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The Chicago Blackhawks face the Columbus Blue Jackets at 8:00 p.m. ET in the NHL’s only scheduled game on Friday. Below, we take a look at some options for the DraftKings fantasy hockey Showdown slate along with bets to consider on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL Showdown $40K Twine [$10K to 1st] (CLS vs CHI)
DraftKings Sportsbook
Blue Jackets at Blackhawks: Over 5.5 goals (-108)
The Blackhawks and Blue Jackets have been two of the poorer defensive teams on paper this season so the fact we’re getting a 5.5 total here should perk our interest immediately. The Blackhawks have picked up where they left last year and have now allowed the fifth-most scoring chances on the season, but the Jackets aren’t far behind them at ninth. The Hawks have received better goaltending of late and three of their last four games have gone under this number. Still, Chicago isn’t going to keep opponents to two or less goals on a consistent basis all season and the Jackets’ offense has started to pick up of late as they’ve averaged 3.75 goals per game over their last three games. Ultimately, I don’t want to trust either of these teams to cover or win outright and the matchup here says this total might be too low, so we’ll target the over here for tonight.
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Captain’s Candidates
Kevin Lankinen, Chicago Blackhawks ($17,100 CP)
Lankinen has taken over as the Blackhawks’ starting goalie over their last few games and enters this contest with a .931 save percentage on the season, with two wins and two OT losses in his last four games. CBJ sits just 20th in goals per game and 19th in scoring chances as a team on the season. Paying up for goalies in Showdown can be risky but with Chicago again allowing a ton of SOG every game (34.4—3rd most in the league) the SOG bonus is firmly in play and the upside looks big enough to justify paying up here.
Alexandre Texier, Columbus Blue Jackets ($9,300 CP)
Texier has had a nice start for the Blue Jackets. Playing in his first full NHL season he’s essentially become their top-line center and has averaged over 19 minutes a game over his last three starts. While he’s yet to bust through for a massive game, the consistency has been there as he already has four goals on the season. Targeting the Blue Jackets’ top-line can save you a ton of money at captain tonight and there’s no better value than Texier, who could be in line for an extra SOG or two here against the Hawks’ woeful defense.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, Columbus Blue Jackets ($11,400 CP)
Bjorkstrand should see most if not all of his minutes playing alongside Texier, so if you’re playing one you should really be thinking about adding in the other too. The Dane averaged over three SOG per game last season and has proven he’s got that game-breaking upside for DFS in matchups like this against the Hawks. He’s been a little slow offensively over his last two starts but certainly has a shot at coming to life here against a weak opponent. You may get lower ownership on him too vs. Texier in the Captain’s spot due to recency bias and Bjorkstrand’s bigger salary, so he may make for a better GPP captain pick than his center.
Value Options
Dominik Kubalik, Chicago Blackhawks ($8,400)
Kubalik may not be super cheap but for the upside he brings he’s got a solid price attached to him here. Coming off a 30-goal season there’s a lot expected of Kubalik this season and so far his 7.7% shooting percentage on the season is well below his career average, which is above 15%. The Blue Jackets have also been a great opponent for opposing forwards in DFS as they give up the fourth-most SOG thus far on the season. While paying up for Patrick Kane ($11,800) in this spot is something to consider, Kubalik brings similar upside at a much discounted price.
Liam Foudy, Columbus Blue Jackets ($2,000)
Foudy is playing right around 15 minutes per night for the Blue Jackets on their second-line. While he might get bumped from his role once Patrick Laine gets worked into the lineup, he looks like solid value at the moment and can be paired with center Max Domi ($5,400) for a nice value stack if need be. He’s averaging two SOG per game and still getting producing at a decent clip considering he doesn’t get much power-play time.
Contrarian Stack
Columbus Blue Jackets
Zach Werenski ($10,200 CP)-CPT – Max Domi ($5,400) – Alexandre Texier ($6,200)
The Jackets’ power-play has gotten off to a tough start as they sit second-last in the league in power-play conversion at a measly 5.3% through seven games. Even if they are a bad special teams unit this percentage will rise eventually and targeting their PP1 on this single game slate is likely a good way to take advantage of that positive regression that is bound to come soon. Of all the players due for some offense on CBJ, Zach Werenski is likely at the top of that list. The D-man scored 20 goals last year (five on the PP) and had 41 points in 61 games. His current year shooting percentage sits at just 4.5%, which is also way below his career average.
Werenski’s fully capable of grabbing you a multi-point, or even multi-goal effort against the Hawks and pairing him with two forwards in Texier (see above) and Max Domi in the flex spots would make for a unique PP1 build given Domi and Texier both play heavy PP minutes, but don’t skate on the same line at regular strength. Domi’s been a slow starter as well but came alive last game, scoring his first goals as a Blue Jacket against Florida, so some continuation from him here also wouldn’t be unexpected.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL Showdown $40K Twine [$10K to 1st] (CLS vs CHI)
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