NHL DFS Power Play for FanDuel, DraftKings: DFS Value Plays, Goalies Matrix, Stacks (8/16)

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 Sunday, August 16th, 2020 at 6:30 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 8/16

• Washington Capitals (-115) vs. New York Islanders (-105)
• Dallas Stars (-120) vs. Calgary Flames (EVEN)
• Vegas Golden Knights (-186) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (+160)
• Philadelphia Flyers (-145) vs. Montreal Canadiens (+125)
• St. Louis Blues (-135) vs. Vancouver Canucks (+115)

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 so for example, the Islanders GA and SA will get matched with the Panthers GF and SF.

NHL DFS Core Four (Main Slate- 3 Games)

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: Bo Horvat  ($6,400 DK/ $6,600 FD)

Horvat has been on fire over the last three games as he has collected six points over that three-game stretch. He has been extremely active on the offensive side of things as he is taking four shots per game and scored five goals. He really causes problems for the Blues as he has recorded six goals in five games this season and has averaged 18.5 DK points per game when playing them. With his consistent play against St. Louis, he could be a viable play in all formats.

Other Top Center Plays: 

• William Karlsson ($6,100/ $5,800 FD)
• Ryan O'Reilly ($5,100 DK/ $6,500 FD)

2) DFS Winger: Jonathan Marchessault ($6,300 DK/ $7,100 FD)

It's hard to deviate away from Jonathan Marchessault with how steady he has played throughout the postseason so far. In the series against Chicago, he has taken 13 shots on goal and has averaged 14.6 DK points per game against them so far. On the full season,  Marchessault has recorded five assists against Chicago and has taken 22 shots on goal which tells us that Chicago does not have a gameplan on slowing him down offensively. Marchessault is viable for all types of contests due to his high floor but also the high upside that he presents.

Other Top Winger Plays: 

• Reilly Smith ($5,300 DK/ $5,800 FD)
• Brendan Gallagher ($6,200 DK/ $7,000 FD)

3) DFS Defenseman: Shea Theodore ($6,700 DK / $5,900 FD)

Theodore is back again and while he does carry a higher price tag than most, he still remains a top option on this slate. Theodore has gone two games without recording a point but he has remained active as he has had 20 shots on goal and 11 blocked shots since the postseason began. In tournaments, he could come in lower owned due to his price tag but could be a solid play for cash games since he has such a solid floor.

Other Defenseman Plays: 

• Alex Pietrangelo ($6,400 DK/ $5,900 FD)
• Quinn Hughes ($5,100 DK/ $5,500 FD)

4) DFS Goalie: Robin Lehner  ($8,300 DK/ $8,600 FD)

The safest pick on this slate for the goalie position looks to be Robin Lehner from the Vegas Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury was in between the pipes last night against Chicago and held his own as he only allowed one goal while the Golden Knights collected their third win in this best of seven series. Both teams will be on a back-to-back which usually means we could see some fatigue from a skating standpoint but with also knowing it is an elimination game for Chicago, I am sure both teams will be bringing their best game. Lehner is 2-0-1 against Chicago this season and is allowing an average of 1.56 goals scored per game and a .937 save percentage when it comes to facing his former team so he is a great option in both tournaments and cash games.

Value Plays

DFS Value Plays: Center

• Paul Stastny ($4,700 DK/ $4,700 FD)- Check status prior to puck drop in his injury
• Kirby Dach ($3,700 DK/ $4,400 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Wing

• Tanner Pearson ($4,500 DK/ $5,100 FD)
• Alex Tuch ($4,100 DK/ $4,000 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Defensemen

• Alec Martinez ($4,000 DK/ $3,900 FD)
• Ben Chiarot ($4,300 DK/ $3,700 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Goalie

• Carey Price ($7,500 DK/ $7,800 FD)
• Jacob Markstrom ($7,600 DK/ $8,500 FD)

Top Team and Line DFS Stacks

Vegas Golden Knights (L1, L2, PP1, L3)

Vegas has been rolling along in the postseason and is actually the top-scoring team since hockey has returned. They are averaging 4.17 goals scored per game and are in the top third when it comes to shots taken. Looking at some of the stats and numbers from last night's game, Vegas continued to dominate puck possession as they had a 54.39 corsi and generated 26 scoring chances while Chicago was only limited to 20 scoring chances. Vegas looks like it adjusted their lines a tad before the game as William Karlsson hopped down to skate alongside Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith and this group generated a strong 68.42 corsi while creating five scoring chances for themselves. If Vegas rolls that same line out again, they should be one of the top lines to stack on this slate.

Vancouver (L1, L2)

The Canucks have been very surprising as they were able to beat St. Louis in the first two games of this best of seven series but what is even more shocking is that they have scored nine goals in a two-game span on Jordan Binnington and company. The Blues are a sound defensive team and when Binnington is on his A-game, they are tough to beat but that has not been the case in this series so far. The Blues have actually had better puck possession numbers and more scoring chances than Vancouver but the Canucks have generated more high-danger opportunities which have led to more goals. The top line of the Canucks have gotten picked on from the Blues but St. Louis has been unable to convert on those chances so with Vancouver having the home matching advantage, they will look to keep that line away from the O'Reilly line of the Blues whom they saw a good chunk of. Both top lines for Vancouver stick out and with a change in goalie for the Blues possibly occurring, it could be time to face the facts that Vancouver could be a viable stacking option on this slate and for slates to come.

Other Stacks that could be lower owned: MON (L1)

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