This is one of the last regular season NHL slates that is worth playing and after that we’ll get some smaller prize pools for the playoffs, but there will still be money to be made. There are 24 teams to choose from, so you can make a case for a few skaters on most teams, but here are a few that we’re spotlighting on this huge slate. We’ll start with a quote from Awesemo and then I (Tommienation1) will follow up with some extra notes.
Top-Tier
Nikolaj Ehlers ($6,000 DK/$6,000 FD)
“The Flames are still dealing with a handful of injuries, which is evident in the Jets 3.7 implied total, which is the highest on the night.”
You’re going to want to make sure Ehlers (“A” points grade) is in the lineup since the Jets rested a bunch of players in their last game. He should be playing with his normal line and facing the Calgary depth lines, which are sub-par defensively at best. Ehlers should be pretty low-owned in tournaments with all the great plays, but he plays on one of the best lines in the league and that huge team total is intriguing for a guy that is a high-volume shooter.
Brent Burns ($7,300 DK/$7,200 FD)
“Burns is one of the highest-volume shooters in the NHL and his team’s 3.2 team total and power-play matchup makes him a great raw-points play tonight.”
Burns (“A” points grade) has been unlucky this year as far as goals, but he’s still been racking up assists and shooting as much as anyone. Over his last 5 games, Burns leads the NHL with 52 shot attempts but zero goals to show for it. While it’s hard to predict goals, Burns does a lot of his damage on the power-play, and there could be a lot of opportunities tonight against an Avs team that is 5th in Times Short-Handed on the road this year.
Sami Vatanen ($5,600 DK/$4,600 FD)
“Vatanen is one of the more expensive defensemen on DraftKings, but getting 20+ minutes plus top power-play time with a team total over 3 makes him very appealing.”
Vatanen makes for a great spend-up option on DK because he correlates so well to that top Devils line featuring our boy, Taylor Hall. He’s averaging over 5 shots and about 24 minutes per game over his last 7 games as New Jersey is jockeying for playoff position. Many will be scared off of him on DK, but he makes a lot of sense on both sites either in a stack or by himself as a one-off.
Value
Sam Gagner ($3,900 DK/$4,300 FD)
“The Canucks have had trouble scoring goals all year, but tonight they have an implied total that is well over their monthly average at home against the Coyotes.”
Gagner has been really solid playing on a line with the Sedins and they should see the Coyotes depth lines, which are the ones you want to attack. Gagner’s line has created over 13 High-Danger Chances For per 60 minutes, and the Coyotes have allowed the 5th-most High-Danger Chances Against per 60 minutes over the last month at even-strength. The power-play matchup is solid for Gagner, too, as he plays on the top unit against the 17th-ranked Arizona penalty-kill.
Timo Meier ($4,200 DK/$4,500 FD)
“If he’s on the top line with Joe Pavelski again, Meier is a great candidate to get on the scoresheet in what should be solid even-strength matchups for him.”
Timo is a guy that I absolutely love using as he’s usually affordable on DraftKings and is great at creating shots and scoring chances. If Evander Kane can’t play, he’ll likely take his spot on the top line, and he’s been great over his last five games, posting 22 Scoring Chances and 8 High-Danger Chances. Even if he’s not on the top line, Meier (“A” DK value) should see matchups against the underwhelming Avalanche depth lines as well as second power-play time.
