Happy weekend, everyone! MarmosDad is back with some news and notes to help you set those NHL DFS lineups on a pretty full slate of games for this chilly Saturday afternoon. If you’re looking for a chance to set a few different lineups, today’s the day. 28 of our 32 NHL teams are in action. Jones-ing for a win? Looking to play multiple double ups or tournament lineups? This one’s for you!
Speaking of Jones-ing, Seattle netminder Martin Jones (DK: $8,400) is definitely not ‘jonesing’ for much these days. If anything, the former Bruin (for a whole 24 hours in 2015) has been addicted to stopping pucks since the calendar flipped. Jones has wins in his last six games, punctuated by a shutout of the league’s best offense in a 3-0 victory at the Boston Bruins Thursday night.
Shutting out the B’s and handing them their first home regulation loss of the year is impressive enough, but Jones also has a .946 SV% since January 1st and a 20-5-3 record overall. If anyone still snickers at the Seattle Kraken and their ‘expansion team’ status, they haven’t been paying much attention this season.
As I said earlier, there are a ton of games to choose from today. Our $50,000 DraftKings classic lineup will be for that main slate of 13 games that starts at 7:00 PM ET and runs all the way through the late game (10:30 PM ET start).
Let’s get to it!
C – Matty Beniers, DK: $4,900 – This guy is a frequent flier in our space, but for good reason. Last week I pointed out that the front runner for rookie of the year leads rookies with 28 points in 37 games and is getting the second highest TOI (17:28) among first year forwards. When we took him in our Saturday lineup he scored and assisted on a goal against Ottawa. He followed up with the same output in his next two games before missing the scoresheet in that Bruin game on Thursday. He’s only $400 more than he was last week, so it’s still a good play here.
C – Phillip Danault, DK: $4,500 – Another center that seems to be flying a bit under the radar in some circles, Danault has flourished in a 2C role in LA since his free agency signing in 2021. Since December 15th, he’s been held off the scoresheet just once. He’s also chipping in with hits, blocked shots, and power play points. Not a bad choice at $4,500.
W – Kirill Kaprizov, DK: $7,700 – The chalk winger today was more a quick search for a mismatch, then a look through what skaters could go off in a big way. Minnesota hosting Arizona certainly checks both of those boxes and Kaprizov qualifies as a name that could show up more than once on the highlights here. 51 points in 41 games is good for 10th in NHL scoring and ‘Kirill the Thrill’ could feast on some desert dogs tonight.
W – Phil Kessel, DK: $2,700 – For every perfectly grilled steak, there has to be a more cost effective meal…and the desert dogs remind me of Phil Kessel’s favorite snack. Like a perfectly boiled hot dog, ‘Phil the Thrill’ Kessel is not quite the juicy point producing steak dinner that he used to be, but he’s certainly got the potential to score some FPTS. This connoisseur of Coneys is not the same top producer like he was in years past but Kessel has three points in his last two games, 77 SOG in 41 GP, and is getting PP2 time. The wizard of wieners is still getting top 6 minutes and is a good name to slot in at a less expensive price.
W – Travis Konecny, DK: $7,900 – Don’t look now, but the Philadelphia Flyers are on a roll! Philly is 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and are on a two game winning streak. A big part of that last victory was the hat trick from Travis Konecny. 46 points in 36 games certainly surprised me when I looked at his season stats, but when a player is averaging more than three shots a game and is getting top six minutes on a hot team, it’s always worth a check in. Playing at Washington may be a tough sell for today, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see another seven shot output and counting stats while the Flyers are riding high.
D – Rasmus Dahlin, DK: $7,400 – Last Saturday Dahlin put up a 5 (points) spot when the Sabres beat the Wild 6-5 at home in OT. I’m sure Rick Jeanerett undoubtedly would have said…”Whoa, baby!” more than once in that one. Dahlin has shown that the Sabres made no mistake taking him first overall in that 2018 draft. 12 points in his last 10 games, an average TOI of 26:21 and a healthy PP measure of just over four minutes a game gives Dahlin a shot at padding that point total against the Predators in Nashville tonight.
D – Jared Spurgeon, DK: $4,600 – Our next two names aren’t the most exciting ones, but they’ve got the potential to put up some decent numbers against some seemingly inferior opponents today. Spurgeon is pointless in his last four games, but is still getting first pairing even strength minutes. He gives way to Calen Addison on PP1, but is still slotted on the second unit with the man advantage. It’s more about facing the Coyotes at home today with this pick.
UTIL – Jesper Kotkaniemi, DK: $2,600 – Danault and Kotkaniemi? It’s almost like we’re picking on the Habs here. Like Danault, Kotkaniemi is another forward that escaped La ‘Not-So-Belle’ Province recently and although he’s not exactly blowing the doors off of PNC arena in Carolina, he’s in a much better situation with the Hurricanes than he was with the Canadiens. Yes, he is on the 4th line, but he’s centering the second PP unit and has three points in his last two games. Not bad for a UTIL that’s less than $3,000 and playing against the Pens at home.
Well, someone at DraftKings must have watched the Bruins/Kraken game on Thursday because Martin Jones’ price tag jumped after that shutout. His DK salary went from $7,000 then to $8,400 now and pushed us $600 over the $50,000 cap.
I nearly subbed in a $3,200 Matt Dumba instead of the $4,500 Jared Spurgeon to make up some of the difference. That would give us a lot more wiggle room with a similar potential output against Arizona.
The Konecny price tag surprised me too. It seems a bit silly that he’s priced higher than Kaprizov, but if you want to switch him out to get us back to $50,000, substitute any of the following : Brad Marchand $7,300 (vs Toronto), Alex Tuch $6,700 (at Nashville), or Kevin Fiala $6,400 (vs New Jersey).
Here’s the three moneyline picks for the week too…
The Sea Bass : (Favorite)
Well, we can’t go with the Bruins for three weeks in a row tonight because they line up against a strong Leaf team. Let’s go with the Kraken on the road at (-245) against the Blackhawks. Seattle is on a roll and our goalie choice should face even less shots tonight with Patrick Kane day-to-day and a potential scratch for this one.
The Happy Gilmore : (Underdog)
It’s another road pick for our Happy Gilmore selection as the Sabres come in as an underdog at (+130) in Nashville against the Preds. That offense is still rolling along and is good for 1st in goals scored and 5th in PP%. Give me all of that dog! (Which also happens to be a favorite Phil Kessel quote!)
The Claude Lemieux : (Turtle/Flop)
The Islanders are heavy favorites at (-225) but are caught in a four game losing streak. Montreal is definitely not blowing anyone out of the water these days but I’d steer clear of the Isles. To add insult to literal injury, their top center Mat Barzal is nursing a lower body injury and was pointless in his last two games.
That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below or give me a shout @MarmosDad.
