The Spotlight Plays of the Day will feature a couple of Awesemo’s top plays of the day, followed by additional analysis from myself, Jake Hari, aka Tommienation1 on DraftKings and FanDuel.
There are a ton of individual plays to choose from tonight on this jam-packed 10-game slate, but we’ll start with a couple of the top guys, and then a couple values per usual. Reserve your entries now because contests are filling quickly today!
Top-Tier
Nikita Kucherov ($8,100 DK/$8,900 FD)
“You’ll have to break the bank to fit him in your roster, but Kucherov has one of the highest raw point totals on the night in this matchup against a Devils’ team that is on a second half of a back-to-back.”
There isn’t much to be said here, but that’s not how this article works, so here is some obvious analysis. If you’re playing a cash game and you can afford Kucherov, you should try to play him. He should be healthily-owned in tournaments tonight, as he plays on arguably the best line going right now, and he shoots at one of the highest rates in the league. The matchup against the Devils is an excellent one, as they’ve allowed the 3rd-most Corsi Against per 60 minutes (CA/60) and 5th-most Scoring Chances Against per 60 minutes (SCA/60) in March. He’s an awesome play in all formats tonight, and it’s reflected in Awesemo’s rankings, as Kuch gets an “A” points grade.
Jeff Carter ($5,700 DK/$6,400 FD)
“Carter gets a matchup against the defensively-challenged Edmonton Oilers and he’s been shooting and creating a lot of chances lately, making him a nice pay-up option on DraftKings.”
Assuming the Oilers will have the McDavid line avoid Anze Kopitar, Carter should see a fair amount of time against the young phenom tonight, which is great news. The McDavid/Ryan Nugent-Hopkins duo has allowed over 22 High-Danger Chances Against per 60 minutes so far, which spells trouble if they indeed matchup against Carter’s line. Despite Kopitar’s recent dominant performance, it’s Carter who leads the Kings in shot attempts (28) and Scoring Chances (20) over their last five games. Throw in some top power-play time against the league’s worst home penalty-kill, and Carter (“A” points grade) is one of the best low-owned options in tournaments tonight.
Values
Alex DeBrincat ($4,400 DK/$5,800 FD)
“DeBrincat is a nice value as he has moved up to the second line for the Blackhawks, and their team total is 0.4 goals above their season average on the road against the Islanders.”
The ‘Cat is one of the top values on the slate playing with Vinnie Hinostroza and Brandon Saad at even-strength. We know how bad the Islanders are defensively, allowing the fifth-most Scoring Chances Against per 60 minutes and 3rd-most High-Danger Chances Against per 60 minutes this month, and a high-volume shooter like DeBrincat should flourish in this matchup. He’s got a great chance to get on the scoresheet at even-strength and/or against the Isles’ league-worst (74.5%) penalty-kill.
Trevor Van Riemsdyk ($3,000 DK/$3,800 FD)
“Van Riemsdyk’s and the Hurricanes have a great matchup on the road in Ottawa, who have one of the worst defenses at even-strength and the power-play. For near-minimum salary on both sites, he’s a fantastic value.”
TVR saw 21 minutes of ice time in Thursday’s tilt against the Coyotes, and if he sees that again, which he very well could if Justin Faulk is forced to miss this game, he becomes one of the top values on the slate. He even saw top power-play time with Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal in the last game, and if he does again here, it’s hard to pass him up in any format on DraftKings especially.
