NHL DFS PICKS: Power Plays for DraftKings & FanDuel, Oct. 17 (FREE)

Max Pacioretty, Mika Zibanejad and NHL DFS PICKS for DraftKings and FanDuel. For more analysis on the slate, check out Nolan Kelly’s Line Change article before lock, as well as Awesemo’s NHL Projections and Rankings. You can also subscribe to the Awesemo.com YouTube Channel to get notifications when “Hit The Ice” (4ET Weekdays) goes live! Enjoy a special 50% discount on your first month of Awesemo+ using code: HITTHEICE. Join now and gain access to all of the projections, rankings, and expected ownership percentages you need to get ahead of The Masses in DFS NHL, NBA, NFL, PGA and more. I have created a list on Twitter @Votts_DFS  for all of the NHL teams, and a separate list of all the beat writers individually for you to follow, it’s a great tool and a necessity, for an edge in NHL DFS. NHL Schedule for Thursday, Oct. 17^th

AWAY	O/U	HOME	TIME – EST
Tamp Bay	6	Boston	7:00 PM
Minnesota^	6	Montreal	7:00 PM
NY Rangers	6.5	New Jersey	7:00 PM
Vancouver	5.5	St Louis	8:00 PM
NY Islanders	6	Winnipeg¥	8:00 PM
Detroit	6.5	Calgary	9:00 PM
Nashville	6	Arizona	10:00 PM
Ottawa	6.5	Vegas¥	10:00 PM
Buffalo*	5.5	Los Angeles¥	10:30 PM

*Back to back ^ 3 in 4 nights ¥ 3 in 6 nights

DraftKings NHL DFS Ownership Projections

Awesemo.com now offers DraftKings NHL Ownership Projections! Use these ownership projections to pick your favorite low-owned sleepers. In addition, they are also beneficial for building cash-game lineups. Looking for your favorite Awesemo.com content? Check out our NHL Content Schedule where we break down everything we offer each week, free and premium!

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NHL DFS Picks

CENTER

Mika Zibanejad – NYR @ NJD

DraftKings – $7,800 FanDuel – $7,600 Mika Zibanejad is the highest-priced pivot on the slate tonight, and that could bring his ownership down. The Rangers top line has been pretty lethal to start the year. Zibanejad has eight points in three games this year to go along with an average of three shots per game. Playing between Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich, they fully correlate on the top power play, as well. The Devils have opened the year with the worst penalty kill in the league, only killing 57% of their penalties. That’s something we want to pick on. Taylor Hall will play with new line-mate Jack Hughes, and this game should have a ton of action with plenty of chances to light the lamp.

Mark Scheifele – WPG vs NYI

DraftKings – $6,900 FanDuel – $8,200 Scheifele has opened the year stuffing the stat sheet with 12 points in eight games. He’s playing over 21 minutes a night and his line is loaded with talent. All three guys fully correlate on the top power play, but it’s not cheap. Adding in a blue liner like Josh Morrissey ($4,600) can offset the price if you can’t get all three. New York has struggled on the penalty kill this year with a bottom-ten kill rate. The Islanders are also without Jordan Eberle, and have moved Tom Kuhnhackl to the top line.

Jack Hughes – NJD vs NYR

DraftKings – $4,100 FanDuel – $4,400 The number-one pick hasn’t done a ton since his debut, but tonight could be the night. Hughes is going to play on the top line with Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri. This game should be a very fast-paced game with a ton of action. The Devils top line should see the depth lines of the Rangers for most of the night and they should spend a ton of time in the offensive zone. Looking at the Rangers depth lines, they are allowing on average 27 shots against per 60 and 11 high-danger chances per 60. Tonight is a great night for Hughes to tally his first NHL point. All three fully correlate on the top power play as well, making for a nice stack.  

