NHL DFS PICKS: Power Plays for DraftKings & FanDuel, 2/14 (FREE)

DraftKings and FanDuel NHL DFS Picks: With the NBA All Star break incoming, now is a great time to jump into the NHL action! In this Power Plays article, Jeff Votteler breaks down the slate and gives you some of his top picks at each position, including Evgeni Malkin and Sebastian Aho. As well as some of his favorite line stacks.

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NHL Schedule for Friday Feb. 14, 2020

 BOLD* Back to back / ^ three in four nights / ¥ three in six nights

NHL DFS Picks: Centers

New to NHL DFS? EMac and Jake Hari will have an NHL show, talking tonight’s slate and general NHL strategy at 5:30 ET/2:30 PT

Evgeni Malkin (PIT vs. MON) – DraftKings, $7,500; FanDuel, $8,400

Malkin should see a quality matchup on home ice against the Canadiens tonight. Because the Penguins are at home with the benefit of last change, Malkin should see the softer matchups against MTl2 and MTL3, which are much more giving defensively than MTL1. Malkin’s expensive price tag and (likely) high ownership number are well-warranted in this spot, as he has a case to be the No. 1 center in all formats on tonight’s slate.

Sebastian Aho (CAR vs. NJD) – DraftKings, $7,100; FanDuel, $7,600

Aho has been one of the most consistent skaters recently, tallying double-digit DraftKings points in seven out of his last eight games. Consistency is nice for cash-games, but Aho is also live for a huge performance on home ice against one of the weakest teams in the NHL. The Devils have allowed the eighth-most expected goals per 60 over the last 25 games, as well as the fourth-most chances per 60. Aho, like Malkin, will see little of the Devils’ top line on home ice, and with a prominent role on the top power-play unit, he makes for another great option in cash-games or GPPs tonight.

NHL DFS Picks: Wingers

Patrick Laine (WPG vs. SJ) – DraftKings, $7,500; FanDuel, $8,200

Laine and the Jets have one of the highest implied totals on tonight’s slate, so targeting one of their volume shooters and best scorers makes for a quality option in cash games. The tournament appeal is there as well, especially if they spend a lot of time against the Joe Thornton line. Meier-Thornton-Labanc has only been together for a short time, but they’ve been abysmal defensively, allowing 3.3 expected goals and 33 scoring chances in just under 55 minutes of five-on-five ice time. As a one-off, it’s hard to do better than Laine tonight on DraftKings and FanDuel.

NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen

Brent Burns (SJ at WPG) – DraftKings, $7,000; FanDuel, $6,500

Burns may not be the Burns of old, but he’s still a viable spend-up defenseman on this slate. Over any defenseman’s last 10 games, Burns (77) trails only Roman Josi (85) in shot attempts, showing that, while he may be playing hurt, he is more than productive for DFS. Tonight’s matchup against the Jets is a great one, especially if the Sharks see a handful of power play opportunities, as Burns will quarterback the top unit against the league’s third-worst penalty kill.

Marcus Nutivaara (CBJ vs. NYR) – DraftKings, $2,500; FanDuel, $3,500

Nutivaara makes for a great value play tonight.  The blue liner remains stone minimum, while DraftKings has not raised his priced. Even with David Savard coming back after the birth of his kid, Nutivaara should get a healthy boost in ice time and he will also see power play time on the second unit. Last night, Nutivaara played almost 25 minutes, tallying 12.8 DraftKings points. He’s going to get run on the second power play unit, and we all know how bad the Rangers penalty kill is. For the stone minimum, it is hard for him to not pay his salary off, while affording you the opportunity to get the high Priced studs in.

David Savard ($3,400) is in play himself as well. He should log big minutes and he has good block upside.

NHL DFS PICKS: STACKS

CBJ 1: Foligno – Dubois – Bjorkstrand

Columbus’s top line has been very good offensively.  The trio is creating 35 shots for per 60, 31 scoring chances, and 12 high danger chances per 60 at 5 on 5.  The Rangers Are in the bottom ten in almost every metric.  They are 29^th in team Corsi, 28^th in shots against, 25^th in goals against, and they have the worst expected goals against in the league.  The most enticing reason for jumping on the Jackets top line tonight,  is they fully correlate on the power play.

The Rangers have the 19^th ranked penalty kill overall for the year, but if we dig a little deeper there’s more to uncover.  When they go a man down, The Ranges are giving up the second most shots against in the league, and they have the 2^nd worst expected goals. Finally, The Jackets top line is going to see the Mika Zibanejad line most of the night, which is the better matchup compared to the Rangers second line as well.

CAR 1: Svechnikov – Aho – Teravainen

Carolina moved Andrei Svechnikov to the top line and that should give this line a great offensive boost. In the 160 minute sample of Aho playing alongside Teuvo Teravainen, they have a 58.3 CF%, while creating 39 SF/60, 34 SCF/60, and 14 HDCF/60.  Their expected goals of 2.95 is pretty elite as well.  Adding in Andrei Svechnikov should give them even more offense as Svechnikov is an extremely skilled sniper.  The Devils have allowed the eighth-most expected goals per 60 over the last 25 games, as well as the fourth-most CA/60.  The Hurricanes should be able to take advantage of the Devils on the hind end of a back to back.

Dont forget to check out our new tools: the NHL matchup sheet, and the Top Stacks tool!