DFS Alerts

Pricing gaffe on DraftKings for Florida defenseman

At $2,500 on DraftKings, Keith Yandle is the automatic play of the night in cash games, and even in tournaments it will be tough not having max exposure to the veteran blue liner who sees time on the team’s top power play unit. Do not make the mistake of not playing him in your head-to-head lineups.

Besides the obvious play on the pricing error with Yandle, another source of salary relief from Florida is Nick Bjugstad who made his return last time out. After his first game in five weeks, Bjugstad logged just under 13 minutes of ice time, taking three shots on goal and blocking a shot. Nick is a cheap forward to open up salary elsewhere.

Edit @ 11:15 – Nick Bjugstad will not be on the top line. Instead it will be shot-making Frank Vatrano alongside Aleksander Barkov and Evgeni Dadonov. Vatrano is an interesting tournament option. Remember though, Florida is often juggling their lines

Cheap Goalie Offers Upside at a Discount

Carter Hart was the “flavor of the month” for a while, but has faded from popularity lately. Hart’s numbers have still been good, he just hasn’t received the goal support needed to get many wins. On the year, he has a 2.54 GAA and .916 SV%, both respectable numbers. At home, he’s been even better with a 2.16 GAA and 3-2-1 record. He’s in a pick’em game, so the win it’s guaranteed, but I do think he escapes with a victory in a close game.

Injury Concerns Could Lower Ownership for Superstar

McDavid missed the team’s skills competition due to “illness”, but I have my doubts as to how sick McDavid was. I think the team was just giving him such deserved rest due to his heavy workload this season. McDavid should be back in action tonight at home against the Sabres, but some may be scared off by the “questionable” title. He’s been averaging about 24 minutes a game lately, a total generally only seen by defensemen. His linemates have been a revolving door, but it appears Ty Rattie and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will get the first crack at playing with the all-world talent.

Stacking this line could be a fantastic leverage play.

With Boston being the second-largest favourite tonight, Tuukka Rask is likely going to see heavy ownership both in cash games and tournaments. With that in mind, going with a line stack from the Montreal Canadiens — a team that is actually playing really well according to their underlying numbers — could give you some fantastic leverage. My stack of choice would be Phillip Danault, Brendan Gallagher and Jonathan Drouin. Over the last month, Danault leads the Habs in points with 13 in 14 games. While Drouin and Gally haven’t had the same success over that time frame as Danault, the stack still works. This is a line you want to dominate at even strength as you don’t even get two of these players on the same power play unit. This is going to be a low-owned, high-risk/high-reward play.

This struggling winger has a decent matchup.

The St. Louis Blues visit the Washington Capitals tonight — a team that has been struggling a bit as of late at least from a possession standpoint. Over the Caps last 10 games, they have a 47.24 CF% which ranks 25th and are giving up the third-most CA/60 at a 62.21 clip. On the other hand, the Blues possession numbers are elite with a 56.31 CF% over their last 10 games which is the 2nd best mark in the NHL. Vladimir Tarasenko is having a season to forget with just 27 points in 44 games including an abysmal 2 points in 13 December games. However, his 3 goals and 5 points in 5 January games look like they could be a bit of a corner being turned and tonight’s matchup could help get him back on the scoresheet again.

This centre leads his team in goals.

When you are the leading goal scorer of a team that is third in the NHL in goals per game at 3.59, you’re going to be in play almost every night. Additionally, John Tavares leads the team in shots on goal so he not only has a high ceiling with his offensive potential, his shot-totals offer a solid floor for cash games as well. The Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled on the power play as of late — so much so that Mike Babcock changed up the units from a stacked top unit to 1a/1b units. Tonight would be a great spot to get their power play going again as the Colorado Avalanche have the 28th ranked PK this season, killing off just 75.9 of their penalties. With Tavares centering Mitch Marner — who also plays on the same power play unit as him — and Zach Hyman, the full-line stack works but a two-man mini stack with Marner and Tavares is probably the better play. Throw in Morgan Rielly for PP1 stack if you want to be a bit more creative.

Buffalo blue liner coming into his own

Buffalo may be struggling after their hot start to the season, but Dahlin continues to grow. He has picked up a point in three consecutive games while taking three shots on goal in each of them. As one of the defensemen on Buffalo’s top power play unit, Dahlin has a good chance to produce against a reeling Oilers’ team that has one of the worst penalty kill units in the National Hockey League. His sub-$4,000 price tag on DraftKings and moderate tag on FanDuel ($4,500) is attractive on a slate not featuring Brent Burns or other must-have defensemen. Dahlin is a fine option in all formats.

