Covid protocol has been making a strong onset through the NHL in the past month or so. Keeping an eye on news is imperative to succeeding at NHL DFS. Following my twitter beat writer lists is a huge advantage for getting last-minute news and scratches. This Power Play article will use Awesemo’s Premium NHL Tools to help dole out the NHL DFS advice to help with building lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel tonight. The Awesemo NHL fantasy projections and ownership projections are two of the best tools to utilize when constructing stacks and making the optimal NHL DFS picks. Let us go position by position and pinpoint some of the top plays and stacks for Thursday, Feb. 24.
NHL DFS Picks, Top Stacks & Lineup Optimizer Plays
Center
Aleksander Barkov (FLA vs CBJ): DraftKings – $8,100 | FanDuel – $9,100
Florida will likely be the mega chalk of the night, and rightfully so. Vegas has the Panthers at a massive -400 favorite, with a massive 4.8 team total. Getting different exposures is going to be key if you want to win a large field DFS tournament. Aleksander Barkov has been one of the best two-way pivots in the game for a while and his playmaking ability, along with his sniping ability, is second to none. He has tallied 23 goals and 22 assists in 38 games so far, and he gets one of the best matchups possible tonight. People will likely lean more towards the second line as they all get power play exposure, but Barkov is the driving force on the top power play unit. $14,600 is very reasonable to get a full line stack with Barkov, which means it will be popular. Mixing up the stack with just power play guys is a good idea as well. Columbus has been a team to pick on all year. They have been good offensively over the last ten games, but their defense has been brutal. Over the last ten games, the Jackets are 26th in expected goals against, 30th in shots against, 29th in goals against and in the bottom 8 of scoring and high danger chances allowed. Florida is the best possession team in the league and they will be playing downhill hockey tonight. Just make sure you can get different with your builds because they will be very popular. Florida’s top three lines can all be deployed.
Auston Matthews is the top center showing up in the Awesemo NHL lineup optimizer and fantasy hockey projections today. For all of our free NHL picks today, check out the DraftKings fantasy hockey cheat sheet and FanDuel fantasy hockey cheat sheet.
Jack Hughes (NJ vs PIT): DraftKings – $5,300 | FanDuel – $7,900
Getting contrarian on an eight-game slate with four or five high-priced stacks could give you some serious separation from the field. Vegas is not giving any credit to the Devils tonight, as they have them pegged as the lowest team total on the night but Jack Hughes has been playing phenomenal hockey and his price on DraftKings tonight is an extreme sale. The Devils will also get Dougie Hamilton back tonight and they make for a nice combo. Hughes has been playing like a $7,000 player for the past couple of months. Over the last ten games, the youngster has averaged just under 14 DraftKings points a night, while averaging four shots a game and one real point per game. The matchup is very tough against the Penguins, but getting last change could play into Hughes’s hands as they will get to be deployed at strategic times when they are not matching up with Sidney Crosby. Throwing together a combo of Hughes with Hamilton, and even Dawson Mercer could be a nice filler stack that has great upside at a cheaper price, so you can afford your favorite expensive stacks.
Winger
Alex Ovechkin (WSH @ NYR): DraftKings – $8,700 | FanDuel – $10,000
Alex Ovechkin makes for a solid one-off play tonight, as he usually does any other night. His shot volume has been down a tad since returning from Covid, but a date with the Rangers could be a get-right spot. Ovechkin teed off on the Rangers earlier this year with a four-point night, en route to a 37.8 DraftKings point night. The Rangers have a lot of firepower, but their defense has struggled. Over the last ten games, they rank in the bottom ten of every advanced metric focused on for NHL DFS. They are 27th in expected goals against, 24th in Corsi, 23rd in shots against, 29th in scoring chances allowed and 26th in high danger chances allowed at five on five. They have been pretty disciplined as far as not taking penalties but their kill has still been subpar. Ovechkin plays all two minutes on every power play and if you can afford the salary as a one-off, he is a great play.
Artemi Panarin (NYR vs WSH): DraftKings – $5,900 | FanDuel – $7,800
Artemi Panarin continues to get disrespected in pricing. $5,900 on DraftKings is at least $1,000 off. He has seven multi-point games in his last 11 games and is averaging four shots/blocks per game in that span as well, equaling 16.8 DraftKings points. Sure, the Rangers have had a rough year, but Panarin is a sniper that can light the lamp at any time. Washington has also struggled over the last ten games, ranking 21st in expected goals against, 21st in Corsi and 26th in shots against. They have also been taking a lot of penalties (5:23 toi/g) and they have struggled to kill them. They are 25th in expected goals against and 24th in goals against on the penalty kill. Since the line of Panarin, Ryan Strome and Barclay Goodrow has been put together, they have been very good offensively, with 3.29 expected goals for, 52% Corsi, 32 shots for per 60 and 13 high danger chances. They will most likely match up with the Nicklas Backstrom line most of the night, but they will still get plenty of chances to light the lamp. Panarin and Strome will play on the top power play while Goodrow will get secondary power play exposure. The Rangers’ power play has been the best in the league metrics-wise over the last ten games, while the Capitals’ penalty kill has been in the bottom six. It is a great power play spot for the Rangers and when you can get them low owned they are definitely worth a look.
