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Welcome, RotoBallers! If you do not know me, my name is Mark and I write NFL, MLB, and NHL on Rotoballer. I play NHL DFS almost daily, and am excited to bring you my thoughts on today's slate!
Today I'll be bringing you my NHL lineup picks, analysis, and advice for NHL DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel for Thursday, March 31st, 2022 at 7:00 PM EST. Be sure to also check out our awesome suite of NHL DFS lineup tools including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, DFS 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 hit me up on Twitter @Mark_Kieffer or in our premium slack chat. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 3/31/22
We have a nine-game slate tonight. We have games starting at staggered times between 7:00 pm Eastern and 10:00 pm Eastern. Be aware of when the games start for your stacks, one-offs, and goalie. The best thing you can do is check 20-30 minutes before the puck drops for each game to ensure everyone in your lineup is playing! Nothing is more frustrating than having a great lineup and getting a zero from any position but especially goalie!
NHL DFS Goalies
Jake Oettinger- DK $7.9K|| FD $7.5K
Opponent - Anaheim Ducks
Dallas is favored in this game and Anaheim is implied for 2.5 goals on the slate. Out of the favored goalies on the slate, Oettinger is one of the less expensive ones. He is 23-11-1 with a 2.49 GAA, one shutout, and a .916 SV%.
Others To Consider (Cash/GPP): Ullmark (DK $8.2K || FD $8.0K), Markstrom (DK $8.1K || FD $7.9K), Kallgren (DK $8.0K || FD $8.2K), Jarry (DK $7.7K || FD $8.1K - GPP), Talbot (DK $7.7K || FD $8.3K - GPP), Merzlikins (DK $7.5K || FD $7.2K), Daws (DK $7.2K || FD $6.9K - GPP). Bobrovsky, Andersen, and Kuemper are strong favorites. I am concerned whether they get enough saves to make their salaries worth them rostering.
NHL DFS Centers
When rostering a Center you have to decide if you are going to pair or stack with a winger. If pairing or stacking, you can go for a pass-first center that will be a little less expensive in hopes of them getting an assist to the winger(s) you have. If you are looking for a Center as a stand-alone player, I recommend rostering Centers that are expected to take a lot of shots on goal. Below you will find recommendations that fall into both camps.
Nazem Kadri- DK $6.9K || FD $8.5K
Opponent - San Jose Sharks
With Nathan MacKinnon injured, Nazem Kadri is skating on the first line. Who wouldn't want the center on the first line of a team implied for 4.3 goals at under $7K on DraftKings and under $9K on FanDuel? Kadri has 82 points (27 goals, 55 assists) in 65 games played averaging 3.4 shots on goal per game. He has five points and 16 shots on goal over the last three games. There's not a lot of deep analysis here. For a cash game, Kadri is a great play.
Evgeni Malkin- DK $6.2K || FD $7.3K
Opponent - Minnesota Wild
Evgeni Malkin is having a productive fantasy season. In 31 games played, he has 33 points (16 goals, 17 assists) and he averages 3.06 shots on goal per game. He skates on the second line and is on the first power-play unit. This game should be a high-scoring one; Pittsburgh is implied for 3.3 goals while Minnesota is implied for 3.4 goals. Malkin is another good play for cash at his price point.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Matthews (DK $9.3K || FD $10.3K), Barkov (DK $8.9K || FD $9.4K), Bergeron (DK $7.2K || FD $7.0K), Aho (DK$ 6.4K || FD $8.0K), Scheifele (DK $6.1K || FD $7.9K), Tavares (DK $5.9K || FD $7.4K), Seguin (DK $4.7K || FD $5.5K), Trocheck (DK $4.5K || FD $5.6K)
NHL DFS Wings
Generally, with wingers, I want players that are likely to take many shots on goal at a reduced price. I play tournaments and generally stack, but if I am playing a winger as a one-off I want a guy that is going to shoot a lot and hopefully score.
David Pastrnak - DK $7.7K|| FD $8.5K
Opponent - New Jersey Devils
David Pastrnak has scored 68 points (38 goals, 30 assists) in 66 games played. He also takes many shots on goal, averaging 4.42 shots on goal per game. Boston is implied for 4.1 goals in this game. Pastrnak will get off shots on goal with a great chance at scoring a point if not a goal. He is my top spend-up option at winger this slate.
