Below is a breakdown of Saturday’s two-game NHL DFS slate followed by example lineups. 

 

Philadelphia Flyers Vs. New York Islanders

The Islanders were #NotGood in game two, specifically Semyon Varlamov. We can expect them to be better in game three, but maybe this is the spark the Flyers needed.

No skater on DraftKings is priced over $7K, so we will have many options to choose from. The line we should be targeting in this game is Philadelphia’s top line.

Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux is the mini-stack we should focus our attention on, but Voracek has been the best of the three. If you want, the winger-winger stack is in play here. The Islanders are the “home” team in this matchup, but that might mean they try to get their top line away from the Flyers’ top line. While New York does play good team defence, as we saw, they are vulnerable at times. 

On defence, Provorov has now gone two games without registering a point. His price tag has dropped to $5K on DK, so that’s a nice savings we can jump on. He’s the quarterback on the top power play unit, and the Flyers entire top line joins him. You can get creative and mix-and-match as you like, but a Giroux-Voracek-Provorov power play stack is the optimal combination.

In goal, Carter Hart is the easy choice. Barry Trotz may elect to sit Varlamov in game three, but that’s just an idea, and it would be the wrong one. Hart is going to start this game, and he’s been elite since the beginning of the playoffs. He is the fifth most expensive goalie on DK, so why not save yourself some trouble and just plug him into your GPP lineup.

For the Islanders, their top line is where we can look for some value. Everyone should know how I feel about Beauvillier, but He’s over $6K on FanDuel, and he’s $5K on DK. He is still very affordable, but not like he was at $3700 a few weeks ago. Again, the winger-winger stack here is in play with Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle. If you are thrilled with the idea of using Eberle, then you can go with Beauvillier instead. There’s no correlation stacking them, but you do get exposure to the top two lines, and the two power play units.

Semyon Varlamov is my favourite high risk/high reward goalie on the slate. With Philadelphia’s top line being so affordable on DK, his ownership should be way down there. Not to mention, he was a dumpster fire in game two, so some DFS players may want to stay away from him. It would be foolish to overreact to one game, so if you are stacking the Islander, plug Varlamov into your lineup.

 

Vancouver Canucks Vs. Vegas Golden Knights

Tyler toffoli made a surprise return to the lineup, and he didn’t waste any time making his presence felt. While the Golden Knights are heavy favourites in this game, we should discredit the Canucks; they deserve to be here.

J.T Miller is expected to skate on the top line with Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser. Horvat and Miller skate on the top power play unit, so that mini-stack is an option to consider. The other option to consider is Elias Pettersson and Tyler Toffoli. While I don’t expect Toffoli to go off again for three points, I do line the fact that he’s below $5K on DK ($4700), which is $100 less than Boeser, who is skating on the second power play unit. You can go with a Pettersson-Toffoli-Miller power play stack and get exposure to the top two lines at the same time. If you can’t afford EP40, replacing him with Horvat is also a strong play.

On the back end, Quinn Hughes is $4700 on DK, so that’s an easy plug-and-play. There’s no reason for him to be less than $5K, but DK has decided that prices are going to be extra soft today, so we’ll take it. 

For Vegas, the top line is where we should be focusing most of our attention, but Karlsson isn’t skating on the top line, and a third winger-winger stack with Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty isn’t something I’m thrilled about. 

What we can do is target Paul Stastny and Jonathan Marchessault. The two join Stone and Pacoretty on the top power play unit, and they play together five-on-five. Stastny is $3800 on DK, so that’s quite a discount for a player with an enormous amount of upside. He did finish game two with four shots, so we do know that he’s capable of shooting the puck. 

Paying up for the most expensive defenceman on a slate is something I hate doing, but man, Shea Theodore is starting to enter Brent Burns territory. He finished game two with EIGHT shots on goals, and three blocked shots. Combined with his two assists, he finished with 31.9 fantasy points on DK. in the last four games, he has 21 shots on goal and six points. If you pair him with Stastny and Marchessault, you should have the salary to fit him in.

If that isn’t the case, Alec Martinez countries to be an affordable option. He’s $3800 on FD, and he does have three points in the last four games. The fear with Martinez is he doesn’t get a bunch of shots on goal (seven in the last four games), but he does have three or more blocked shots in the last two games, which helps us hit the shot blocked bonus on DK. 

As for goalies, I’m probably going to stay away from both. Robin Lenher is the most expensive goalie on both sites, and he has given up three or more goals in three of the last four games. We may also see Marc-andre Fleury get the start in goal, and he hasn’t played since August 15th. 

For Markstrom, it’s just too risky of an option. His $7300 price tag on DK does make it interesting, but there’s no reason to look for savings at the goaltending position when all the skaters on DK are underpriced! If you absolutely want to start a goalie from this game, Lehner would be the most logical play, but if he isn’t starting, it’s Markstrom. I know how that sounds, which is why I’m staying away from goalies in this game.