NHL DFS PICKS: Power Plays for DraftKings & FanDuel, 2-27-20

The NHL schedulers have been putting us NHL DFS players through the wringer over the year with this chaotic schedule. We have a full slate of games tonight, though, with 10 matchups on the docket. In the Power Plays article, I will be breaking down the slate and giving you some of my top picks at each position, including Nikita Kucherov and John Tavares, as well as some of my favorite line stacks.


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Schedule for Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 

AWAY  O/U  HOME  TIME (EST) 
NY Rangers  6.5  Montreal -135   7:00 p.m.
Chicago   6.5 Tampa Bay -235  7:00 p.m.
Toronto -115  7  Florida   7:00 p.m.
Dallas  5  Boston -170   7:00 p.m.
Vancouver -160  6.5  Ottawa^   7:30 p.m.
Minnesota -200  5.5  Detroit   7:30 p.m.
NY Islanders  5.5  St. Louis -165   8:00 p.m.
Calgary  6  Nashville -130   8:00 p.m.
Washington^ -145  6.5  Winnipeg^   8:00 p.m.
New Jersey   6 San Jose^ -145  10:30 p.m.

BOLD* – Back to Back 

^ = 3rd game in 6 nights 

NHL DFS Picks: Centers

John Tavares (TOR at FLA) – DraftKings, $6,300; FanDuel, $7,400

This game has a massive Vegas total and it comes to no surprise. Both teams can light the lamp at will. Tavares has 12 points over the last 10 games while averaging over 3.5 shots on goal. After trading Vinny Trocheck, the Panthers defense is going to take a hit. Alexander Barkov will have his hands full with the Auston Matthews line, while the Tavares line will get the Eric Haula line and the depth matchups. Florida’s penalty kill has gone downhill and they now have the 23rd-ranked penalty kill. This game should have shots galore. Power play stacking while paying up to be contrarian could also work tonight.

Anthony Cirelli (TB vs CHI) – DraftKings, $4,800; FanDuel, $4,800

EDIT: Cirelli will be playing on the second line with Schenn and Killorn. Cirelli will be playing on the 2nd power play unit and that hurts his value while Killorn gets a crack at the top power play. 

We need to keep an eye on the Stephen Stamkos news. After he went down last game, Cirelli jumped up to the top line alongside natural center Brayden Point. Cirelli got a massive minutes boost and played over 22 minutes. Cirelli also played on the top power play unit, and with the matchup against Chicago, you can guarantee they will be chalk. The Blackhawks are still allowing the most shots against per 60 at five-on-five. They also have the worst expected goals against in the league. Finally, with the Hawks trading away Robin Lehner, we should now see how bad the Hawks defense really is. Corey Crawford is still a decent goaltender, but he is a direct downgrade from Lehner.

NHL DFS Picks: Wingers

Nikita Kucherov (TB vs CHI) – DraftKings, $8,300; FanDuel, $8,300

Kucherov and the Lightning figure to be the chalk of the night. Depending on Stamkos’ situation, Kucherov is in a prime spot. The sniper had 15 points in the last 10 games, and he’s not been afraid to put pucks on net. The Blackhawks are giving up the most shots in the league per game, and I presume that will continue the entire year. Chicago lacks defensive depth and getting rid of Lehner is only going to hurt them. Firing up Kucherov in a good spot is a no-brainer; the only question is what will the ownership look like?

Brendan Gallagher (MON vs NYR) – DraftKings, $6,900; FanDuel, $7,100

Something could have been bothering Gallagher after missing a game and dealing with lingering concussion issues over the last couple weeks. That could be the reason he has been snake-bit with only a couple points over the last 10 games, but his shot volume has been strong lately. Gallagher is a volume shooter on a line with ridiculous metrics. A lot of the play funnels through him, and the Canadiens top line should get plenty of chances tonight. At five-on-five, the Rangers are giving up the third-most shots against per 60, and they have the second-most expected goals against. Gallagher should see the Mika Zibanejad line most of the night, which is a better matchup than the Artemi Panarin line.

