NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 12/8/21
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
Robin Lehner ($7,900): The Vegas Golden Knights are -142 home favorites against the Dallas Stars, and we could be in for a lower-scoring game. Over the last 15 times these teams have played, 11 of the games have seen five goals or fewer scored, putting us in a spot to target the goalies tonight. Lehner is the home favorite and comes in with six wins in his last 10 starts, racking up 25 saves or more in nine of those games. A good combination of save volume, win equity, and a lower-scoring matchup should make Lehner a solid goalie target tonight.
High-Priced Skaters
Brad Marchand ($9,300): Marchand is set to return from his suspension tonight, and he is going to score a goal. If you were ever looking for a narrative to buy into, this is the one. Marchand was suspended for three games for slew footing Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Vancouver Canucks on November 28th. Tonight, Marchand is up against the Canucks, and it's a match made in heaven.
Marchand should be right back on the first forward line and the first power-play for the Boston Bruins, who are -150 road favorites and carry a 2.97 implied goal total. Prior to his suspension, Marchand had 5 NHL points and 17 shots on goal in his last five games, a level we know he can back to given his large offensive role.
Mikko Rantanen ($8,400): The Colorado Avalanche have a slate-high 3.32 implied goal total and are up against the New York Rangers, who are on the second night of a back-to-back. The Rangers are without their top goalie, Igor Shesterkin, due to a lower-body injury. They played last night in Chicago and had Alexandar Georgiev in net, and since this is a back-to-back, he might not play tonight. There's an unconfirmed report that Rangers' AHL, Adam Huska, who they called up the other day due to the injury, will be starting tonight.
A long story short, if Huska is in net tonight, the Avalanche should be a priority stack for the slate. The Avalanche are scoring 2.98 goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, which is the fifth-best in the league. Considering Huska has zero experience at the NHL level, it's safe to say he's a bit overmatched against one of the league's best offenses. This leads us to a very obvious stack of Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Gabriel Landeskog from the Avalanche.
Value Skaters
Pavel Zacha ($4,200): The New Jersey Devils have a solid 3.28 implied goal total and a fantastic matchup tonight versus the Philadelphia Flyers, who are a mess right now and have lost nine games in a row. Zacha comes in with 4 NHL points and 22 shots on goal in his last 10 games, which is modest production overall, but hopefully, the soft matchup will enable him to produce more. The Flyers are allowing the 11th most (2.75) goals against per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, and with Zacha seeing time on the first forward line and the first power-play unit, he will have plenty of chances to rack up points.
Morgan Frost ($3,500): While the Flyers might be a mess on offense, they do have a good matchup against the Devils tonight. The Devils allow the 10th most (2.76) goals against per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations, putting things in a spot for a potential game stack. Frost is the minimum salary for a forward and has been elevated to the second forward line and the first power-play unit. Given this matchup, the savings are valuable and help ease roster construction on a smaller slate.
