DraftKings and FanDuel NHL DFS Picks: It’s Saturday and that means some big NHL DFS contests on DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo, and FantasyDraft. This ten-game slate is a great one but it is full of traps. Let’s get into some top NHL DFS picks for Feb. 8, including Alex Ovechkin and Leon Draisaitl again along with new wrinkles too. As always, you can follow us on TWITTER!
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NHL DFS Schedule for Saturday, Feb. 8
| AWAY – the opening line | O/U | HOME | TIME – EST |
| Los Angeles | 6 | New Jersey -120 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Nashville -115 | 6.5 | Edmonton | 7:00 p.m. |
| Colorado -135 | 6 | Columbus | 7:00 p.m. |
| Toronto -115 | 6.5 | Montreal | 7:00 p.m. |
| Pittsburgh -120 | 6.5 | Florida | 7:00 p.m. |
| Philadelphia | 6.5 | Washington -180 | 7:00 p.m. |
| NY Islanders | 6 | Tampa Bay -210 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Dallas | 5.5 | St. Louis -160 | 8:00 p.m. |
| Calgary | 6 | Vancouver -130 | 10:00 p.m. |
| Carolina | 6 | Vegas -135 | 10:00 p.m. |
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DraftKings and FanDuel NFL DFS Picks: Centers
Auston Matthews — TOR vs MTL — ($8,200 DraftKings, $8,900 FanDuel)
Matthews will be highly owned on this slate as it qualifies as a large slate. Also, the matchup is against a Montreal team that allows 3.1 goals per game even at home. Consider that the center is averaging 5.3 shots per game over his last 10 contests. Furthermore, the center has nine goals and 14 points during this span. When a player is getting three-plus scoring chances a night, he is extremely hard to pass up. Montreal is allowing the seventh-most points in DFS to centers. Add in the Montreal’s woeful at times penalty kill and a defensively porous Toronto. This has the makings of a game stack type of scenario.
Pivoting to Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid could pay off as their matchups are favorable. Watch for Sebastian Aho as a contrarian play against a Vegas Golden Knights team capable of allowing 3+ goals even at home. Also, look to Brayden Schenn against a Dallas team that may be a little bit tired after last night’s heartbreaking loss against Minnesota. Also, Anton Khudobin will be in net for the gassed Stars.
Brock Nelson — NYI vs TAM — ($5,000 DraftKings, $6,100 FanDuel)
For now, Nelson is a nice idea because of his production — 11 points and six goals in his last ten games. Even his shot volume has come back a bit in the last four starts (nine shots, seven scoring chances). Tampa Bay has been excellent and won five straight but still allow 2.85 goals per game at home. The Islanders are scoring more as well and their last three games have hit the over. This includes a four-game point streak for Nelson. There are enough shots to take but Nelson is at a lower price than Barzal which allows us to spend up elsewhere especially on DraftKings.
Oh by the way…
Players are out there and pricing is soft in places but watch for some back-to-back risers. Even lesser-named centers are out there. Just look at matchups and try to exploit them, whether at even strength or special teams. It will be intriguing to see how highly owned Dallas players are given how up and down St. Louis has been on defense lately. Do not be afraid to try Dallas players as one-offs (maybe a Joe Pavelski) even.
DraftKings & FanDuel NFL DFS Picks: Wingers
Max Pacioretty — VGK vs CAR — ($7,300 DraftKings, $7,300 — FanDuel)
Remember that the winger generates high shot volume at an elite level at last. Pacioretty has been averaging 5.5 shots per game over the past ten contests. Also, he has four goals and seven points in that span. This is more of a DraftKings lean because of the shot bonus. Carolina has not been very good defensively since about January 1st — allowing 3.25 goals per game away from home.
Also, keep an eye on this game. Even this game has a high potential for six goals or more, which makes for some stacking with Carolina and Vegas on multiple fronts. These two teams should be able to trade goals given the fact that their defenses give up inopportune high-danger chances in abundance. The Hurricanes are intriguing with Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. Then, there is Jaccob Slavin as a defensive kicker. Vegas offers that as well with Mark Stone and then Nate Schmidt as their defensive kicker.
