Saturday features another medium eight-game main slate with Colorado in Nashville, Vancouver in Toronto, and a gong show clash between Detroit and Ottawa.
Remember, when looking around for plays, an over/under of 6 dictates offense, but an over/under of 5 or sometimes 5.5 tilts towards the goalies. There are several games at 6.5, as that has become the new norm in hockey now.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy hockey lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 2/29/20. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS. Let's get to it, shall we?
DFS Forwards to Consider
Auston Matthews - C, TOR vs CAR (FD - $8,900, DK - $8,100)
Matthews is too easy of a pick here and can be stacked with several players from Toronto's top-unit power-play on Saturday night. The center has 30 goals and 47 points in 32 home games while firing 150 shots on net. That is an average of nearly 4.8 per contest which is on a level comparable to Alex Ovechkin. He is one of the best forwards in the league especially in Toronto and it would be hard to fade the forward tonight given the matchup. Vancouver's penalty kill is among the five worst in the league on the road and Matthews' price on DraftKings has come down a hair as well.
Leon Draisaitl - C/W, EDM vs WPG (FD - $8,500, DK - $7,800)
The forward gets shots on net to the tune of nearly four shots per contest and has 16 points in his last ten games. He had a three-game point streak snapped on Wednesday against Vegas of all teams at home. Edmonton can be a weird team to gauge at home but Draisaitl still has 19 goals and 50 points in 30 home games. His splits are pretty even but he shoots a hair less at home and has three more power-play points at home (21 overall). Winnipeg allows the third-most DFS points to forwards in the league.
Also, Consider:
- It may be time to take a look at Andrei Svechnikov who has points in 11 of his last 12 games and faces a porous Montreal defense on Saturday at Bell Centre.
- Logan Couture could be a good choice on Saturday against a Pittsburgh playing its third game in four nights on the West Coast swing.
DFS Defenders to Consider
Quinn Hughes - D, VAN vs BOS (FD - $5,300, DK - $5,400)
This is a solid option on Saturday night with some high-priced players in not so good situations. Vancouver plays a Toronto team that gives up goals everywhere. Hughes has 51 points in 62 games and has been excellent on the man advantage for the Canucks. His price is still cheap enough with a solid floor making him an easy target in GPP and cash lineups alike. Do not expect him to fire zero shots on net in this one.
Samuel Girard - D, COL vs NSH (FD - $4,000, DK - $3,300)
Girard has a decent floor and has five points in his nine games and three of those in the previous two. The defenseman just has to get shots on net and will get time to build his shots and blocked shots up just enough. Remember, he is a value play on Saturday in Nashville because the Avalanche is on the back end of a back-to-back. Typically, this means more opportunities to build up hits and blocks. Nashville still allows lots of scoring chances from the points too.
- Simply if Ben Chiarot will keep being priced where he is, then one almost has to play him given his ice time.
- Alex Edler is a nice FanDuel play with his low $4,400 price tag. That is way too low for a great floor player.
DFS Goalie to Consider
Craig Anderson - G, OTT vs DET (FD - $7,300, DK - $8,000)
The goalie gets the likely start with Detroit coming to town and the possibility of Jimmy Howard and his yes two wins on the season. Ottawa does play better at home and he averages a .913 save percentage at home. Again, if this is a time to get a win, then I do not know what else is. Ottawa should be able to score enough goals to provide a winning margin in Kanata on Saturday night.
- The other good GPP choice on Saturday night may just be Tristan Jarry if he starts in San Jose since Matt Murray played in Anaheim on Friday. Expect Jarry to face 30-35 shots against a rested San Jose team.