New York Islanders Vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Las Vegas has the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3.6 team total for this game, which is fair, but they also have the Islanders team total at 2.6, which is a joke. It’s likely that Scott Darling get’s the start for the Hurricanes today, and we all know he’s #NotGood.
Most people will flock to Carolina’s top line, but the really value in this game is the Islander’s second line of Matthew Barzal, Jordan Eberle and Anthony Beauvillier. Both Barzal and Eberle play together on the top power play unit, so they are a nice mini stack to go with in cash games. Expect their ownership to be pretty low too. You can get the duo for less than 10K on DraftKings.
On the flip side, Caroline is a heavy favourite at -201. They will score goals, so you can look at their top line of Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen and Michel Ferland. For some reason, Teravainen doesn’t join his linesmates on the top PP unit, so Aho/Ferland is the mini stack to go with here. Ferland is too expensive on DraftKings, so FanDuel would be the best place to use him. You can add Justin Faulk to that duo and make it a nice three-man PP stack.
Dallas Stars Vs. Detroit Red Wings
This game is a complete mismatch on paper. The Stars are very good offensive team, while the Red Wings are just a terrible hockey team. Anytime you can stack against Detroit, you have to do it.
The top line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Justin Dowling is going to be popular, so you might want to avoid them in a GPP. Dowling is going to have a really high ownership because he’s basically free on both sites and gets you some exposure to the top line.
If you want to get some low ownership, Jason Spezza and Tyler Pitlick is the mini stack to go with. The duo play together on the top power play unit with Seguin/Benn and won’t cost you an arm and a leg to roster. You can also pair the duo with Klingberg to get the powerplay stack.
Ben Bishop is going to be a chalk goalie on this slate, but there is no safer option than him on this slate. The Red Wings may not score a goal in this contest, so he could easily return value for those willing to pay up for a goalie.
Edmonton Oilers Vs. Chicago Blackhawks
There may not be much to like about the Oilers outside of Connor McDavid, but if Cam Ward get the start in this matchup, McDavid becomes the top play on this slate. Ward has been a trash can to start the season and it looks like he might get the start for Chicago. If that happens, you can roll with McDavid as a single bullet in cash or pair him with Kailer Yamamoto. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins isn’t a bad choice either, but his price tag is just too high for this slate. Yamamoto doesn’t get any top PP minutes, but his upside playing with McDavid is good enough. Again, this all depends on if Cam Ward gets the start.
Should Crawford get the start, Chicago becomes a more attractive play. Even if Jonathan Toews get the matchup with McDavid’s line, he’s still worth consideration. The Blackhawks’ captain isn’t a cheap option, so he’s more of a GPP play with his linemates Alex Debrincat and Dominik Kahun.
Outside of Edmonton’s top line, their other three lines are just not good. This opens the door for Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov. Anisimon is below $4500 on FanDuel, so that’s a nice place to use him. The two also play together on the top power play unit, so that’s a nice bonus to have.
On the back end, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook both play on the top PP unit, but only Keith is worth a look. Both defencemen have abot the same FPPG on FanDuel, which may push Seabrook’s ownership up more than necessary.
Ottawa Senators Vs. Vegas Golden Knights
The Las Vegas Golden Knights are the biggest favourites on this slate to win and they have the highest team total at 3.7. There’s a good chance that LV get’s a win and that they put up more than their implied total.
There’s a lot to like about the top line of William Karlsson, Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault. Of those three players, Reilly Smith has the best price tag, so he’s an option on FanDuel and DraftKings. You can pair Smith with Marchessault for the winger-winger mini-stack.Shea Theodore joins all three players on the top power play unit, so he’s a lock for cash games at his $4200 price tag on FD.
Outside of the top line, Alex Tuch is always a nice play. He’s skating on the second line with Max Pacioretty and Erik Haula. All three can be used in a GPP at a lower ownership.
Marc-Andre Fleury comes in as the most expensive goalie on the slate, but has the highest chance of picking up the win. I’m not a fan of using the most expensive goalie on a slate just because they tend to not return value, but if you go with some bargain plays, you can fit him in. He’s not a bad play for cash games, but Ben Bishop’s matchup is still better and he’s cheaper.
San Jose Sharks Vs. Anaheim Ducks
This matchup has a game total of 5.5, which sounds about right. The Ducks are starting to get healthy, but even if Martin Jones gets the start, don’t expect them to score a lot of goals. On the other side, the San Jose Sharks are so hard to trust. I personally have some trust issue with SJ1, but we will save that conversation for another day.
For Anaheim, it’s going to be a lot of single bullet plays. The best option would be Rickard Rakell at $5900 on DraftKings. That’s a real bargain on this slate. If you are looking for a bargain play on FanDuel, Ryan Getzlaf is the best option to consider. He’s not the best bargain, but he’s under $7000.
On the San Jose side, the best duo to mini-stack would be Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski. This duo should have a very low ownership and they could score some goals. I wouldn’t feel comfortable using them in cash, so if you throw in Evander Kane and Erik Karlsson, you can roll all four out as a power play four-man stack in a GPP.
Back to Anaheim, John Gibson has been spectacular so far this season. He’s the highest priced goalie on FD, but he’s only $7800, which is good for seventh most expensive goalie on the slate. If you want to move off Bishop/Fleury, Gibson isn’t a terrible idea.