NHL DFS Lineup Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, SuperDraft (2/26): Value Plays, Goalies, Stacks

4 years ago by Jorge Pucks

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Welcome, RotoBallers. Hockey season is back 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, FanDuel, and SuperDraft.

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, FanDuel, and SuperDraft for Friday, February 26th, 2020 at 7:00 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 2/26

- Boston Bruins (-162) vs. New York Rangers - 5.5U
- Los Angeles Kings vs. Minnesota Wild (-170) - 5.5U
- Colorado Avalanche (-185) vs. Arizona Coyotes - 5.5U

NHL DFS Goalie Analysis Matrix

Team	Rank GA	Rank SA	Rank GF	Rank SF	Total
Boston	7	31	19	4	12.75
New York	9	19	5	8	12.75
Los Angeles	10	9	21	26	14.75
Minnesota	6	19	22	18	18
Colorado	4	30	14	4	17.75
Arizona	13	16	9	28	11.75

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 that they are facing every slate so this is always slate specific.

NHL DFS Power Play Matrix

Matchup	PP%	Opp PK%
Boston	6	8
New York	26	2
Los Angeles	10	5
Minnesota	30	7
Colorado	12	9
Arizona	17	1

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.

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NHL DFS Core Plays

The Core plays below are the players that you should focus on incorporating into your cash game builds and tournament builds. When it comes to cash games, you want guys that offer high floors that rack up peripheral stats (shots, blocks, etc).

When it comes to tournaments, it is best to take a core play and see who their linemates are and build line stacks based on that. I will give 2-3 plays (varies on slate size) at each position at different pricing ranges so that you can have a variety of plays to choose from when building your cash builds.

NHL DFS Center Picks

Nathan MacKinnon, COL ($9,000 DK / $8,300 FD) - There really are only two options to spend up at the center position for and MacKinnon certainly carries the highest floor and ceiling at the center position. Dating back to the 2018 season, Mackinnon has registered a point in seven of eight regular-season games played against the Coyotes so the upside is there in this matchup. MacKinnon hasn't recorded a point in his last two games so make sure to get some pieces of him into your lineup as he does have a big bounce-back game coming his way soon.
Anze Kopitar, LAK ($5,700 DK / $7,300 FD) - Kopitar has been on fire throughout the first 18 games of the season as he has racked up 21 total points throughout that 18-game stretch. Kopitar has recorded three assists over his last four games but has gone pointless over his two most recent games so he is certainly due to finding the scorers' sheet come Friday night against the Wild.
Charlie Coyle, BOS ($3,600 DK / $4,400 FD) - With David Kejci listed as out, Charlie Coyle looks to slide up to the Boston second line. Coyle found the back of the net against the Flyers on Sunday night as he netted his third goal of the season. Coyle doesn't have the biggest upside but is a solid player that should have more opportunities as he skates alongside solid wingers such as Nick Ritchie and Craig Smith.

Other centers to consider: MacKinnon, Kadri, Eriksson Ek, Schmaltz, Bonino

NHL DFS Forward Picks

David Pastrnak, BOS ($8,800 DK / $8,800 FD) - Outside of Nathan MacKinnon, David Pastrnak carries the highest overall upside on the slate. He has recorded six points over his last three games played and has taken a combined 11 total shots over that three-game span as well.
Dustin Brown, LAK ($5,000 DK / $6,200 FD) - Dustin Brown has been very good to start the season as he has recorded 17 total points in 18 games played. What's even more surprising is that he has scored 11 goals so far this season which ranks fifth in the entire league and has done so on just 38 total shots. Brown has found the back of the net in three out of his last four games played and has netted three goals in five games against the Wild this year.
Zach Parise, MIN ($4,000 DK / $5,700 FD) - Parise might not be the safest value option on the slate but the Minnesota winger is always a threat to score. Parise has registered a point in three out of his last four games played and could be viewed as a good one-off option in tournament builds.

