We open the March schedule with a solid seven-game NHL DFS slate. Four of the seven games have opened with a 6.5 totals, so there’s no shortage of options tonight. One of the big keys for tonight slate will be if Auston Matthews can give it a go. He sat out Saturday’s matchup against the Oilers, and the Maple Leafs might throw caution to the wind and rest him again tonight. Lastly, keep an eye out for Vladimir Tarasenko of the Blues. We are expecting a return soon and if he goes tonight, he’s $2,500 on DraftKings still. If he does go, that’s as big of a lock for an NHL DFS pick as there has been in fantasy hockey lineups on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Tune into our Hit the Ice show on YouTube to get morning skate news.
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 | March 1st
NHL DFS Picks: Forwards
Connor McDavid ($8,500 DraftKings/$9,000 FanDuel), Grades
McDavid was shut out against the Leaf’s on Saturday, and I don’t see that happening again. Toronto may be without Matthews again tonight, so we need to keep an eye on news. McDavid is still leading the league in points, and he’s averaging over 4 shots a game. Over the last 10 games, the Leaf’s have the fifth-worst Corsi in the league, they are allowing the eighth-most shots per 60, and they are giving up the third-most scoring chances. I think both sides of this game are firmly in play tonight, and a game stack is possible.
Nathan MacKinnon ($8,500 DraftKings/$8,400 FanDuel), Grades
MacKinnon ended his three-game goal drought against the Coyotes on Saturday. He is averaging 4 shots per game and can fill the net up in a hurry, especially against a team like San Jose. The Sharks’ metrics have been better over the last 10 games, but they are still giving up the second-most goals in the league. They are also giving up the fourth-most shots, and their penalty kill has been bottom 10. The Avalanche changed the lineup pregame last time and started out with MacKinnon pivoting Brandon Saad and Andre Burakovsky. They didn’t manage to stick with that, though, because they only played 4:46 together. Things got tight, and they went back to the powerhouse line with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. When those three are together, they are elite. We will likely see them come back to filling the top line again against the Sharks, and they are going to get a ton of chances, even if they do see the Logan Couture matchup. Finally, the Sharks have only held one team under 3 goals this year, and it was the Ducks. That tells you how bad the goaltending has been.
Aleksander Barkov ($6,900 DraftKings/$7,500 FanDuel), Grades
Barkov has silently been putting up great numbers for the Panthers. He has 21 points in 20 games to go along with over 3 1/2 shots on net per game. Barkov is an elite two-way player, and he’s a good facilitator when he needs to be. He will likely hard match the Sebastian Aho line again tonight after facing off with them on Saturday. Barkov managed to shut down the Aho line, which has been a good possession team for the past couple seasons. Joel Quenneville moved Anthony Duclair off the top line and replaced him with Jonathan Huberdeau, who makes that line even more of an offensive threat. The full line sample is extremely small, but they have phenomenal numbers. The Aho line has always been good offensively, but when teams get physical with them with guys like Barkov, they tend to create turnovers and give chances on the other end. Jesper Fast playing on that top line does not help their offensive numbers — it actually drags them down a tad. I think Florida’s top line will find themselves in the offensive zone a good bit tonight.
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NHL DFS Picks: Wingers < $5,000
Jordan Kyrou ($4,900 DraftKings/$4,300 FanDuel), Grades
Kyrou makes for a solid value play tonight against the rebuilding Ducks. Anaheim has been struggling a ton during this rebuild, and the future doesn’t look too bright in the near term. Anaheim is currently on a six-game losing streak and seven seems imminent. Kyrou will be playing alongside Ryan O’Reilly and Zach Sanford. The trio has been great since being assembled, and it will be interesting to see how ownership goes tonight with the chances that elite sniper Vladimir Tarasenko could possibly be making his return. Kyrou has 6 points in his last 10 games, but the positive thing is his shot volume. He has had at least 3 shots on net over the last three games; that’s a beneficiary of playing with O’Reilly. Anaheim is going to have their hands full with the Blues, and if Tarasenko is back, it just gets worse.
