This Saturday feeds us a large slate. First off, let’s remind everyone of the Votts media list and a few links to follow on this edition of NHL Power Plays. DFS players take notice of any and all changes.
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 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.
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A Quick Note…
The picks below cover the Saturday evening slate which is 11 games in all. A two-game afternoon slate will be covered in the chat room and social media. There is a lot of sludge. What does this mean? Quite a few teams are on the back end of a back to back and playing each other. Five such games exist which is almost half the slate.
Full Schedule For Saturday, February 2nd, 2019
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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
Mika Zibanejad ($7,000) — The play should be higher owned just because of that high-paced Tampa Bay-NY Islanders game Friday night. How much will Tampa Bay have left in the tank? Zibanejad comes off a hat trick against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday and has been one of the hottest players in the league not named Patrick Kane, Nikita Kucherov, or Johnny Gaudreau. Maybe that doesn’t translate into the same production but the chances have been there. Expect them to be there again on Saturday against a Tampa team that will try and trade chances with a high-paced Rangers team that has to almost play that way. His FanDuel price comes in at $7,100 which is $1,600 less than the two big Tampa Bay centers.
Patrick Kane ($8,000) —Â The Chicago forward is near $9,000 on FanDuel but for good reason. He has nine goals and 25 points in his last ten games. Ten of those points came on the man advantage. Minnesota playing with no rest should mean ample opportunities for both teams to generate chances. Chicago plays at a frenetic pace where swings of momentum just happen often. When Kane’s line appears on the ice, chances come and go faster than a video pinball machine. Pundits joke that 40 scoring chances per 60 coming and going are a pace that can be generated. Kane and his linemates scoff at that notion. Expect a ton of fun when Kane is on the ice and watch which line matches up from Minnesota. That is a spot for maybe a mini-game stack.
Brent Burns ($6.800) —Â With Erik Karlsson nursing the flu (may not go), Burns becomes the obvious late hammer defenseman play. Burns tallied 11 points in his last ten games and his shots and blocked shots are through the roof. That average of nearly seven per contests translates to an automatic high floor where if Burns gets an assist, he exceeds value. Going up against a banged up Arizona Coyotes team provides a myriad of chances to rack up more points. Arizona may not always give up a ton of shots (less than 30 per game on the road). On the other hand, they can allow goals in bunches. The $7,500 price tag on FanDuel appears high but again, remember that floor!
DraftKings Play / FanDuel Super Value Play
Kyle Connor ($6,000) —Â Goal scorers trend up and down but one has to love these snipers when they are hot. Connor remains hot with eight goals in his last nine games. He has 12 points overall in that span and his $6.300 FanDuel price is quite reasonable as the prices have not risen on him too much. Winnipeg enjoys another solid matchup against an Anaheim team that could easily yield 35 shots or more. It boils down to can John Gibson stop all of Winnipeg? That may be easier said than done on this night.
Into The Middle
Jake Guentzel ($5,900) —Â Guentzel sneaks in just under $6.000 on Draftkings despite tallying nine goals in his previous 11 contests. He averages more than 3.5 shots per game over this span and faces a Toronto team that has lost eight of its last 12. Normally, these Toronto-Pittsburgh games have an over/under of 6.5 and the over hits about 75% of the time. Shot volume is likely to be high between the two teams as again, both are on the back end of a back to back. Guentzel fires the puck from everywhere and even his high $7,700 FanDuel price is not terrible.
Jonathan Huberdeau ($5,500) — Huberdeau presents as a solid tournament play and even cash play in some cases because of his floor (shots on net) and scoring potential. He has averaged three shots on net in his last nine starts. His time on ice increased to over 18 minutes a night in this span as well. He scored against Nashville on Friday night and plays a tired Vegas team. Expect some fireworks in this one as Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck should create havoc against the Vegas top line if they match up. His $6,200 FanDuel price becomes almost too low on this night.
Carl Soderberg ($5,700) —Â Soderberg floats in with six goals in his last nine games and gets to play with Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog on Saturday night. This is provided that Nathan MacKinnon plays (probable). He is just $5,100 on FanDuel and paired with top-line talent. Vancouver likely still matches the Horvat line against the MacKinnon trio. So, line two presumably will draw an easier matchup. This may help Soderberg’s fortunes on the power play where he has struggled — 0 points in the last ten games. Colorado’s new top line will have interesting stacking value but line two as a mini-stack remains a strong buy.
DraftKings Play / FanDuel Super Value Play
Frank Vatrano ($5,000) —Â The third wheel on the second line for Florida has 37 shots in his last ten contests! He is averaging a point a game as well. Again, the winger plays controlled minutes (about 14 a night). It works out well given his $4,400 FanDuel price. Basically, he produces there at less than $400 per point which is elite production per dollar. Frank “The Tank” presents as good cash or even GPP option on Saturday night against a Vegas team due to for a bit of a downturn. Look toward some of Ottawa and Detroit’s middle-priced talent on Saturday as well.
Throwing Some Darts
Tyler Bozak ($3,700) —Â Bozak quietly has seven points in his last nine games and four goals to boot. His shot volume is still below two per game but he provides the occasional block or two and draws a decent matchup against Columbus. Columbus comes in struggling and this game could be a battle of wills and goals. Bozak’s FanDuel price rises a little higher at $4,400 but the production lately merits the jump in value.
Oliver Bjorkstrand ($3,200) —Â Will Bjorkstrand earn those extra minutes again? He possesses an above average shot and fired seven times on net the other night. He has 25 shots in the previous nine games despite fluctuating ice time. If he plays 16-17 minutes a night in Columbus, he presents as a dangerous threat. The price is so low that the value is easy to hit because of the potential floor increase. St. Louis may be stingy but Columbus is top-10 in the league at home as far as shots per 60. The $3,500 FanDuel price makes this an easy buy.
Colin Wilson ($3,100) —Â Wilson has points in two of his last three games following a return from a shoulder injury. His play noticed by the coaching staff may mean a temporary assignment as far as some top-line duty with Nathan MacKinnon on Saturday. For the price and punt play basically, it is worth taking a look because that FanDuel price is not much higher.
Tyler Myers ($3,600) —Â Searching for value on defense feels like a quest through a swamp. However, Myers should be able to provide enough floor to offset his low price. Again, value plays are value plays for a reason. This Winnipeg one could be used but others do exist. The best bet is to dig deep for punts on Saturday so one can spend up elsewhere.
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 no confirmations so far. Morning skates reveal a few more but alas sometimes the wait can be right until warm-ups on a moderate Saturday night slate. Looking towards the lesser games tonight might actually pay off in GPP’s. Can teams on no rest pike up enough shots to make rested teams look viable?
Watch to see who starts whom. Expect the unexpected again as Henrik Lundqvist is just $7,500 on DraftKings. The $7,800 price remains a steal given New York’s ability to allow 35+ shots to anyone even at MSG. Martin Jones brings one of the highest chances for a win despite his ghastly numbers.
The slate offers up few ways to get fancy. Watch to see who starts with over half the teams not rested. See, Nashville, where Pekka Rinne is just $8,200 on FanDuel based on a few not so stellar starts. The vital part of goaltenders is to be patient and wait to see who gets the nod. Making the right decision can be everything on Saturday night.
More picks and choices will be available on Slack and social media later. The key for Saturday is this. Wait till confirmation and then warm-ups in some scenarios. Just trust us here.
Best of luck on Saturday! This expects to feature a lot of unexpected, slate wise. And yes, play a flier or two from Arizona. That is not a joke.
