NHL DFS Power Play for FanDuel, DraftKings: DFS Value Plays, Goalies Matrix, Stacks (8/23)

Welcome, RotoBallers. Hockey is one of my favorite sports to watch and play from a DFS perspective 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 and FanDuel.

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 for Sunday, August 23rd, 2020 at 8:00 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 8/22

• Boston Bruins (-110) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (-110)
• Vancouver Canucks (+157) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (-180)

NHL DFS Goalie Analysis Matrix

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.

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. 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 to ensure we get the correct data for each slate!

NHL DFS Core Four 

The Core 4 picks are to help you construct your cash game lineups while also giving you plays that you can use and build around in GPPs. Stacking is critical in NHL DFS so you might want to pair these suggestions with a linemate or two, especially when building your tournament lineups.

1) DFS Center: William Karlsson ($5,500 DK/ $5,700 FD)

Vegas has reunited Karlsson with Pacioretty and Stone which is always a top-line stacking target when on a slate. When glancing at DK, their prices all seem to be down which makes this an easy plug and play stack for both tournaments and cash games. Karlsson has generated three points in just two games played against Vancouver and has been on a little bit of a hot streak as he has produced double-digit DK points in three of his last four games played.

Other Top Center Plays: 

• Brayden Point ($6,400 DK/ $7,700 FD)
• Patrice Bergeron ($7,200 DK/ $7,600 FD)

2) DFS Winger: Max Pacioretty ($6,400 DK/ $7,500 FD)

Pacioretty is priced down on DK which means this is an easy lock button type play. He has dominated the Canucks this year as he has scored two goals and recorded three assists in just two games played. Pacioretty is starting to heat up as he has scored double-digit DK points in two straight games and is coming off of a two-point performance against the Blackhawks. Factoring price and performance against his matchup, Pacioretty is the top winger option on this slate.

Other Top Winger Plays: 

• David Pastrnak ($7,500 DK/ $8,600 FD)
• Nikita Kucherov ($7,800 DK/ $8,300 FD)

3) DFS Defenseman: Victor Hedman ($5,300 DK / $6,400 FD)

Hedman is not the most consistent option from the defensive position but he is one that has the upside that can help take down tournaments. In five games against Boston, he has produced three assists which is pretty solid. When he is involved offensively, he can be a streaky shooter who tends to rack up the shot volume like no other. For the Lightning to win, they will need Hedman to be active but with knowing his volatility,  he seems to be more of a tournament play or a riskier cash game option.

Other Defenseman Plays: 

• Alexander Edler ($5,100 DK/ $4,400 FD)
• Shea Theodore ($6,000 DK/ $6,200 FD)

4) DFS Goalie: Robin Lehner ($8,000 DK/ $8,300 FD)

With the Knights being the largest favorite, it only makes sense to consider looking at their goalie for your lineups. Lehner has been victorious in three out of his last four starts and is averaging only 2.25 goals allowed during that stretch. The Golden Knights defense is pretty stingy which limits the saves opportunities but Vancouver is a young team that plays a faster-paced game which could lead to a larger shot volume. Lehner could have heavy ownership in cash games but has the best chance to pull out a win on this slate.

Value Plays

DFS Value Plays: Center

• Paul Stastny ($3,500 DK/ $4,700 FD)
• David Krejci ($4,400 DK/ $5,800 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Wing

• Ondrej Palat ($3,900 DK/ $4,400 FD)
• Alex Tuch ($3,700 DK/ $4,400 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Defensemen

• Nate Schmidt ($4,000 DK/ $4,300 FD)
• Brayden McNabb ($2,700 DK/ $3,600 FD)

DFS Value Plays: Goalie

• Jaroslav Halak ($7,600 DK/ $7,700 FD)

Top Team and Line DFS Stacks

When looking at this slate, the Golden Knights look to be the largest Vegas favorite and it is hard to go against that pick.  They have looked like the most dominant team in the NHL postseason as they have gone 7-1 since play resumed and carry the highest goals per game average. The Canucks have done a great job so far throughout the postseason as they have gone 7-3 in 10 games played and have the fourth-highest goals scored per game average. When looking at this matchup from their regular-season meetings, they played two games, and both times they scored a combined nine goals which easily hit the over. The top line for Vegas looks to be the best stack on the slate as they have been extremely dominant in the postseason. They are sporting a 6.09 corsi and are generating 39.27 scoring chances per 60 minutes of ice-time at even strength.

The Lightning and Bruins matchup poses to be one of the best matchups in the postseason from both a competitive standpoint and a watching standpoint. Both teams have great offensive weapons but can also turn it up on the defensive end as well. In the regular season, Tampa had a record of 3-1 against Boston and averaged 3.25 goals scored per game. Boston had a hard time generating offense against the Lightning as they only averaged 2.5 goals per game in the four regular-season games they played.  Out of the 10 total goals that Boston scored on Tampa during the regular season, four of those came on the powerplay while six of those goals came from a forward on their top line. Both teams have solid scoring depth which makes their second and third lines viable from a tournament standpoint if needing some mini stacks for salary relief.

Stacks:

• VGK1 - Pacioretty, Karlsson, Stone
• VGK 2- Marchessault, Stastny, Smith
• BOS 1-Pastrnak, Bergeron, Marchand
• TB1- Palat, Point, Kucherov
• VGK3- Cousins, Roy, Tuch

NHL Player News and Updates

More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis