With the NHL reshuffling games because of COVID-19, we have a split slate with seven games in total. There’s a two-game early slate that locks at 5 p.m. EST, followed by a five-game main slate. For the purpose of this article, we are going to stick to the five-game main slate. 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.
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NHL Power Plays: DraftKings + FanDuel DFS Picks | Feb. 8th
NHL DFS Picks: Forwards
Auston Matthews ($9,000 DraftKings/$9,300 FanDuel), A/A/A Grades
Matthews was shut out for the first time this season against the Flames on Monday. He still managed to rattle off 3 shots on net with over 24 minutes of ice time. When the Leafs took line rushes before the game, we were alerted that Sheldon Keefe decided to load up the top line. I thought to myself, “A line of John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Matthews is not a good idea.” It made the rest of the depth weaker, and with the Maple Leafs being on the road, Geoff Ward will have the pick of the litter when he wants to shut down the Leafs top line. He used the Matthew Tkachuk line as the primary shut down role. The Matthews line was held to 37.50% Corsi-for with a 4-shot differential at 4-to-8. Keefe decided to change things up in the third period, but it was too late at that point. The Leafs ended with Alexander Kerfoot playing on that top line, and they dominated possession. In the 5 minutes together, the trio had a 5-to-1 Corsi differential, 4-to-0 scoring chances and 2-to-0 high-danger chances. If Joe Thornton doesn’t go tonight and they stick to Kerfoot playing wing on that top line, I think the Leafs will live up to the Vegas expectation of their 3.6 implied total.
Joel Eriksson Ek ($5,400 DraftKings/$4,800 FanDuel), Grades
Going the contrarian route could pay dividends today, as the top stacks will likely be popular. Eriksson Ek has been a great two-way pivot that teams will look to avoid if they can. That will likely be the case tonight with the Nathan MacKinnon line. We will likely see the Nazem Kadri line face off with the Wild top line, which is a plus matchup. Since being assembled, the Wild top line has a pretty small sample, but it looks promising. With a 54% Corsi-for, they are creating 41 shots, 36 scoring chances per 60 and 13 high-danger chances, all with 3.14 expected goals per 60. The Kadri – Brandon Saad – Joonas Donskoi sample is also less than 40 minutes, but they haven’t produced a ton of chemistry yet. The trio has a 43% Corsi-for, 4 expected goals against and 39 scoring chances against per 60 and 19 high-danger chances. The Wild’s top line fully correlates on the top power play as well, but they have struggled to convert anything. They are also going to have to stay out of the box if they plan on being competitive tonight.
Value-wise, Minnesota’s second-line pivot Victor Rask has been on fire, with goals in three of the last four games while tallying 6 points in those four playing alongside Mats Zuccarello. If you’re looking to dig down below the $3,500 mark, an argument can be had for the likes of Oskar Sundqvist, Gabriel Vilardi and Sam Steel as contrarian punt options tonight as well.
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NHL DFS Picks: Wingers
James van Riemsdyk ($6,500 DraftKings/$6,600 FanDuel), Grades
Since being boosted to the top line, van Riemsdyk has been finding a lot of successful situations to put the puck in the back of the net. His ice time has risen to a healthy 19 minutes over the last four games. His production has risen as well, lighting the lamp in three of the last four games. The Rangers offense will take a hit now that they are without Artemi Panarin, who has taken a leave of absence due to domestic allegations coming out of Russia. We will most certainly see the Flyers top line with the Mika Zibanejad line tonight, which is a net positive matchup. Chris Kreider is moving back to the second line, while Alexis Lafreniere will move to the top line, and that means an easier path to better offensive situations for the Flyers top line. We have a small sample of 25 minutes of all three of the Rangers top line together, and it’s not pretty, but 24 minutes is merely a sample that we can barely count on. The Rangers trio has a 35% Corsi-for, 2.97 expected goals against, 39 shots against and 12.25 high-danger chances per 60. The Flyers top line fully correlates on the top power play, giving extra incentive to roster them. Even though the Rangers have had a pretty good penalty kill this year, they have spent over 7 minutes a game on the kill.
Mike Hoffman ($6,300 DraftKings/$5,900 FanDuel), Grades
Hoffman has always been known as a shooter, but he is proving himself to be a good distributor as well. His ice time has been steadily increasing, as he has at least 19 minutes in two of the last three games. Hoffman has also tallied an average of a point per game over the last 10, and he’s playing on the top power-play unit with his even-strength pivot Brayden Schenn. We will likely see the Ryan O’Reilly line match up with the Anze Kopitar line tonight in what will be a great defensive battle, making for good hockey to watch but not for NHL DFS. That leaves the Blues second line likely matching up with the Kings’ new second line. Any time we can stay away from great defensive lines like the Kopitar line, it’s a plus. Over the last 10 games, the Kings have been in the bottom 10 of every advanced metric we like to look for in NHL DFS. They are 25th in Corsi, 25th in expected goals against, 23rd in shots against per 60 and 24th in high-danger chances against per 60. The Blues second line gets two-thirds of the top power-play unit, but I’m not worried about correlating, as the Kings penalty kill has been pretty good.
NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen
Adam Fox ($5,900 DraftKings/$4,300 FanDuel), Grades
Fox has been a pleasant surprise on the blue line of the Rangers. He has been relied upon to play big minutes, and he has been productive for NHL DFS purposes. His upside has been somewhat capped as the Rangers have struggled to fill the net up, but he does have 7 points in 16 games. The main thing about Fox is that he is averaging over 26 minutes of ice time, and he is also averaging about 5 shots/blocks per game, giving him a solid floor. Finally, Fox is quarterbacking the top power-play unit, and with Philadelphia having the fourth-worst penalty kill in the league, he could find himself some success tonight. FanDuel continues to keep Fox’s salary almost free, so if you aren’t playing him over there, you’re doing it wrong.
Devon Toews ($5,500 DraftKings/$5,000 FanDuel), Grades
Cale Makar has been on the struggle bus lately, but his linemate Toews has been there to pick the production up. Over the last 10 games, Toews is averaging over 23 minutes of ice time to go along with 5.5 shots/blocks per game. The Avalanche’s new addition just posted at least 12 DraftKings points in all four of the games against the Golden Knights, which is a litmus test for a tough matchup. Minnesota has a good penalty kill, so I wouldn’t look to just jam in the top power-play guys. Toews makes for a decent play on a night where a lot of the stud defenseman aren’t on this fantasy hockey slate.
Top Stacks
Toronto 1: Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner – Joe Thornton/Alexander Kerfoot (Check line rushes)
Philadelphia 1: James van Riemsdyk – Sean Couturier – Joel Farabee
St Louis 2: Mike Hoffman – Brayden Schenn – Sammy Blais
Arizona 1: Clayton Keller – Nick Schmaltz – Conor Garland
Value Stack
Minnesota 2: Kirill Kaprizov – Victor Rask – Mats Zuccarello
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