Hockey fans have the return of Jack Eichel to look forward to tonight, which makes this one of the more anticipated NHL games of the season. He will be discussed, as well as many other NHL DFS picks, throughout this article. Awesemo’s premium tools will be the guide for this Wednesday, Feb. 16 slate. For non-subscribers, Awesemo’s NHL ownership projections are available for free. Be sure to utilize all of the free tools and projections when creating your NHL lineups tonight on DraftKings and FanDuel.
NHL DFS Picks, Top Stacks & Lineup Optimizer Plays Today
Center
Jack Eichel (VGK vs. COL): DraftKings – $6,800 FanDuel – $5,500
The time has finally arrived: Eichel’s debut with Vegas. He was traded earlier this season and subsequently had neck surgery, which makes this his first game in nearly a calendar year. He looks to be skating on the top line with Max Pacioretty, which is exactly where a player like Eichel should be.
It has been so long since he has played, and the Sabres were generally so bad, that it is easy to forget how elite he is. His 82-game pace in the three seasons before the serious neck injury was for 33 goals, 87 points and over 3.5 shots a night. That was on a bottom-5 offensive team as well. He now goes to Vegas where he skates with an elite scorer upfront and a top-end blue line behind them. He is one of the top offensive centers in hockey and if he performs to his ability, his DFS price will only go up from here. His cheap price makes him the best value center on FanDuel tonight, according to our projections.
The Colorado Avalanche are in town and it is a tougher matchup than most teams, but they are playing a road back-to-back. That hopefully gives Eichel and company a rest advantage tonight and on a short slate at his prices, he and his linemates require some attention in all formats.
Looking for some more help when building your NHL lineups? Check out all of our free NHL DFS picks in our daily Fantasy Hockey Cheat Sheets for DraftKings and FanDuel.
Pierre-Luc Dubois (WPG vs. MIN): DraftKings – $4,800 FanDuel – $6,700
Pierre-Luc Dubois had seen an ice-time decline leading into the All-Star break, then he played 17 minutes in his first game as he came off the COVID list. He has seen over 20 minutes in each of his last two games as the team pushed him back to his normal role on the second line. He is still a fixture of the top PP unit, so he is back to his normal role. That is important here because his price has come down and that makes him appealing, even in a tough matchup against Minnesota.
Since the calendar turned to 2022, Dubois’ line is controlling 58% of the shot attempts and 59% of the scoring chances. The Wild are among the 10 most-penalized teams in that same time frame so Dubois could see a lot of good offensive minutes here tonight.
It is the price that could drive fans to consider the Winnipeg center tonight. He is on pace for over 30 goals and 60 points, yet is outside the top-10 centers on DraftKings on a four-game slate. He at least warrants consideration in tournaments.
Winger
Mikko Rantanen (COL at VGK): DraftKings – $8,000 FanDuel – $9,600
On the flip side of the Eichel matchup is Mikko Rantanen and Colorado’s top line. The fact of the matter is it is unknown exactly how good defensively the Eichel line will be with him there and Mark Stone injured. Stone is an elite two-way forward, which is a loss from that line, and Eichel is not a premier defensive center. This Colorado line is scoring over 3.5 goals per 60 minutes over the last few weeks, which is basically just what this line does like clockwork. Should that Vegas line not gel defensively right away, Rantanen and company are poised to take advantage.
The injury to Stone (among others) is also important for the penalty kill. Colorado has a very good power play and Vegas’s expected goals against rate while down a man is 20th in the league in 2022. This is another area where Rantanen and his linemates can take advantage.
At his price on the road, Rantanen is not necessarily a priority in cash games. Although in tournaments, he and his linemates are very much in play against a Vegas team with injuries all through the lineup.
Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA at CAR): DraftKings – $6,200 FanDuel – $9,000
It is the first game back for the Florida Panthers in over two weeks as the All-Star break and the NHL’s make-up schedule gave them a nice vacation. Some teams have struggled in their returns from a long layoff but this Florida roster was the top offensive team heading into their repose, leading the league in goals per 60 minutes over their last 16 games. Jonathan Huberdeau has also been priced down on DraftKings and that warrants some concern here tonight.
Carolina’s second line has not found their chemistry yet, controlling just 49% of the shot attempts and 42% of the scoring chances in their small sample together. That is where Huberdeau and his linemates could take advantage, as they are 58% and 52% in their 100-plus minutes together. The Panthers like to play with pace and this could be advantageous for them.
