NHL DFS: Monday's DraftKings & FanDuel Best Picks & Top Stacks 2/22

There is an eight-game main slate with a couple tough matchups to break down. Let’s dig in and see if we can find you some value tonight. In this Power Plays article, the goal is to highlight several NHL DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy hockey tournaments. Using Awesemo’s premium proprietary player projections and the top stacks tool, we will highlight several players and situations that will help your team rocket up the leaderboard.

As always, be sure to check our premium Slack for crucial fantasy hockey lineup information in the 20-30 minutes leading up to every game’s lock. With the COVID-19 pandemic still looming, teams have taxi squads and are ready to fill positions daily as teams scratch players. Our Slack chat is hands down one of the best places to get fantasy hockey news and line change notifications.

Join AWESEMO+ today!

Use accurate data and advanced tools crafted by the #1 DFS player.

NHL Power Plays: DraftKings + FanDuel DFS Picks | Feb. 22

NHL DFS Picks: Forwards

Auston Matthews ($9,000 DraftKings / $9,200 FanDuel), A/B/A Grades

Matthews has been a cheat code the entire year. He has 18 goals and 11 assists in just 18 games, all while averaging over 21 DraftKings points a night. Matthews has also been very close to the shots-on-goal bonus nightly. The Maple Leafs are Vegas bookmakers’ favorite play by far tonight, which means they will likely be popular. Toronto has a 3.8 team total, and they are laying -173 on the moneyline. The Flames have been giving up almost 4 goals a game over the last 10 games, and with the Leaf’s changing up the power-play units, you can get different with your lineups.

Nathan MacKinnon ($8,800 DraftKings / $8,400 FanDuel), A/D/A Grades

I normally don’t just write up the top two studs, but I thought it would help if I gave my thought process about tonight’s slate on these two. If you’re looking for a swerve off Matthews, MacKinnon makes a lot of sense at a lower ownership. The Avalanche just played the Golden Knights on Saturday in the Lake Tahoe outdoor game that was postponed after the first period and resumed at midnight EST. The game turned out to be a great game if you stayed up to watch it. MacKinnon had a nice coming-out party with a goal and 2 assists while hitting the shots-on-goal bonus. That just goes to show you that elite players can beat tough matchups at any night. This game won’t be outside, so the ice will be normal and guys won’t be tripping on themselves. MacKinnon should see the William Karlsson line most of the night, and that matchup is a lot easier to get by than the Vegas top line. There’s a lot of other good spots to pick from tonight so I wouldn’t go out of my way to jam Av’s 1, but I think you could get good leverage on the Av’s tonight.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($4,700 DraftKings / $4,600 FanDuel), E/D/C Grades

Pageau has been beating up on depth lines all year, and tonight is no different. He makes for a fine value one-off tonight against Buffalo. Pageau has tallied 10 points in 17 games while averaging just under 3 shots a game. The Sabres depth line has been pretty horrible this year. Pageau should match up with the Cody Eakin line, who has a 39% Corsi-for while allowing 37 shots against, 17 high-danger chances and 3.13 expected goals against per 60. It’s a plus matchup for Pageau, and he helps you get the studs in your lineup tonight.

Latest NHL DFS Content

NHL DFS Picks: Wingers

Kevin Fiala ($6,700 DraftKings / $6,200 FanDuel), B/C/A Grades

Fiala has been on fire since coming back from his three-game suspension. The winger has hit the shot bonus in the last two games while tallying 3 goals and an assist. Fiala has formed some good chemistry with solid two-way pivot Joel Eriksson Ek. The Wild’s top line has good numbers, with a 50% Corsi-for, 30 shots and over 12 high-danger chances per 60. They will match up with the leaky Sharks tonight, and they will get plenty of chances. Fiala is the only guy on the top line that gets top power-play time, but Ek will see time on the second unit. The Sharks are the eighth-most short-handed team in the NHL, and they have also struggled to kill penalties, with a 76.7% kill rate.

Conor Garland ($6,900 DraftKings / $5,400 FanDuel), B/C/A Grades

Garland has been single-handedly bankrolling shots-on-goal prop bettors. He’s averaging just under 4 shots on goal per game, and he gets a good matchup against the rebuilding Ducks tonight. Arizona is playing at home, so they will get last change. That means that Garland will likely stay away from the Ryan Getzlaf line, in turn giving him plus matchups all night. The Coyotes numbers have come down a little bit, but with the Ducks being as bad as they are, Garland is in a fine spot.

Sam Reinhart ($4,500 DraftKings / $5,300 FanDuel), D/C/C Grades

Reinhart being shifted to the top line is a massive bump for him, especially at $4,500. He will be lining up with Jack Eichel and Taylor Hall again. When the trio was together earlier in the year, they had a 61.74% Corsi-for while creating 37 shots and over 10 high-danger chances per 60. Reinhart has managed to tally 6 points in the last four games, and he looks like he has a pep in his step out there. The Islanders have been a pretty disciplined team when it comes to penalties, so I wouldn’t look to jam in the power-play spot, but the full correlation is nice.

NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen

Matt Dumba ($4,600 DraftKings / $4,100 FanDuel), D/B/A Grades

Dumba has been frustrating to roster this year. He has been inconsistent with his shot volume and his point production. That said, his ice time has steadily increased over the last three games and he’s playing over 22 minutes a night. This is a good spot for a blueliner like Dumba. San Jose is giving up the most shots on goal on the slate, and their penalty kill has been subpar. With the Sharks being the eighth-most short-handed, Dumba will likely see an uptick of power-play ice time. Dumba is quarterbacking the second power-play unit, and he’ll get fed to let bombs go from the point.

Jakob Chychrun ($6,100 DraftKings / $4,300 FanDuel), C/C/A Grades

Chychrun has been playing over 25 minutes on a nightly basis, and he is producing 4.5 shots/blocks per game. He’s also quarterbacking the top power play unit, and even though the Ducks penalty kill has been pretty stout, I’m still interested in a stack addition with Nick Schmaltz and Garland.

Top Stacks

Toronto PP: Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner – Morgan Rielly

Minnesota 1: Jordan Greenway – Joel Eriksson Ek – Kevin Fiala

Arizona 1: Clayton Keller – Nick Schmaltz – Conor Garland

NY Islanders 1: Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal – Jordan Eberle

Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.

Looking for more DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy hockey and NHL DFS picks content? We have loads of fantasy hockey articles, data, DraftKings and FanDuel cheat sheets and more on the Awesemo NHL home page. Just click HERE.

Author

Jeff Votteler

As an avid competitor, Jeff "Votts" Votteler grew up playing all types of sports. But as he grew up, he gravitated towards hockey and played at a very competitive level. Fantasy sports became a passion of Votts' over 10 years ago, which in turn moved over to the emerging world of daily fantasy sports for the last five years. Votts likes to dive into the analytics of all the sports, where he can turn over those value "rocks" that players depend on to win on a daily basis.