NHL DFS Picks Today: Chalky Rangers Stack Is Tough to Pass Up

The NHL’s light four-game Sunday slate offers few superstars skating in strong matchups. Let’s dig through a couple of skaters who provide significant value and consider some important notes with ownership. One is a chalkier NHL DFS stack with some New York Rangers, as well as some players on low salaries offering good ways to differentiate. As always, subscribers should check Stokastic’s Discord, especially at warmups, for line changes and injuries.

Of course, be sure to check Stokastic’s NHL DFS rankings and NHL DFS projections.

Best NHL DFS Picks Today | December 18

Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox: $18,600 DraftKings | $24,300 FanDuel

The red-hot Rangers will skate as the biggest favorite among any games Sunday, and rightfully so considering how horrendously the Chicago Blackhawks form has been of late. Chicago has allowed four goals per game over the last five, and it has been clear that the Blackhawks have continued to trend downwards after a surprisingly decent start to the campaign. Their 3.78 expected goals against per 60 (xGA/60) over the last month of play illustrate that the high output of goals against is far from bad luck. Plus, all of Chicago’s goaltending options project as below-league average options this season.

That is what makes this stack so appealing, and the fact that this trio has around 20% ownership is surprising when analyzing this slate. Each of these three will play on New York’s top power play and Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad will skate together at even strength, so the correlation is excellent.

Chicago has the sixth-worst penalty kill in the league and offers an excellent target for the Rangers 12th-best power play.

These three have combined for 26 points over the last seven games and are well positioned to continue dominating in this matchup. Each projects to average over three shots on target against the Blackhawks, and this is a spot where backing the chalk makes sense.

Latest NHL DFS Content

Oliver Bjorkstrand: $2,900 DraftKings | $4,700 FanDuel

The Kraken are quietly well situated to do damage in a spot Sunday against the Jets, who skated last night in Vancouver and will start backup netminder David Rittich. The Jets have allowed 31.24 shots per 60 over the last month and have been modest defensively due to the spectacular play of Connor Hellebuyck.

With Rittich set to make this start for the Jets, Seattle skaters become a plus target. The fact that this is a massive game for a rested home team in the Kraken is another factor working in the favor of Bjorkstrand’s projections. He has averaged 2.48 shots on target this season while generating 14 points in 29 games. Bjorkstrand is a more capable goal scorer than his three goals illustrate, and moving forward he projects to score 20 goals or more.

This is a good time to buy low on Bjorkstrand in a good spot, and he is a high-value, low-salary option to help fill out a roster.

Get one month of Stokastic+ Platinum FREE when you make your first deposit on PrizePicks

Goaltenders

Jacob Markstrom/Dan Vladar: $7,900 DraftKings | $7,800 FanDuel

Calgary may not be the offensive juggernaut it was a season ago, but it still projects to be a well above-average defensive team moving forward this season. The Flames head into San Jose for a date with one of the worst offensive teams in the entire league, and therefore their goalies become very strong, high-floor options. Over the last month, Calgary has allowed just 2.47 xGA/60, which is the 11th-best rate in the league. Having lost six consecutive games, the Flames are likely to play with a high level of urgency in this spot, and they have the capability to allow the opposition very few high-danger scoring chances.

San Jose is rostering few skaters who truly are capable of finishing at a high level, which has led to 3.03 goals per game, a mark that actually is likely to trend downwards over a larger sample.

Calgary has not yet announced which of its goaltenders will draw the start, but ultimately the decision does not matter and either one projects to be Sunday’s best goaltending option.

Thanks for reading to the end of this article! If you appreciate this free content and want to see more of it every day, you can help us out by sharing this article on social media!