Tonight’s slate features 9 games with a handful of teams on back-to-backs, and plenty of options to go to in tournaments. The one spot that may be the most-owned is Pittsburgh’s top line (which is mentioned below), but I don’t think ownership will be a huge issue, much like last night. This is likely the last night of these huge NHL contests, so let’s try to enjoy a nice sweat tonight before we fire up some MLB research! We’ll start with some words from Awesemo, followed by some additional analysis by myself (Tommienation1/Jake Hari).
PIT1: Guentzel-Crosby-Hornqvist ($20,700 DK/$20,600 FD)
“The Penguins’ have the highest implied team total on the night at 3.6 taking on the Red Wings, who are on a back-to-back. It’s going to be tough to pass on this stack even at an increased price.”
This line has played at a very high-total when they’ve gotten a chance at even-strength, posting 67.5 Corsi For per 60 minutes (CF/60), 38.1 Scoring Chances For per 60 minutes (SCF/60), and 13.5 High-Danger Chances For per 60 minutes (HDCF/60). As mentioned by Awesemo, the Red Wings are on a back-to-back, and the Penguins’ top line should have a favorable matchup if they see either of the top lines for the Wings. Crosby and Hornvqvist well get top power-play duties, while Guentzel will slot in on the second unit, so this is one of the top stacks on the night, which is evident by their “A” points grade.
NJ1: Hall-Hischier-Palmieri ($17,900 DK/$19,500 FD)
“The Devils’ top line is inexpensive with Jesper Bratt, but it may wise to replace Bratt with Kyle Palmieri, who has power-play correlation with Taylor Hall on a team with one of the highest totals on the night (3.3).”
The Travis Zajac line took the shutdown duties for the Devils in their last home game, and if they do that again, that would mean more time for Hall and Hischier against the second and third lines for the Hurricanes. The Lidholm line has allowed 14.7 High-Danger Chances Against per 60 minutes (HDCA/60), which is great news for the Hall line which creates 12.7 HDCF/60 at even-strength. The Addition of Palmieri to this stack gives you a player that shoots a lot more, and gets top power-play instead of playing Bratt, who rarely shoots and is not on the power-play. If you want to get even cheaper, you can replace Palmieri with $2,900 Miles Wood and keep top PP correlation.
CBJ1: Panarin-Dubois-Atkinson ($18,300 DK/$19,400 FD)
“The Blue Jackets have an expected total that is well above their season average tonight on the road against one of the worst defensive teams in the Oilers.”
Over the month of March, the Oilers have allowed the most SCA/60 and HDCA/60, showing they’ve had a rough time limiting teams at even-strength, and tonight should be no different. The Blue Jackets’ top line has 72.3 CF/60, 38.4 SCF/60, and 14.2 HDCF/60 on the year, and they’ll matchup with the league’s worst home penalty-kill. If you’re looking to 4-man stack the Blue Jackets, adding Seth Jones to the stack for his high shot volume and power-play time with Panarin and Atkinson on the top unit. For $18,300 on DraftKings, this is an affordable top line that shouldn’t go overlooked in tournaments.
