Thursday features a larger ten-game main slate with Washington in New York, Boston in Florida, and a gong show clash between Pittsburgh and Buffalo.
Remember, when looking around for plays, an over/under of 6 dictates offense, but an over/under of 5 or sometimes 5.5 tilts towards the goalies. There are several games at 6.5, as that has become the new norm in hockey now.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy hockey lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel on 3/5/20. The lineup picks will range from some of the elite players to mid-priced options and value plays. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS. Let's get to it, shall we?
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Sidney Crosby - C, PIT vs BUF (FD - $8,600, DK - $7,600)
Crosby is going up against the Buffalo Sabres and their 74.2% penalty kill. Remember this was the Buffalo team that scored five times against the Penguins in a previous matchup. Revenge will be heavily on the center's mind. With the return of John Marino and Brian Dumoulin, Pittsburgh looked better against the Ottawa Senators. Expect another potential multiple-point game for Crosby and company on Thursday night.
Leon Draisaitl - C/W, EDM vs CHI (FD - $8,700, DK - $7,800)
The forward gets shots on net to the tune of nearly four shots per contest and has 18 points in his last ten games. He has 55 points in 36 road games with 22 goals on 117 shots. There is no regression in the winger and with Connor McDavid, they have one whale of a 1-2 punch. The nice thing is with Edmonton is that one can stack a Darnell Nurse or even Kailer Yamamoto. There are ways to get more for your money against a Chicago team so porous on defense and the penalty kill especially.
Also, Consider:
- It is still a good time to look at Pavel Buchnevich along with Mika Zibanejad against a tired Washington Capitals team.
- Logan Couture is rolling along with Evander Kane and will be under-owned on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild.
DFS Defenders to Consider
Torey Krug - D, BOS vs FLA (FD - $5,600, DK - $5,200)
This is a solid option on Thursday night with some high-priced players in not so good situations. Boston is in an ideal situation in all phases against a Florida team that just gives up a plethora of scoring chances and opportunities. Krug has four assists in his last three games and has a solid shot volume of late. His price is middle of the road and not too high like Roman Josi, Kris Letang, John Carlson, etc. There is this expected continuation of his three-game point-scoring streak as well.
Ivan Provorov - D, PHI vs CAR (FD - $4,300, DK - $5,600)
Provorov has a nice floor and has eight points in his nine games and four of those in the previous three. The defenseman just has to get shots on net and will get time to build his shots and blocked shots up just enough. Remember, he is a value play for FanDuel only as he is grossly underpriced there. His DraftKings price is about accurate especially given his production of late. Provorov is great at home with 7 goals, 20 points, and 2.6 shots per game on average.
- Simply if Ben Chiarot will keep being priced where he is, then one almost has to play him given his ice time.
- Darnell Nurse is just $4,000 on FanDuel. He becomes a must-play on Thursday for those looking for value.
DFS Goalie to Consider
Matt Murray - G, PIT vs BUF (FD - $8,300, DK - $7,700)
Murray gets the start against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. Yes, the goaltender has not been very good, to say the least, but did get the win against Ottawa on Tuesday. Expect him to see more than 26 shots versus the Sabres. Pittsburgh will be looking for revenge desperately after a bad home loss during their six-game slump. Before that slump, Murray enjoyed three straight quality starts. That will go under the radar.
- The other good GPP choice on Thursday night may just be Martin Jones. It just becomes a question if San Jose allows more than 28 shots. There is one more alternative in the form of Alexandar Georgiev who is value-priced against the Washington Capitals.