Saturday’s are always a full day of NHL DFS. Tonight is no different with a two-game early slate and a 12-game main slate. Needless to say, there are a TON of NHL DFS picks tonight. To decipher the games, I’ll be using Awesemo’s industry-leading NHL DFS projections, along with ownership projections and Top Stacks Tool. Let’s find some of Awesemo’s optimal NHL DFS picks for our DraftKings and FanDuel fantasy hockey lineups for Saturday’s Slate.
As always, be sure to check our premium Slack for crucial fantasy hockey lineup information in the 20-30 minutes leading up to every game’s lock. With the COVID-19 pandemic still looming, teams have taxi squads and are ready to fill positions daily as teams scratch players. Our Slack chat is hands down one of the best places to get fantasy hockey news and line change notifications.
NHL Power Plays: DraftKings + FanDuel DFS Picks | May 8
NHL DFS Picks: Center
Connor McDavid (EDM vs VAN)
DraftKings – $9,200
FanDuel – $9,200
McDavid is hotter than the sun right now. He’s averaging almost three real points per game over the last 10 games. He’s officially on the 100-point watch and it’s possible he could hit it tonight. Being a human highlight reel, McDavid has burned the Canucks for 17 points in just eight games this year, while averaging 25.4 DraftKings points per game against them. Sitting at the No. 1 spot by 1.5 points in the Awesemo NHL DFS projections, he’s an auto play tonight.
Tyson Jost (COL vs LAK)
DraftKings – $2,700
FanDuel – $3,300
Nathan MacKinnon was a late scratch last night, and if he doesn’t go tonight, Jost instantly becomes a preferred value player again tonight. Jost took MacKinnon’s place on the top line last night between Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. Last night, the trio had a 71 CF% and they outpaced the Kings 8-3 in shots and 8-1 in scoring chances. At $2,700, the Avalanche top line gets cheap enough to fit in with some secondary stacks as well. We have the Avs top line as the fifth-best stack in NHL DFS today, but they’re No. 1 with a 6% leverage rating.Â
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NHL DFS Picks: Wingers
Kirill Kaprizov (MIN vs ANH)
DraftKings – $6,900
FanDuel – $6,700
Kaprizov is making a strong bid for the Calder Trophy this year. He’s averaging just under a point per game, and a plus-10 rating through 53 games. Over the last 10 games the rookie is averaging four shots per game and he’s coming into tonight riding a five-game point streak. He tallied multiple points in three games straight, and gets a great matchup against the Ducks again tonight. Last night, Kaprizov lit the Ducks up for a goal and an assist, on his way to a 19.3 DraftKings-point night, and he should get plenty of chances to find twine tonight. Anaheim is Allowing over three goals per game and over 30 shots against. They are a bottom-five team in the league as they work through their rebuild.Â
Anthony Beauvillier (NYI vs NJ)
Draftkings – $4,600
FanDuel – $5,200
In the Power Plays article, I try to stay away from just writing up the elite players because they are always good plays. Sometimes there are matchups that need to be attacked so I will write them up anyway. The mid-range is where you can find those high-upside plays that become tournament-winning players. Beauvillier has consistently been outproducing his salary over the last month. He’s hit the shot-on-goal bonus in three of the last five games, and comes into tonight riding a five-game point streak. Beauvillier is playing on the second line with Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey, but only Beauvillier gets top power play time. The Devils are giving up the sixth-most goals against per game and they have the worst penalty kill in the league. Sign me up for some Beauvillier.Â
NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen
John Carlson (WSH vs PHI)
DraftKings – $7,000
FanDuel – $6,700
Carlson will likely go unowned tonight with all the other options around him. Vegas has the Caps pegged for the second-highest team total on the night. Carlson logs a ton of minutes on the blue line, and he also quarterbacks the top power-play unit. Depending on Alex Ovechkin’s status, the offense will run through Carlson on the extra-man advantage. The Flyers have struggled on the defensive side of the ice this year, and their goaltending has been less than average. Not to mention their leagues second-worst penalty kill. Over the last month, the Flyers have given up the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing defensemen, which makes sense given their lack of a penalty kill. Carlson is coming in as a Top 5 defenseman in the Awesemo NHL DFS projections tonight.
Alexander Edler (VAN @ EDM)
DraftKings – $4,300
FanDuel – $4,000
Edler and the Canucks have been playing a ton of games to make up for their Covid layoff. Edler is an all around strong player that contributes in all facets of the game. He lost power play duties, but he is still producing at a good clip. Over the last 10 games, the Swede has averaged over four shots/blocks per game. He should get plenty of extra chances for blocks tonight going up against the best player in hockey right now, McDavid. Edler has fared well against the Oilers this year. In eight games, he’s averaged 10.5 DraftKings points.Â
Eric Brannstrom (OTT @ WPG)
DraftKings – $3,200
FanDuel – $3,500
Brannstrom becomes an added value tonight with Tomas Chabot missing the rest of the year. His ice time has gone up considerably over the last two games since missing Chabot. Brannstrom also found himself on the top power play for the Santors and he took advantage of it Thursday against the Canadiens. At $3,200, Brannstrom doesn’t need to do much to pay off that tag, and he should get plenty of block opportunities against the Jets tonight.Â
Top StacksÂ
Colorado 1: Gabriel Landeskog – Tyson Jost – Mikko Rantanen
Toronto 2: William Nylander – John Tavares – Alex Galchenyuk
Islanders 2: Josh Bailey – Brock Nelson – Anthony Beauvillier
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