NHL DFS Lineup Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, SuperDraft (2/8): Value Plays, Goalies, Stacks

4 years ago by Jorge Pucks

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Welcome, RotoBallers. Hockey season is back 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, FanDuel, and SuperDraft.

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, Fanduel, and SuperDraft for Monday, February 8th, 2020 at 7:00 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 2/8

- New York Islanders (-105) vs New York Rangers (-115) - 5.5O
- Carolina Hurricanes (-145) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets- 5.5U
- Edmonton Oilers (-190) vs. Ottawa Senators - 6.5O
- Vancouver Canucks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (-200) - 6.5O
- Tampa Bay Lightning (-155) vs. Nashville Predators - 6U
- Arizona Coyotes vs. St. Louis Blues (-145) - 5.5U

NHL DFS Goalie Analysis Matrix

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Team	Rank GA	Rank SA	Rank GF	Rank SF	Total
NYI	9	17	10	28	18
NYR	23	2	27	19	15.75
Carolina	11	29	21	3	13
Columbus	3	25	4	8	13
Edmonton	15	12	17	28	14.25
Ottawa	30	3	7	23	19.5
Vancouver	19	4	24	18	14.5
Toronto	26	13	29	6	20.25
Tampa Bay	7	20	31	19	12
Nashville	19	15	16	5	21
Arizona	3	8	9	14	12.25
St. Louis	5	28	17	21	14

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.

NHL DFS Power Play Matrix

Matchup	PP%	Opp PK%
NYI	20	10
NYR	21	21
Carolina	13	20
Columbus	26	15
Edmonton	8	26
Ottawa	21	24
Vancouver	18	23
Toronto	1	14
Tampa Bay	17	31
Nashville	21	8
Arizona	16	28
St. Louis	28	7

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.

Did you know RotoBaller has a Premium NHL DFS subscription? Like what you read today? You can show your support for Jorge by using promo code JORGEPUCKS when purchasing an NHL DFS Premium Pass. You get 10% off, and exclusive access to all of our Premium NHL cheat sheets, DFS research tools, Premium Slack Chatrooms, Stack Builder, Correlation Matrix and Lineup Optimizer!

NHL DFS Core Plays

The Core plays below are the players that you should focus on incorporating into your cash game builds and tournament builds. When it comes to cash games, you want guys that offer high floors that rack up peripheral stats (shots, blocks, etc).

When it comes to tournaments, it is best to take a core play and see who their linemates are and build line stacks based on that. I will give 2-3 plays (varies on slate size) at each position at different pricing ranges so that you can have a variety of plays to choose from when building your cash builds.

NHL DFS Center Picks

Connor McDavid, EDM ($9,000 DK / $8,900 FD) - The great debate on this slate will be to roster either McDavid or Matthews and you really can't go wrong with either center. McDavid has torched the Senators so far this season as he has recorded seven total points in just two games while taking six total shots in that two-game span. McDavid is playing at an astounding two points per game pace and we should anticipate this trend to continue in this matchup as Ottawa has allowed the fifth-most goals to opposing centers so far this season.
Mika Zibanejad, NYR ($6,200 DK / $6,600 FD) - The pricing on Zibanejad continues to go down but he is too good of a player to not consider rostering in the low 6k range. Zibanejad hasn't scored a goal in seven games despite averaging three shots per game through that goal-scoring drought so he is certainly due to snap out of this funk and net a few.
Jack Roslovic, CBJ ($3,300 DK/ $3,700 FD) - Roslovic continues to succeed in his top-line role with Columbus. He has now recorded an assist in four straight games and with him centering a line with talented wings like Patrick Laine and Cam Atkinson, Roslovic has the potential to be an assist machine.

Other centers to consider: Matthews, Draisaitl, Trocheck, Tavares, Norris, Schenn, Staal, Strome

NHL DFS Forward Picks

Mitch Marner, TOR ($7,700 DK / $8,100 FD) - The combo of Marner and Matthews is just too good to pass up and if you are unable to get Matthews into your lineup, you better consider at least plugging Marner into your lineup. Marner has recorded eight points over his last four games played and has been very active on the offensive end against Vancouver as he has taken seven shots on goal while recording five assists and a goal.
Jordan Eberle, NYI ($5,200 DK / $5,600 FD) - Jordan Eberle was moved down to the Islander's second line so he could skate alongside Brock Nelson but he showed out in a big way by notching two goals on seven total shots against Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Eberle has the ability to score and now that he has his own line to lead offensively, we might see him take more responsibility and fire the puck a few more times at the net.
Mikael Granlund, NSH ($4,200 DK / $5,100 FD) - Granlund still falls into the low 4k mark on DK, and regardless of the matchup, it is hard to deviate away from him. Granlund does a solid job of racking up peripheral stats from the wing position and is seeing close to 20 minutes of ice time per game so he always grades out well from a cash game standpoint.

