NHL DFS Power Play for FanDuel, DraftKings: DFS Value Plays, Goalies Matrix, Stacks (8/18)

Jorge Pucks delivers his top DraftKings, FanDuel NHL DFS value plays and research for August 18th including DFS analysis for goalies, power plays, core 4, stacks.

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 Tuesday, August 18th, 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 8/18

• Philadelphia Flyers (-130) vs. Montreal Canadiens (+110)
• Calgary Flames (+105) vs. Dallas Stars (-125)
• Washington Capitals (-110) vs. New York Islanders (-110)
• Chicago Blackhawks (+165) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (-190)

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

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. 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 to ensure we get the correct data for each slate!

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: William Karlsson  ($6,300 DK/ $5,900 FD)

While Karlsson doesn't provide the biggest upside for lineups, he does offer consistency and plenty of ice-time which is what you are looking for in your cash game lineups. He has been more involved on the offensive end as he has taken 10 shots over his last three games and has racked up five blocked shots over that same timeframe. Karlsson is always surrounded by talent regardless of the lineup that he is playing on which means his chances of notching assists are always good. He is one of the safer plays on the slate in a matchup that should favor him and his Vegas linemates.

Other Top Center Plays: 

• Mathew Barzal ($6,700 DK/ $6,300 FD)
• Evgeny Kuznetsov ($5,700 DK/ $6,900 FD)
• Tyler Seguin ($6,100 DK/ $7,200 FD)

2) DFS Winger: Alex Ovechkin ($8,600 DK/ $8,400 FD)

Ovechkin is coming off of a down game where he only had one shot on goal but was still able to generate a point in game three against the Islanders. The Caps are now down 3-0 and are going to need Ovechkin and company to truly rally to make this a true competitive series. In the first two games against the Islanders, Ovechkin racked up 12 shots on goals and netted two goals so look to Ovechkin to shoot at will in every game moving forward.

Other Top Winger Plays: 

• Max Pacioretty  ($7,400 DK/ $7,100 FD)
• Reilly Smith ($5,600 DK/ $5,500 FD)
• Anders Lee ($6,000 DK/ $6,600 FD)

3) DFS Defenseman: Miro Heiskanen  ($5,400 DK / $5,100 FD)

Heiskanen is one of the more underrated defensemen in the league and he is quietly having a very solid postseason. He has produced double-digit DK points in five of his seven postseason games so far and racks up peripheral stats (shots on goals, blocked shots) left and right. He has five points (two goals, three assists) in seven games against Calgary this year and is averaging 12.8 DK points against the Flames throughout the season. When factoring in price, Heiskanen is one of the better overall plays on the slate for his pricepoint and production.

Other Defenseman Plays: 

• John Carlson ($6,600 DK/ $6,700 FD)
• Ryan Pulock ($5,600 DK/ $5,200 FD)
• Shea Theodore ($6,300 DK/ $5,800 FD)

4) DFS Goalie: Robin Lehner  ($8,300 DK/ $8,700 FD)

Robin Lehner has been very solid for Vegas throughout the postseason. In his three games against his former team, Lehner is only allowing two goals scored per game while going 2-1 over his last three games played. The one downside to rostering a Golden Knights goalie is that their save opportunity is limited with how tough this defense is but they tend to be safer options in cash games because they rarely get blown up which kills your lineup. Lehner is a solid option for cash games especially if you are looking to pay up at the goalie position.

Value Plays

DFS Value Plays: Center

• Joe Pavelski ($4,200 DK/ $5,500 FD)
• Lars Eller ($4,000 DK/ $4,200 FD)
• Sam Bennett ($3,600 DK/ $4,000 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Wing

• Alex Tuch ($4,100 DK/ $4,400 FD)
• Roope Hintz ($4,000 DK/ $4,900 FD)
• Josh Bailey ($4,500 DK/ $4,700 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Defensemen

• Rasmus Andersson ($3,300 DK/ $4,200 FD)
• Travis Sanheim ($4,000 DK/ $4,300 FD)
• Devon Toews ($4,400 DK/ $3,600 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Goalie

• Carey Price ($7,300 DK/ $7,700 FD)
• Anton Khudobin ($7,200 DK/ $7,900 FD)

Top Team and Line DFS Stacks

New York Islanders (L1, L2)

The Islanders have done a great job controlling the top line of the Capitals and limiting their overall chances throughout this series. When diving into the numbers, the Islanders have generated 41 high-danger chances in their three games played while the Capitals have only generated 25 high-danger opportunities during the same timespan. New York carries the home-ice advantage into game four which really benefits their top line. In game three, their top line produced a 72.41 corsi and had seven scoring chances and matched up against the Capitals second line which has allowed nine high-scoring chances and three high-danger goals allowed in the playoffs.

Vegas Golden Knights (L1, L2, L3)

Vegas is up 3-1 in the series and has a good opportunity to shut the door on a pesky offensive Chicago team. The Blackhawks got a very strong game four out of Corey Crawford when they had the home-ice advantage but the Golden  Knights know they must take advantage of their large series lead and end it soon and not let the lead slip away.  When Vegas was the home team in the first two games,  they dominated the puck possession and generated close to 30 scoring chances per 60 minutes of ice time. Their top three lines are all in play but you need to make sure you check the lineup before puck drops to see who will be skating with who!

Other Stacks that could be lower owned: Dallas (L1,L2), Washington (L1, PP1)

NHL Player News and Updates

More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis