NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 3/10/21
Hockey is officially back! NHL DFS is similar to MLB in terms of how you build lineups, how you view stacking, and how to value players.
Two main points to always focus on in NHL DFS are what lines the players are on and making sure the goalies you are rostering are confirmed as the starters. Two of the best resources for that are LeftWingLock.com or DailyFaceOff.com. That is where you can find updated forward and power-play lines for each team, along with which goalies are confirmed as the starters.
Let's jump in to take a look at today's slate and some players to consider for your lineups.
Goalie to Target
Marc-Andre Fleury ($8,500): The Vegas Golden Knights are -120 road favorites and have Fleury confirmed as the starter tonight. Vegas has lost five games this entire season and has lost back-to-back games a single time. They are allowing the sixth-fewest (2.01) goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, showing they are an elite defense for the second straight season.
Fleury has the benefit of sitting behind that defense, and they have helped him pick up 12 wins in 16 games this season while holding a super-strong save percentage of .940. It's a smaller five-game slate, but it's worth paying for the most expensive goal, behind one of the league's best defenses.
High-Priced Skaters
Leon Draisaitl ($7,900): With a 3.82 implied goal total, the Edmonton Oilers are the clear top option on tonight's five-game slate. Draisaitl has moved up to the first forward line and is now skating alongside Connor McDavid ($8,800). They were already a great stack together since they were on the first power-play unit, but now they have 100% ice-time correlation. This should boost their potential even further, which puts them in a category of their own tonight.
The Oilers are up against the Ottawa Senators, who are dead last in the league in both goals against (3.42) per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, as well as Corsi Against (Shot Attempts Allowed) (58.47). They are truly the worst defensive team in the entire league and you should be willing to pay up for McDavid and Draisaitl tonight. Over his last 10 games, Draisaitl has 11 NHL points and 28 shots on goal, a level of production you don't want to pass up on a five-game slate.
Anze Kopitar ($7,600): The Los Angeles Kings could be a bit under-valued tonight because they only have an implied goal total of 2.85. There are better offensive teams -- the Oilers, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Vegas Golden Knights -- on this slate, and that could cause the Kings to go overlooked.
That shouldn't be the case, as the Kings have a fantastic matchup tonight. They are going up against the Anaheim Ducks, who are in the bottom 11 of the league in both goals allowed and Corsi Against per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations.
The Ducks are a bad team. There is no other way to put it, and you should be jumping at the chance to attack them. Doing so via Anze Kopitar is the best way to go about things, with his role on the first forward line and the first power-play unit. He comes in with a five-game point streak in the works and nine total points in that span. Expect that level of production to continue tonight versus Anaheim.
Value Skaters
Jesperi Kotkaniemi ($3,900): The Montreal Canadiens have the second-highest (3.53) implied goal total on tonight's slate and offer the much-needed value options. Kotkaniemi is on the third forward line and the second power-play unit for the Habs, who only scored one goal last night but put the recency bias aside and go right back to them tonight. They are taking on the Vancouver Canucks, who allow 2.83 goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fourth-worst in the league. Kotkaniemi has modest three NHL points and eight shots on goal over his last five games but in a very favorable matchup tonight.
Devon Toews ($4,500): Toews has been seeing time on the second power-play unit for the Avalanche because Cale Makar is out with an injury. This has given him an expanded offensive role, but his salary hasn't increased too much yet. Colorado comes in as -210 home favorites tonight and should be a popular option in all formats. Toews makes a good cash game play with his consistent production recently. He comes in with 20 shots on goal, 12 blocked shots, and 6 NHL points in his last 10 games.
