DFS Alerts

Speedster should cause problems for exploitable defense

In some ways it is remarkable the Washington Capitals sit where they do in the standings (73 points), but that is mostly credit to their efficient offense. Defensively, the Washington Capitals are alowing the most scoring chances against per 60 minutes (29.16 SCA/60) at 5-on-5 of all Eastern Conference teams. Tonight Washington will have their hands full with a Toronto team averaging 3.41 goals per game on home ice. Of course, the problem with Toronto is their depth, but Kapanen has been quite productive over his last five games, picking up three assists iand three goals while taking 13 shots on goal. He makes for a nice one-two punch with Auston Matthews in tournaments.

Ottawa center should see heavy workload

With the Ottawa Senators deciding to bench Matt Duchene to avoid any injury ahead of Monday’s trade deadline, center Colin White will be in a prime spot to produce. Last time out, White picked up a pair of goals and an assist in the helter skelter 8-7 contest in Chicago. Tonight’s matchup in New Jersey figures to feature goals, though the home side seems the more favorable one to target. Nonetheless, White has two goals in two meetings already with the Devils this season and his price is under $5,000 on both DraftKings and FanDuel which gives him tournament appeal.

Right back to the well with sophomore Swede

Jesper Bratt was recommended last time out despite a mediocre matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he did not disappoint. Bratt logged 19 minutes of ice time while picking up a goal and an assist. The Stockholm native is now up to 10 points (3G, 7A) in as many games after the All-Star break. A matchup does not get much better than the Ottawa Senators on the road – a place where they have allowed 4.38 goals per game, by far a league-worst. Additionally, Bratt’s price has barely moved as he still checks too cheap on DraftKings ($3,900) and FanDuel ($4,000), making him one of the best sources of salary relief.

This winger has an interesting matchup against a struggling goaltender

edit and it turns out right after I finish writing this, Mike Smith is announced the starter. Adjust accordingly. —- “Big Save Dave” Rittich is likely in net for the Calgary Flames tonight and he has struggled as of late. Despite a 6-1-3 record over his last 10 games, he has a putrid 3.33 goals against average and a .887 save percentage. Additionally, the Flames have allowed a 58.95 CA/60 — 11th most in the NHL over the last month. Anders Lee leads the New York Islanders with 19 goals and in shots with 145. He sits third in points with 39 in 58 games, just ahead of linemate Brock Nelson’s 37 and linemate Jordan Eberle’s 26 in 54 games. This trio also remain in tact on the top power play unit with superstar Mathew Barzal, this gives them full-game correlation and high upside on a short, four game slate.

The Art Ross is out of the question, but this winger is still a solid play

The Art Ross is no longer a possibility for Mikko Rantanen as he has pretty much fallen off a cliff, and also players like Nikita Kucherov and Patrick Kane have started to become utterly dominant. Anyway, Rantanen still sits a respectable 7th overall with 76 points in 59 games, but the stacked top line in Colorado has been broken up. In fact, all three of Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog are on separate lines. Rantanen will be playing with Carl Soderberg and Matt Nieto, probably the best of the three lines as Soderberg has been decent this season with 18 goals. Rantanen has just 3 points in his last 10 games, which is discouraging, but a home matchup against the Winnipeg Jets is intriguing. The Jets have allowed 64.46 CA/60 over the last month at even strength — the fifth-worst mark in the entire league.

This winger is still the hottest player in 2019

Despite the recent surge of Nikita Kucherov, Patrick Kane remains the hottest player in 2019. He has put up an impressive 14 goals and 40 points in 19 games in 2019 and is showing no signs of slowing down. It has been mostly the Kane show, though, as linemates Jonathan Toews (26 pts in 19 games) and Drake Caggiula (6 points in 17 games) don’t come close to matching Kane. Now, in fairness to Caggiula, he hasn’t been on this line the entire time, and he does have a modest 5 points in his last 9 games, so that is okay. Anyway, Kane and Toews make the most sense as a mini-stack as they play on the same power play unit as well.

Rookie defenseman riding three game point streak

A lot of Rasmus Andersson’s value will be tied to whether or not T.J. Brodie is able to go tonight. Against the Coyotes on Monday, Brodie missed the contest and Rasmus slid up to the top pairing with Mark Giordano. Rasmus picked up two assists which made it four assists over his last three games. The matchup with the New York Islanders is a tough one, but Rasmus is just $2,700 (DraftKings) on a night featuring multiple worthy spends (Dylan Larkin, Patrick Kane, etc.) at forward. We will want to monitor the morning skate for Brodie’s availability. Should he miss, Andersson emerges as a strong punt option from the blue line.

