Well, hello there Razzball Hockey nation! I think a bit of an introduction is needed for your NHL DFS beginner on this fine Saturday morning. The name is MarmosDad and I’m really excited to be writing up some names and numbers that could be a Boon(e) for some bucks ahead of our Saturday NHL games!
Some of you might recognize me from the MLB side of the site as I was one of the members of the DFS writers gang throughout the baseball season. Now that that’s finished for the year, and the Boone reference changes from Aaron to Boone Jenner, I asked if Viz and JKJ could use a hand getting some info out to y’all with a DFS article once a week, so here I am!
The format will be simple and similar to how we did it for MLB. I’ll give you the Razzball picks for DFS plays for the Saturday games as a 9-player ‘Classic’ lineup and try to keep the group under the $50,000 salary cap. It will likely lean more towards goals, assists, and potential PP time as the main focus, but remember that DraftKings does take other categories into account (eg. shots, blocked shots, wins, saves, shutout bonus).
The link that explains the DK scoring format is here.
Today’s schedule is certainly close to a full one! It starts with Florida in Buffalo at 1:00 PM ET and goes through 14 games ending with three west coast tilts beginning at 10:00 PM ET.
For these first few weeks, I’ll treat each DFS write-up as a daily list but also pay attention to things that might help you for sleepers or targets if you play in fantasy leagues too. It’s probably too early to pick up on hot streaks this week, but we can look at the line combinations and PP time to help us supplement small sample sizes.
So allow me to dip my DFS quill into the inkwell of room temperature, Quebec-sourced maple syrup and scratch out some ‘parfait’ picks for your DraftKings DFS lineups today!
C: Boone Jenner, DK: $5,200 – With a full list of players to choose from, you could definitely find some great value plays here. I’m going to focus on one that is centering his team’s top line, has an elite scoring winger, and has a firm grip on PP1 time. Yes, he would be much more valuable if his new RW wasn’t just placed on the IR with an elbow injury, but Jenner started the year with 5 shots on goal and nearly 20 minutes of ice time on Wednesday night. I’d take a chance on him tonight against Jordan Binnington and the Blues.
C: David Krejci, DK: $5,500 – It’s definitely tempting to go with the chalk Connor McDavid or a similar play here, but there’s a lot of value to be had in the DK center groupings. Can we grab a center that plays with some strong wingers, has shown a bit of chemistry with linemates to start the season, and has experience to boot? That’s three Czech…er…check marks here. Krejci returned to NHL regular season play this week after spending a year at home playing in the Czech Extraliga league. Coach Jim Montgomery put his “Czech Line” together a few weeks ago in the preseason and to say they’ve been the best Bruins line may be an understatement. Krejci put up a goal and 2 assists against Washington on Wednesday and with Marchand and McAvoy out to start the season, he is also getting PP1 time. Krejci is a strong play against Arizona today.
W: David Pastrnak, DK: $8,000 – I really didn’t want to start things off this year with a Bruins stack, but here we are. Not only has Pastrnak’s line looked great through the preseason and Game 1, but the B’s line up against Arizona and a less than solid goaltender in Karel Vejmelka. The Coyotes gave up 53 shots in Thursday’s 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh, and I’m thinking we’ll see more of the same tonight in Boston. Pastrnak had a 4 point night on Wednesday and should be in for a continued scoring streak with lots of shots and PP time in this one.
W: Kevin Fiala, DK: $6,100 – After four years, and somewhat of a coming out party last season, Minnesota shipped Fiala to the LA Kings in late June to save some cap space. Averaging close to 17 minutes over the first two games, Fiala is riding shotgun for Anze Kopitar on the first line and getting PP1 time on the back end with Drew Doughty. Also worth a note, Fiala is heading back to Minnesota for the first time since the trade. At $6,100, I think it’s worth a gamble that Fiala shows Bill Guerin and Minnesota fans what they’re going to miss this year.
W: Andrei Kuzmenko, DK: $4,700 – The temptation to continue a Bruin stack with Pavel Zacha or Taylor Hall was real, but instead let’s grab a value priced winger so we can go bigger elsewhere. Kuzmenko is skating on Vancouver’s second line with another early breakout candidate in Elias Pettersson. He’s also getting time on PP1, where he scored his first of the season on Wednesday. The 17:38 of ice time in Game 1 bodes well for continued success. Add to that guys like Quinn Hughes and Bo Horvat feeding him the biscuit on the man advantage, and we could see some big points against Carter Hart and a ‘less than impressive’ Flyers roster.
