one I would bank on being a sleeper to start the season. Everything obviously centers around the core of Zegras and Terry leading the way and I would prefer to back them in home games against not so dominant teams — like Seattle.
In their three meetings last year the Ducks put up 7, 4 and 3 goals vs Seattle and I think the Zegras-Henrique-Vatrano line is going to be flashy and productive for DFS purposes. Buy low on them now and look at Troy Terry as an excellent value who skates on PP1 with Zegras.
- C- Trevor Zegras
- W- Frank Vatrano
- W- Adam Henrique
- W- Troy Terry
Toronto Maple Leafs
Opening night in the NHL means Auston Matthews is probably gonna score, right? Well, sure, that’s nice and all if you want him as a one off and I wouldn’t even mind mixing up the stacks. But I don’t see Toronto putting up a massive score tonight, so I prefer stacking up the more contrarian second line on the road which also has PP1 exposure.
- C- John Tavares
- W- William Nylander
- D- Morgan Reilly
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KEY ONE OFFS
Connor McDavid
He is the best player in hockey at home and sub 9k. Hell, he is sub 8k. I will ride and die with McDavid over MacKinnon and Matthews as my top one off tonight.
William Nylander
The gary to AM34’s Ace is once again with Tavares at full strength. Stick with the Slapshot theory of preferring second line forwards on the road and they should see more favorable match-ups.
Quinn Hughes
Looking to utilize D-Men vs Edmonton once again. Pace should be generous for Blocks and SOG attempts
Troy Terry
I love the Ducks in general and while Terry isnt getting full time with Zegras, the two should connect on the power play.
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CENTERS
- Trevor Zegras
- Austin Matthews … Play as a one off or with the second line to correlate PP
- Sebastian Aho
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WINGS
- Teuvo Teravainen
- David Pastrnak
- Mikko Rantanen
- Adam Henrique
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DEFENSE
- Brent Burns
- John Klingberg
- Morgan Rielly
- Justin Schultz
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TOP LINE(S) VALUE
Players projected on the top lines who grade out as being solid value plays.
- Troy Terry – Anaheim – 3700
- Josh Anderson – Montreal – 3800
- Tanner Pearson – Vancouver – 4400
- Oliver Bjorkstrand – Seattle – 4600
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John Gibson (Ducks)
The Ducks are better than the Kraken IMO and are going to be a very good team to ride early in the season. Gimme the Ducks to win and Gibson to shine.
Frederik Andersen (Hurricanes)
One of two things happens in this game. Either Andersen wins the game with a modest 25+ save night or he loses in a game where Carolina is playing poorly and gives up too many SOG which could net him a boost in saves despite taking the loss. Either way, it’s enough for me to back the higher priced favorite
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Slap Shots …
LINE LOCK(S) OF THE NIGHT:
Zegras – Henrique – Vatrano (Ducks)
FAVORITE ONE OFF FORWARDS:
Connor McDavid
William Nylander
FAVORITE ONE OFF VALUE:
Troy Terry – With full Anaheim stack or with CAR/TOR stacks
Evan Rodrigues
Josh Anderson
FAVORITE ONE OFF DEFENSEMAN:
Quinn Hughes
TOP BETS:
Anaheim Ducks -1.5
Washington Capitals -155