RADIO
Brandon Wampler's top DraftKings and FanDuel NHL DFS value plays and research for April 4th, 2023 including DFS analysis for goalies, power plays and stacks.
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 Tuesday, 4th, 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 4/4/23
The league is approaching the final stretch run as many teams fight for a date with Lord Stanley and we have already started to see some teams like the Boston Bruins playing their star players less, to rest them for playoffs. This will become a bigger trend as we close in on playoffs and it can impact fantasy in a big way. It is important to understand this when making roster decisions. Tonight we have an 11-game slate with three teams playing on a back-to-back: Vegas, Nashville and Seattle. The currently live top-3 highest implied team totals are: Toronto with 4.5, Calgary with 4.5 and Colorado with 4.1. I will do my best to guide you through this eleven-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
Cam Talbot-DK $7.1K || FD $7.2K
Opponent - Carolina Hurricanes
Talbot will not be the first name that comes to many tonight when searching for a netminder. In his last five games, he has 4 wins, posting north of a 0.900 Save Percentage in each contest, however, he just conceded 4 goals in a tough road loss to Columbus on Sunday. He has another good matchup in Carolina tonight with the Hurricanes struggling. Through the last 5 matches for Carolina, they have been outscored 11 to 14 and when comparing their last 10 matches to their season averages, they are in the bottom five of the league in Scoring Chances For Per 60, High Danger Chances For Per 60 and Goals For Per 60. This sets up the perfect spot for Talbot to have a ceiling game.
Others To Consider (Cash/GPP): Husso (DK $7.8K || FD $6.7K), Jarry (DK $7.4K || FD $7.8K)
Centers
Nathan MacKinnon-DK $9.6K || FD $10.3K
Opponent - San Jose Sharks
Queue up the ‘chalk-fest’. MacKinnon and the Avalanche will be one of two top teams targeted tonight – the Toronto Maple Leafs are the other team –. In the last five games, Colorado is outsourcing their opponents 21 to 10 and the center has 4 goals, 3 assists and 23 shots in that timeframe. San Jose continues to play good enough defense to stay afloat. Although, their goaltending continues to let them down time and time again – fourth-worst in Goals Against Per 60 when comparing the last 10 matches to season average –. It would not be surprising to see MacKinnon’s ownership climb north of 20 percent in most contests.
John Tavares- DK $7.1K || FD $8.4K
Opponent - Columbus Blue Jackets
Depending on roster builds and salary left over for your center positions is whether you take John Tavares or Auston Matthews. Tavares will be highlighted here however with the center $2K less in salary than his counterpart. Tavares in his last five games, has 3 goals, 1 assist and 17 shots. Both Tavares and Matthews will be seeing Columbus’ second line which is notorious for bad defense. It would not be surprising to see Tavares get two or more points tonight.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Barkov (DK $7.4K || FD $7.3K), Lindholm (DK $5.3K || FD $6.3K)
Wings
Valeri Nichushkin- DK $6.2K || FD $7K
Opponent - San Jose Sharks
With many seeking pathways to stack both Colorado and Toronto in the same lineup tonight, Nichushkin makes for a much better play over his linemate Mikko Rantanen who is $1.6K more salary. Furthermore, both plays have similar production: Nichushkin has 3 goals, 2 assists and 22 shots and Rantanen has 2 goals, 5 assists and 21 shots – both in their last five games –. Whether you want to stack Nichushkin or not, he is a great one-off play if you run out of salary.
Michael Bunting- DK $4.3K || FD $4.8K
Opponent - Columbus Blue Jackets
Bunting is a game-time decision tonight, depending on Mitch Marner’s status. Marner sat out the 5-2 loss to Detroit on Sunday for rest and his status remains unchanged heading into tonight. Nevertheless, if he is out again, Bunting will remain on the top line and power-play unit. In the one game back with linemate Auston Matthews, Bunting had 5 shots. Dating it back further to his last five games and he has 1 goal, 1 assist and 14 shots. Similar to Tavares, Bunting and the top line for the Maple Leafs will see their fair share of Columbus’ putrid second line, making him a viable less-expensive one-off or stack play when applicable.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Verhaeghe (DK $7.1K || FD $7.3K), Vrana (DK $5.4K || FD $6.1K)
Defense
MacKenzie Weegar- DK $4.3K || FD $4.6K
Opponent - Chicago Blackhawks
Weegar has resurfaced and in a big way, leading Calgary in their desperation attempt to get one of the wild card spots in the Western Conference. In his last five games, he has 1 goal, 4 assists, 21 shots and 14 blocked shots. That is immense value for a defenseman that never cracked $4.5K on DraftKings in that timeframe. Chicago will not roll over for Calgary, but Weegar will see his fair share of chances tonight. With double-digit fantasy points in his last 4 of 5 games, he becomes an instant bargain tonight, under a $5K salary on DraftKings.
Erik Brannstrom- DK $2.8K || FD $4K
Opponent - Carolina Hurricanes
In what is a fair toss-up tonight, Brannstrom will remain the number two defenseman after Jake Sanderson. Ottawa has now been without both Jakub Chychrun and Thomas Chabot for three games and in that window, Brannstrom has 1 assist, 5 shots and 3 blocked shots. The production is underwhelming for the amount of added ice time – roughly 7 minutes –, however, he is just north of the minimum salary on DraftKings, making it very hard not to maintain value. On a night where it is imperative to pay for higher-salaried players, Brannstrom is the perfect ‘punt’ play.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Rielly (DK 5.3K || FD $5.8K), Bouchard (DK $4.2K || FD $4.5K)
NHL DFS Top Power Plays and Stacks
- COL1
- TOR1
- FLA1
- CGY1
- PIT1
Brandon's Stack of the Day
- CGY: Dube-Kadri-Weegar
Chalk Stack
- COL Nichushkin-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Sneaky Stack
- OTT: DeBrincat-Pinto-Brannstrom