Sam Reinhart (FLA vs CBJ): DraftKings – $5,000 | FanDuel – $6,400
Getting to the Florida third line is a great way to leverage the situation tonight, and possibly ownership. Believe it or not, the Panthers’ third line has the most even-strength goals on the team. The depth that Florida has sets them apart from every team in the league. Sam Reinhart is riding a seven-game point streak while averaging just under four shots a game. He is also getting top power play run, giving exposure to the likes of Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Anthony Duclair and Aaron Ekblad. If you read the write-up on Barkov, then you know how bad the Blue Jackets’ defense has been. Reinhart will absolutely benefit from last change as well and get to beat up on the depth lines of Columbus.
Latest NHL DFS Content
Defensemen
Aaron Ekblad (FLA vs CBJ): DraftKings – $6,800 | FanDuel – $6,900
Ekblad looks to add to his six-game point streak coming into tonight. He is playing over 25 minutes a night while averaging 4.5 shots/blocks per game. The Blue Jackets are giving up the most fantasy points per game to opposing defensemen in the league. They are also allowing the most shots against at five on five, and they are giving up the sixth most shots against on the penalty kill. The matchup is too good to ignore and the main question is how will the ownership shake out? If you need to save a little salary, Mackenzie Weegar plays alongside Ekblad on the top pairing and has averaged just under four shots/blocks per game. Brandon Montour will quarterback the second power play unit and carries a decent amount of upside, but his shot/block volume has been inconsistent. If you are looking to stack up the third line, you can add Montour with large-field tournaments.
Dougie Hamilton (NJ vs PIT): DraftKings – $5,000 | FanDuel – $7,000
There is a discount on Hamilton tonight as he is returning from a layoff due to a jaw injury. It is a tough matchup versus Pittsburgh, but Hamilton will slot right back in on the top unit and top power play. Before the injury, Hamilton was consistently a $7,500 player. He brings a ton of offensive firepower to the table to help the Devils and makes for a contrarian combo with Hughes. Hamilton has been skating for a while but the question will remain; does he have his game legs ready, and is the matchup too tough?
Brent Burns (SJ vs NYI): DraftKings – $5,500 | FanDuel – $6,500
Burns had an extremely slow start to the year but has found the production factory he is used to seeing lately. It seems that whenever Erik Karlsson is out of the lineup, Burns becomes more offensive focused and the production follows. In the nine games since Karlsson has been missing, Burns is averaging 6.1 shots/blocks per game, seven points and 27 minutes of ice time. He quarterbacks the top power play unit and all offense flows through him on the extra man advantage. The Islanders have a good penalty kill, but they have been a middle-of-the-road team at best at five on five.
Top NHL DFS Stacks Today
TOR 1: Michael Bunting – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner
Toronto garners Awesemo’s second-best leverage spot on the night. An expensive price tag, the tough matchup on paper and Minnesota’s good possession numbers will likely keep the public away from the Leafs here. Toronto’s top line has been one of the best lines in hockey, creating 3.42 expected goals per 60, 60% Corsi, creating 40 shots per 60, and over 15 high danger chances at five on five. With last change, Toronto will dictate matchups. That means Matthews will likely stay away from the grasp of Joel Eriksson-Ek, who is a great shutdown pivot. They are matchup proof at five on five, but the special teams matchup is a very good matchup for the Leafs. Minnesota has the 19th ranked penalty kill on the year. Over the last ten games, Minnesota ranks 22nd in goals allowed and 29th in shots against on the kill. If you let the best power play in the league get a couple of chances, they will make you pay.
FLA 1: Maxim Mamin – Aleksander Barkov – Carter Verhaeghe
Florida is going to be popular. There is a reason Vegas made them a -400 favorite with a 4.8 team total. In the small sample since being put together, the Panthers’ top line has 4.45 expected goals per 60 and 61% Corsi, while creating 44 shots for and 22 high danger chances. It is only a smaller sample of 78 minutes, but Barkov has played almost 400 minutes with Carter Verhaeghe and their numbers have been just as good. They will likely shadow the Jackets’ top line, which has 2.91 expected goals against, 46% Corsi, and is giving up 36 scoring chances per 60 and 12 high danger chances. Barkov is the only one getting power play time, but with the amount of ownership going to the Panthers tonight, you can bet the power play players will be looked at as primary plays.
Florida’s third line looked like it was a favorite play on the slate as a filler, but now that Awesemo has released ownership, the only way to get some kind of leverage is to stack different lines or power play lines. If you can get different enough with the rest of your builds, full-line stacking is absolutely OK tonight.
*Additional Data from Natural Stat Trick
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