With six games lined up for Tuesday night that are all projected to be relatively close high-scoring contests, the NHL DFS slate looks like it will be a blast to play. Our goal here is to parse through some of the noise and identify some of the leading NHL DFS picks for you as you put together your DraftKings and FanDuel daily fantasy hockey lineups. Using Awesemo’s premium proprietary player projections and the top stacks tool, we will highlight several players and situations that will be advantageous and help your team rocket up the leaderboard.
As always, be sure to check our premium Slack for crucial 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 they scratch players. Our Slack chat is hands down one of the best places to get news and line change notifications.
NHL Power Plays: DraftKings + FanDuel DFS Picks | Feb. 16
NHL DFS Picks: Centers
Mika Zibanejad ($5,900 DraftKings / $6,000 FanDuel), A/A Grades
If you haven’t been paying attention to this NHL season, it might knock you off your chair to see the Rangers’ star top-line center at such low prices. Zibanejad’s early-season performance — along with that of most of the New York Rangers — fully warrants the price decrease. After putting up back-to-back seasons of more than 70 points — 74 (30 goals, 44 assists) in 82 games followed by 75 (41-34) in just 57 games — Zibanejad is off to a snail’s start. Playing in all 13 of the team’s games, he has managed just 3 points (1 goal and 2 assists) and lands at a -5 for the season to date. Zibanejad’s steady linemate, Chris Kreider, has just 4 points on four goals this season, with a revolving door on the opposite wing putting up meager stats as well.
The Rangers will be missing superstar Artemi Panarin for another contest tonight. While he does not play on the same even-strength line as Zibanejad, his absence will be felt generally in terms of production, and more will be expected from a top line that should see slightly increased time. Zibanejad remains a willing shooter, ripping 3 shots on goal per game, and he is a dynamic playmaker capable of putting up 5 points on any given night. He mans the point on the team’s top power-play unit, where he contributed 15 goals and 12 assists last season, and 11 goals and 12 assists the year before. The Rangers power play has been down this season, along with the rest of their offense, converting at just 11.54%, tied for 28th in the league with the opposing Devils. Still, the lack of current-year production is why Zibanejad and his line are priced so affordably. When we have obvious talent at a dramatic discount, it makes sense to roster it without overthinking.
Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin ($6,400/5,400 DraftKings / $7,800/$7,500 FanDuel), Crosby A/B Malkin A/A Grades
Hopefully you have more success deciding between the Penguins’ two superstar centers for tonight’s NHL DFS slate; they both look like solid options. The Penguins are taking on the rival Capitals in what should be another knockdown, drag-out tussle that has the night’s highest goals total at 6.5. The favored Penguins come in with a 3.42 implied total, and their stars are underpriced for the potential upside.
Perhaps two of the biggest name brands in the NHL, Crosby and Malkin need no real introduction in this space. The duo has led the Penguins to prominence throughout the past decade and a half, and both are headed to the NHL Hall of Fame. They are off to good starts this season, with Crosby outpacing his teammate so far. He has 12 points in the team’s first 13 games, potting 5 goals and chalking up 7 assists while centering the team’s quality top line and the top powerplay unit. Crosby has 2 of his goals and 2 assists on the power play this season, following a short 41-game season that saw him post 17 points (4-13) with the extra man last year, and 29 (12-17) the season before. Crosby has put 2.53 shots on goal per game this season, roughly on pace with his recent seasons, helping to generate potential offense and padding NHL DFS scoring slightly.
Malkin provides significant salary relief on DraftKings, much less so on FanDuel. The second-line pivot and first power-play point man is a star in his own right. In his 14 seasons, Malkin has failed to produce at least a point per game only once, when he played in just 43 contests and put up 37 points in 2010-11. He has been well beyond the point-per-game mark in every other season, with two seasons exceeding 100 points and a 98-point (42-56) season in 2017-18. Malkin managed 55 games in the wonky short year last season and 68 the year before. His production dipped over the two years, but he still delivered 72 points (21-51) in the 68 game season and 74 (25-49) in the shorter year. With three goals and four assists in his first 13 games this season, Malkin is behind his typical pace of production, but he is more than capable of closing that gap in a hurry. Playing on one of Awesemo’s top-ranked lines for production and value on DraftKings, Malkin will be difficult to avoid. With a greatly reduced price differential on FanDuel, it might make sense to pivot to Crosby, depending on how ownership shakes out later in the day.