Toronto defenseman trending upward

With Auston Matthews back and Mike Babcock’s decision to split up the team’s top power play unit, Jake Gardiner gets a big value boost. Last season Jake set a career-high with 15 points on the man-advantage, but so far this season he has just three power play points. With Matthews back on the second unit, Gardiner will be in a good spot to produce for the remainder of the season. Although Gardiner has not been shooting much, this game should be played at a nice pace, giving Jake a chance to thrive. While too volatile for cash games, Gardiner makes for a likely overlooked tournament play.

Winger flying under the radar for New Jersey

Miles Wood doesn’t see power play time which is unfortunate, but that has not stopped the Devils’ forward from producing as he has picked up two goals and four assists over his last seven games. A matchup with a Chicago team allowing the second-most scoring chances per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 is one to exploit. Wood’s price ($3,800) on both DraftKings and FanDuel opens up salary elsewhere while gaining low-owned exposure to the home team.

Former King eyes matinee at Staples Center

The Penguins fell behind 3-0 early, but they came alive as the game went on before exploding in the third period. Tanner Pearson, who is skating on the second line again due to Patric Hornqvist’s injury, found a pair of goals, scooping up rebounds around the net. Tanner would love nothing more to get a goal against his old team. Perhaps lightning does strike twice and the narrative plays out. It would not be too surprising as the Kings were just smoked by a far lesser team in the Ottawa Senators

Vegas winger takes on old team

While priced excessively on DraftKings where he is $6,200, FanDuel on the other hand, as has been the case countless times this season, refuses to do anything about Brandon Pirri’s price. Imagine fading Kyle Connor at $4,600 on FanDuel last night. Anyway, as for Pirri, all he has done is produce with 11 points in nine games. So long as he doesn’t get sent down to the minors before face off, Pirri is your top value option in all formats on FanDuel.

25-year-old rookie has a goal in three straight games

The Edmonton Oilers’ defensive struggles were full circle at the end of December, but they started out strong in January with a 3-1 win against this same Arizona team. However, they followed that up with a miserable 4-0 defeat against the timid Kings. While there are some better games to target, this one has sneaky shootout potential given the volatile nature of both teams. One route to go is with Conor Garland who has four goals over his last three games. Garland’s price across the industry is worth taking a flyer on in mass multi-entry tournaments as he has flashed multi-goal upside in the American Hockey League and just last Sunday against the Rangers when he buried two on seven shots.

Heavy minutes for this super star and line-mates

Connor McDavid is arguably the most talented playing in the NHL, and is playing a ton of minutes. He played 27 minutes last game. McDavid recently reunited with Leon Draisaitl, and Alex Chiasson, makes this line stackable again. The Arizona Coyotes haven’t been terrible defensively, but they do give up high danger chances in bunches. They are allowing 11.91 HDCA/60. All three play together at even strength and on the power-play. Darnell Nurse is the defenseman you will want to add to this stack as he correlates on the top special teams unit as well.
Update- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ty Rattie are flanking McDavid now. They are still in a good spot. Liked them more with Draisaitl on the top line.

Hot sniper and line-mates should convert in this matchup

Evander Kane has been white hot lately, as he has racked up four goals, three assists, and 21 shots over his past four games. Ottawa is a team we have picked on all year, and they continue to rank near the bottom in most defensive categories. The Senator’s have won their past two games and only giving up two goals in the process. However they’re playing their third game in four nights and at the tail end of road west coast road trip. Stacking Kane with line-mates Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi is my preferred play in this game.

This line will see plenty of high danger scoring chances

Jonathan Marchessault has been kind of quiet lately, but not from a lack of shooting. This Vegas winger has piled up 19 shots on goal in the past five games. Marchessault, Max Pacioretty and William Karlsson draw a great matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks, who continue to struggle defensively and give up the most HDCA/60 in the league at 13.75. If pairing a defenseman with this stack, look to Shea Theodore as he is offensive minded, and correlates on the power-play, along with Karlsson and Marchessault.
*Update Brandon Pirri has taken Pacioretty’s spot on the top line