This is an easy slate to pay up for studs, as many of the home teams are in favorable spots, but value is hard to come by. The players listed below are nice supplementary pieces to theĀ Stacks of the Day, where we break down full lines. Awesemo will talk about each player first, and then I (Tommienation1) will follow up.
Top-Tier
Patrik Laine ($7,000 DK/$7,900 FD)
“Laine’s team has the 2nd-best implied total on the slate and he provides a lot of floor and upside in this matchup because of his high-volume of shots.”
Laine’s 20.7 individual Corsi For per 60 minutes this year lead his team, and he should come out firing at all strengths tonight, as he will likely see the Minnesota 3rd and 4th lines at even-strength. The Cullen/Coyle combination for the Wild has been exploitable defensively, allowing over 30 Scoring Chances Against per 60 minutes and 13.9 High-Danger Chances Against per 60 minutes. The Wild committed the 3rd-most penalties on the road this year, and Laine (“A” points grade) has been lethal on the power-play this year.
Eric Staal ($6,100 DK/$7,200 FD)
“Staal’s Wild may not have a big implied total tonight, but his power-play time and scoring ability make him a solid pivot tonight.”
Staal was great all year in his 40-goal season, and this is a tough spot for him, but one that he could have some success. The line-matching for the Jets is unclear because they had many injuries each time they faced the Wild at home this year, but Staal could spend a lot of time against the third-line for the Jets, which allows 10.2 High-Danger Chances Against per 60 minutes. The Jets are deep, but they also commit a lot of penalties (4th-most this year), so there is power-play upside here for Staal, and he lead his team in individual Corsi For per 60 minutes at 16.3. He may not be cash-viable tonight, but for tournaments, Staal is a nice bullet to take a chance on.
Value
James Neal ($4,800 DK/$6,800 FD)
“Neal’s pricing discrepancy between the two sites makes him a great value on DraftKings, as his team has an implied total over 30 and he is one of the top scorers for the Golden Knights.”
Neal (“B” points grade) seems like a mis-price on DraftKings that can be taken advantage of in all formats. He posted an individual Corsi For per 60 minutes of 17.8 this year and 10.6 individual Scoring Chances For per 60 minutes on the year, which both ranked 2nd on his team. Neal should avoid Kopitar and Doughty for a lot of the game, sees time on the power-play, and has an above-average matchup against the Jeff Carter line at even-strength.
Justin Schultz ($4,o00 DK/$4,900 FD)
“Schultz should see 18-20 minutes tonight on the 2nd-pairing as well as power-play time on the 2nd power-play unit in a game where the Penguins have a 3.5 implied total.”
If you can’t pay up for Kris Letang, Schultz (“B” DK and FD value) is a nice consolation as he usually sees near minutes each game. His 11.5 individual Corsi For per 60 minutes this year ranked 3nd on the Penguins for defenseman, but Schultz regularly saw time on the star-studded top power-play unit with Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, and Hornqvist. While it isn’t clear which unit he’ll be on tonight as the Pittsburgh likes to switch it up, Schultz will see enough even-strength time to make him viable on both sites.