Mikael Granlund — NSH vs EDM — ($4,200 DraftKings, $4,700 FanDuel)
The forward is playing like the 70-point player he was in Minnesota of late. He has points in consecutive games and looks like a completely different forward since John Hynes took over. Also, Granlund is blocking more shots (averaging over a block a game along with the 2+ shots per contest). This is a sneaky option against an erratic Edmonton team. Nashville yields 3.22 goals per game on the road but Edmonton gives up 3.58 goals per game at home! This just sets up for Nashville plays all over the place on Saturday and one can sprinkle in some Oilers as well.
Some other notes…
This slate will allow one to stack secondary lines from Vegas and Carolina to save some money. Look around on this one much like that Florida and Pittsburgh matchup which should feature tons of chances (and yes Aleksander Barkov is back making FLA 1 a play). There are plenty of more values on Saturday. Look to the Devils and Kings as a surprise matchup along with the obvious Alex Ovechkin play as he tries to get to 700 career goals against the Philadelphia Flyers.
DraftKings & FanDuel NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen
Erik Cernak — TAM vs NYI— ($3,300 DraftKings, $4,100 FanDuel)
So the Cernak choice on the surface seems a bit risky. The point production is a bit of a concern (three points in the last ten contests) but the increased ice time has been helpful to his bottom line and viability to play as a value. He had two shots and four blocked shots in his last outing with an assist. The peripherals have been solid around 4.1 shots and blocks over the past eight games. Again, this is more of a matchup hawking scenario. Taking advantage of the matchup and circumstance is key on Saturday night.
Also, consider the usual higher-priced players like John Carlson or even Roman Josi. However, Damon Severson carries a bit of risk/reward for the New Jersey Devils against Los Angeles and their 73% road penalty kill. Jeff Petry is a boosted play again with Shea Weber still out with a lower-body injury. This is the time of year to take advantage of depth charts and injuries.
Travis Hamonic — CGY vs VAN — ($4,000 DraftKings, $4,000 FanDuel)
Hamonic provides the floor with a combined 5+ shots and blocked shots over the past nine games. He also has four points in that span. He has assisted in four of his previous seven contests too. The defenseman using his hard shot is vital and the ability to get in position to block shots is vital. Hamonic’s value play is far from the only one on Saturday night from the defenseman position but the injury to Mark Giordano only increases his value.
Just a note…
Again, this is all about searching for value. There will be more picks in the Slack chat as line shits and injuries are sorted out. We advise you to watch for line shifts as the day goes on. Some teams may opt to alter the ice time of players to maximize rest as well. Keep this in mind and expect some unusual results.
DraftKings & FanDuel NHL DFS Stacks
FLA 1 – Jonathan Huberdeau – Aleksander Barkov – Evgenii Dadonov
Naturally, there is nothing to expect but quality chances with this group. Again, Pittsburgh can be just as erratic defensively as Florida and this sets up for a massive amount of fun. 70+ shots on net are the expectation. With Barkov back that means a more wide-open game. This means both top lines are in play on Saturday night as well as both power-play units. Do not forget lines like NJ1, LAK2, and even NSH 3 for fun.
TOR1 or WSH1Â
Both are very good choices with excellent matchups. Toronto goes against one of the worst defenses in the league. Washington carries the John Carlson kicker while Toronto has backend options like Jake Muzzin and Tyson Barrie. As many have said, Auston Matthews is a bit chalky, to say the least, but if one mixes a left-winger in with a defenseman, that differentiation helps. Washington’s top line goes up against a Philadelphia team that is wildly inconsistent. This is a risk but again, Philadelphia is erratic and good to give up a couple of goals to a top-line or even special teams unit.
The line to watch — Nashville third line
See what happens here. The third line has a strange tendency to produce unexpectedly. Look at middle-six lines from Florida and even Pittsburgh as well for good one-off ideas.
As always, there will be more NHL DFS news via Slack chat and social media. Good luck with your NHL DFS contests tonight! This expects to be a slate with a metric ton of chaos.