D: Noah Dobson , DK: $5,600 – This one is another quick and easy from the early draft season sleeper lists. Dobson was solid in his third campaign last year with 80 GP and 51 points. The Isles know what kind of special player they have in the 22 year old as they’ve been giving him the keys to the company car on the first PP with their four top forwards. Add all of those positives to the fact that they’re hosting a rebuilding Anaheim club and I’d say he’s worth a shot at your blueliner spot today.
D: Evan Bouchard, DK: $5,500 – I wouldn’t fault you for going with another “B” here in Bouchard’s teammate, Tyson Barrie. Barrie is getting PP1 time with a few other forward names you probably recognize. Bouchard, however, is no slouch either. He’s slotted in at PP2 with Darnell Nurse, Evander Kane, and the enigma that is Jesse Puljujarvi. He’s getting 3rd pairing time on D, but can give you shots and hits along with the potential for a couple of points against a Calgary team that dresses known “anti-Lady Byng” skaters like Milan Lucic, Nazem Kadri, and Nikita Zadorov. Not to mention, the Battle of Alberta gets those western Canada juices flowing like a Hanson Brothers bloodbath.
G: Jeremy Swayman, DK: $8,500 – In season long leagues, I don’t think I’d go with Swayman outside of a G3 or maybe a backup/bench stopper behind some goalies that get more of the lion’s share of playing time. Luckily for us in the DFS world, we don’t have to worry about how many games Swayman will split with Linus Ullmark. We just need to know what he can do for us TODAY! As I mentioned before, this is an equal measure of Swayman’s talent and an underwhelming Arizona opponent. The rookie put up a 23-14-3 record last year in 39 starts, posted a .914 SV%, and had a very respectable GAA of 2.41. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the smart money is on Swayman when he’s facing a team that now employs Nick Ritchie as its PP1 LW. Pick the Bruin goalie as your #1 today? This is the Sway.
UTIL: Dylan Cozens, DK: $4,100 – There are so many names that you could slot in here as your UTIL player for the day. The utility spot is another place where you can aim for a chalk skater if you’ve saved enough salary from your previous plays. If we can fit a McDavid or Matthews in here, that’s the obvious call. But today I wanted to get a Sabre in and Cozens comes in below Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch on the price list. Is Cozens on a top 6 line? No, but the Game 1 chemistry between him and RW JJ Peterka looked pretty good in their game on Thursday night. Cozens assisted on Petera’s goal, had 3 shots, and is slated to center PP2. Buffalo hosts a good opponent in Florida today, but if Cozens and Petera (and Krebs) skate like they did in their home opener, we could get more FPTS out of Cozens today.
EDIT : If you followed this to the letter, you’re now a good $3,200 over budget. Oops! No one said it was easy! I didn’t foresee Swayman being the most expensive ‘tender today, so you could save some cash by subbing him out for Jack Campbell ($7,800) or Phillip Grubauer ($7,400). The Bouchard pricing was surprising too, so you could cut costs by inserting a cheaper D on a powerhouse offense to bring us back down (think Rasmus Sandin in Toronto for $2,500).
For other bets each week, I’ll give you a few plays for prop or team bets based on odds posted at the time of edit.
The Gretzky : (A favorite shot that has a high chance of hitting the mark)
Staying consistent with what I said above, I’d play the Bruins (-285) as a heavy favorite today at home against the Coyotes.
The Happy Gilmore : (An Underdog shot that could hit the mark)
There are a few decent underdog plays for today, but I’m going with the Sabres (+155) at home against the Panthers. Montreal (+205) at Washington is a good one too.
The Claude Lemieux : (Tries to look tough but will immediately flop when you play it)
Vegas (-145) on the road against Seattle seems like easy money, but Vegas is on the road, without #1 goalie Robin Lehner, and is relying on a tandem of Logan Thompson and Adin Hill. Not exactly a slam dunk despite their strong top 6.
That’s it for this week! I hope everyone enjoyed it. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below or give me a shout @MarmosDad.