Other wings to consider: Stamkos, RNH, Svechnikov, Forsberg, Palat, Buchnevich, Kyrou, Hoffman, Kreider, Schwartz, Puljujarvi, Coleman, Pearson, Dadonov, Domi, Spezza, Goodrow

NHL DFS Defenseman Picks

Darnell Nurse, EDM ($6,100 DK / $5,500 FD) - Nurse has been a steady presence for this Oilers team this season as he has recorded 10 points in 13 games. Nurse sees over 22 minutes of ice time per game and does a great job racking up peripheral stats as he is averaging close to five peripheral stats per game. If looking to save a bit of salary, you could slide on down to Tyson Barrie who is skating alongside Nurse on the top defensive pairing and is also quarterbacking the top power-play unit as well.
Ryan Ellis, NSH ($4,900 DK / $5,100 FD) - The pricing on Ellis on DK is just too good to pass up on. Ellis sees over 24 minutes of ice time per game and carries a great floor as he has had 9+ DK points in five straight games. Ellis is starting to heat up as he has recorded a point in four straight games and is averaging over three peripheral stats per game over that four-game span.
Noah Dobson, NYI ($4,300 DK / $3,700 FD) - Dobson is a young defenseman for the Islanders and is starting to see more responsibilities as he has been thrust up to the top power-play unit for this New York team. Dobson has recorded six points in 10 games played and is averaging about three peripheral stats per game.

Other defensemen to consider: Hedman, Hamilton, Josi, Barrie, Rielly, Pulock, Larsson, Jones, Myers, Slavin, Leddy, Ekholm

NHL DFS Goalie Picks

Mikko Koskinen, EDM ($8,200 DK / $7,900 FD) - Koskinen isn't the most stable goalie in the league partly due to the lack of defense that Edmonton plays as a whole but he looks to be one of the better goalies on the slate based on their matchup against Ottawa. Koskinen is 5-7 on the season with a 3.55 goals allowed average and a .889 save percentage. The Senators are only scoring 2.3 goals per game but take over 30 shots per game which is good since we will want Koskinen racking up as many saves as possible.
Frederick Andersen, TOR ($8,400 DK / $8,100 FD) - While it's never a comfortable feeling rostering Andersen, he is 2-0 against the Canucks this season so might we might as well ride the somewhat hot hand and look to him again in the same matchup. Andersen has won back-to-back games against Vancouver and has only allowed four total goals through those first two games. Andersen is 7-2-1 on the season with a 2.81 goals allowed average and a .896 save percentage.

Other goalies to consider: Binnington, Shesterkin, Varlamov

Note: If you do roster a goalie listed above, it is sometimes best to make a hedge lineup in tournaments and take the opposing offense against them incase he gives up a few goals while that opposing team carries lower ownership.

Favorite NHL DFS Line Stacks

TOR 1
- Hyman/ Matthews/ Marner (Rielly, D-men add on/ Kerfoot, PP add-on)
  - This is another "pick your poison" kind of night where both Toronto and Edmonton are on the slate and good matchups so a good chunk of the ownership will flock to either team. This top forward line for Toronto is sporting a 3.65 xGF/60 on the season while generating 38.66 SCF/60 and 17.9 high danger chances per 60 minutes of ice time so they are in about as good of form as any other line in the league. If looking to get different, feel free to include Morgan Rielly as he helps quarterback the power play or roster Alexander Kerfoot who also sees time on the top power-play unit as well and should come in lower owned.
EDM 1
- Nugent-Hopkins/ McDavid/ Puljujarvi (Barrie, D-men add on/ Neal, PP add-on)
  - If you decide to not look at Toronto, it would be best for you to then consider Edmonton's top line. This top line has a 3.43 xGF/60 on the season while generating 35.1 SCF/60 and 16.09 high danger chances per 60 minutes of ice time. The Senators as a whole are carrying an xGA/60 of 2.62 which is the third-highest rate in the league while also allowing 11.58 high-danger opportunities which is the sixth-highest rate for high-danger opportunities allowed in the league as well. Throw in the fact that Ottawa has a bottom-five penalty kill team so it would be best to look at some of the studs for Edmonton in this matchup.
NYR 1
- Kreider/ Zibanejad/ Buchnevich (Fox, D-men add on)
  - The Rangers really need this line to get going if they want to really make a push towards the playoffs this year. Dating back to the beginning of last season, this line has seen over 500 minutes of ice time and has produced a 2.31 xGF/60 mark while generating 31 SCF/60 and over 13 high-danger opportunities per 60 minutes. The Rangers will have the home-ice line matching advantage in this game so if they could get this top line up against the bottom-six forwards for the Islanders, they might be able to produce several goals and get back on track from a goal-scoring standpoint.