NHL DFS Lineup Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings (2/24): Value Plays, Goalies, Stacks

Welcome, RotoBallers. Hockey season is back 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 and FanDuel for Monday, February 24th, 2021 at 7:00 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 @ChrisWasselDFS as I am happy to engage with readers and try to answer your questions. Good luck RotoBallers!

NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 2/24

• • Calgary Flames vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
  • New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers
  • Los Angeles Kings vs. St. Louis Blues
  • Anaheim Ducks vs. Arizona Coyotes
  • Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche

NHL DFS Goalie Analysis 

With a five-game main slate, picking the right goalie is still important but not life and death. Out of the 16 goaltenders, which goalie gives the player the best chance at the most DFS points? Does one even touch the North Division clash? It's a great question. Picking between these goaltenders may just be too rough of a proposition for most to stomach.

The matchup that generates some intrigue is the Anaheim Ducks vs. Arizona Coyotes. From a hockey standpoint, this would not move the needle. However, from a DFS perspective, this might be a bit more interesting. Also, Minnesota and Colorado could be unexpectedly filled with offense which will make life on the goalies difficult. There will be plenty of questions.

NHL DFS Power Play Analysis

The Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs offer the most scoring potential but there could be many surprises. Minnesota and Colorado may feature more goals than expected. San Jose features little or no defensive resistance. The problem becomes consistency. Which players can one trust?

It will be a bit more challenging on this slate to stack lines, etc but also easier to go with one-offs, etc.

The Los Angeles and St. Louis game is a true wildcard. St. Louis's most consistent trait is again their inconsistency. No one quite knows what to expect here but their special teams give as well as receive. Los Angeles becomes a possible beneficiary.

Finally, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers get together and the Rangers may have some issues scoring but are also showing signs of breaking out offensively. New York is only averaging 2.44 goals per game on the season. There are some that believe the Rangers are due for a breakout. But, so may Philadelphia.

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NHL DFS Core Plays

The Core plays below are the players that you should focus on incorporating into your cash game builds and tournament builds. When it comes to cash games, you want guys that offer high floors that rack up peripheral stats (shots, blocks, etc).

When it comes to tournaments, it is best to take a core play and see who their linemates are and build line stacks based on that. I will give 2-3 plays (varies on slate size) at each position at different pricing ranges so that you can have a variety of plays to choose from when building your cash builds. Today's slate will be kept simple again but more plays available on social media as line changes and goalie confirmations roll in later in the day.

NHL DFS Center Picks

• Auston Matthews, TOR ($9,000 DK / $9,300 FD) - Matthews is our top pick because of the goal potential. He has 12 goals in his last ten games. Consider that he commonly tops 4+ shots on goal with a moderately high potential of eclipsing five shots. That means Matthews brings the DraftKings shot bonus into play. Calgary is giving up almost four goals a game during this half-dozen game cold spell they are on. Matthews gets the rare designation of being priced at or over $9,000. That is for good reason. The Toronto Maple Leafs' center can be stacked with the Toronto power play or some of his line 1 cohorts. Yes, there may be an eventual regression but it is rare to see a player average 20+ FanDuel and DraftKings points per contest this far into the season. Yes, Nathan MacKinnon is still very much viable against a banged-up Minnesota defense.
• Trevor Zegras, ANA ($2,700 DK / $3,000 FD) - We are digging into the tiers tonight to scour out value. Zegras was one of the most highly anticipated prospect call-ups for Anaheim in years. He did not disappoint on Monday night with several quality chances. This is purely a punt play on Wednesday but Arizona looked almost mesmerized at times by what he could do with a puck. If he gets any power play time at all, this could be gold.
• Joel Eriksson Ek, MIN ($5,200 DK/ $4,800 DK) - There is a bevy of upper-priced talent on Wednesday so we head into the middle-tier for Eriksson Ek. He has seven points and four goals in his last nine games along with 2.6 shots per game. This goes with three scoring chances a night. Minnesota is in a unique position where one can stack line one or go even riskier and look at line two (value). Colorado has not played for a few nights and could be a bit rusty. Also, one can go a rung down with Minnesota and risk playing the hottest second line in hockey with Victor Rask (just $2,700 on DK and $4,500 on FD).

This is again a smallish medium slate. As we mentioned above, it is okay to look at value players because the slate dictates looking at more than the usual suspects. Someone is going to go off unexpectedly which is inevitable but the case that some middle-six lines could in multitude. It seems expected. Watch for some line shifts -- especially with Anaheim and Arizona as Trevor Zegras will likely play for the Ducks. Do not forget that Minnesota and Colorado late game either.