Evander Kane (SJ vs NJ) – DraftKings, $5,600; FanDuel, $6,000

In the three games since coming back, Kane has returned to his normal self by firing off 13 shots on goal. The Sharks as a whole are pretty cheap, and I’m curious as to what their ownership is going to be tonight. The Sharks have struggled this year, but the Devils have struggled even more. Since they had a fire sale, the Devils have the third-worst Corsi, they are giving up the third-most shots against and they have the third-worst expected goal against at five-on-five. Both teams’ penalty kills have been pretty decent metrics-wise, but it helps that the Sharks top line fully correlates.

Mike Hoffman (FLA vs TOR) – DraftKings, $5,400; FanDuel, $6,500

Hoffman’s price somehow went down on DraftKings while he’s on a five-game point streak with seven points in that time. He’s been putting on a shooting clinic lately, averaging over 3.5 shots per game. Like I mentioned earlier, this game is going to have a ton of shots on goal and plenty of chances on both ends. The Leafs have been dealt a blow to their defensive core, as Morgan Reilly went down earlier in the year and now they have lost Jake Muzzin with a broken hand. Hoffman will also get you exposure to the Panthers top line, as he will play on the power play with them.


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NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen

Brent Burns (SJ vs NJ) – DraftKings, $7,400; FanDuel, $6,700

Burns is back to his old self lately, averaging almost 27 minutes to go along with a ridiculous floor of just under seven shots/blocks per game. New Jersey is giving up the seventh-most shots against per game at five-on-five, and they have a middling penalty kill. Burns should contend for the combo meal tonight (double bonus), and he makes a great addition to a Sharks stack.

Tyson Barrie (TOR vs FLA) – DraftKings, $4,900; FanDuel, $4,900

Barrie will become the de facto quarterback and first man in for a lot of people that want Leafs stacks. With Muzzin out, Barrie logged over 24 minutes of ice time last game. Add in the fact that he will get you exposure to the elite top power play unit, and you have a great play for $4,900.

NHL DFS Picks: Stacks

Montreal 1: Tatar – Danault – Gallagher

This line continues to have impressive numbers. With a 550 minute sample, they carry a 61 CF% while creating 43 shots, 38 scoring chances, whopping 17 high-danger chances and 3.35 expected goals per 60. They will likely match up with the Zibanejad line, who gives up 14 high-danger chances per 60 at even strength. The Rangers as a whole are giving up the second-most shots against in the league since the All-Star break. Montreal matches up nicely with the Rangers tonight.

San Jose 1: Kane – Couture – Labanc

EDIT: Kane had a maintenance day at morning skate, so we need to keep an eye on lines at rushes. He will play tonight though. 

The Sharks struggled in the beginning of the year, but over the last 10 games, they have been very good. In fact, they are in the top 10 of pretty much every metric I like to look at. They are creating the most high-danger chances in the league at five-on-five, and they have the third-best expected goals as well. The Devils are going backwards with the worst Corsi in the league at five-on-five, the most shots against per 60 and the third-worst expected goals against over the last 10 games. Even though the Devils penalty kill has been good, I think the Sharks could put up a handful tonight.

Vancouver 2: Miller – Pettersson – Toffoli

Vancouver’s second line has gelled very well since Brock Boeser went down. They have a pretty small sample obviously, but the sample that we do have is a good sign. The trip carries a 52 CF% while creating over 40 shots and 14 high-danger chances. They should most likely end up seeing the Senators second line, which is a plus matchup. The Senators are giving up the third-most shots against per game, and since the All-Star break, they have taken the second-most penalties. They have also struggled to kill any penalties as they have the league’s worst penalty kill post All-Star break. Firing up the Canucks second line is a great play tonight as they fully correlate on the top power play unit as well.


Looking for more NHL DFS picks and content? We’ve got loads of articles, data, cheatsheets and more on the Awesemo NHL home page, just click HERE.

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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