Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid works for the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets during an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, March 4, 2016. The Blue Jackets won 6-3. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
Hello and welcome to a nice cozy five-game NHL slate at DFSR. It looks like a fairly tough day today from a safety standpoint, but there are some nice matchups that we can take advantage of. Edmonton is the only team playing in back-to-back games and it is also their third game in four nights. Let's not waste any more time and dive right into today's picks.
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Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 15.19 DK - 3.8
You know it is going to be a tough day at the position when a New York Islanders goalie is the top choice and especially while playing on the road. Playing in cash games today is not advisable, but I'm stubborn and I will still have my share of 50/50 and double-up lineups. I couldn't believe how amazing that Greiss has been until I read his stats last night. The German netminder is 5-0-1 in his last six games with an outstanding 1.32 goals against average, a .955 save percentage and two shutouts. Tonight the Islanders travel to Detroit to play the Wings and their not so good 24th ranked offense. Greiss shouldn't be a popular pick today because Detroit is a slight favorite as of now. All I know is that he is going to be the only goalie that I use today in all formats and you should strongly consider him as well.
Also Consider: John Gibson (Ana) (GPP)
Opponent - DET
Proj Pts FD - 17.53 DK - 5.49
On a full slate, we could probably put another center in the top spot (depending on the players available,) but Johnny T is an easy choice for me today as he and the Islanders play Detroit and their 20th ranked defense. This guy is the heart and soul of the Islanders' franchise and he stood out for me right away. Tavares doesn't have much talent surrounding himself in Brooklyn, but he's doing the best he can so far this season. He is averaging just over 20 minutes of ice time per game. That is awesome for a forward. In his last four games, the Isles' captain has five assists and a whopping 19 shots on goal. I cannot see him going another game without scoring a goal and he is one of the top overall plays today at any position in all formats.
Stack With: Josh Bailey, Anders Lee
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 15.69 DK - 4.45
There is so much value everywhere else today, so that means that we can feel comfortable rostering the NHL's current points leader. When a star player is held scoreless for two games, watch for him to break out in his next game. Carolina actually isn't bad on defense, as they're ranked 16th overall in that category, but they do own the league's #1 ranked penalty kill unit. You're going to hear this a lot today. It's not a safe day for cash games. But if you're like me and you insist on playing them, then you could do worse than McDavid today. He's always one of the top center plays in all formats.
Stack with: Leon Draisitl, Patrick Maroon
Opponent - CBJ
Proj Pts FD - 9.03 DK - 2.8
Evgeni Malkin and Connor Sheary are currently both on the injured reserve for the Penguins, so Bonino instantly climbs into a top six role for the Penguins. He was actually doing pretty good with his limited ice time as a third line center. Now he gets to play on the second line and the Pens' deadly #1 PP unit? Sign me up. Obviously Sid the Kid is a great play today against the Blue Jackets who have allowed eight goals in their last two games. But these prices and the current situation means that Bonino has extreme value written all over him today. Bonino had an assist in his last game, but he doesn't shoot the puck very often. I love stacking him with some of the outstanding players surrounding him for your GPP lineups.
Stack with: Sidney Crosby (PP,) Phil Kessel, Patrick Hornqvist
Opponent - PIT
Proj Pts FD - 11.91 DK - 3.79
The winger position is not elite by any means today. But we will make do with what we have and squeeze every bit of value out of the position that we can. We definitely need to get exposure to this game which has a total set at six goals according to Las Vegas. Columbus owns the league's #1 ranked power-play unit and this guy happens to play on it, as well as their top scoring line. Foligno isn't flashy, but he gets the job done and he satisfies his fantasy owners on a regular basis. He's actually on a four-game point streak with three goals, an assist and three goals and eight shots on goal during that span. Look for Foligno to take advantage of the Penguins and their 25th ranked defense and their 22nd ranked penalty kill.
Stack with: Cam Atkinson (PP,) Alexander Wennberg
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 12.02 DK - 3.77
Skins seems to produce whenever I write about him, so here he is again on this short five-game slate. The Oilers aren't bad on defense, but they're coming into Carolina on back to back games, as well as their third game in four nights, so they will be tired. Skinner was held scoreless for six games, but last game he scored a goal. He's a very streaky player so he's not safe by any means but look for him and his linemates to score a couple of goals today. Fire him up in your GPP lineups.
Stack with: Derek Ryan, Lee Stempniak
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 11.65 DK - 3.91
My buddy Chris wrote about this guy on Tuesday and he came through for him in a big way by scoring two goals on four shots against Detroit. Palmieri plays on the top line and the #1 powerplay unit with the very talented Taylor Hall. He actually has eight shots on goal in his last two games, but New Jersey is not a good offensive team. This isn't the safest play either, but there is very little safety overall at all positions today. I like him as a tourney play stacked with his linemates against Calgary and their 18th ranked defense.
Stack with: Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique
Opponent - PIT
Proj Pts FD - 12 DK - 3.6
This guy is my favorite defenseman today and at these prices, it's not even that close. Jones is putting up points right now that make him look like a forward, but he is still getting his peripheral stats as well. In his last four games, this young man has two goals, four assists, 16 shots on goal and five blocked shots. He has averaged 25 minutes of ice time during those four games and he sees a decent amount of powerplay time on the Blue Jackets' #1 ranked PP unit. Enough said. Lock him into every single one of your lineups in all formats today folks.
Opponent - CAR
Proj Pts FD - 10.22 DK - 3.1
These two defensemen today are just way too cheap for the fantasy points that they have been producing lately, so let's save some money at this position and spend up elsewhere. Chris recommended this guy last night and even though the Oilers were held scoreless, Sekera still rewarded his fantasy owners with four shots on goal and two blocked shots. In his last three games, Sekera has two goals, an assist, 10 shots on goal and six blockeds. Here we go. We should all have these two defensemen locked in for the day in all formats.
Also Consider: Cam Fowler (Ana)
Hockey is back and with it come our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get accessto our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.
If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create linueps with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
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