This will be the last NHL slate for a few days as the teams get a break before the playoffs start next week. There are 15 games on the slate, so make sure you check out Awesemo’s rankings for a comprehensive list of his favorite plays, but these are the guys we’re spotlighting tonight. Awesemo will give his take first, and then I (Tommienation1) will follow up with additional analysis.
Top-Tier
Connor McDavid ($8,100 DK/$9,300 FD)
“McDavid’s Oilers have a 3.5 implied total tonight against the Canucks at home, and he should get favorable matchups all night.”
Coming off a three-assist game, McDavid (“A” points grade) and the Oilers have one of the biggest team totals on the slate tonight, and it’s largely due to McDavid himself. He’s been the one bright spot on his team this season, and tonight he should matchup with the Sedins, who are playing in their last game. The Sedin line has not been great defensively, allowing 32 Scoring Chances Against per 60 minutes and 12.2 High-Danger Chances Against per 60 minutes at even-strength. They also have a 78.5% penalty-kill, so McDavid should have a lot of ways to get on the scoresheet tonight, making him one of the top spend-up options.
Alex Ovechkin ($7,800 DK/$8,900 FD)
” Ovechkin and the Capitals have a healthy 3.3 implied total tonight at home against the Devils, who are resting some of their top players.”
New Jersey is resting tonight after clinching a playoff spot, so they will be without Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, and Sami Vataen tonight, while the Capitals seem to be at full strength. Ovechkin’s line already has fantastic numbers, and they should have no trouble getting a ton of shots and scoring chances against a Devils team that was already struggling defensively, allowing the 5th-most Corsi Against per 60 minutes over the last month. Ovechkin is a slam-dunk “A” points grade tonight.
Value
Colton Sceviour ($3,700 DK/$3,400 FD)
“Sceviour has moved up to the top line for the Panthers and even without Aleksander Barkov, they still have a 3.8 total in a huge game.”
Sceviour (“A” FD value) is a guy that has never been afraid to shoot, and playing alongside Vincent Trocheck and Evgenii Dadonov is a fantastic place for him to be. He’s played 17 and 19 minutes in his last two games, and he may even get some power-play time tonight with no Barkov in the lineup for Florida. Sceviour is a great value on both sites and is one of my favorite plays on the night.
Ethan Bear ($3,100 DK/$3,500 FD)
“Bear is seeing regular minutes and power-play time, and at his price point, it’s hard to ignore him with a massive team total.”
Bear has yet to show a lot of offensive upside, but his situation looks solid for DFS value. He’s been playing on the top power-play with Connor McDavid the last couple games, and we should expect to see that again tonight against a sub-par Canucks’ kill. Assuming he sees 20 minutes tonight against this poor Vancouver defense, Bear is one of the many good values on tonight’s slate.