It is the DraftKings price that is the main reason for consideration here, though. Anyone looking for a mid-ish winger on FanDuel should look at Teuvo Teravainen at $7,000. His line has been excellent and are at the home end of the ice tonight, meaning depth matchups.
Tyler Toffoli (CGY vs. ANA): DraftKings – $3,100 FanDuel – $6,100
The newest member of the Calgary Flames is starting out on the third line. That may shy some away, but Tyler Toffoli once had a 23-goal, 49-point season skating 14:35 a night. A couple of years ago he was under 17 minutes a night, but at three shots per game with 24 goals in 68 contests. All this is to say even without top-end linemates or prime minutes, he is more than capable of generating offense for himself. That is why he is playable as a third liner. He also scored in his debut last night. Of course, the other reason is his price. He was not having a great season in Montreal and his price has not taken a jump yet on DraftKings, making him one of the best winger values there today. Teammate Blake Coleman is a better option on FanDuel at $5,400.
With Anaheim in town, Toffoli should face off all night long against an Anaheim third line which controls just 43% of the expected goal share. This is a good matchup for this new Flames third line and by extension, their freshest acquisition.
There may be a lot of ownership here tonight given both the matchup and price, however, he is a player who does not need a lot to pay off and offers a lot of roster flexibility when including him. He needs to be considered in all formats. Anyone looking for a cheap winger on FanDuel should consider Evgenii Dadonov in Vegas, who is skating on their top line with Eichel.
Latest NHL DFS Content
Defensemen
Alex Pietrangelo (VGK vs. COL): DraftKings – $5,400 FanDuel – $6,300
This is a good time to offer a pair of plays here because it is another instance where the price drop on DraftKings is notable. Alex Pietrangelo is the cheapest he has been for Vegas on DraftKings in recent memory. This should be a high-paced games between the Avalanche and Knights, as both teams are top-10 in shot generation over the last six weeks. That brings lots of peripherals into play for Pietrangelo tonight. He has 10 DraftKings shot bonuses and 19 block bonuses on the year. They are both on the table tonight. His price is reasonable enough on FanDuel that he is fine on both sites tonight because he is a good offensive defenseman in his own right.
Pietrangelo was one of the top defenseman showing up as a top option for NHL lineups tonight. For more free NHL DFS picks, check out our DraftKings Fantasy Hockey Cheat Sheet and FanDuel Fantasy Hockey Cheat Sheet today.
Radko Gudas (FLA at CAR): DraftKings – $2,600 FanDuel – $4,100
Quite simply, Radko Gudas is a defenseman that can rack up a DraftKings block bonus tonight, as he has done so in 20% of his games this season. As the Panthers travel to Carolina, the Hurricanes are third in the league in shot attempt rate at 5-on-5, behind Florida and Calgary. That makes Gudas a target on DraftKings tonight as he is very much in play to hit the block bonus at a very cheap price.
Over on FanDuel where Gudas’ peripherals are not as coveted, teammate Gustav Forsling makes more sense at the same price.
Goalie
Connor Hellebuyck (WPG vs. MIN): DraftKings – $7,400 FanDuel – $6,800
Over Minnesota’s last six weeks, the team is landing the 10th most shots on goal per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, while the Jets are closer to mid-pack defensively. That could lead to a good shot volume amount on Connor Hellebuyck tonight. He is also very reasonably priced as the home goalie here and that makes him a target in tournaments.
Top NHL DFS Stacks
CGY1: Lindholm-Gaudreau-Tkachuk
Anaheim has played one game in 16 days and it was a loss to Seattle this past Friday. They have not had game action to stay anywhere close to game shape while the Flames’ top line is controlling 60% of the expected goals and scoring chances when they are on the ice. On top of all this, Anaheim has one of the worst penalty kills in the league since the holiday break. The Calgary top line is very much a priority in tournaments tonight.
MIN3: Foligno-Eriksson Ek-Greenway
While this line has struggled at times this year, they have been utterly dominant over their last five games, controlling 80% of the scoring chances. Tonight is a slate where there are numerous expensive lines. This is one of the filler stacks to consider, though using all three is not necessarily a must. Two out of three here with a defenseman like Jonas Brodin can work as a stack as well. This line has started to play much better and they will not see tough matchups in Winnipeg.
*Additional stats from Natural Stat Trick
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!
[NHLPAGE]