NHL DFS Wing Picks

• Jordan Kyrou, STL ($5,100 DK / $4,400 FD) - It is too hard not to try and take one more shot at this with Kyrou here. He looked great over the weekend on the top line and it was more than just the goal scored. Kyrou had speed and acceleration everywhere. Against a less than mobile Los Angeles team, this should be a considerable asset. If he keeps playing 16-17 minutes plus a night, the opportunities will come. The Blues have quite the talented offense and special teams. They are one of those squads that play in the fun realm. Kyrou plays a big role in that when his game is focused and on target. Kyrou arguably topped the shot bonus on DraftKings but the stat keeper in St. Louis said his fifth shot on Monday actually did not hit the net. Either way, Kyrou will get 3-4 opportunities at a minimum again.
• Kirill Kaprizov, MIN ($4,600 DK / $4,800 FD) - Kaprizov has been a part of one of the hottest lines in hockey and that is no surprise. He has 13 points and four goals on the season while hitting on an increasing shot and chance volume again. He is still at a hair less than two shots a night but managing nearly three scoring chances a game. With Victor Rask on his side. This provides a contrarian mini-stack against a Colorado team that will look to slow down the top line in Minnesota. The second line may be able to slip in some unexpected chances.
• Pavel Buchnevich, NYR ($5,200 DK/ $5,300 FD) - Buchnevich and ultimately Joel Farabee from Philadelphia have about the same point ceilings on Wednesday. This is a true coin flip bit we chose Buchnevich for this spot because of the road possibilities from the New York Rangers. The offense has to come from somewhere with Artemi Panarin still out. Buchnevich has nearly three shots and three chances per night with seven points in his previous nine games.

Please understand that there will be some inevitable in-game shifts particularly if there are any goalie changes in the later games. These are situations to keep an eye on. Simply Trevor Zegras of the Ducks comes to mind. On social media and Slack, we will try to spot some of these possible buy-low candidates.

NHL DFS Defenseman Picks

• Drew Doughty, LAK ($5,700 DK / $6,300 FD) - With St. Louis a bit of a mess defensively, Doughty's shots could get through and his blocked shot floor elevates because of how the Blues play at home, in particular. The Los Angeles stalwart defenseman averages right around two blocks and two shots a night. He has 11 points (nine assists) in his last ten games. Also, Doughty has an astonishing eight power-play points on the young season. Few expected a career resurgence out of the Los Angeles top line and first defensive pairing. However, here we are. Doughty's price is right on the cusp of the top-tier but still worth the addition.
• Devon Toews, COL ($5,500 DK / $5,000 FD) - Let's keep this simple. Toews still sees some solid power-play time and that is essential in looking at plays. Toews plays a rover-like position on defense which means he has more chances to create and block shots. The Minnesota team defensively is in shambles due to injury and COVID which is a spot to again take advantage. Again, that ceiling (2.5+ shots and blocked shots per game) is important to note. One may want to roster him if they do not feel like spending up to Cale Makar.

Sneaking in Jonas Brodin could be a reasonable alternative here on Wednesday. His price is just $4.600 on DraftKings and only $4,000 on FanDuel. Value plays are very hit and miss tonight because of how this slate is set up. Keep that in mind as one is looking at stacking lines and creating lineups.

NHL DFS Goalie Picks

• Igor Shesterkin, NYR ($7,600 DK / $7,100 FD) - With the higher-priced goalies and a lack of confirmations, Shesterkin is the only confirmed netminder at press time. The Rangers goalie is 4-4-1 in his last ten appearances with a goals-against just over 2 and a stellar save percentage of .927. He is 2-1-1 on the road in the early going as well. One of the quirky things with New York is their defense has been around the top-ten all season while Philadelphia's has gone backward. One would have expected this to be the other way around. The price here is reasonable to take a risk.

Goalies to consider: WAIT FOR CONFIRMATIONS (back to back scenarios and short slate)

Note: If you do roster a goalie listed above, it is sometimes best to make different lineups in tournaments. Watch to see who starts for St. Louis, Los Angeles, etc.

Favorite NHL DFS Line Stacks

• TOR PP 1
  • Matthews/ Marner/ Thornton (Reilly, D-men add on)
• ARZ 1
  • Keller/ Schmaltz/ Garland (Ekman-Larsson, D-men add on)
• MIN 2
  • Kaprizov/ Rask/ Zuccarello (Dumba, D-men add on)

Other Stacks to consider: COL 1, MIN 1, STL 1, ANA 2, NYR 2, PHI 2

Key Abbreviations:

xGF/60= expected goal for per 60 minutes of ice time

GF/60= goals for per 60 minutes of ice time

SC/60= Scoring Chances per 60 minutes of ice time

If you have any additional questions, make sure to reach out to me on Twitter or in our NHL room at the RotoBaller slack chat!

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