This Saturday of the NHL DFS season is chock full of plays, traps, and more. First off, let’s remind everyone of the Votts media list and a few links to follow.
When you are making your teams, one needs to make sure your goalie is confirmed and starting. Sites like Dailyfaceoff.com, Leftwinglock.com, and Goaliepost.com are great places for information. Another great source exists in team the form of team beat writers. Jeff has created a list on Twitter @Votts_DFS  for all of the NHL teams, and a separate list of all the beat writers for you to follow, it’s a great tool and a necessity. The advanced stats that I use and reference in this article come from Corsica.hockey and naturalstattrick.com.
If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to contact me on our premium Slack chat, or you can hit me up on Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS.
A Quick Note…
There are two afternoon games and a 6:00 contest which doesn’t count on the main. The picks below cover the eight game main schedule.
Full Schedule For Saturday November 17th, 2018
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Prices are in DraftKings format unless noted. FanDuel prices will be included as well.
NHL DFS GPP Plays For Saturday
High Priced Shots
Evgeni Malkin ($7,200) — The play becomes a nice one given how porous Ottawa is defensively. Consider that Sidney Crosby is also out and Malkin performs even better point wise when that is the case. Ottawa allows the most DFS points in the league to centers. Malkin is only $8,500 on FanDuel which is better than Crosby or Connor McDavid. Malkin’s shot volume projects higher today in the 4-6 range which bodes well for tonight. Look to power play stacks for Pittsburgh in what could be a high scoring, high-event game.
Filip Forsberg ($7,000) — Forsberg brings the shots in a big way with nearly four per game over the last ten contests. He has six goals in that span and has created 38 scoring chances as well. Los Angeles comes in not rested and played a high-event game last night in Chicago. Yes, Nashville is a bit banged up but Los Angeles is quite the wreck with a still potentially sick Peter Budaj starting. Even if Cal Petersen does start back to back, this is still a prime matchup for Forsberg and company. Watch for injury news and illnesses tonight. There are lots of landmines and pivots which will be available via social media later.
Joe Pavelski ($6,400) —Â Pavelski is hot at the right time with points in his last three contests. That is six points during the span and much improved chance volume. San Jose enjoys an excellent matchup against a not rested St. Louis team tonight. The Blues are a resilient bunch so expect elevated events more than usual which should create transition opportunities for the Sharks. Pavelski comes in at just $7,400 on FanDuel.
Into The Middle
Chris Kreider ($5,700) — Kreider remains a nice play given his six goal on 23 shot run in his last nine contests. The moderately high shot and chance volume is great for DFS players and at a decent price. Consider that Florida allows 35 shots on the road on a regular basis — there will be opportunities for points here. Kreider is $6,100 on FanDuel which keeps him in the middle bracket and an affordable play. There are value options from this game that make stacking easy. See Filip Chytil as a prime example.
Ryan Dzingel ($5,200) —Â It is acceptable to go for the goals as Ottawa and Pittsburgh has an implied goal total of nearly seven. Dzingel has six goals and nine points in his last ten games. it has been a breakout season for the forward — 14 points in 17 contests. Ottawa has been priced below what they should be all season long. Tonight is no different. Pittsburgh allows just 2.12 goals per game on the road BUT nearly four goals a game in their last ten games against the Senators. With two poor penalty kills, power play stacks are a definite possibility. Ottawa’s stack is quite affordable compared to the Pittsburgh version.
Alex Galchenyuk ($5,000) — Galchenyuk performing at nearly a point a game pace helps tonight. His price is reasonable enough even on FanDuel at $5,400. Moderately high shot volume and excellent chance volume has been his calling card since his return from injury. Boston’s defense has five players out and just played Dallas last night. There is this feeling of being gassed. Boston will try to push the pace early which should pay dividends later for Arizona. Pace wise the Coyotes should be able to get that top line going. Plus, they are ridiculously affordable. Watch the status on Patrice Bergeron.
Throwing Some Darts
Filip Chytil ($4,000) — Chytil’s price came up some on DraftKings but is level at $3,100 on FanDuel, which is near minimum. The now top line forward has goals in his last two contests on seven shots. Expect chances to continue tonight against a Florida bottom six which is among the worst ten teams in giving up high danger chances per 60. Michael Grabner is another option on Saturday but understand he has a low shot volume at times.
Colton Sissons ($3,800) — This delivers danger as Sissons is temporarily on the first line for Nashville but could be taken off at any time. He had three shots and three scoring chances his last game out while playing over 18 minutes. If the minutes continue, this is a good play at $3,400 on FanDuel. Just make sure during morning skate that Sissons is still in the top six. If not, Brady Tkachuk is only $3,900 on FanDuel. Even Jake Virtanen and Anthony Duclair carry some goal scoring value on Saturday night for DFS players looking at quick fixes. It is all about affording the bigger stacks after all.
Goading The Goalies
Again, our best bet with this slate is to simply wait for confirmations to come in. The problem lies in that there are only a couple confirmations and likely goaltenders so far. Morning skates reveal a few more but alas sometimes the wait can be right until warm-ups on a busy Saturday. Looking towards the lesser games tonight might actually pay off in GPP’s. Also, keep an eye on who starts for teams on no rest and some road opponents.
There are several teams playing with no rest. Those will likely be spots to watch to see who starts. It will also allow an insight as to who to start. Arizona exudes chalk in net and Darcy Kuemper (moderate risk) is at just $7,500 on FanDuel. Much like Brossoit last night, it is something to take advantage of. Even at $7,600 on DraftKings, this becomes a steal. Even Martin Jones could be a cash play tonight against a tired St. Louis team that can put up shots on a back end of a back to back. This is just the kind of night it is.
Just look at Friday night. There carries a lot more unexpected results tonight. If this had been a larger slate, ownership would be spread around. Someone will take a risk on Jaroslav Halak tonight if he plays. They just will. The bottom line is again wait till morning skates to see who is in and who is out first. With over 120 injuries and quite a few goalies out, paying attention to beat writers is more important today than usual.
More picks and choices will be available on Slack and social media later.
Best of luck on Saturday! This will be a fun ride.
