With a strong 10-game NHL DFS slate on tap for tonight, there is no shortage of options to pick from. Let’s unwrap the slate and highlight some of the top plays for Thursday, March 17. As always, subscribers should check in the Awesemo NHL Discord chat for line updates, as there is a good possibility that there will be a lot of moving parts for a small slate. Keeping an eye on news is imperative to succeeding at fantasy hockey. Following this Twitter beat writer lists is a huge advantage for getting last-minute news and scratches, outside of our premium Discord channel.
NHL DFS Picks Today, Top Stacks & Lineup Optimizer Plays
Center
Connor McDavid (EDM vs. BUF): DraftKings – $9,200 | FanDuel – $10,000
McDavid comes into tonight with multiple points in three straight. He is an elite scorer that can fill the net up in a hurry, but his shot volume can be inconsistent at times. Over the last 10 games, the pivot is averaging over four shots a game while tallying 14 points. Vegas stamped the Oilers with the highest team total on the night, which means ownership could get a little inflated. The Sabres started the year out very good defensively, but have since come back to reality. Over the last month, Buffalo has been a bottom ten team in all the advanced metrics looked at when making our NHL DFS picks today. Look for McDavid to have another eventful night.
J.T. Miller (VAN vs. DET): DraftKings – $6,900 | FanDuel – $8,600
Miller has been on a massive heater the past couple of weeks. The pivot has a 13-game point streak coming into tonight, with multiple points in four of the last five games. His shot volume has been a little inconsistent, but he is a nightly contender for the shot on goal bonus. Many gamers will likely go down to the Bo Horvat line because they will get the positive depth matchups to start, which is a good play but in tournaments, it is perfectly fine to use the Canucks’ top line as a semi contrarian take. On Tuesday, the Canucks used Miller as a shutdown line for just half of the game. They switched it up in the second period. The Red Wings are battling the Blue Jackets and Montreal for the worst advanced metrics in the league. The Red Wings are 29th in Corsi, 23rd in expected goals against, 28th in shots against and dead last in high-danger chances against over the last month.
Winger
Alex Ovechkin (WSH @ CBJ): DraftKings – $8,400 | FanDuel – $9,900
Ovechkin scored his 767th goal on Tuesday and surpassed Jaromir Jagr to be third in all-time scoring. He is an absolute machine and he continues to keep lighting the lamp at a ridiculous pace, even in his thirties. Ovechkin and the Caps get a great matchup tonight against the Blue Jackets, who are still without Boone Jenner. Columbus ranks dead last in expected goals against, goals against, shots against, scoring chances against and high-danger chances against. There is not a line that Columbus has that would make one want to stay away from Ovechkin tonight, and he would be a cash lock as well. Tournaments could be a different story while waiting for the NHL DFS ownership projections to be released from Awesemo. Even if ownership is a tad high, you could get different from the field with a power play stack or using a blue-liner like John Carlson.
Jason Robertson (DAL @ MTL): DraftKings – $6,800 | FanDuel – $8,600
The Stars’ top line has been one of the best lines all year, while Robertson has been a steady source of production. He has 55 points through 50 games so far. Over the last 10 games, the winger has averaged over four shots a game and he gets a good matchup tonight. The Canadiens have been a team to target all year for fantasy hockey purposes, and their penalty kill has been awful. Even though the Habs have played better recently, they are still ranked 21st in Corsi, 28th in expected goals against, 27th in shots against and 26th in high-danger chances against at five on five. Roberston and the top line being one of the best lines in hockey and fully correlating on the top power play unit makes them a strong play tonight.
Robertson looks to be one of the better NHL picks today for fantasy hockey lineups. According to the Awesemo NHL DFS optimizer, he is one of the most popular plays. Check out all of our free NHL DFS picks today in our DraftKings NHL Cheat Sheet and FanDuel NHL Cheat Sheet when building your fantasy hockey lineups tonight.
Sam Reinhart (FLA @ VGK): DraftKings – $5,500 | FanDuel – $6,500
Andrew Brunette is insistent on putting Joe Thornton on the top line, which hurts the productivity of Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe. They will still create plenty of chances, but Thornton is washed up at this point in his career. Reinhart has been a very steady source of production for the Panthers, and that second line has been one of the best lines in the game. Reinhart is averaging 3.5 shots on goal per game, and the line together has been creating just under 40 per 60 at five on five. The Golden Knights have dealt with a multitude of injuries and goaltending issues. They are missing two of their best players in Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone, and they have been forced to use their third and fourth-string goalies after Robin Lehner was sent to the injured reserve. Vegas still has a serviceable top-six that can score, but Florida’s firepower just might be too much for them to handle.
Latest NHL DFS Content
Defensemen
Roman Josi (NSH @ PHI): DraftKings – $8,200 | FanDuel – $7,100
If you have the extra salary to spend, Josi is the top defenseman play on the night. He logs a massive amount of ice time and plays in every situation. All offense goes through Josi on the extra man advantage as he quarterbacks the top power play as well. Over the last 10 games, Josi has 18 points while averaging 5.5 shots/blocks per game. The Flyers’ penalty kill has been pretty brutal this year and sets up great for Josi.
John Klingberg (DAL @ MON): DraftKings – $ 4,600 | FanDuel – $4,600
Klingberg had a pretty rough start to the year but has found his game recently because he has decided to get pucks on net. Over the last 10 games, he is averaging just under four shots/blocks per game. Klingberg is also quarterbacking the top power play unit, which is only a plus with tonight’s matchup. The Canadiens have the fourth-worst penalty kill in the league and they are allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing defensemen.
Top NHL DFS Stacks Today
EDM PP: Hyman – McDavid – Kane
DAL 1: Robertson – Hintz – Pavelski
VALUE STACK
LA 2: Kaliyev – Danault – Moore
*Additional Stats from Natural Stat Trick
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