NHL DFS Power Play for FanDuel, DraftKings: DFS Value Plays, Goalies Matrix, Stacks (8/12)

Welcome, RotoBallers. Hockey is one of my favorite sports to watch and play from a DFS perspective and I am thrilled to be covering this sport over at RotoBaller! As always, I will do my best to give you the stats and info you need to build the best lineups possible for your GPP and cash game NHL contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.

If you are new to playing NHL DFS, there are several things to know that will help you get caught up to speed. The first thing to know is that stacking lines is important and correlating your plays can pay off. In hockey, if someone scores a goal, there's a good chance that some on his team will receive an assist on that goal, so you want to build lineups around players skating together. The second thing is to make sure you look at the two sites and see the different ways to obtain points. On DraftKings, you get bonus points for 5+ shots or 3+ blocked shots so someone like Alex Ovechkin who is a volume shooter tends to be a better play there just because he can rack up additional points based on his style of play.

Today I'll be bringing you my NHL lineup picks, analysis and advice for NHL DFS contests on DraftKings for Wednesday, August 12th, 2020 at 3:00 PM. Be sure to also check out our awesome NHL tools including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, Projections, and DFS Cheat Sheets! Feel free to follow me on Twitter @jorgepucks as I am happy to engage with readers and try to answer your questions. Good luck RotoBallers!

NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 8/12

• New York Islanders (+115) vs. Washington Capitals (-135)
• Arizona Coyotes (+151) vs. Colorado Avalanche (-175)
• Montreal Canadiens (+140) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (-160)
• Vancouver Canucks (+130) vs. St. Louis Blues (-150)

NHL DFS Goalie Analysis Matrix

The matrix above takes the averages of four categories and creates a rating scale to help you decide which goalies to use, which goalies to target against and conversely which teams could be viable from a stacking standpoint. It looks at four categories: Goals Allowed (GA), Shots Allowed (SA), Goals For (GF), Shots For (SF). The higher the overall rating in the last column indicates that it is a more dangerous matchup for that team's goalie while it might be beneficial to stack against him. I match and sync this every day to the actual opponents so for example, the Islanders GA and SA will get matched with the Panthers GF and SF.

The Power Play matrix is to help locate matchups that can be exploited should there be an odd-man advantage during the game. Just like the goalie matrix above, the teams are matched up based on their own power play percentage rank and their opponent's penalty kill percentage. When looking at this matrix, you will want to look for teams that succeed in the power play rank while their opponent has a poor penalty kill rank.

NHL DFS Core Four

The Core 4 picks are to help you construct your cash game lineups while also giving you plays that you can use and build around in GPPs. Stacking is critical in NHL DFS so you might want to pair these suggestions with a linemate or two, especially when building your tournament lineups.

1) DFS Center: Nathan MacKinnon ($8,500 DK/ $8,700 FD)

MacKinnon has done really well so far during the NHL postseason. In three games, he has posted a point in each one and has averaged five shots per game. He has only faced Arizona twice this year and has only had one point against them but he should be a great play after Ryan Johansen and company were able to generate plenty of looks against this Coyotes defense in the qualifier round. MacKinnon is viable in all options and should be one of the higher owned plays on the slate.

Other Top Center Plays: 

• Nicklas Backstrom ($5,400/ $6,300 FD)
• Kevin Hayes ($5,900 DK/ $5,700 FD)
• Brayden Schenn ($4,800 DK/ $5,800 FD)

2) DFS Winger: Alex Ovechkin  ($8,300 DK/ $8,400 FD)

Ovechkin has yet to score during the postseason and it is hard to imagine him going four straight games without recording a single point. During the regular season, Ovi racked up four points in four games against the Islanders with three of those being goals. In addition, he took 14 total shots and averaged 15.1 DK points per game against New York which are solid numbers. With the high upside that Ovechkin brings to your lineups, it is hard to fade him in cash games.

Other Top Winger Plays: 

• Claude Giroux ($7,800/ $7,300 FD)
• Vladimir Tarasenko ($5,800 / $7,700 FD)
• Mikko Rantanen ($7,400 / $7,400 FD)

3) DFS Defenseman: Alex Pietrangelo ($6,500 DK / $5,600 FD)

Pietrangelo is one of the better all-around defenders in the league. He sees a tremendous amount of ice-time per game, isn't afraid of blocking shots, and is involved on the offensive end. He is averaging 12.2 DK points per game against Vancouver and has racked up two points against them during the regular season. While he might not carry the most upside from the defensive position, he is extremely steady which is great for cash game lineups.

Other Defenseman Plays: 

• John Carlson ($6,400 DK/ $6,700 FD)
• Shea Weber ($5,900 DK/ $5,300 FD)
• Colton Parayko ($5,300 DK/ $5,200 FD)

4) DFS Goalie:  Jordan Binnington ($8,100 DK/ $8,300 FD)

Binnington is a pure beast in between the pipes and it's hard to truly go against him. So far this season, he has faced the Canucks twice and has gone 1-0-1 with a 1.87 goal allowed average and a .939 save percentage during that two-game stretch. Another thing that truly stands out is that Binnington is 20-6-5 when the Blues are the home team which is what they will be considered the first two games of this series. The Blues do a great job line matching and putting their top defensive line on the opponent's top-scoring line which helps a goaltender like Binnington. He is viable in all formats and could be the top goalie play on the slate.

Other Goalie Options:

• Philipp Grubauer  ($8,300 DK/ $8,700 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Center

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($ DK/ $4,900 FD)
• Travis Boyd ($2,500 DK/ $3,700 FD)
• Phillip Danault ($4,400 DK/ $5,300 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Wing

• Anthony Beauvillier ($3,700 DK/ $4,800 FD)
• Phil Kessel ($4,400 DK/ $6,500 FD)
• Joel Farabee ($3,500 DK/ $3,300 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Defensemen

• Devon Toews ($4,000 DK/ $4,200 FD)
• Oliver Eckman-Larsson ($4,200 DK/ $5,000 FD)
• Michal Kempny ($3,200/ $3,600 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Goalie

• Carey Price ($7,700 DK/ $8,100 FD)
• Darcy Kuemper ($7,000 DK/ $7,700 FD)

Top Team and Line DFS Stacks

Colorado Avalanche (L1/ PP1, L2)

 The Avs looked poised to make a run this postseason and it really starts with their offense. They have a strong top six with Nathan MacKinnon leading the charge and as we saw against Nashville, the Coyotes defense allows a good amount of shots which means opportunities will be there for Colorado. Both of the top lines are in play for the Avs as there are scoring threats on each line with several guys on both lines also skating together on the top power play line. If you do make several Avs lines, it might be best to hedge it with a Kuemper line just in case he has a dominant outing (which he is known to have every now and then). 

Washington (L1, L2, PP1)

The Caps have switched up their lines a tad and look to be rolling with Backstrom, Ovechkin, and Oshie as their top line. This line has tremendous upside as they posted a 64.99 corsi for percentage during the regular season while also producing a 3.79 goals for per 60 minutes of ice-time. In addition, this line has produces over 13 high danger chances per 60 minutes and 31 scoring chances so they look to be one of the more potent lines in the postseason.

Other Stacks that could be lower owned:  Philadelphia Flyers (L1, L2), STL (L1, PP1)

NHL Player News and Updates

More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis