Thursday features a 12-game NHL slate, which begins at 7 p.m. ET on DraftKings. In this article, you will find DFS advice for DraftKings lineups, plus some DraftKings Sportsbook bets to target.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $35K Kick Save [$10K to 1st]
DraftKings Sportsbook
Pavel Buchnevich over 2.5 SOG +125
The Blues get a soft matchup today against the Sabres who allow the sixth-most shots on net per game. As is often the case, we can find some value on the board with the Blues’ forwards in the shots on net department. Buchnevich has only hit the over on this total in three of his last seven games, but he is averaging 18.5 minutes and 2.9 shots on net per game over his last 10 starts. With nice +125 odds, taking the over on this today is good value.
Oilers Money Line -105
The Oilers are coming off an embarrassing 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild in their last game. It was a predictable letdown spot for a team who had hung tough with Conference leader Colorado in their last outing. Edmonton is 6-1-1 in their last seven games, and 5-0 against Nashville. Look for the Oilers to rebound against a Nashville squad who is just 5-4-1 over their last 10 games.
Parlay both on DraftKings Sportsbook +339
Place your NHL bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
Top Stack
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Detroit Red Wings
Sebastian Aho ($6,900) — Andrei Svechnikov ($6,500) — Seth Jarvis ($3,300)
The Canes’ top line comes into this game in solid looking form. They’ve combined for 11 points over their last two games and get the Red Wings — a bottom-five team in shots against, goals against and penalty kill.
The Canes’ top-line duo of Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov haven’t played together the entire season, but when they do join up at regular strength, the fantasy results can often be terrific. Both men scored and drew assists on the other’s goal in their recent 4-2 win over the Rangers, with Aho also drawing an assist on linemate Seth Jarvis’ goal in that game as well. With both Aho and Svechnikov under $7,000 in price, you could look to target another member of the Canes’ top power-play unit like Tony DeAngelo, but using Jarvis has its benefits.
Jarvis is playing nearly all of his regular strength minutes with the Canes’ top forwards, and he has excelled in the role, grabbing multiple points in two of his last four starts. If the Canes’ top players do go off again, Jarvis will be in a great position to at least grab us a garbage assist and help pay off this tiny salary. If he finds the net, which he did in his last game, he’ll likely be the value of the night. Stack the Canes’ top unit for a nice blend of slate breaking upside and value today.
Superstar to Target
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals at Toronto Maple Leafs ($8,400)
The Capitals are coming off a nine-goal performance and have averaged 5.75 goals over their last four games. The Capitals may be getting hot at just the right time, and they face a Toronto team who still looks very vulnerable from a defensive perspective. The Leafs still don’t have an answer in net as third-stringer Erik Hallgren gave up five to the bottom feeding Sabres in his last outing, and Jack Campbell (the starter today) has given up three or more goals in eight of his last nine appearances.
For his part, Alex Ovechkin now has goals in four straight games and is only four short of the 50-goal mark. While both of these teams will be in the playoffs, the Capitals can still improve their positioning and would certainly like to keep their recent momentum rolling after a mid-season slump. Ovechkin may not even be that highly-owned in this spot given the Capitals sit as solid +140 underdogs, so building around the talented goal-scorer, against a Leafs defense who has allowed five or more goals in two of their last four starts, looks like a prudent move in bigger fields.
Value on Offense
Mark Stone ($4,000)
Stone returned for the Golden Knights in their last game and promptly played over 17 minutes. He didn't contribute on the score sheet in the close loss to Vancouver, but you know the point-per-game player will be doing that soon. The Golden Knights are in no place to rest Stone either given how tight the race is for the last playoff spot, and while the matchup may draw some people off, Vegas has scored five or more goals in five of their last eight games. Look to Stone for some upside, and you could even think of pairing him with Max Pacioretty ($6,100) for a lower-owned upside stack today.
Conor Garland ($4,100)
The Canucks take on the Coyotes, so pretty much all of the Vancouver forwards have heightened upside today. Garland comes in as one of the hotter Canucks forwards with six points in his last four outings. He’s getting plenty of offensive zone starts while playing alongside the likes of Elias Pettersson ($5,800) and easily fits into lineups at just over 4k as part of a value stack with the Swede or on his own as a solo value option. Vancouver forwards will have some ownership but offer us some of the best value on the slate as well.
Goalie
Kaapo Kähkönen, San Jose Sharks at Chicago Blackhawks ($7,500)
The Sharks head into Chicago as small -115 road favorites, which tells you all you need to know about the Blackhawks right now. Chicago has scored two or fewer goals in five of their last six games and fit the very definition of a team just playing out the string. San Jose can be held in similar regard, but they do have a young netminder in Kahkonen who looks determined to make his mark with his new club before the year ends.
The former Wild netminder has now stopped 80 of the last 81 shots on net he’s faced and stopped 40 of 41 against Nashville in his last outing, a hard luck 1-0 loss. The Sharks get a much weaker opponent today, and the team should be motivated to get their goalie his first win with the new club. For daily fantasy hockey purposes, Kahkonen looks like decent value given the recent form and a great GPP play to deploy in big fields.
Value on Defense
Evan Bouchard ($3,700)
The upside with the Oilers’ top-three defensemen is tremendous when they kick in on the score sheet as well, and the $3,700 price tag on Evan Bouchard looks well worth taking on today. Bouchard is averaging 4.6 blocked shots + shots on goal per game and has grabbed over six shots on net in two of his last five outings. He’s not seeing the same amount of ice time that he was at the start of the year, but Bouchard is being hyper efficient with his minutes.
As mentioned above, the Oilers have been very good against the Predators recently, and Bouchard has averaged 11.0 DKFP over his last 10 starts, all with having just one goal scored in that span. Any offensive breakout would lead to big things. At this price, there’s few better upside options laying around, regardless of position.
Power Play Defensemen
John Carlson ($6,800)
The Capitals have been flying of late and come in having won four in a row, while averaging 5.75 goals scored per game over that span. John Carlson has been a huge reason for this recent spark as the Capitals’ power-play quarterback has posted nine points alone over Washington’s recent four-game run.
The daily fantasy hockey landscape at defense is such that we can either pay up for either Cale Makar ($7,900) or Roman Josi ($8,600), who are both well over $7,500, or look for better value down the board. If we settle on Carlson, we get the best of both worlds as he’s far more affordable but retains the monster upside of the aforementioned players. Stacking Washington’s best offensive players today is one way to get access to a bit of a contrarian build as well, with the Capitals sitting as +140 underdogs.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $35K Kick Save [$10K to 1st]
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 do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. 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.
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