NHL DFS Lineup Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, SuperDraft (4/2): Value Plays, Goalies, Stacks

3 years ago by Jorge Pucks

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, FanDuel, and SuperDraft.

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, FanDuel, and SuperDraft for Friday, April 2nd, 2020 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 @jorgepucks as I am happy to engage with readers and try to answer your questions. Good luck RotoBallers!

NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 4/2

- Toronto Maple Leafs (-135) vs. Winnipeg Jets - 6O
- Washington Capitals (-167) vs. New Jersey Devils - 6U
- Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers (-140) - 6O
- St. Louis Blues vs. Colorado Avalanche (-215) - 5.5O
- Arizona Coyotes (-120) vs. Anaheim Ducks - 5.5U
- San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings (-125) - 5.5O

NHL DFS Goalie Analysis Matrix

Team	Rank GA	Rank SA	Rank GF	Rank SF	Total
Washington	18	21	29	28	14.75
New Jersey	19	5	5	15	20.25
Toronto	10	24	28	8	19
Winnipeg	14	10	25	17	15
Calgary	19	18	9	12	18.75
Edmonton	16	14	23	15	12.75
St. Louis	24	20	15	14	19
Colorado	1	31	31	1	15.25
Arizona	22	7	7	31	15.5
Anaheim	27	15	3	30	20
San Jose	28	5	12	11	17
Los Angeles	15	9	14	21	11.75

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 total column indicates that it is a more dangerous matchup for that team's goalie while it might be beneficial to stack against him. If the total is low, that means he is in a good matchup from a fantasy perspective and should be considered for your goalie selection. I match and sync this every day to the actual opponents that they are facing every slate so this is always slate specific.

NHL DFS Power Play Matrix

Matchup	PP Rank	Opp PK Rank
Washington	8	30
New Jersey	28	10
Toronto	6	15
Winnipeg	4	20
Calgary	17	19
Edmonton	5	11
St. Louis	23	2
Colorado	10	26
Arizona	24	24
Anaheim	30	8
San Jose	22	4
Los Angeles	12	14

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 rank. When looking at this matrix, you will want to look for teams that succeed in the power play rank (lower the rank the better they are) while their opponent has a poor penalty kill rank (the higher the rank, the worse their penalty kill is).

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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 or needing cornerstones for your tournament builds.

NHL DFS Center Picks

Connor McDavid, EDM ($9,100 DK / $8,800 FD) - McDavid is coming off of a rare letdown where he recorded zero points which only means a big bounce-back game is in store for him. McDavid has dominated the Flames this year as he has scored six goals and recorded eight assists in just six games against them this season and remains to be a top option on every slate that he is on.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, WSH ($5,000 DK/ $6,400) - Kuznetsov has cooled off a tad over his last two games but his previous eight games should not be forgotten. Over his last 10 games played, Kuznetsov recorded a point in seven of those games while scoring four goals. Kuznetsov tends to heat up when he does get his chance to skate alongside Ovechkin on the top line and as long as he continues to do so, he is always worth rostering in all formats.

Other centers to consider:

High Priced- MacKinnon, Matthews, Scheifele
Mid-Tier- Kopitar, Lindholm, Kadri, Hertl, Dvorak, Hughes
Value- Backlund, Dubois, Zajac, Brassard

NHL DFS Forward Picks

Gabriel Landeskog, COL ($7,000 DK / $7,000 FD) - Landeskog has been playing exceptionally well over his last 10 games as he has produced five multi-point games in that 10-game stretch. He is the cheaper of the two Avs wingers but tends to carry more upside while Rantanen tends to offer a safer floor. Landeskog has netted two goals against St. Louis this year and with them being on home ice, his line could definitely draw favorable matchups throughout the game.
Joonas Donskoi, COL ($4,200 DK / $4,300 FD) - If you're wanting to save some salary but still want to get a piece of Colorado, you can always pivot down and go to Joonas Donskoi who has been on fire as of late. Donskoi has registered a point in four straight games and is coming off of a four-point game where he recorded a hat trick and one assist. Donskoi has been very active on the offensive end lately and with him taking 18 total shots over his last four games, he is only proving the kind of form that he is in.

