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 for Saturday, March 5th, 2022 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 3/5/22
We have finally been getting decently length slates as of late and tonight we will kick-off the weekend with an unusually small six-game slate. We have some rather good value spots tonight that we can look to exploit as I do my best to guide you through this massive slate, starting at 7 p.m. EST with a few teams in prime matchups.
We only have one team playing on the second half of a back-to-back, Blue Jackets. The Canadiens and their leagues-worst 3.78 GA will host the Oilers, while the Avalanche and their league’s second-best 3.89 GF will hope to cool off the Flames when they come to town.
DISCLOSURE: The slate may not be the same at puck drop as it is during the writeup due to COVID-19 and or injuries. Make sure to monitor the news feed and play at your own risk.
NHL DFS Goalies
Juuse Saros- DK $7.9K || FD $8.1K
Opponent - San Jose Sharks
Saros and the Predators have taken a massive fall in form lately with very few wins to speak of. Saros himself has only won once in his last five appearances and he has only posted a save percentage above 0.900 twice in that span. Luckily, the Predators get to travel to San Jose who currently resides in the bottom eight of the league for worst goals for (2.58). This is the perfect chance for Saros to bounce back and start regaining form at a low salary.
Others To Consider (Cash/GPP): Vanecek(DK $8.2K || FD $7.6K), Campbell(DK $8.1K || FD $8.4K), Swayman(DK $8K || FD $7.9K), Sawchenko(DK $7.5K || FD $7.2K), Berube(DK $7.4K || FD $7.3K)
NHL DFS Centers
Leon Draisaitl-DK $7.4K || FD $9.9K
Opponent - Montreal Canadiens
Everyone continues to talk about his teammate Connor McDavid, but nobody is willing to give Mr. Draisaitl his time to shine. The German pivot has been carrying the offense lately with a few monster outings. Alone in the month of February – 13 games –, he had a 5-8-13 line with 31.0 shots and over his last five appearances, he has a 3-5-8 line with 10.0 shots. The most important part about his performances are is his salary barely changed at all. Now he will be going against a weak Canadiens second-line who does not have the physical presence to handle Draisaitl’s playstyle.
Erik Haula- DK $2.9K || FD $4.3K
Opponent - Columbus Blue Jackets
Haula at yo boy Erik for putting on a terrific show as of late. The newly made second-line pivot for the B’s has strung together a 2-5-7 line and 9.0 shots over his last five appearances. It seems that he is finally settling into life as the new 2C, granted it does help he has been set up for success with wingers Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak. Nevertheless, Haula is showing growth, and no matter the netminder, it will be hard to stop this second-line from burying the puck.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Matthews(DK $9.3K || FD $9.8K), Kadri(DK $7.1K || FD $9.1K), Bergeron(DK $6.2K || FD $6.6K), Kuznetsov(DK $5.3K || FD $7.4K), Granlund(DK $4K || FD $4.7K)
NHL DFS Wings
Anthony Mantha- DK $3K || FD $4.7K
Opponent - Seattle Kraken
Once the Golden Child of Detroit now a Capital who has been stuck in the shadows of Great Eight, Mantha is finally back from a long stint on the IR and ready to play. The winger did not do much in his first game back with just a single shot and a blocked shot, however, that was more or less expected after a lengthy layoff. Luckily, due to his “poor” performance, his salary has dropped a bit to make him even more enticing in a better matchup. There is no better way to kickstart your season back up than against the Kraken.
Filip Forsberg- DK $6.4K || FD $8.3K
Opponent - San Jose Sharks
Well, we don’t have Forsberg Tuesday, but maybe we could try Forsberg Saturday instead? Filip has been the only offense in Nashville as things are drying up and drying up quickly. The winger continues to hold down the fort though and he has a steady 3-2-5 line with 14.0 shots in his last five appearances. Four of those five appearances were against Carolina, Florida, Dallas and Tampa Bay. If he can do that against “elite” teams and defenses, then he surely can put up a point or two against the struggling Sharks who are now without their two starting netminders.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Ovechkin(DK $7.7K || FD $9.6K), Pastrnak(DK $7K || FD $8.8K), Landeskog(DK $6.1K || FD $8.9K), Kane(DK $5.6K || FD $6.8K), Caufield(DK $4.5K || FD $5.1K), Burakovsky(DK $4.4K || FD $5.6K), Newhook(DK $2.7K || FD $4.4K)
NHL DFS Defensemen
Evan Bouchard- DK $4.6K || FD $5.2K
Opponent - Montreal Canadiens
Tyson Barrie is out for the next three games, you know what that means. Lock and load Evan Bouchard! Bouchard is not shy to increased responsibilities and he has proven a few times this season that he can handle the extra ice time and power-play duties playing with McDavid and Draisaitl. Even without points, he is still shooting enough to hold some sort of value with 14.0 shots in his last five games. The Canadiens are still struggling defensively even if they are winning games and this would be a great matchup for Bouchard to take back his “quarterback” role.
Tyler Myers- DK $3.7K || FD $4.1K
Opponent - Toronto Maple Leafs
We are going to reverse the trend a little here with a defender from the Canucks. Vancouver is a dog against the Maple Leafs and they will most likely see a ton of shots at them as well from Matthews and company. That is where we look at Myers and his shot-blocking ability. Not only does he take shots, but he also offers up a big physical presence that gets in shooting lanes. All we need is a little effort from both sides of the puck and he instantly hits value.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Josi(DK $7.3K || FD $7.2K), Carlson(DK $6K || FD $6.8K), Giordano(DK $5.3K || FD $5.5K), Hughes(DK $4.9K || FD $6K), Chiarot(DK $3.7K || FD $4.5K)
NHL DFS Top Power Plays and Stacks
- EDM1
- WAS1
- NSH1
Brandon’s Stacks of the Day
- WAS: Mantha-Backstrom-OvechkinChalk StackEDM: Draisailt-McDavid-Kane
Sneaky Stack
COL: Landeskog-Kadri-Rantanen