Edit @ 1:10 – It looks like Brodie will be back in the lineup as he was on the ice for the morning skate – Rasmus is still viable as a last-fill punt but his value does take a hit due to the limited ice time

Veteran defenseman turning back the clock as of late

Brent Seabrook is set to miss tonight’s contest once again. Last time out, Duncan Keith logged over 26 minutes of ice time and collected a pair of assists while taking two shots on goal and blocking three shots. While the aging blue liner is no longer on the team’s top power play unit, he figures to see 25-plus minutes again tonight in what should be a fast-paced game. While Detroit is not as bad as Ottawa is defensively, Keith can contribute even if he doesn’t find the scoresheet. At sub-$5,000 prices on both DraftKings and FanDuel on a night without the usual suspects up top on defense, and where Mark Giordano is in a tough matchup, Keith provides from salary relief.

Red Winger continues to pepper goalies with shots

Anthony Mantha has 13 shots on goal in his last two games, and overall, Mantha is riding a 15 game streak where he has taken at least two shots on goal. That kind of consistency bodes well in cash games given his affordable price tag (DraftKings – $5,000 and FanDuel – $4,500). A matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks only accentuates Anthony’s value. After all, the Blackhawks are allowing the most scoring chances per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 on the road of all 31 teams in the National Hockey League. Mantha is a building block in all formats.

White-Hot Forward Could Go Underowned

Other than Nikita Kucherov and Patrick Kane, there probably isn’t a hotter player in hockey than Vladimir Tarasenko. He has five consecutive multi-point games, including 13 total points during that span. Tarasenko benefits from playing with the talented Ryan O’Reilly at both even-strength and the power play. The matchup with Toronto is a tough one, but it should keep his ownership low on such a large slate.

This rookie is starting to put things together

Luke Kunin has started to pick up steam as of late with three goals and seven points over his last seven games. He is expected to play with Mikael Granlund and Zach Parise on the Minnesota Wild’s second line. He plays on the second power play unit with neither of his even strength linemates which is discouraging, so we are going to hope for this line to dominate at even strength. They are hosting the Anaheim Ducks, a team that has struggled mightily this season and with John Gibson on the IR, one would expect the downward spiral to continue. However, fill-in Kevin Boyle has played well and with Ryan Miller healthy again, who knows which Ducks goalie gets the nod more often down the stretch. Probably going with the hot hand.

This upcoming UFA is going to get a big pay day

Jeff Skinner is tied for second in the NHL in goals with Patrick Kane with 36 — 6 goals behind league-leading Alex Ovechkin’s 42. With Jeff Skinner being an upcoming UFA, he’s going to hit a big pay day as his goal-scoring has been on full display playing alongside Jack Eichel all season. Eichel and Skinner play on the top power play unit together which gives the two-man stack elite upside as they’ll play the entire game together (for the most part). They visit the Florida Panthers who are rolling out the struggling James Reimer between the pipes, a goalie with just a 3.05 GAA and .901 SV%.

This winger is on a ridiculous streak right now

Nikita Kucherov has been absolutely ridiculous as of late. He has 18 points — including 7 goals — over his last 5 games, which is simply insane. He’s been playing with Brayden Point and Yanni Gourde at even strength as of late, but half of these points have come with the man advantage. The Tampa Bay Lightning power play has 9 power play goals in 20 attempts over these last 5 games which is an absurd 45 percent success rate. On the season, the Philadelphia Flyers have a 27th ranked penalty kill which kills off just 77.0 percent of their disadvantages.

Blue liner has a point in both games since lengthy absence

While Justin Schultz is never one to play big minutes, he is a cheap route to gain exposure to a powerful Pittsburgh offense. Since returning from a length absence on 2/16, Schultz has played in two games, logging 17-18 minutes of ice time. During these two games, Schultz has picked up two assists and four shots on goal. Although New Jersey has dominated the Penguins this season, the Penguins should be good for several goals. New Jersey is allowing 3.56 goals per game after the All-Star break – the second worst mark in the Eastern Conference. Without the usual blue line studs (Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Thomas Chabot) in action tonight, Schultz is a viable route to spend up elsewhere.

Two poor starts in a row will make sure this goalie flies under the radar

Though he struggled in Carolina and Tampa Bay, Anton Khudobin has quietly been one of the best backups in the National Hockey League this season. Khudobin’s 0.934 SV% at 5-on-5 is fourth-best among all qualifying goalies (1000+ TOI). Given this and the fact that Nashville’s power play is sitting dead last (12.7%) on the season, Anton could be in for another nice game against the Predators. After all, he has been lights out against them this season, going 2-0-1 while stopping 108 of 112 shots sent his way. At just $7,000 on DraftKings, Khudobin emerges as a fantastic tournament play.