Andrew Mangiapane ($4,600 DraftKings/$4,600 FanDuel), Grades
When The Flames assembled the top line of Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane, I was stoked. Getting a physical presence like Tkachuk with a great two-way pivot in Backlund and a great young shooter like Mangiapane is a recipe for success. Mangiapane has been averaging about 20 minutes of ice time to go along with just under 4 shots per game over the last three. Going back to last year, this line has a 55% Corsi-for while creating 34 shots, 14 high-danger chances and 2.9 expected goals per 60. Ottawa has been splitting their line matching because they struggle to keep two good lines at bay. I’ll take the line with $4,000 savings and good upside compared to Calgary 2. Over the last 10 games, Ottawa is 26th in shots allowed per 60, 31st in goals allowed per 60 and 19th in expected goals allowed per 60. I think both sides of this game are OK, and if we look at the two previous meetings from a couple days ago, both teams can score.
Nils Hoglander ($4,000 DraftKings/$3,600 FanDuel), Grades
Hoglander makes a debut in the Power Play as another $4,000 value play for tonight. He has been snake bit for most of the year, but he’s getting the opportunities. Hoglander only has 2 goals on the year, but he’s also only shooting 5%. Over the last 10 games, he is averaging 3.5 shots per game, and he has hit the shot bonus twice in the last three. Travis Green moved him to the second line alongside Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser to spark some offense. It’s surely working, but Hoglander just hasn’t found the back of the net since playing there. There will be plenty of chances for Hoglander against the Jets tonight. Winnipeg has been awful defensively at five-on-five. They rank 30th in Corsi, 30th in shots allowed, 31st in expected goals allowed, 31st in scoring chances allowed and 31st in high-danger chances per 60. Vancouver is going to get plenty of chances to find twine, and if Hoglander can keep his shot volume up where he’s been, his time will come sooner rather than later.
NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen
Thomas Chabot ($5,800 DraftKings/$5,200 FanDuel), Grades
Chabot is still logging huge minutes on the blue line for the Senators, and he’s quarterbacking the top power play as well. He’s coming off of two games against the Flames where he managed to tally 2 points in each game. Calgary is allowing the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing defenseman, and they have struggled with their defensive metrics over the last 10 games. The Flames have also been the third-most short-handed team in the league so far, which will give Chabot a little extra power play time. Like I said before, I think both sides of this game have a path to success, and I will have some exposure to this game.
Devon Toews ($5,400 DraftKings/$4,800 FanDuel), Grades
Toews has been a production machine for the Avalanche, and they need him with Cale Makar going down with an upper-body injury. Toews played 24 minutes last game, and he is going to get all the ice time he can handle now. He will also slot in on the second power-play unit and quarterback their second unit. As I mentioned earlier, the Sharks have been letting teams tee off at will, and Toews doesn’t think twice about shooting the puck. Toews is averaging 4.6 shots/blocks per game, and that will sure be his floor for tonight.
If you’re looking to save a little salary on DraftKings, going down to a guy like Ryan Graves ($3,600 DraftKings/$4,200 FanDuel) is a great idea. Graves has been playing 20 minutes a night, and he is also averaging over 4 shots/blocks per night. He should slot into some power play time as well on the second unit. If you need exposure to the top power play unit, Sam Girard will replace Cale Makar on that top unit. At $3,400 on DraftKings he’s a great bargain. On FanDuel Girard is still a healthy priced $5,100.
Top Stacks
Colorado 1: Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Edmonton 1: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Jesse Puljujarvi
Calgary 1: Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Andrew Mangiapane
Calgary 2: Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Elias Lindholm
Value Stack
St Louis 1: Jordan Kyrou – Ryan O’Reilly – Zach Sanford
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