NHL DFS Slate Summary: Thursday, April 11th
Welcome to the RotoGrinders NHL DFS Slate Summary. In this article, we’ll concentrate on the key elements of DFS success while delivering analysis on the upcoming slate of NHL games for DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ll discuss today’s NHL DFS player projections, player correlations and NHL stacking, NHL starting lineups, differentiation tactics using NHL projected ownership, and recommendations on ways to create lineup diversity if entering multiple lineups using LineupHQ.
NHL DFS Picks: Slate Summary for Thursday, April 11th
Slate Overview
It’s my favorite Thursday of the year, Masters Thursday! Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was dampened (pun intended) by some terrible weather, but they are playing now. Tuesday night, yet another RotoGrinders Discord member took down the five-figure 1st-place prize, which seems to have happened at a crazy rate this season. Huge shout-out to the projections; they have been money all season long.
There are mismatches all across the board tonight, with 7 teams listed as -200 favorites or more. On a normal slate, we might see 3-4 of those, so it’s definitely a night where the “haves” are facing the “have-nots.” The one good thing about that is that ownership should be evenly distributed, so you won’t have to account for it quite as heavily as you normally might and can just play your favorites of the bunch. Officially, the Panthers are the top team, followed by the Maple Leafs and Lightning.
When trying to decipher for myself, I expected to be blown away with choices that were all really appealing. However, that wasn’t really the case. Even the best of spots have some concerns, as I’ll point out below. Speaking of concerns, I’m concerned about the state of NHL DFS for the rest of the season. These contests tonight are as bad as I’ve seen them. Sure, the Masters starting today didn’t help, but it’s still not overly positive.
Top Skaters
Auston Matthews
DraftKings $9,900
I miss having the comfort of my Nathan MacKinnon safety blanket who just gives me a reliable score every single night. There are some quality choices, but nothing like what MacKinnon has been doing. Ultimately though, it’s hard to argue with Matthews in the top spot.
While Matthews hasn’t displayed quite the upside we might want lately, the consistency has been there. He has goals in 6 straight games and has extended his season-leading total to 66, the most since the 1995-96 season. The Devils have nothing to play for and weren’t a good defensive team even when they did. In two prior meetings against them this season, Matthews has 13 SOG and 3 points.