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Saturday’s big DraftKings NHL contest features a six-game slate starting at 5:00 p.m. ET. In this article, you will find DFS advice for DraftKings plus some DraftKings Sportsbook bets to target as well.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $70K Twine [$20K to 1st]
DraftKings Sportsbook
Ottawa Senators Money line (+165) at Calgary Flames
This will be the Flames' third game in four days and they also had to travel in between games here with last night’s demoralizing loss to the Oilers being played in Edmonton. Calgary shot out of the gates quickly with 22 shots in the first period last night but only managed 14 SOG in the last two frames. The Flames are 3-6-1 in their past 10 games and are not playing well enough to be near -200 favorites against anyone. Ottawa’s split the past four games with Calgary and may be getting a look at backup David Rittich on the back-to-back. There’s value with the bottom-feeding Sens here at +165 on the ML.
Alex Ovechkin to score a goal +135
Ovechkin has just two goals over his past 12 games but he’s been creating shots and scoring chances like mad, it seems, over his past few starts. He comes in with 19 shots on goal over his past three games and a 9.2% shooting percentage in 2021 which is well below his career average. The Flyers are a much worse defensive team than his last opponent (Boston), so taking a shot he finds the twine here, at plus-money, makes sense.
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Top Line Stacks
Ottawa Senators at Calgary Flames
Brady Tkachuk ($7,300) – Drake Batherson ($4,700) – Thomas Chabot ($6,300)
What better way to end a week than by stacking some Senators! Jokes aside, Ottawa has picked up the pace offensively of late and come in averaging 3.71 goals per game over their past seven contests. The Sens have been led by Tkachuk who has turned into a superb target in DFS almost every night. The 21-year-old comes in averaging 5.0 SOG per game and 15.8 DKFP over his past 10 starts. While only four of his 17 points this season have come on the PP that’s where he’ll be paired with two of the Sens’ better offensive catalysts in Batherson and Chabot. Batherson comes in with 12 points in his past 10 games and looks awfully underpriced given the recent form. Chabot gives you good correlation with both forwards on defense as he’s continued to play big minutes for Ottawa on the PP1 and is averaging just under an assist per game over his past 10.
Even if these three won’t always be together at even strength, the Flames and Sens have averaged eight goals between them in the past four games they’ve played and Calgary enters having allowed the eighth-most SOG per game and 11th-most scoring chances on the season. It’s as good a matchup as you’ll find for Ottawa and I like stacking their best offensive players here in what is likely to be another high-scoring game.
Superstar to Target
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers ($8,100)
Ovechkin has just two goals now over his past 11 games, but that still hasn’t stopped him from being a reliable fantasy producer. The Russian has still managed to average 10.8 DKFP over his past 10 starts, despite having just four real NHL points over that span. Over his past three games, he’s now averaged 6.33 SOG, per game, and will be facing a Flyers team against whom he’s scored 36 goals in 58 career meetings. Philly’s cleaned their defense a touch recently, but they’re still a great opponent for DFS purposes. The Flyers allow the sixth-most shots on goal per game and come in ranked just 27th in penalty-kill effectiveness. It may be tiresome waiting for the Ovi breakout to come, but make no mistake, if he continues to shoot the puck with reckless abandon like he is now, the goal barrage will come soon. With him in a good matchup, I like staying on the winger for one more game here.
Value on Offense
Alexis Lafreniere, New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins ($3,600)
Lafreniere has quietly started to pick things up in the goal-scoring department. The highly touted rookie has shown flashes of elite skating and puck handling all season, but only recently started to turn that into consistent point production. He enters having scored two goals and four points in his past four games while still playing solid minutes on the Rangers’ top line. The Penguins have been poor defensively all season and allow the seventh-most goals per game while having the fifth-worst penalty kill. It’s a good spot and price to keep using Lafreniere as a cheap value option.
Viktor Arvidsson, Nashville Predators at Dallas Stars ($4,800)
Arvidsson has had a tough year thus far but has recently shown signs of life. Despite having just three goals on the season, the winger is still averaging 9.5 DKFP, which is a testament to how consistent he is at getting SOG. Over his past 10 games, he’s averaged 3.5 SOG per game and comes in with four points (and one goal) over his past two starts. The recent outburst should give him some confidence and, with Arvidsson still playing solid minutes on the Preds’ top line, he makes for a solid value here at under $5K in price.
Stud Goalies
Anton Khudobin, Dallas Stars vs. Nashville Predators ($7,900)
Khudobin and the Stars are coming in off a 5-0 romp win over the Blue Jackets. The win broke a four-game losing streak and put them just a win back of reaching .500 on the year in terms of regulation wins and losses. From a DFS perspective, Khudobin comes in off a few poor starts but has still played quite well and has a .913 save percentage on the year. The Stars here are just -137 favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook but they have truly been the better team than Nashville and make for a good DFS opponent for any Stars goalie as they’re just fourth in goals per game. I like targeting the Stars as a whole tonight (on the moneyline on DK Sportsbook and in DFS) and Khudobin makes for a solid upper-tier value here in a great bounce-back spot.
Matt Murray, Ottawa Senators at Calgary Flames ($7,000)
It’s been a pretty terrible season for Murray, who hasn’t been able to spark any kind of career resurgence in Ottawa. A lot of the blame for his play can be attributed to being on a terrible defensive team as Ottawa comes in giving up the seventh-most SOG per game. Hence, while Murray’s put up some terrible performances this year and has just a .883 save percentage, the veteran has also managed to put up four games with 14 or more DKFP in his past six starts. Murray’s also been great at bouncing back off of terrible performances this year and he’s coming off one here too, after allowing seven goals on 11 shots and getting pulled last time out. It’s an insanely high-variance spot but I do like the Sens in this one and Murray gives you decent upside (and a big bust factor) at a very cheap price.
Value on Defense
Matt Grzelcyk, Boston Bruins vs. New Jersey Devils ($3,600)
Grzelcyk recently returned to action for the Bruins and while he’s only managed one assist over his first two games back he’s played over 19 minutes a game and is also already back quarterbacking the PP1 for the Bruins. Boston enters with the 11th-best power play in the league and will be going up against a Devils team that features the worst penalty kill in the league. Given Grzelcyk’s role and offensive capabilities, targeting him while he’s still cheaply priced is a virtual no-brainer, especially if you were looking to save some salary on defense.
Justin Schultz, Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers ($3,500)
Schultz is another cheap defenseman who gives you solid power-play exposure. He generally sees time on the Capitals’ second unit but has also been averaging over 18 minutes per game on the year, so his role is a bit more expansive than just special teams. This is another great special teams matchup as the Washington power play is ranked sixth in the league while the Flyers penalty kill comes in ranked just 27th. Schultz is averaging 7.1 DKFP on the year but has better than normal upside in this matchup against Philly.
Power-Play Defensemen
John Klingberg, Dallas Stars vs. Nashville Predators ($5,000)
The Stars’ power play has been a bright spot for the team that is suffering through a tough 2021 campaign. The Stars rank seventh in power-play efficiency and will be going up against a Predators team that comes in with the third-worst penalty kill in the league. Klingberg has been quiet of late but that’s only worked to keep salary reasonable for us here— he was going for over $6K a night a couple of weeks ago. The Stars defenseman still quarterbacks the team's PP1 and has 15 points in 19 games this season. Given the matchup against Nashville, which has poor special teams and goaltending, using Klingberg as a one-off or as part of a Stars PP1 stack makes a ton of sense. He’s a quality upper-tier value tonight on DraftKings.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $70K Twine [$20K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is wavegoodbye) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.