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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 on Thursday, April 21st, 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 4/21/22
We have an 11-game slate tonight. We have games starting at 7:00 pm Eastern staggered to starting at 10:30 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
Ville Husso- DK $8.3K|| FD $7.8K
Opponent - San Jose Sharks
Ville Husso is 24-6-6- on the season with a 2.46 GAA, two shutouts, and a .923 SV%. Saint Louis is also a solid -180 Moneyline favorite over San Jose too. Husso is one of the less expensive favored goalies on this slate and in a cash game format, that's basically what I want: someone that is favored but on the lower end of the salary scale since the position is high variance.
Others To Consider (Cash/GPP): Bobrovsky (DK $8.7K || FD $8.6K - GPP), Quick (DK $8.5K || FD $7.7K), Fluery (DK $8.2K || FD $7.6K), Shesterkin (DK $7.9K || FD $8.5K), Swayman (DK $7.6K || FD $8.0K - GPP).
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.
Aleksander Barkov - DK $8.3K || FD $9.7K
Opponent - Detroit Red Wings
Aleksander Barkov is coming off a hattrick so now I am late to the party and touting him in this article..... Sort of. This is a slate where I like some of the midrange value. You could easily roster two midranged-priced Centers and be on your way. If I had to spend up, Barkov is my choice. Florida is implied for 5.2 goals and Barkov averages 1.35 points per game and 3.2 shots on goal per game.
Nick Suzuki- DK $5.4K || FD $6.3K
Opponent - Philadelphia Flyers
With how the season has gone for Montreal, I haven't rostered them much this year to be honest. But this is a spot where I actually really like Montreal. They are favored at home against a pretty bad Philadelphia team. Suzuki averages 0.74 points per game and 2.36 shots on goal per game, which is not great, but he has been picking it up lately. He has had games recently where he had five shots on goal and also ones where he had five blocked shots. He has 15 shots on goal in his last six games.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Bergeron (DK $7.2K || FD $7.5K - GPP), Stamkos (DK $7.0K || FD $8.0K - Winger on FD), Pettersson (DK $6.3K || FD $6.5K), Hischier (DK $6.1K || FD $6.3K), Hayes (DK $4.8K || FD $4.9K), Seguin (DK $4.6K || FD $5.1K)
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 scores.
Jonathan Huberdeau- DK $7.9K|| FD $9.6K
Opponent - Detroit Red Wings
Jonathan Huberdeau has been a point getter this season with 111 points. He gets a lot of assists and specifically secondary assists. If Florida is going to go out there and score five goals as they are implied to do, Huberdeau is likely to have multiple points.
Cole Caufield - DK $4.7K || FD $5.6K
Opponent - Philadelphia Flyers
With the wingers, coming back to another Montreal player. As I said earlier, I like Montreal because they are favored to win the game and are playing at home. Caufield is a young player with a lot of promise that has been up and down on the season. Earlier this month, he had a four game goal scoring streak. During that time his price has come down, but he is in as good of a spot as anyone else on this slate to score a goal or at least get a point. I like the value he provides.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Kane (DK $7.7K || FD $8.0K - GPP), Marchand (DK $7.0K || FD $8.0K), Arvidsson (DK $6.5K || FD $6.4K), Panarin (DK $6.4K || FD $7.9K), Fiala (DK $6.2K || FD $7.3K), C. Giroux (DK $5.2K|| FD $6.3K), Kyrou (DK $4.9K || FD $6.2K), Gallagher (DK $3.2K || FD $4.0K)
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.
Dougie Hamilton- DK $6.4K || FD $6.0K
Opponent - Buffalo Sabres
Dougie Hamilton has not been as strong of a source of offense as he has in the past. He is back on the first power play, going against Buffalo who is No. 23 in penalty kill (76.4%). He has averaged 3.2 shots on goal this season and should be busy in this game.
Jacob Trouba - DK $5.8K || FD $5.2K
Opponent - New York Islanders
I like Trouba for DFS because he is always in the midrange like this and is a pretty balanced player. He averages just 0.48 points per game, but averages 2.51 shots on goal per game, and 2.14 blocked shots per game. He is usually good for about 22 minutes of time on the ice every game as well. He is a good floor player for DFS, rarely scores less than five or six fantasy points.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Hedman (DK $7.4K || FD $7.1K), Jones (DK $6.2K || FD $5.9K), DeAngelo (DK $6.1K || FD $5.9K), Weegar (DK $6.0K || FD $5.8K), Hughes (DK $5.7K || FD $5.6K), Durzi (DK $4.2K || FD $5.4K), Middleton (DK $3.0K || FD $3.7K)
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.
I will continue to emphasize this but your strategy for GPPs depends on what kind of contest you are playing in. If playing in a single entry or smaller contest on a slate this size, if you fade the top couple of stacks and find one that is still viable, that's probably enough leverage you need on the field. If playing in a large entry tournament with thousands of lineups, you are probably going to need to roster a goalie against the most popular stack and try to get leverage there if you want the best chance at winning.
Here are some stacks that I like:
Florida PP1, 1, 2, or 3: How you want to attack Florida I think is the biggest decision to make. I think they will be extremely popular, and there is a world in which Florida jumps out to an early 2-0 lead or 3-0 lead and takes the foot off the gas. Florida 3 has 22 goals scored as a forwar combination on the season, which is No. 20 among all of the forward combinations in the league. They make for a good filler stack in a large field tournament.
Los Angeles PP1, 1, 2: Chicago has the No. 25 penalty kill and a starting goalie that saves just 88% of the shots. I like Los Angeles' Power Play 1, and Line 1. Also, Line 2 just puts up shots and I like them pretty much every time they are on a slate.
Minnesota PP1, 2: Vancouver has the No. 31 penalty kill in the league. I also really like Minnesota Line 2 which is very productive with Fiala and Boldy in there, as they are No. 5 in the NHL as a forward combination in goals scored.
New Jersey PP1: Buffalo has the No. 23 penalty kill and New Jersey is favored and implied for 3.5 goals here.
Carolina PP1 or 3: Winnipeg has the No. 30 penalty kill and Carolina is impled for 4.1 goals. They may be too popular and I really like Carolina 3 as a filler stack, that is my top sneaky stack on the slate. Carolina 3 has scored 33 goals as a forward combination, which is No. 4 in the NHL.
Montreal 1/PP1: Philadelphia has the No. 27 penalty kill. I don't mind going 4 man main stack as something contrarian, or to stack Montreal 1 as a secondary stack in your lineups.