Jonathan Huberdeau- DK $6.8K || FD $9.2K
Opponent - Chicago Blackhawks
Jonathan Huberdeau is a better play on DraftKings than on FanDuel. He has 93 points (23 goals, 70 assists) in 66 games played, averaging 2.74 shots on goal per game. Florida is implied for 4.7 goals on the slate, the highest of the night. Huberdeau is likely to get a point or more. You can play him stand-alone or pair him up with one of his linemates in hopes of capitalizing on a likely assist from Huberdeau.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Kaprizov (DK $7.8K || FD $9.5K), Kane (DK $7.6K || FD $8.9K), Marchand (DK $7.0K || FD $8.8K), Rantanen (DK $6.7K || FD $8.7K), Marner (DK $6.4K || FD $9.4K), Svechnikov (DK $6.0K || FD $7.2K), Robertson (DK $6.0K || FD $8.3K), Nichushkin (DK $5.2K || FD $6.7K), Terry (DK $4.0K || FD $6.1K), Kaliyev (DK $3.2K || FD $4.5K)
NHL DFS Defensemen
My general rule of thumb with Defensemen is if I am spending up at the position, I want that player to be on the Powerplay with a chance to score a goal. This is also a position I will punt quite a bit at. If I am punting, I want a player that is projected to get a good amount of ice time and has a chance to get a blocked shot bonus on DraftKings. I also try to find defensemen on a power play (might be the 2nd one) if I can.
This slate does not have a lot of great defenseman value at the top of the salary and I would advise to either punt here or add a power-play defenseman to a stack if playing a GPP.
Cale Makar - DK $7.8K || FD $7.0K
Opponent - San Jose Sharks
Cale Makar is the top defenseman on the slate. He has 74 points (24 goals, 50 assists) in 64 games played. He has 13 shots on goal in his last three games and averages 3.03 shots on goal per game. He averages 25 minutes of time on the ice per game, however, he has logged 28 minutes the last two games. Makar is an offensive threat on a team with injuries. I expect Makar to be involved offensively in this game in which Colorado is a strong favorite and implied for 4.3 goals.
Tony DeAngelo- DK $5.6K || FD $6.0K
Opponent - Montreal Canadiens
Tony DeAngelo is a solid defenseman. He is on the top power-play unit for Carolina, facing one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL. DeAngelo has 43 points (10 goals, 33 assists) in 49 games played. He averages 2.22 shots on goal per game as well. DeAngelo makes a great cash game play, given his contributions on offense in a game in which Carolina is implied for 4.2 goals.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Letang (DK $6.1K || FD $6.7K), Weegar (DK $5.9K || FD $5.6K), Toews (DK $5.8K || FD $6.2K), McAvoy (DK $5.5K || FD $6.5K), Jones (DK $5.4K || FD $6.3K), Rielly (DK $5.1K || FD $6.2K), Klingberg (DK $4.9K || FD $5.3K), de Haan (DK $3.3K || FD $4.2K)
NHL DFS GPP Strategy
This will come as no surprise, I am a single entry and 3 max DFS player, but I will look to fade all of those lowest implied total teams and try to target stacks in the high implied total games.
Florida (4.7 implied goals), Colorado (4.3 implied goals), Carolina (4.2 implied goals), Boston (4.1 implied goals), Calgary (3.9 implied goals), and New York Islanders (3.9 implied goals) are the teams with the highest implied total. One strategy I am considering is to take a stack from whichever of these teams might be overlooked. My gut feeling is that the Islanders or Boston could very well be the two teams forgotten about.
Other stacks I like are:
Pittsburgh PP1: Minnesota has the No. 22 penalty kill (76.2%) and is No. 2 in penalties per game.
Los Angeles 2: This forward combination group has scored 23 goals, tied for No. 8 in goals scored by a forward combination.
Minnesota 2: One of the most productive line groups, having scored 23 goals in 34 games played.
Carolina 3: This is my sneaky stack of the night. They have 25 goals, tied for No. 5 in goals scored by a forward combination. I would look at using it in a large field tournament; in a smaller single entry tournament, this is likely too risky.
If you are looking to get sneaky anywhere stack-wise, find a high-owned goalie and choose the most productive stack against that goalie's opponent for leverage, especially in a large field GPP.
