Welcome, RotoBallers! If you do not know me, my name is Brandon and I write both The First-Serve and The Kick-Off for Tennis and Soccer respectively. If you have not checked those out, make sure you do! It is the return of the NHL season which means it's time to sharpen our MLB skills and partake in NHL DFS! As always, I'll give you the best tools to succeed and the info you need to build the best lineups possible for your GPP and cash game NHL contests on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Today I'll be bringing you my NHL lineup picks, analysis, and advice for NHL DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel Thursday, 2nd, 2023 at 7:00 PM EST. Be sure to also check out our awesome NHL tools including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, Projections, and DFS Cheat Sheets!
If you have any questions on today's slate, bankroll management, GPP strategy, Cash game strategy, or anything else don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected] or via Twitter @df_solutions or in our premium slack chat. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 3/2/23
The trade market is starting to open up and more and more moves will be made as we get closer to the trade deadline – March 3rd –. Be aware of late-minute scratches. Tonight we have a 10-game slate and four teams playing on a back-to-back: New York, Toronto and Dallas. The currently live top-3 highest implied team totals are: Boston with 4.2, Los Angeles with 4.1 and Dallas with 3.8 goals. I will do my best in guiding you through this ten-game slate on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:00 p.m. EST.
DISCLOSURE: Make sure to monitor the news feed and play at your own risk
Goalies
Joonas Korpisalo- DK $8.3K || FD $K
Opponent - Montreal Canadiens
It remains to be seen exactly who will start in net for the Kings against the Canadiens tonight, however, many would have to expect Korpisalo to start if he is able to after Copley’s disgusting form he has been in. In Copley’s last five games, he has 1 win and only two games where he managed to see north of a 0.900 Save Percentage. Korpisalo brings much-needed balance to the net for the Kings and in his last five games with the Blue Jackets, he won 3 and saw below a 0.900 Save Percentage just once – 0.894 –. The Canadiens are in the bottom five of the league in Shots For Per 60, Scoring Chances For Per 60, High Danger Chances For Per 60 and Goals For Per 60. This provides a great matchup for either netminder tonight for the Kings, however, their ceiling will be limited due to the lack of shots the Canadiens muster.
Others To Consider (Cash/GPP): Bobrovsky (DK $8K || FD $7.4K), Demko (DK $7.2K || FD $6.8K)
Centers
Austin Matthews-DK $8.8K || FD $10K
Opponent - Calgary Flames
For those that did not watch the game against Edmonton last night, Toronto was rendered useless for the majority of the game and Matthews was a part of that. The top-line center had 1 assist and 2 shots. He has cooled off as of late with just 2 goals, 1 assist, 15 shots and 11 blocked shots through his last five appearances. Calgary is currently plummeting in form and neither goalie can be trusted for them. However, Markstrom is expected to be in net tonight as he bids to take over starting duties once more. Over his last five games, he has averaged just below 4 goals against per game. After an embarrassment last night, expect Matthews and company to come out swinging fast and early.
Matty Beniers- DK $4.5K || FD $5.6K
Opponent - Detroit Red Wings
Oddly enough the Seattle Kraken have yet to make a trade as the league has gone into complete chaos as the deadline looms tomorrow. Despite that though, they are coming back into form and with it, so is their top-line center Matty Beniers. Over his last five games, he has 1 goal, 3 assists and 10 shots. Tonight Beniers gets one of the best matchups on paper, going against Detroit’s second-line who is notorious for poor defense, allowing 14.77 Individual Fenwick Against Per 60. Furthermore, Detroit just got obliterated by the Senators in back-to-back games, getting outscored 12-3 and they also just lost one of their best defensemen in a trade. This is a great spot and a very manageable salary to pay up elsewhere.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Bergeron (DK $6.4K || FD $7.2K), Bennett (DK $5.3K || FD $5.5K)
Wings
Fabian Zetterlund- DK $3.2K || FD $3.9K
Opponent - St Louis Blues
Zetterlund had a rather underwhelming debut with the Sharks, taking 2 shots in 17 minutes of ice time. However, it was encouraging that he saw a drastic uptick in ice time – averaged 11 minutes in his last four games with the Devils –. The Sharks have yet another decent matchup against the Blues tonight, giving Zetterlund another chance to impress his new team. The Blues have stayed steady in the bottom ten of the league in Shots Against Per 60 – 31.45 – and Scoring Chances Against Per 60 – 31.39 – and they remain the fourth-worst team in Goals Against Per 60 – 3 –.
Jake DeBrusk- DK $6.5K || FD $7K
Opponent - Buffalo Sabres
DeBrusk has been on an absolute tear since returning from injury. In six games, he has 3 goals, 4 assists and 23 shots. Tonight DeBrusk and the rest of the Bruins play host to the Buffalo Sabres in what will be an entertaining fast-paced meeting between two offensively-talent teams. However, Buffalo is expected to roll out Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as their starter, who has been less than ideal. In Luukkonen’s last five games, he has conceded an average of 4.8 goals per game. With DeBrusk playing out of his mind and shooting at his clips, this has blowup potential written all over it.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Marner (DK $6.5K || FD $7.9K), Gurianov (DK $3K || FD $3.7K)
Defense
Owen Power- DK $4.3K || FD $4.6K
Opponent - Boston Bruins
Keeping things in Boston we have two top-value defensemen and the first up is Owen Power. Power is no stranger to this article anymore as this will be the third-straight game that Rasmus Dahlin does not play in. In the two games without Dahlin, Power has seen his ice time climb by 3-4 minutes and he has 2 assists, 6 shots and 3 blocked shots. It is very obvious he is enjoying his time as the top offensive defenseman on the team at the moment. In a matchup against the Bruins, it will be imperative that Power plays at the top of his two-way game, supporting both sides of the puck.
Dmitry Orlov- DK $4K || FD $5.2K
Opponent - Buffalo Sabres
The second value defenseman is Dmitry Orlov, the newly acquired defenseman from the Washington Capitals. Orlov has been a massive difference-maker for the Bruins since his arrival. In his three games thus far, he has 2 goals, 3 assists, 4 shots and 5 blocked shots with the majority of his production coming in a thrilling 4-3 win over Calgary on Tuesday. Nevertheless, Orlov plays on the top pair alongside Charlie McAvoy and he co-quarterbacks the second power-play unit. In a meeting with a high-powered Sabres team, Orlov will be relied on at both ends of the ice.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Dunn (DK $4.8K || FD $5.8K), Krug (DK $4.6K || FD $5.7K)
NHL DFS Top Power Plays and Stacks
- FLA1
- BOS1
- SEA1
- DAL1
- TOR1
Brandon's Stack of the Day
- BOS: Marchand-Bergeron-DeBrusk
Chalk Stack
- DAL: Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Sneaky Stack
- MTL: Hoffman-Suzuki-Gurianov