The Nashville Predators kicked off the 2022-23 NHL season with a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Friday. Now, we look forward to the second half of this back-to-back Global Series event in Prague.
This is the only game on Saturday, so there is a daily fantasy hockey Showdown slate with a Captain that anchors lineups at a 1.5x multiplier.
Let’s examine the best Captain and Flex plays for the final game of this Global Series on the DraftKings and FanDuel NHL DFS slate today. Of course, you’ll want to check Stokastic’s NHL DFS rankings and NHL DFS projections.
NHL DFS Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel
Captain Play
Roman Josi: DraftKings – $15,000 | FanDuel – $14,500
While Roman Josi was one of the highest-owned skaters yesterday, especially in the Captain slot, he underperformed relative to his expectations as he failed to find the scoresheet while logging three shots on goal (SOG) and three blocked shots. Hopefully, this steers some people off him on Saturday as we are going right back to the superstar.
Nashville’s offense runs through their Norris-caliber defenseman, and I do not think he will be held scoreless two games in a row against a relatively poor San Jose team. On breakouts and the rush, Nashville looks to send Josi up the middle and act as a secondary “center” on the play. More often than not they let him carry the puck into the zone and dictate the offense from there.
Nashville’s favorite offensive-zone play is for Josi’s partner to pinch and draw a defender onto him before the puck kicks out to Josi in the high slot. From there, Josi typically attempts to carry the puck into a high-danger area and either take a shot or make a pass to a forward underneath.
Those are just a few examples of how this offense tries to utilize Josi at all times, which they often do successfully. The star defenseman put up 96 points in 80 games last season.
Josi went against San Jose three times a year ago and across those three games, he logged six assists and 22 shots on goal.
Flex Plays
Nick Bonino: DraftKings – $5,600 | FanDuel – $9,000
After losing the first game, the last thing this San Jose squad wants to do is take an intercontinental flight home after two straight losses in Prague. While that is not a handicap of how this game is going to go, we should expect this team to come out buzzing on Saturday after yesterday’s 4-1 loss.
The first Sharks skater we are backing in this Showdown is centerman Nick Bonino, who is going against his former team. While he did not find the scoresheet on Friday, Bonino was one of the best skaters out there as he led all players between both teams in 5v5 xGF (0.83).
Logging over 11 minutes of ice time, he made the most of his shifts as he fired four SOG and blocked a shot. If he continues generating high-danger scoring chances on Saturday, It is more likely than not that he finds the scoresheet in some capacity, making him an intriguing play at this price.
Additionally, he centers the second power play unit and skates with the second penalty kill group. Over his last seven games against Nashville, Bonino has collected two goals, one assist, and 11 SOG.
Noah Gregor: DraftKings – $5,200 | FanDuel – $8,000
We are going to stack Bonino with one of his linemates, Noah Gregor. The Nieto-Bonino-Gregor line was San Jose’s most efficient group yesterday, despite not finding the back of the net as they led the team in 5v5 xGF/60.
While Gregor only registered one SOG and two blocked shots on Friday, we have the opportunity to stack someone who should be low-owned with a ton of upside considering how his line played yesterday. The 24-year-old winger has not been the sharpest scorer since entering the league, but he is willing to block shots and will get looks at the net playing alongside Bonino.
As a plus, Gregor ended last season in great form. Over his last eight games of the year, he produced four goals, two assists, 23 SOG, and six blocked shots.
At this price, Gregor should be a great high-risk, high-reward flex option. While It is entirely possible that he produces just a couple of fantasy points, the low-owned winger could be a difference-maker if Bonino propels this line to find the back of the net in some capacity.
Mikael Granlund: DraftKings – $7,400 | FanDuel – $9,500
Centering a line between Nashville’s two best goal scorers, this is a guy to help separate lineups from the masses. Granlund will still have relatively high ownership, but not nearly as high as Forsberg or Duchene.
While everyone will be focusing on the two wingers, gamers should take advantage of a guy who will also collect those points at a much cheaper price. This line logged 495 minutes last season over 62 games and was a massive problem for opposing teams.
Across that stretch, this line generated a 4.24 GF/60 and 3.13 xGF/60. All three of these skaters can score the puck, and while Forsberg and Duchene are certainly stronger snipers, Granlund at $7,400/$9,500 allows for throwing Josi in the lineup while not punting at other spots.
In 80 games played last season, Granlund generated 64 points. Over his three games against San Jose last year, Granlund produced two goals and five SOG.
In yesterday’s game, he collected an assist while adding four SOG. Additionally, he served as one of the triggermen on Nashville’s first power play unit.
Kiefer Sherwood: DraftKings – $6,200 | FanDuel – $7,500
Unfortunately, the $2,000/$6,000 gift from yesterday’s Showdown contest on this second-line winger is gone forever. That being said, I still love this play at this price considering how strong he looked yesterday.
Making a case as to stay as Nashville’s second-line winger, Sherwood impressed everybody with his two-point performance, starting with the goal he scored just over a minute into the game. While that was his only SOG, we are backing him once again because I believe he will contribute to another goal because of the line he plays on.
On Saturday, he will once again line up alongside Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Johansen, who both are strong playmakers. At 5v5, the Sherwood-Johansen-Niederreiter line led both teams in xGF.
There is a strong likelihood that one of these three guys scores again on Saturday, and at $6,200/$7,500, Sherwood should be a great value play once again.
Kaapo Kahkonen: DraftKings – $10,400
As most of you know, DraftKings has one extra slot compared to FanDuel with the ability to start a goaltender. I expect Kahkonen to be low-owned relative to his price and projected score just because of how much Nashville controlled the game in the second and third periods on Friday.
However, if the Predators fire a ton of shots on goal, then we can rack up points with volume saves by Kahkonen. Slated to make his first start of the year, Kahkonen put together a “good-not-great” campaign in 2021-22.
Going 14-14-4, he posted a .912 SV% and 2.87 GAA in his third NHL season. His underlying metrics amplify his average season, finishing right around the zero mark for GSAx/60.
Over his last two starts against Nashville, Kahkonen has produced a .922 SV% and 2.47 GAA. In a game where the Predators should fire a ton of shots, the Sharks’ netminder should generate a good amount of points through volume saves.
If he pulls something out of the hat and also shuts down Nashville, then he likely will propel lineups that own him into the money. Kahkonen is just the projected starting goaltender, so if James Reimer goes again we will just simply swap because we have enough money left over.
