NHL DFS Slate Summary: Tuesday, March 14th

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 slate of games for DraftKings and FanDuel. We’ll discuss today’s NHL DFS player projections, player correlations and NHL stacking, injuries to monitor, NHL starting lineups, differentiation tactics using NHL projected ownership, and recommendations on ways to create lineup diversity if entering multiple lineups using LineupHQ.

Today’s Games

Slate Overview

Congrats to all of those who qualified and participated in the DK NHL Live Final this past weekend. It was a bummer that a late scratch (Luke Evangelista) cost several people due to the no late-swap policy for the event. A look at the odds board for tonight shows that two teams stand head and shoulders above the rest this evening from a pure win equity perspective (Bruins and the Penguins), while these two are joined by the Flames and Oilers as the four teams with implied team totals above 4.0 goals. I expect the majority of ownership to flock to these teams, leaving the rest relatively unowned.

Note: Tonight has a bunch of games spread out with five games at 6:00pm and four at 9:00pm or later. Utilize the late swap to your advantage. Take note if any early chalk goes off or busts and adjust accordingly. Look at your lineup and change it up based on the early results. It’s not always that useful in NHL, but the timing of the games tonight gives the advanced players an opportunity for a potential edge.

Top Skaters

Connor McDavid
I don’t think this one is a complete no-brainer given the juicy matchups and talent out there on this slate, but I do think he’s still worthy of the top spot. After all, he’s the best player in the world. There are more favorable matchups out there, but Ottawa isn’t exactly a defensive juggernaut either. McDavid has 25 points in his last 10 games despite one scoreless game against the Bruins. He’ll be at home, where he’s even more lethal. There’s enough value out there to be able to stomach his near $10k price tag.

Sidney Crosby
Expectations are heaped on tons of players, but none had more than Sidney Crosby when entering the league. Despite these ridiculous standards, Crosby has somehow lived up to them throughout his career and is continuing it in his 18th (!) year in the league. He’s picked up his scoring pace lately with seven points in his last four games, and he’s averaging 5+ shots per game during that stretch too. The matchup doesn’t get much better than facing a Montreal team on the second of a back-to-back who just allowed eight goals last night to the Avalanche. Crosby and company should have no issues lighting the lamp with regularity.

Other Options: David Pastrnak, Roman Josi (GPPs), Jake Guentzel, Jason Robertson

Top Values

Fabian Zetterlund / Andreas Johnsson
Zetterlund and Johnsson were acquired as part of the Timo Meier deal. Neither has paid immediate dividends, but they seem poised to keep their Top 6 roles at even-strength and the second power play unit. The main reason they are featured here is the matchup. You know the opponent (Columbus) is bad when the Sharks are favored against anyone (-145). The Sharks have a solid 3.6 implied goal total and someone has to score besides just Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture. I’ll bank on that scoring coming from one of these two forwards tonight.

Other Options: Evan Bouchard, Cody Glass, Jesse Puljujarvi

Top Goalie Projections

Arizona Starter
The starter for Arizona hasn’t been named, but I’m fine with either option and they are identically priced. The benefit for fantasy purposes is that they should see the highest amount of shot volume of the night, or at least in the top few. For example, Connor Ingram has faced 40+ shots in three straight games. So despite him losing all three starts and allowing 4, 5, and 3 goals in each, he still averaged almost 17 fantasy points per game. That combined with the fact that Calgary produces the second-most shots per game should mean plenty of activity. If Arizona manages to pull off the upset, then that’s just the cherry on top and you’re looking at a goalie with GPP-winning upside.

Other Options: Tristan Jarry, Igor Shesterkin

Top Stack Projections

Projected Ownership is posted after morning skate daily.

Top Stacks

Edmonton 1/PP1
Connor McDavid is the obvious reason to have this stack, but he has plenty of capable stacking partners. Zach Hyman is the most logical one given the correlation in all situations. Evander Kane can be included to round out the even-strength stack, whereas Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl are great options for the power play stack. Evan Bouchard helps to keep the price of the stack down and helps to quarterback the lethal power play.

Dallas 1/2/PP1
As I mentioned in my Expert Survey today (and Boggs seems to agree), I think Dallas could fly under the radar today. Vancouver is as good of a matchup as any and while Dallas isn’t as sexy as some teams like the Oilers above, they still have massive amounts of upside. Importantly, the top line of Robertson, Hintz, and Pavelski correlate perfect at even-strength and the power play. The second line is also an option is you’re looking to save some salary and use them as a secondary stack.

Other Options: PIT1/PP1, BOS1/PP1, CGY1/PP1, CAR1/PP1 (GPPs), SJ1/PP1 (GPPs/Value)

Image Credit: Getty Images