Other wings to consider:

High Priced- Draisaitl, Ovechkin, Marner, Rantanen, Landeskog, Ehlers, Connor, Garland
Mid-Tier- Tkachuk, Hyman, Keller, Oshie
Value- Palmieri, Puljujarvi, Labanc, Schwartz, Copp, Burakovsky, Stastny, Donato, Balcers

NHL DFS Defenseman Picks

Darnell Nurse, EDM ($6,600 DK / $5,900 FD) - Nurse is at a solid price point on both sites and with his peripheral stats complementing his point-scoring ability, he is a tough option to ignore. Nurse has 27 points in 37 games this year and has recorded a point in four of his last five games played. In just six games against Calgary, he has tallied up two goals and four assists while also taking 11 shots on goals and blocking 10 shots so he brings a very solid floor to this matchup.
Ryan Graves, COL ($3,600 DK / $3,500 FD) - The pricing on Graves is down on both sites but he makes for a perfect cash game floor play at his price point. Graves has yet to register his first goal of the season but has had 11 helpers on the year and is racking up peripheral stats left and right as he is averaging over five per game over his last four games played.

Other defensemen to consider:

High Priced- Carlson, Barrie, Chychrun, Burns, Giordano
Mid-Tier- Doughty, Toews, Karlsson, Pionk
Value- Faulk, Girard, Morrissey, Smith, Schultz, Orlov, Drysdale

NHL DFS Goalie Picks

Philipp Grubauer, COL ($8,500 DK / $8,500 FD) - Despite facing a stingy Blues team, Grubauer remains a top option on this slate. He has won four of his last five games played and is allowing only two goals per game during that stretch. Grubauer has some of the best overall numbers in the league as he is 22-7-1 on the year with a 1.78 goals allowed average and a .928 save percentage while also going 1-1 against St. Louis earlier this year and carrying a 2.02 goals allowed average in those two games.
Mike Smith, EDML ($7,900 DK / $7,400 FD) - Mike Smith is still impressing everyone this year as his great play has carried on into the mid-point of the season. Smith has gone 12-3-1 with a 2.41 goals allowed average and a .919 save percentage in 16 starts and is 3-1 against Calgary this year. In those four starts, Smith has stopped 107 of 117 shots faced and has accrued a save percentage of .915 in those four games. While SMithhas great numbers, he still can be viewed as a riskier option in cash games but is a fine play in your tournament builds.

Other goalies to consider:

High Priced- Campbell
Mid-Tier- Hill
Value- Jones

Note: If you do roster a goalie listed above, it is sometimes best to make a hedge lineup in tournaments and take the opposing offense against them in case he gives up a few goals while that opposing team carries lower ownership. Also, make sure that the goalie listed above is starting and if not, make sure to pivot!

Favorite NHL DFS Line Stacks

EDM 1
- Draisaitl/ McDavid/ Puljujarvi (Barrie, d-men add on)
  - This slate features three of the best top lines in the league and with all of them in solid matchups, it will be tough to decipher which ones we should roll with for our tournament builds. Edmonton has fared well against the Flames this year as they have scored 26 goals in six games and McDavid has accounted for six of those goals himself. At 5v5, this line is producing a 3.39 expected goals for rate while also generating 34.86 scoring chances per 60 minutes of ice time.
COL 1
- Landeskog/ MacKinnon/ Rantanen (Makar, d-men add on)
  - Over the Avs last 10 games, this line at 5v5 has been lethal as they have scored 14 goals at full strength and are carrying a 61 corsi for rate over that stretch. In addition, they are generating 39.26 scoring chances for per 60 while also creating 12.93 high danger chances for per 60 minutes of ice time. In just nine minutes of ice time against the Bues this year, this line has been able to score goals for at 5v5 while generating eight scoring chances in those nine minutes.