Other wings to consider: Rantanen, Marchand, Fiala, Landeskog, Iafallo, Zuccarello, Kreider, Ritcihie, Kaprizov, Carter, Smith, Kempe, Donskoi

NHL DFS Defenseman Picks

Cale Makar, COL ($6,200 DK / $6,200 FD) - Makar is one of the best young defensemen in the entire league and is playing close to a point per game basis as he has recorded 13 points in 14 total games this season. Makar is due for a big offensive performance as he has only recorded one goal in his last 10 games while accumulating eight assists during that same stretch.
Drew Doughty, LAK ($5,400 DK / $6,000 FD) - Doughty is one of the better defensemen at racking up peripheral stats on an individual game basis. He is averaging over three peripheral stats per game over his last four games played and has also recorded three points over that four-game span as well. Doughty has found success against Minnesota as he has recorded two goals and two assists against the Wild in five total games this season.
Jonas Brodin, MIN ($4,600 DK / $3,800 FD) - Brodin is one of the best shot blockers in the entire league and he displayed it in his most recent game against the Avs as he recorded four blocked shots and picked up the shot block bonus over on DK. He has blocked nine shots over his last four games while also averaging over a shot on goal per game. The floor is high for Brodin from a peripheral stats standpoint and makes for a solid value option on this slate at the defensive position.

Other defensemen to consider: Chychrun, McAvoy, Toews, OEL, Dumba, Girard, Spurgeon, Oesterle, Maatta, Byram, Bjornfot

NHL DFS Goalie Picks

Tuukka Rask, BOS ($8,200 DK / $8,600 FD) - Rask looks to be back to his normal dominant form as he is 7-2-1 with a 2.56 goals allowed average and a .901 save percentage. Rask has been a winner in three out of his last four games played and is averaging 2.5 goals allowed during that four-game stretch. Rask is 1-0 against the Rangers on the season and in his lone start against New York, he only allowed two goals to be scored on 35 total shots. Boston is a large favorite on this slate and Rask could be trusted in all formats despite him carrying larger ownership.
Jonathan Quick, LAK ($7,200 DK / $7,400 FD) - Jonathan Quick has been in great form over his last three games as he has gone 3-0 while only allowing two total goals in that three-game span while also pitching two shutouts. Quick is 5-2-2 with a 2.82 goals allowed average and a .903 save percentage and gets a matchup against a Wild team that is scoring just above three goals per game. Quick is 1-1-2 with 3.17 goals allowed average and a .898 save percentage against Minnesota this season but it is hard to against the form that he has been recently in. In his most recent game against the Wild, Quick pitched a 28 save shutout and at his current price on both sites, it is hard to pass up his upside in tournament builds.

Other goalies to consider: Grubauer, Kahkonen

Note: If you do roster a goalie listed above, it is sometimes best to make a hedge lineup in tournaments and take the opposing offense against them incase he gives up a few goals while that opposing team carries lower ownership.

Favorite NHL DFS Line Stacks

COL 1
- Landeskog/ MacKinnon/ Rantanen (Makar, d-men add on)
  - For me, the preferred top stack to target will be the top line of Colorado. This line has been very good for the past couple of seasons and is priced pretty reasonably on both sites which makes them an easier stack to squeeze in when compared to the top Bruins line. On the season, this line has a 3.23 expected goals for per 60 while generating 35.34 scoring chances and 13.96 high-danger chances per 60 minutes of ice time. The Coyotes are a sound defensive team but should be overmatched in this game by the top line of the Avs so getting some pieces from this line is a must on this short slate. The Coyotes will have the line matching advantage but they tend to keep their top line from facing their opponent's top line which is a big benefit to Colorado since the Schmaltz line for Arizona is their most sound defensive line.
BOS 1
- Matchand/ Bergeron/ Pastrnak (McAvoy, d-men add on)
  - With it being a small slate, the two most obvious stacking spots to turn to are the Bruins top line and the Avs top line. The Bruins are coming off of a beating as they lost to the Islanders by a score of 7-2 and are looking to rebound in a big way. The Bruins are 2-0 against the Rangers this season and the Rangers do not have the firepower to keep up with the Bruins this year. The top line for the Bruins is certainly in play but will draw a somewhat tough matchup against the Zibanejad line that has been solid on the defensive end. In just 23 minutes of ice time against the Rangers, the Bergeron line is only generating 12.98 scoring chances per 60 and 5.19 high-danger chances per 60 in this matchup which shows how the Zibanejad line is keeping them in check. If you do a single entry type of build, it is tough to fully fade the Bruins top line so one-offing one of them might be best. If you want to be different, pivoting to the second Bruins line and spending up for the Avs skaters could be the route to go for tournament builds.