Additional Center Values
Center is a position with peaks and valleys today. Top-end options include: Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Eichel; Value options are: Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome, Nicklas Backstrom (FanDuel) and Jack Hughes.
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NHL DFS Picks: Wingers
Mikko Rantanen ($7,500 DraftKings / $7,700 FanDuel), A/C(B) Grades
Rantanen plays on the outstanding top line of the Avalanche alongside MacKinnon, which immediately justifies his heavy price tag on most slates. Rantanen has had several standout seasons over the past few years. In 2,428 minutes on the ice alongside MacKinnon, the duo’s lines have a 53.47% Corsi-for percentage, a 136-103 goals-for advantage and 71 high-danger goals on 472 chances, compared to just 56 yielded on 453 chances the other way.
In his age-23 season last year, Rantanen posted 41 points (19-22) in 42 games, a season after hitting the 87-point mark (31-56) in 74 games. With two seasons over 80 points on his ledger, Rantanen is a proven contributor in a great spot. He is off to a solid start this season, with 10 points in the Avalanche’s first 12 games, scoring 7 times and adding 3 assists. He maintains power-play correlation with his superstar linemate as well, adding to the appeal of the popular stack. Rantanen has also padded his NHL DFS production this season, seeing an uptick in shots on goal and peppering opposing netminders with more than 3.5 per game.
Jesper Bratt ($2,500 DraftKings / $3,900 FanDuel) C/A Grades
Taking a dive into the deep end of the value pool, Bratt joins his linemates as a quality value play on tonight’s board. The 4-3-2 Devils are taking on their division rival Rangers (4-6-3) in a cross-Hudson duel of middling 2020-21 squads, though the Rangers’ futility has come across more games, with the Devils limited to just nine contests due to COVID-19 breaks. The Devils play a quality puck-possession game as evidenced by their team 52% Corsi-for percentage, which ranks seventh in the league this year. The Rangers are bad in the category, ranking 21st with a 48.5% mark, and they will be without their best player and playmaker, Panarin.
There is opportunity on the table for the extremely affordable Devils top line. The statistical issue that rears its head immediately is the (small-sample alert) 45.61 Corsi-for percentage in the 58:39 they have played together this season. It will be interesting to see what happens when this line goes up against the poor puck possession Rangers units in real life, but at their NHL DFS prices, the unit is well worth rostering. At his bargain basement price, Bratt could potentially produce upside. He has played just three times this season, producing 1 assist so far. In 60 contests last year, he posted 32 points (16-16) after putting up 33 (8-25) in 51 games the year before and 35 (13-22) in 74 games as a rookie prior to that. He is not a standout producer, but he doesn’t have to be for half the price of most players on the board. Bratt’s ice time was up in his three games, averaging 19:38, where he was at just 13:59 last season and slightly over 15 in the two seasons before that. Bratt does not typically put shots on goal with significant frequency, nor does he block them often, so there is no safe floor with the play, but the risk is low and Bratt is one of the top NHL DFS picks on the board for value today.
Taylor Hall ($7,400 DraftKings / $6,800 FanDuel) B/D(B) Grades
Moving from the Devils to a former Devils player, we land on Taylor Hall of the Buffalo Sabres. The team is taking on their intrastate rival Islanders in what should be a fairly tight contest with a 5.5 total. The Sabres are underdogs on home ice, coming in with just a 2.64 implied goals total, but Hall ranks out well for production and has an affordable price on at least one site.
