Welcome back for another night of daily fantasy hockey. We have a larger than usual Friday slate with seven games as the playoffs close in. Only three teams(NYI, CBJ, SJ) are playing a back to back but the Blue Jackets and Sharks are also playing their third game in four nights. Let's jump right into the picks.
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 access to 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.
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 19.07 DK - 4.77
We have a few goalies who have favorable matchups today, but this guy stands out above the rest for me. First of all, the Capitals are a massive -260 favorites as they travel to Arizona to play the Coyotes and their 27th ranked offense. Second, this guy is a pretty darned good goalie. His record is 40-17 this season with a GAA of 2.00, a save percentage of .926 and has eight shutouts. The superstar tender has won his last five games and while he did allow four goals in his last game, he allowed a total of only seven goals in his four starts before that. Look for the Capitals to dominate this game from the start to finish this evening. Holtby is a great play in all formats against a weak Coyotes team.
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 17.56 DK - 4.39
Let's pick on another weak team with a goalie who was injured for most of the year, but since he has been back, he has shown flashes of brilliance. Quickie has lost his last three starts, but he allowed only two goals in each of those three games. Before that, the star American goalie earned a shutout against the Sabres. Tonight the Kings travel to Vancouver to play the Canucks and their awful 28th ranked offense. The Kings are coming off of a 4-1 victory in Calgary, and while they are all but eliminated from the playoffs, look for them to finish out the season strong. Quick is not a safe play this evening as his team has struggled offensively this year and the Canucks only fire 27.2 shots on goal per game. With that in mind though, he should be lower owned this evening and he is a great contrarian play. Fire Quickie up in your tournament lineups.
Also Consider: Jake Allen (STL)
Opponent - ARI
Proj Pts FD - 14.37 DK - 4.31
Not only do the Coyotes struggle offensively but they also own the league's third-worst defense. The capitals still haven't clinched the Eastern Conference title so they will be firing on all cylinders until they do so. The Swedish superstar has had an awesome year as he is over the 80 point mark for the first time since the 2009-2010 season. He is tied for fourth in the NHL with Sydney Crosby with 82 points and he has four assists and six shots on goal in his last three games. Backstrom plays on the #1 line and the #1 PP with Ovechkin. He only averages around two shots on goal per game, so he's not the safest play around, but he has massive upside against a weak Coyotes team. We need exposure to the Capitals today and make sure you strongly consider Backstrom.
Stack With: Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie
Opponent - VAN
Proj Pts FD - 13.41 DK - 3.91
Picking on bad defenses is the way to go and the Canucks are ranked 23rd overall in that category. Here we have a guy who loves shooting the puck as he has 238 shots on goal in 76 games. He scored a goal last game to give him 32 goals and 30 assists this season and he plays on L.A.'s best line and their #1 PP unit. Carter has 14 shots on goal in his last four games and could easily find the twine tonight against a lowly Canucks squad. Fire him up in all formats this evening.
Stack with: Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli
Opponent - CBJ
Proj Pts FD - 5.97 DK - 1.76
This young man is still rather unknown to the NHL world. We need to find value to be able to fit a couple of superstars into our lineups and this guy fits the bill. He happens to be currently playing on a line with two very talented players in Kane and Panarin. Last game Kero had a goal, an assist and five shots on goal for a total of 32.2 FD points and 8.2 DK points. I think it's safe to say that he will be centering this line again this evening. He and the Hawks have a difficult matchup against the Blue Jackets, but at these cheap prices and his current opportunity, Kero is a terrific value play in all formats.
Stack with: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 15.9 DK - 4.64
Does this guy not have a nickname yet? Can someone please tell me if he does? He definitely should have one. The Russian phenom is currently on fire. He has two goals, two assists and 12 shots on goal in his last two games and 20 shots on goal in his last four games and 34 in his last seven. That's an average of 4.9 shots per game which is way up from his season average of 3.4 per game. This is going to be shooting practice for the Russian tonight against the Avalanche and their brutal league worst 30th ranked defense. Tarasenko has the safety and upside we are looking for and he is an elite play in all formats.
Stack with: Alex Steen, Jaden Schwartz
Opponent - SJ
Proj Pts FD - 15.17 DK - 4.34
Johnny hockey has heated up at a good time for the Flames as they currently own the #1 Wild card spot in the Western Conference and the Kings are 11 points behind. The young star is on a lengthy six-game point streak with two goals and eight assists. He only has eight shots on goal during those six games, so he does have a low floor especially with a tough matchup against the Sharks this evening. That should keep his ownership levels down though and he and Monahan have seemed unstoppable at times lately. I love the Flames' top line as a GPP stack today and it starts with Gaudreau.
Stack with: Sean Monahan, Michael Ferland
Opponent - STL
Proj Pts FD - 5.66 DK - 1.62
Who is this guy you may ask? As a Habs fan, I know who this young man is. Montreal traded him to Colorado for Andreas Martinsen last month. He was a healthy scratch most games in Montreal this season, but Colorado noticed something with him and their scouting just may have paid off. The young Swiss' winger is red hot with two goals (1 on the PP) and two assists in his last two games and three goals and three assists in his last four games. He played 20 minutes of ice-time in each of his last two games, so look for more of the same tonight against St. Louis. At these valued prices, Andrighetto is a great play in all formats.
Stack with: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen
Opponent - COL
Proj Pts FD - 11.3 DK - 3.37
Like honestly, Colorado is like a punching bag right now. Their defense and goaltending is so bad that a junior level team could score a couple of goals on them. This guy has been a DFSR favorite lately and he has not let us down. He has two goals, two assists, 13 shots and nine blocks in his last four games and last he fired seven shots on goal and added an assist. Pietrangelo plays on the #1 PP unit and averages 25 minutes of ice time per game. He is an elite play in all formats this evening against a bad Colorado team.
Opponent - PIT
Proj Pts FD - 8.92 DK - 2.55
I don't know how to pronounce his name but who cares? He's had a good season for the Rangers and he's averaged 19 minutes of ice time in his last three games, which is two minutes above his season average of 17. The young defenseman has a goal, three assists, five shots and two blocks in his last two games and six points in his last six games. Skjei is a solid cash game play today.
Also Consider: Kevin Shattenkirk (WSH)
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 access to 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 lineups with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
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