NHL DFS Picks, Top Stacks & Lineup Optimizer

Thursday night is an action-packed NHL DFS slate. There are 11 games on tap with no shortage of options. Let’s dig into the slate to find a couple plays to get into the Awesemo HOF. Make sure to tune into the Hit the Ice stream to get up-to-the-minute news. This Power Play article will use Awesemo’s Premium NHL Tools to help dole out the NHL DFS advice to help with building lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel tonight. The Awesemo NHL projections and ownership projections are two of the best tools to utilize when constructing stacks and making the optimal NHL DFS picks. Let us go position by position and pinpoint some of the top plays and stacks for Thursday, Nov. 18th.

NHL DFS Picks, Tops Stacks & Lineup Optimizer Plays

Center

Auston Matthews (TOR vs. NYR): DraftKings – $8,500 | FanDuel – $9,600

Matthews started the year out a tad slow for his standards after missing the first three games. He has come into form lately, with 11 points in the last nine games. Tonight he is riding a four-game point streak, and he is averaging four shots on goal per game. Through the last 10 games the Rangers have been brutally awful on the defensive metric side of things. At five-on-five New York ranks last in the league in Corsi, expected goals against, scoring chances allowed and high-danger scoring chances. The special teams do not get a ton better either. The Rangers carry the No. 22 penalty kill, with a 79.6% kill rate.

With so many games on the slate tonight, there are plenty of value options opening up, which was allowing Matthews to pop at the top of the optimal lineups in our optimizer. Check out all of our free NHL DFS optimizer picks tonight from our DraftKings NHL cheat sheet and FanDuel NHL cheat sheet.

Sam Bennett (FLA vs. NJ): DraftKings – $5,100 | FanDuel – $6,200

Bennett continues to be a strong semi-value play. Since returning from his four-game layoff due to an upper body injury, he has steadily raised his ice time. With Aleksander Barkov out for an extended period, Bennett will be needed to cover some of those minutes. These two just faced off just over a week ago, and Bennett lit the lamp while adding four shots on goal. New Jersey is in the bottom 10 for Corsi, expected goals against, shots against per 60 and scoring chances against per 60. Bennett can offer consistency without a massive price tag.

Wingers

Leon Draisaitl (EDM vs. WPG): DraftKings – $9,100 | $9,900

Draisaitl has been on an absolute terror lately. Tuesday he lit these same Jets up for two goals on his way to 24.3 fantasy points. He has been logging over 23 minutes of ice time nightly, and even though he has been split from Connor McDavid, the duo gets reunited regularly when they need more offense. Draisaitl now leads the league in goals with 17 and points with 33. Both sides of this game are interesting, but the Jets a bit more so, depending on ownership.

Kyle Connor (WPG at EDM): DraftKings – $7,400 | FanDuel – $8,900

Connor has been a shot on goal monster, rifling off 10 shots on goal against the Oilers on Tuesday. He cemented a huge night with an empty netter, giving him 26.5 fantasy points. Winnipeg has won five of their last seven games, and their offense is coming around. The Oilers have struggled defensively. Over the last 10 games, Edmonton is 31st in goals against, 27th in expected goals against and 31st in high-danger chances allowed per 60. This game is going to have a ton of pace.

Evgenii Dadonov (VGK vs. DET): DraftKings – $3,700 | FanDuel – $4,200

Dadonov’s price is starting to catch up to his production, but he is still a solid play tonight. Vegas will get Mark Stone back, but they will still be without Max Pacioretty. Dadonov will draw into the top line alongside Stone and Chandler Stephenson. All three will also correlate on the power play, albeit on the second unit. Dadonov has been getting involved more offensively, with 14 shots on goal over the last three. Detroit will also likely be without Dylan Larkin again tonight, which only helps the Golden Knights.

Latest NHL DFS Content

Defensemen

Zach Werenski (CBJ at ARI): DraftKings – $7,100 | DraftKings – $5,100

If riding the Arizona train, paying up for Werenski as an add-on in a stack is a solid play. Since Seth Jones has been moved to the Blackhawks, Werenski has been a mainstay on the blue line for the Jackets. He is logging over 26 minutes of ice time nightly, and he has been chipping in on the offensive side. Quarterbacking the top power play, he is averaging over five shots/blocks per game. Arizona’s penalty kill has been awful the entire season, with just a 69.2% kill rate.

Mario Ferraro (SJ at STL): DraftKings – $4,100 | FanDuel – $4,500

Ferraro has been a solid value play this year, and his salary has come back down to $4,000 on DraftKings. He is logging huge minutes on a nightly basis (25.2 per game), and over the last 10 games he is averaging almost five shots/blocks per game. He is not an offensive juggernaut, but he will get the block bonus almost nightly, and if he can add a point, he pays off his tag easily.

Nick Hague (VGK vs. DET): DraftKings – $3,500 | FanDuel – $4,000

If Shea Theodore misses, Hague becomes an interesting value play tonight. Hague has 15 shots/blocks in the past three games, and he is also added a helper. He will likely draw into power-play duties and with extended ice time he should not have a problem paying off his low salary.

Top NHL DFS Stacks

FLA 1– Jonathan Huberdeau – Sam Bennett – Anthony Duclair

The Panthers are going to have to shift lines after losing Aleksander Barkov to a knee injury. There is a large sample size of Bennett with Jonathan Huberdeau going back to last year, but not a ton with Duclair. Together in a 150-minute sample the duo carried a 62% Corsi-for per 60 and over three expected goals. They created 45 shots per 60, 36 scoring chances per 60 and 11.34 high-danger chances. All three will correlate on the top power play as well. The Devils started the year out with strong metrics but has since fallen off. Over the last 10 games New Jersey ranks 20th in Corsi, 22nd in expected goals against, 23rd in shots against and 22nd in scoring chances against per 60. If Florida’s new top line can keep carrying good possession numbers, they can find a good amount of success tonight.

TOR 1– Nick Ritchie – Austin Matthews – Mitch Marner

Toronto’s top line is in a good spot tonight with the last change. Sheldon Keefe will get to pick his spots where he would like to optimally deploy his top line against a weak Rangers team. The Rangers have been getting bailed out by their goaltending, and that is never a recipe for success. At five-on-five the Rangers are dead last in team Corsi, 31st in expected goals against, 24th in shots against, 31st in scoring chances allowed and 28th in high-danger chances allowed. The Rangers are in for a long night if their goaltending regression comes.

CBJ PP1 STACK: Oliver Bjorkstrand – Boone Jenner – Zach Werenski

*Additional Data from Natural Stat Trick

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Author

Jeff Votteler

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.