We start the week off with a full 10-game NHL DFS slate Monday night. There are a couple teams playing on the hind end of back-to-backs, and one of them will be the Vegas Golden Knights. Winger Max Pacioretty was a late scratch last night, and his status for tonight is unknown. We will have to keep an eye out for news to come, especially with no morning skate. In this Power Plays article, the goal is to highlight several NHL DFS picks for DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy hockey tournaments. Using Awesemo’s premium proprietary player projections and the top stacks tool, we will highlight several players and situations that will help your team rocket up the leaderboard.
As always, be sure to check our premium Slack for crucial fantasy hockey lineup information in the 20 to 30 minutes leading up to every game’s lock. With the COVID-19 pandemic still looming, teams have taxi squads and are ready to fill positions daily as teams scratch players. Our Slack chat is hands down one of the best places to get fantasy hockey news and line change notifications.
NHL Power Plays: DraftKings + FanDuel DFS Picks | March 22
NHL DFS Picks: Centers
Nathan MacKinnon (COL at ARI)
DraftKings – $9,000
FanDuel – $8,800
MacKinnon comes into tonight with a point in nine of the last 10 games. He has tallied 3 points in two straight games against a solid defensive Wild team. Tonight’s opponent, Arizona, is on the opposite end of the spectrum in defensive numbers. The Coyotes are in the bottom two of every single metric we like to use for NHL DFS. That is not to mention that the Avalanche are the best team in almost every single metric. The Avs should be all over the Coyotes tonight, and I would imagine they will garner some ownership, so make sure you can differentiate your lineups with the remaining salary.
Mika Zibanejad – (NYR vs. BUF)
DraftKings – $6,900
FanDuel – $7,200
Zibanejad had a point explosion the past week. He lit the Flyers up for 6 points and managed to tally a couple points against the Capitals on Saturday. Zibanejad has been playing some good hockey after opening the year completely snake bit. The Rangers are the beneficiaries of “who’s playing the Sabres tonight.” Buffalo has been absolutely awful, and Jack Eichel is shelved for possibly the remainder of the year. The Rangers will take advantage of last change and give Zibanejad the best possible matchup, but we can honestly say that any of the lines are +EV matchups for Zibanejad. The preferred matchup for me would be against the Taylor Hall line. Since Dylan Cozens has been playing on that top line, they have been bleeding chances. In a 105-minute sample, they have OK possession at 53% Corsi-for, but they are allowing 31 shots per 60, 31 scoring chances per 60, 16 high-danger scoring chances per 60 and 3.01 expected goals. Zibanejad’s shot volume has steadily risen, and he should find plenty of chances for a multi-point effort tonight against the six-win Sabres.
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NHL DFS Pick: Wingers
Kirill Kaprizov – (MIN vs. ANH)
DraftKings – $6,000
FanDuel – $5,900
Kaprizov is just 4 points short of a point per game in his debut season. His shot volume has picked up a ton, and he should be able to close the gap. Over the last 10 games, Kaprizov has averaged 4 shots a game while playing over 18 minutes. Wild coach Dean Evason has shaken the lines up and moved Joel Eriksson Ek to pivot the top line between Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. They will likely match up with the Ducks top line tonight in a plus matchup. The line of Ryan Getzlaf, Max Comtois and Rickard Rakell has been a defensive liability since they have been together. In a small sample, they carry a 45% Corsi-for and 3.5 expected goals against per 60 at five-on-five. It is no secret that the Ducks have struggled during this rebuild, and they will likely struggle with this Wild top line tonight as well.
Evander Kane – (SJ vs. LA)
DraftKings – $7,000
FanDuel – $7,300
Kane could take advantage of a Kings team playing on the back end of a back-to-back. He has been a shot-volume monster for most of his career, and he has hit the shot bonus in two out of the last three games. Over the last 10 games, Kane is averaging over 3.5 shots per game. The only real cause of concern is that he will likely see the Anze Kopitar line for most of the night. Kopitar isn’t the dominant defensive powerhouse that he once was, and Kane will likely get his attempts tonight.
If you’re looking to save a little salary, going down to the second line of the Sharks with Timo Meier could be a good pivot. They will likely see the Jeff Carter line, which has been subpar defensively. Los Angeles is playing the second of a back-to back, and if the Sharks can bring enough pace, they should have plenty of chances to find twine tonight.
Johnny Gaudreau – (CGY at OTT)
DraftKings – $4,800
FanDuel – $7,100
This is a DraftKings play due to the massive separation in salary from FanDuel. Gaudreau has had a roller coaster year and has struggled to get consistent production. His salary reflects the production, though, and I don’t mind paying for him with the matchup tonight. Ottawa has been decimated between the pipes. Their top three goaltenders are all on the IR, and they will turn to Filip Gustavsson. He has been in five different leagues, and his stats are all subpar. In the AHL he carried a .890 save percentage and allowed 3.3 goals per game in four seasons.
If you are looking to pivot off the top six for Calgary, going down to the third line makes a ton of sense. Since Andrew Mangiapane and Mikael Backlund have been together, they have played great hockey. They carry a 56% Corsi-for and 2.7 expected goals per 60. They will see the depths of Ottawa, and I don’t need to tell you how bad the depths are.
[MARCHMADNESS]
NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen
Cale Makar – (COL at ARI)
DraftKings – $5,100
FanDuel – $6,300
Makar has 2 points and 9 shots on goal in the two games since returning from injury. The main worry for Makar owners has been his shot volume. If he can keep his shot volume where it has been for the two games since coming back, he shouldn’t have any issues playing his tag off. Makar will play with the Avs top line in all situations, which gives him that much more upside for points. The Coyotes have been awful over the last 10 games, and the Avalanche should get plenty of opportunities tonight. Arizona is giving up the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing defensemen per game in the league.
Top Stacks
Colorado 1/PP: Landeskog – MacKinnon – Rantanen – Makar
This line has a ridiculous amount of firepower, and they will get to tee off on the Coyotes tonight. Arizona has been awful defensively the last 10 games. They rank 29th or worse in every five-on-five metric for NHL DFS, and they have full correlation for the power play. Arizona is the fifth-most short-handed team in the league, spending almost 7minutes a game down a man.
Our top stacks tool gives Colorado a 17% chance of being the top stack. They have a ton of leverage with only a 3% ownership share. The reason they have such high leverage is because they are really expensive. If you’re stacking Colorado, you need to make sure you can get different in your other lineups.
Calgary 3: Lucic – Backlund – Mangiapane
Calgary’s third line is a great value tonight at just $10,300. They fully correlate on the second power-play unit, and they have good numbers for a value filler stack. They carry a 56% Corsi-for with 2.7 expected goals per 60. They are creating 33 shots per 60 and 12 high-danger chances per 60. On top of that, Calgary is going to get plus matchups tonight, as teams like to stay away from Backlund’s good two-way defensive talent. Ottawa is on the struggle bus after losing three of their goalies, and they will go with the career backup Gustavsson. The Senators are in the bottom five of every advanced metric we use for NHL DFS, and I’ll be on the Flames third line tonight.
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