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 Tuesday, February 1st, 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 bmwvolleyball94@gmail.com or via Twitter @df_solutions or in our premium slack chat. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 2/1/22
We will follow up on yesterday’s crazy slate with one second to last big slate before the All-Star break. Luckily, we will have a few more value spots to exploit, granting us some flexibility in roster construction. I will do my best to guide you through this exciting slate starting at 7 p.m. EST with many teams in prime matchups.
We will have a plethora of teams on back-to-backs: Toronto, New Jersey, Florida, Ottawa and Vancouver. The Coyotes enter with the league's second-worst goals against (3.66) when they travel to Colorado, while the Panthers will hope to continue their dominant 4.07 goals for when they travel to the injury-riddled Big Apple.
DISCLOSURE: The slate may not be the same at puck drop as it is during the writeup due to COVID-19. Make sure to monitor the news feed and play at your own risk.
NHL DFS Goalies
Juuse Saros- DK $8.1K || FD $8.2K
Opponent - Vancouver Canucks
There are plenty of options on a large slate like this when analyzing goalies. However, Saros stands out of the bunch as a strong value play with great form. Vancouver sits at the tail end of the league for goals for – 2.41 –, but yet they still continue to rattle off shots. They will come into the second-half of a back-to-back though and it will provide Saros every chance to land goalie of the slate with his strong saves above expected – 19.1 –.
Others To Consider (Cash/GPP): Lehner(DK $8.4K || FD $7.8K), Sorokin(DK $8.3K || FD $7.9K), Reimer(DK $8K || FD $7.2K), Hellebuyck(DK $7.8K || FD $7.6K), Vasilevskiy(DK $7.4K || FD $8.5K), Forsberg(DK $7.1K || FD $7K)
NHL DFS Centers
Mikko Rantanen-DK $8.2K || FD $9K
Opponent - Arizona Coyotes
Rantanen will be a stud on the slate either way, but with Scott Wedgewood expected to start for the Coyotes, this makes the winger made center an even stronger play. In Rantanen's last five appearances, he has a 2-3-5 line with 14.0 shots. He has not been scoring as much now that he plays a more supporting role, however, he is still averaging just under 3.0 shots per game as of late. Between his production and Arizona's league second-worst goals against – 3.66 –, there is a reason he has the third-highest salary at center on the slate.
Nolan Patrick- DK $2.6K || FD $3.9K
Opponent - Buffalo Sabres
Nolan Patrick has yet to live up to his potential that he was drafted for and now he finds himself in a prime spot to hush the critics. With teammate Chandler Stephenson most likely out still with COVID-19, Patrick slides into the top-line and stays on the top power-play unit. Sitting at the bottom of the salary range and playing between sharpshooters Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, this is a recipe made for success.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Matthews(DK $9.2K || FD $10.3K), Bergeron(DK $7K || FD $7.5K), Dubois(DK $6.6K || FD $6.2K), Tavares(DK $6.5K || FD $8K), Lundell(DK$3.6K || FD $5.7K), Coyle(DK $3.4K || FD $4.5K)
NHL DFS Wings
Valeri Nichushkin- DK $4.6K || FD $6.4K
Opponent - Arizona Coyotes
Nichushkin is still criminally underpriced sitting below the $5K salary range. In his two matches since being called up to the top-line, he has a 1-1-2 line and 6.0 shots. The former Dallas Star has played nothing but a supporting cast role in his career, but now he gets another shot to shine on the top-line against the league's second-worst defense.
Kyle Connor- DK $8.5K || FD $9.4K
Opponent - Philadelphia Flyers
Connor continues to lead the Jets in shots and he also happens to be in excellent form with a 3-1-4 line and 26.0 shots over his last five games. The Flyers sit at the bottom of the league in terms of goals against – 3.33 – and the Jets are starting to rev up their engines once more. With added linemate Cole Perfetti who prefers to assist more than shoot, Connor is getting all of the puck’s attention.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Rust(DK $7.3K || FD $8.4K), Marchand(DK $7.2K || FD $9.2K), Forsberg(DK $6.2K || FD $7.8K), Marner(DK $5.7K || FD $6.8K) Stone(DK $4.7K || FD $6.6K), Lee(DK $4.2K || FD $4.9K), Marchment(DK $2.9K || FD $5.4K)
NHL DFS Defensemen
Samuel Girard- DK $4.2K || FD $4.9K
Opponent - Arizona Coyotes
Girard continues to shine in a very talented defensemen group with the Avalanche. However, his prime chance is right now while co-quarterbacking the top power-play with teammate Nathan MacKinnon out. In the two games since his “promotion”, Girard has 2.0 assists, 1.0 shot and 4.0 blocked shots. Surprisingly, his individual offensive output has gone down and his defensive output has gone up. Nevertheless, he still has a great chance to hit value sitting below the $5K mark on DraftKings against a lackluster defense.
Noah Dobson- DK $5.5K || FD $5.8K
Opponent - Ottawa Senators
This man should not be under $6K on DraftKings. However, I don’t have a problem taking advantage of the salary. Dobson has a 1-1-2 line over his last five appearances which is not great. However, he does have 21.0 shots and 13.0 blocked shots in that time frame. Dobson is blindly hitting his value without points and it is only a matter of time until his shot starts hitting twine. The Senators don’t have the greatest defense either and Dobson continues to lead the power-play.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Josi(DK $7.5K || FD $7.5K), Trouba(DK $6.1K || FD $6.1K), Giordano(DK $5.2K || FD $5.6K), Schmidt(DK $4.2K || FD $4.9K), Grzelcyk(DK $4K || FD $4.8K), Salo(DK $2.8K || FD $3.8K)
NHL DFS Top Power Plays and Stacks
- COL1
- WPG1
- FLA1
- VGK1
Brandon’s Stack of the Day
TOR: Nylander-Tavares-Marner
Chalk Stack
COL: MacKinnon-Nichushkin-Makar
Sneaky Stack
SJ: Hertl-Meier-Burns