It’s Friday, Sept. 4, and that means some big NHL DFS contests on DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo. This evening’s main slate has a lot of traps but some risky rewards, too. Let’s get into some top NHL DFS picks for Friday night, including Nathan MacKinnon and Joe Pavelski.
There are two games on this slate which locks at 3:00 p.m. ET. Also, please keep in mind Eastern Conference games are being played in Toronto and Western Conference games in Edmonton.
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Here is tonight’s schedule. Once again, the home team just has the luxury of last line change
NHL Schedule for Friday, Sept. 4
| AWAY – Opening Line | O/U | HOME | TIME – EDT |
| Dallas | 6.0 | Colorado (-130) | 4:00 p.m. |
| Vancouver (-200) | 6.0 | Vegas (-230) | 9:00 p.m. |
Centers
Nathan MacKinnon — COL vs. DAL — ($8,500 DraftKings, $8,800 FanDuel)
This is going to be the extreme of chalk, but MacKinnon is a “man on fire” currently. He has two or more real-world points in every game this series except for Game 4. Yes, the two shots on goal in Game 6 was concerning but he scored, hit a post and still had four scoring chances. For a little help, stacking Andre Burakovsky (in the case Gabriel Landeskog is not 100%) is risky, as Landeskog is expected to play. Even then, Burakovsky is worth a shot for price relief on a two-game slate like this.
Pivoting to some of the middle-six centers could be prudent, but my advice is this: It will be interesting to see what players like Bo Horvat and if Tyler Seguin finds himself.
Joe Pavelski — DAL vs. COL — ($4,800 DraftKings, $5,300 FanDuel)
Pavelski had a bit of an off game in Game 6 but had three previous contests in a row where he exceeded value. He is a top-six forward who tends to come up big later in series. If Dallas is going to win Game 7, they are going to need their second line to produce. Pavelski is one of the best tip drill players in the history of the NHL. The time is now as they say.
Some have asked about going too far down and the answer there is honestly, punt plays do not exist on this slate. There are only two games so looking for mid-tier options like the ones mentioned above are a more solid plan. Keep it simple until some of the line shifts are fully confirmed.
Wingers
J.T. Miller — VAN vs. VGK — ($5,700 DraftKings, $7,100 FanDuel)
It is a slight risk to look at Miller here (especially on FanDuel), but this may be worth that danger anyway. The Vegas defense does not give up a lot of opportunities but they are glorious when yielded. Miller has a goal and six assists in his last three starts. He is averaging only just over a shot a game but is blocking over a shot a game also.
Keep an eye on this game. Does Vegas pot a goal or two early? If they do, that could change things drastically. Miller’s value increases with every passing game it seems.
Andre Burakovsky — COL vs. DAL — ($4,600 DraftKings, $5,200 FanDuel)
Lost in the crazy is the fact that Burakovsky keeps generating chances and producing points. He may see some time on the top line at times with Landeskog not quite 100%. Even then, Colorado’s second line can be pretty dangerous, and Burakovsky should be on the man advantage as well.
To save a few more bucks, look at value options like Jake Virtanen. Among the higher-priced wingers, there are the usual suspects like Max Pacioretty and Mikko Rantanen.
Defensemen
Quinn Hughes — VAN vs. VGK — ($4,700 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel)
This is a play to keep plugging in until he stops getting points. Hughes keeps exceeding value in three of his last five contests and has five points in the previous games alone. He blocks a couple shots here and there while firing a couple shots on net a night. It is his vision that creates chances and many opportunities for the forwards in front of him. Hughes is starting to utilize his above average snap shot.
Also, consider Shea Theodore but one will spend a bit more. It should be interesting to see how Vegas comes out for Game 7 after what happened in Games 5 and 6.
Miro Heiskanen — DAL vs COL — ($5,300 DraftKings, $6,000 FanDuel)
This is a slightly risky play on Friday, even though Heiskanen has points in seven straight games. Sometimes his floor dips a lot but sometimes it does not. Heiskanen’s vision is so good that if Dallas’ offense gets going, the defenseman will be the main catalyst. Again, there are other options but Heiskanen could surprise. Some argue that Cale Makar is the safer bet but even he then no one knows how he will handle a Game 7 either.
Also, consider  Chris Tanev from Vancouver or perhaps even Nate Schmidt from Vegas. This is going to be a night where there should be little excuse for exhaustion.
Stacks
COL 2 — Andre Burakovsky –Â Nazem Kadri – Valeri Nichushkin
This is a reasonably priced stack all things considered. Nichushkin is the biggest risk but revenge can be a dish best served cold. That is especially true when trying to close out a series in a deciding Game 7. This is about going a bit against the grain and sometimes going with what got you there. It is similar to the argument for playing Thatcher Demko in net for Game 7. Dallas has had trouble with this second line too often throughout the series.
VAN 1 — Bo Horvat – Tanner Pearson – Tyler Toffoli
This is a solid trio that has generated chances well against the Vegas top defensive pairing. At some point, though, Vegas will adjust again, but the feeling is Vancouver can hurt the Vegas defense with this line. It is why Toffoli and Pearson carry value. This is not only because they do well together. If the power play correlation is there in any way, this becomes an even better GPP play tonight as Vancouver tries to complete an improbable comeback.
Looking for more NHL DFS picks content? We’ve got loads of articles, data, cheatsheets and more on the Awesemo NHL home page, just click HERE. Finally, goalies will be updated in Slack and on social media as confirmations will be tougher with the staggered schedule.