Hall plays on the wing on Buffalo’s second line that could go undervalued on tonight’s slate. They do not leap off the page in terms of ranking and current-year production, but they slot into lineup constructions well as a unit given the pricing for the potential. Hall will skate with veteran teammates Eric Staal and Sam Reinhart, though the unit only has a 15-minute history together that does not merit citation. Hall is a productive player and is justifiable to roster as a one-off. In 65 games with the Devils and Coyotes last season, Hall posted 52 points (16-36), with 4 goals and 14 assists coming on the power play. This year he is off to a 9-point start in the team’s first 11 games, putting up a lone goal and 8 assists. Hall and Reinhart join the top unit on the power play, making them somewhat sneaky options to stack with Eichel.
Additional Wing Values
There are strong wing options up and down the board on both sites tonight. Just a few names that are in play everywhere include: Bryan Rust, Jake Guentzel, Max Pacioretty and Alex Ovechkin. Value options include: Kreider, Jakub Vrana and Jeff Skinner.
NHL DFS Picks: Defensemen
Adam Fox ($5,700 DraftKings / $4,500 FanDuel) B/A Grades
Fox has rapidly ascended to the team’s top defensive pair, where he partners with Ryan Lindgren to form a top-tier tandem. Since coming into the league, Fox is a +23, ranking third among defensemen over the term. He sees significant time with the team’s top two lines as well as on the top power-play unit’s point, averaging a monster 24:53 on the ice each game this season.
Fox has taken full advantage of the opportunity to star for the team he rooted for since childhood. In 70 games last season, his rookie year, he posted 42 points (8-34), with a goal and 12 assists coming on the power play. Fox rifled 125 shots on goal, 1.78 per game, and blocked another 92, or 1.31 per game, adding a reliable floor to his production. This season Fox has gone into overdrive, putting 2.23 shots on goal and blocking 2.38 per game. There is significant safety in the player, with strong hints of upside potential and a very reasonable price tag. Fox should be a prime option among NHL DFS picks on this slate for both DraftKings and FanDuel. He works as both a standalone and in Rangers stacks.
Ryan Suter ($4,900 DraftKings / $4,400 FanDuel) C/B(A) Grades
While there are several other options with higher projections and better rankings on the Awesemo NHL DFS board today, Suter has a chance at both production and going undervalued. In early ownership projections, Suter lands in fewer than 5% of lineups on both sites. The veteran blueliner simply has more utility than that for our purposes. In 11 games this season, Suter has put up 6 assists, with 1 of them coming on the power play. He skates on the team’s top pair and mans the point on the top power-play unit, putting him alongside the team’s top stacking options for a relevant share of his average 22:43 on the ice.
Suter has been a productive point producer throughout his career. In 69 games last season he totaled 48 points (8-40) a year after putting up 47 (7-40) in 82 contests. His reliability continues backward along those lines across a stretch of seasons. He has not been under the 31-point mark since 2006-07, with the highwater value landing at 51 points in two different years. Suter is a quality shot blocker, taking out 1.34 opportunities per game last year and averaging better than 1.5 per game for his career. He is also an eager shooter, averaging 1.9 shots on goal per game for his career. Both statistics help to pad the overall numbers for NHL DFS. Suter is worth the small investment he requires, particularly as a low-volume access point to a high-ranked and quality line and power-play unit for a Minnesota team that is favored in a good matchup against the Kings and implied for 2.97 goals. The Wild could be a sneaky source of NHL DFS picks tonight.
Additional Defenseman Values
There are numerous top defensemen who are coming in with strong value grades on both sites. The high end of the list includes Alex Pietrangelo, John Carlson and Ryan Pulock. On the value end, we can look to Alec Martinez, Rasmus Dahlin, Ryan Graves and Matt Irwin.
Top Stacks
Pittsburgh 1: Bryan Rust — Sidney Crosby — Jake Guentzel
Colorado 1: Brandon Saad — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen
Vegas 1: Max Pacioretty — Chandler Stephenson — Mark Stone
Value Stacks
Buffalo 1: Jeff Skinner — Jack Eichel — Victor Olofsson
New York Rangers 1: Chris Kreider — Mika Zibanejad — Colin Blackwell
Pittsburgh 2: Jason Zucker — Evgeni Malkin — Kasperi Kapanen
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