WINGER

Max Pacioretty – VGK vs OTT

DraftKings – $7,200 FanDuel – $6,900 When I first looked at the schedule for the day, Vegas immediately stuck out as the mega chalk. Then I saw the prices of the line, and now I think they will go under-owned. This game checks all the boxes for the Golden Knights second line tonight. Vegas’ second line will get to beat up on the depth lines of the Ottawa Senators. Max has struggled to light the lamp with only two goals so far, but he’s consistently getting pucks on net. He’s averaging 3.5 shots per game in the eight games they have played, but he also has six helpers. Ottawa has picked up right where they left off last year. They have the second-worst Corsi in the league, are allowing the most shot attempts per 60 and are also allowing the eighth-most scoring chances. The Senators have their hands full tonight and Vegas could put up a massive number.

Elias Lindholm – CGY vs DET

DraftKings – $5,700 FanDuel – $5,900 Elias Lindholm’s price has caught up to his production and talent, and isn’t as much of a smash value play as before. That’s not to say he isn’t a good play still. He’s still in a great spot to succeed tonight, playing on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Lindholm is averaging three shots on net per game and the top line as a whole creates a ton of offense. Detroit is a one-line team with very weak depth, and that’s where Lindholm will line up tonight. Vegas has the Flames pegged for over a four team total, and I believe it. The Red Wings are allowing over 34 shots against per game, and their goaltending has been less than stellar. Detroit is also dealing with an illness bug in the locker room, so keep an eye news for players to be in/out.

Kyle Connor – WPG vs NYI

DraftKings – $5,300 FanDuel – $6,300 Kyle Connor is too cheap on DraftKings, plain and simple. He’s been playing on the top power play alongside the elite first liners, and he’s shooting the puck every chance he gets. Over the eight games the Jets have played, Connor is averaging over four shots per game. If you can’t get to the top line, moving to the second line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Brian Little, or even adding just a power play combo of Connor with Josh Morrissey.

DEFENSEMEN

Jacob Trouba – NYR @ NJ

DraftKings – $6,000 FanDuel – $5,800 Trouba has been logging big minutes on the blue line for the Rangers, and he’s been contributing in all facets. In the three games he has played, Trouba is averaging just under six shots/blocks per game and he’s tallied four points. Trouba will quarterback the top power play unit, and with the Devils having such a bad penalty kill to start the year, adding him on as a compliment to a stack just makes sense.

Sean Walker – LA vs BUF

DraftKings – $4,400 FanDuel – $3,800 The sophomore has opened the year off with a great start. Walker has tallied four points in six games and he’s averaging just under five shots/blocks per game. For the six games the Kings have played, Walker has averaged just about 20 minutes of ice time, and with Drew Doughty possibly out, Walker could get some extended run tonight and make for a decent value play.

STACKS

Vegas 2

Max Pacioretty – Paul Stastny – Mark Stone Vegas’s second line has a ton of offensive fire power. They create 37 shots for per 60, with 14 high-danger chances per 60. With an expected goals of a 2.93 xgf/60, they are in a great spot tonight. The price is very steep, but that could bring down the ownership on them, as well. Ottawa’s depth lines struggle possession wise, and they will have their hands full tonight

New Jersey Devils 1

Taylor Hall – Jack Hughes – Kyle Palmieri This game has all the makings of a game stack. The Rangers have allowed the most shots on goal in the league, and their defensive metrics are sub-par. The Rangers own the worst Corsi in the league at 40.65 CF%. If the Devils top line can get positive matchups against the Rangers depth lines, they can capitalize. Jack Hughes is moved up to the top line with Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri, and that should give him plenty of breathing room to find open and bury the first goal of his career.

Calgary Flames 1

Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Elias Lindholm With a Vegas team total of over four, the Flames could be a semi-contrarian option tonight. It seems that a lot of the ownership will go between Vegas, New Jersey and the Rangers. Calgary is an expensive stack just like Vegas is, and they will get great matchups against the Red Wings depth lines. Detroit is allowing the fifth-most shots against per game, and they have the 25^th-ranked penalty kill. The Flames top line all stays together on the power play, as well, giving you full correlation.

Awesemo’s NHL DFS Projections

Be sure to check out Awesemo’s NHL Projections, which were created and are maintained by Alex “Awesemo” Baker & Jake Hari. In addition, this includes NHL DFS projections for contests on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Use our projections by uploading them into our Fantasy Cruncher premium add-on, which generates hundreds of optimal lineups within minutes.