🏒 Power Plays: NHL DFS Picks for DraftKings + FanDuel | Max Pacioretty 3/6

Saturday’s are always packed with action, and today is no different. There are two different NHL DFS slates today, a four-game early slate that locks at 1 p.m. EST and the main that locks at 7 p.m. EST. For the purpose of this article, we are going to focus on the main slate that locks at 7 p.m. 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.

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NHL Power Plays: DraftKings + FanDuel DFS Picks | March 6

NHL DFS Picks: Centers

Auston Matthews ($9,200 DraftKings / $8,800 FanDuel), A/B/A Grades

Matthews has been back two games since his wrist injury and he’s hit the shot bonus in both games. Needless to say, I think his wrist is fine. He’s leading the league with 18 goals and sits sixth in points with 31. The Canucks started the year playing horrible hockey, and were a team to target against for most NHL DFS players. They have been playing better over the past month, but the bad numbers are starting to rear their ugly head again. Over the last 10 games, Vancouver’s expected goals against has dropped to worst in the league, and it is allowing the fifth-most scoring chances and the seventh-most high-danger chances. If the Canucks give up a handful of chances to Auston Matthews, he is going to make them pay. 

Connor McDavid ($9,100 DraftKings / $8,700 FanDuel), A/B/A Grades

The Toronto Maple Leafs just put a clinic on, taking out the Oilers in three consecutive games. Edmonton only managed to score one goal in all three games, and Connor McDavid was shut out in all three. That’s an extremely rare occasion as McDavid has only been shut out in three games or more three times in his career. The Calgary Flames are a better matchup for the Oilers, and McDavid will get plenty of chances to find the twine tonight. In the three previous matchups this year, the Oilers averaged 4.3 goals per game against the Flames. Calgary is allowing the third-most shots against per 60 at five-on-five. They are also bottom-10 in scoring chances and high-danger chances against. One of the biggest downfalls of the Flames has been their lack of discipline. Calgary is spending SEVEN minutes per game short handed. If you leave McDavid on the ice for seven minutes on an extra-man advantage, he is going to capitalize.

William Karlsson ($4,800 DraftKings / $5,800 FanDuel), D/B/B Grades

The center position falls off a cliff around the $4,500 mark today. Going back to the well with the William Karlsson isn’t a bad strategy. Karlsson is off to a good start this year, with 17 points (6-11) in the team’s 20 games. He’s averaging just about two shots on goal per game, though he does not block many. That limits the padding of his overall stats, but he centers a line that ranks in the top-10 on Awesemo’s line stacks tool.

Karlsson’s line is also inexpensive and grades out well, but they will be heavily owned by the public. Getting to them in small doses, or perhaps, pairing Karlsson and one of his wingers, would be a strong approach. Alternatively, loading up on the team’s second power play could be an angle to get to the center’s value and production in a different way than the field.


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NHL DFS Picks: Wingers

Max Pacioretty ($7,800 DraftKings / $7,800 FanDuel), A/B/A Grades

Pacioretty has been one of the most consistent fantasy producers in the NHL. The veteran brings leadership and a ton of talent to the Golden Knights. These two teams just played last night, and he lit the Sharks up for two goals, an assist and added the five shots-on-goal bonus for a 35.5 DraftKings-point performance. Pacioretty was popular last night in large-field GPPs, so I would try to differentiate your lineups if you’re planning on going back to the well with Vegas’s top line. The Sharks have been brutal defensively this year, and tonight they will be sending backup goaltender Devin Dubnyk between the pipes. Dubnyk isn’t the same elite goaltender from Minnesota that he once was, but a team’s defense also plays into that. Dubnyk has gone 1-4 with a 3.74 goals against average and a .892 save %.

San Jose is in the bottom six of every advanced metric we like to look at for NHL DFS. At five-on-five, they rank 23rd in Corsi %, 25th in expected goals against, 25th in shots against, 25th in scoring chances against and 25th in high-danger scoring chances against. Finally, the Sharks are spending the second-most time short-handed on the slate. If you’re looking to find ways to get creative, going to power-play stacks could be your path to success. 

Kirill Kaprizov ($4,400 DraftKings / $5,100 FanDuel), C/A/A Grades

Simply put, Kaprisov is too cheap on DraftKings. The Rookie is averaging 18 minutes of ice time and he’s tallying just about a point per game. He managed to tally a couple helpers in last night’s shellacking of the Coyotes. 

Minnesota is a grindy, wear-you-down team that will take advantage of teams with bad defensive metrics, and the Coyotes fit that bill. Over the last 10 games, Arizona has been brutal defensively. It is in the bottom three of every meaningful advanced metric. We will likely see the Coyotes’ top line match up with the Wild’s second line. Phil Kessel was moved to the top line and he is a defensive liability. Paying off that tag won’t be hard to do with a couple shots on net, and if he can find the twine tonight, he will smash that tag. I think Kaprisov is a good candidate for cash games tonight as a one off as well.

Paul Stastny ($3,900 DraftKings / $5,600 FanDuel), E/C/D Grades

There’s a good amount of value to be had today, which is nice when there are so many studs to get in your lineups. Since Stastny was moved to the top line of the Jets with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, that line has been very good. Together the trio has a 57 CF% while creating 39 SF/60, 40 SCF/60, and 21 high-danger chances. Yes it’s a smaller sample, but it’s a great indication for the future. The matchup against the Habs isn’t a great one, but with the pace this game should have, the Jets’ top line will get plenty of chances. If there’s one place to attack the Canadiens, it’s their penalty kill. Montreal is the fourth-most short-handed team, and it has the 10th-worst penalty kill. Stastny fully correlates with his linemates at even strength and on the power play. The price on DraftKings is far better than FanDuel.

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NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen

Shea Theodore ($5,900 DraftKings / $5,900 FanDuel), B/B/A Grades

Theodore makes a great addition to your Vegas1 stacks if you can afford him. If you’re playing the secondary line from Vegas, then I would look at Alex Pietrangelo ($6,400) or Alex Martinez ($5,000). Theodore has the highest ceiling of all the Vegas blue-liners, as he is the most offensive minded. He’s been on a little bit of a lull with production, but his salary has also decreased with it. He’s logging a ton of ice time and the offense will come back. The Sharks have been horrible defensively and with the amount of time they spend short-handed, any of the three defensemen I just listed are completely viable. Lastly, we will likely see Devin Dubnyk in net tonight for the Sharks, which is even better for Vegas. 

Torey Krug ($4,600 DraftKings / $5,300 FanDuel), C/A/A Grades

Krug makes for a solid mid-range blue-liner tonight. He’s playing over 21 minutes on a nightly basis and gets the coveted top power-play quarterback position. Krug is an offensive-minded defenseman, which we like to see in NHL DFS. Over the last 10 games, Krug has 10 points, to go along with four shots/ blocks on average. Craig Berube must have said something to him about his lack of offense in the beginning of the year, because Krug has stepped up with Colton Parayko out. Krug has at least four shots on goal in four of his last five games. 

Top Stacks

VGK 1: Max PaciorettyChandler StephensonMark Stone

Edmonton PP: Tyson Barrie – Connor McDavid – Jesse Puljujarvi

Toronto 1: Joe Thornton – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner

Value Stack

Montreal 3: Josh AndersonJesperi KotkaniemiTyler Toffoli


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Author
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.

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