NHL DFS Lineup Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings (4/18): 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 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 Sunday, April 1th, 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 4/18

- New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils (-160) - 5.5O
- Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Buffalo Sabres (-185) - 5.5U
- Vegas Golden Knights (150) vs. Anaheim Ducks - 5.5O
- New York Islanders vs. Philadelphia Flyers (-180) - 5O
- Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vancouver Canucks (-125) - 6U

NHL DFS Goalie Analysis Matrix

Team	Rank GA	Rank SA	Rank GF	Rank SF	Total
New York Rangers	7	21	26	18	12
New Jersey	26	10	5	15	20
Pittsburgh	15	18	28	12	16
Buffalo	29	3	3	28	18
Vegas	1	29	26	4	15.25
Anaheim	23	8	1	30	15.25
New York Islanders	3	26	15	20	15.25
Philadelphia	30	20	18	14	21.25
Toronto	11	24	25	7	13.5
Vancouver	25	1	9	10	14.5

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
New York Rangers	16	31
New Jersey	29	2
Pittsburgh	9	21
Buffalo	14	25
Vegas	24	17
Anaheim	31	3
New York Islanders	23	30
Philadelphia	20	10
Toronto	12	18
Vancouver	19	26

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

Sidney Crosby, PIT ($8,100 DK / $8,000 FD) - With Auston Matthews listed as day-to-day, Sidney Crosby looks to be the best high-priced option on this five-game slate. Crosby has recorded a point in four straight games and has totaled six points over that four-game stretch so he looks to be in top-tier form. Crosby has done well against Buffalo this year as he has recorded two goals and six assists in just five games played.
Jack Hughes, NJD ($4,400 DK/ $4,600 FD) - Even though the Devils are struggling yet again this year, they do have some upside for the future especially in Jack Hughes. Hughes is third on the team with 23 points scored on the season and has flourished in games against the Rangers this year as he has recorded three goals and three assists in seven games.

Other centers to consider:

High Priced- Matthews, Zibanejad, Tavares, Strome
Mid-Tier- Miller, Carter, Karlsson
Value- Stephenson, Backes

NHL DFS Forward Picks

Max Pacioretty, VGK ($8,400 DK / $7,800 FD) - If paying up for any winger on this slate, Pacioretty should be highly considered. Pacioretty is still producing at a point per game basis 41 games into the season and he is in good form as he has registered seven points over his last five games. He has been successful against the Ducks this year as he has scored two goals and one assist while taking 23 shots on goal in six total games.
Chris Kreider, NYR ($5,300 DK / $6,100 FD) - The Rangers look to be in a good spot against the Devils and Chris Kreider is one Ranger that has done very well against New Jersey this year. he has scored five goals and registered two assists while taking 19 shots on goal in seven games against New Jersey. He sees time on the top line and on the top power-play line which gets him exposure to skating with the likes of Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad.

Other wings to consider:

High Priced- Panarin, Marner, Guentzel, Hyman, Stone, Barzal, Boeser
Mid-Tier- Marchessault, McCann, Kreider, Eberle, Rakell
Value- Smith, Silfverberg, Comtois, Thompson

NHL DFS Defenseman Picks

Shea Theodore, VGK ($6,100 DK / $6,300 FD) - Theodore is one of the more complete defensemen in the entire league as he can rack up points and accrue peripheral stats with the best of them. He has four assists and 22 peripheral stats against Anaheim this year and is in good form as he has generated four points and 22 peripheral stats over her last five games played.
Ryan Pulock, NYI ($5,000 DK / $4,600 FD) - If you can't afford to pay up for Theodore, you could always pivot on down to Pulock who is another defenseman that sees over 20 minutes of ice time and can generate peripheral stats night in and night out. Pulock is averaging over four peripheral stats per game over his last five games played and has generated two assists over that five-game span as well.

Other defensemen to consider:

High Priced- Fox, Pietrangelo, Letang
Mid-Tier- Trouba, Rielly, Hughes, Edler
Value- Subban, Ristolainen, Smith, Hague, Shattenkirk

NHL DFS Goalie Picks

Jack Campbell, TOR ($8,200 DK / $8,400 FD) - Despite Campbell losing two straight games, he is still in play against the Canucks on Sunday. It's been several weeks since Vancouver played a competitive game which means they could experience some rust and fatigue in their first game back. Campbell is 11-2 on the season with a 2.19 goals allowed average and a .922 save percentage and looks to have the starters role locked in for the foreseeable future.
Semyon Varlamov, NYI ($7,800 DK / $8,200 FD) - With Sorokin getting the start on Friday night, we can fully expect that Varlamov will draw the start for the Islanders on Sunday. Varlamov has only won two of his last five starts despite only allowing 2.4 goals per game during that stretch and his tea only scoring two or more goals in one of those games (had four one-point games). The Flyers come into this matchup scoring less than three goals per game on the year and should be a decent matchup for Varlamov and the rest of the Islanders.

Other goalies to consider:

High Priced- DeSmith
Mid-Tier- Georgiev
Value- Holtby

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

PIT 1
- Guentzel/ Crosby/ Rust (Letang, d-men add on)
  - The Penguins are on the end of a back-to-back with the Sabres so going straight to their top line is too easy of a decision for this slate. In yesterday's game, the top line sported a corsi for rate of 60.00 in 14 minutes of ice time and generated seven scoring chances and two high-danger chances in that 14-minute span. The Sabres put their third and fourth lines on the Crosby line which really only benefits the Crosby line even more so locking in that top line for Pittsburgh would be the first place to go in my tournament builds for today.
NYR 2
- Panarin/ Strome/ Blackwell
  - Another team that is on a back-to-back against the same opponent is the New York Rangers as they take on the New Jersey Devils. The Rangers were victorious on home ice as they won by a score of 6-3 but for this game today, they will actually be on home ice with the Devils having the home-ice advantage. This benefits the Strome line as the Zibanejad line could draw the tougher matchup against the Devils top line which means Strome and Panarin could see weaker defensive lines from New Jersey. In yesterdays game against one another, the Strome line only had two scoring chances but was able to convert one into a goal. The Rangers have a middle of the pack power-play unit but are facing the worst penalty-killing unit in the league so rostering Strome and Panarin from this second line could also get you exposure to the Rangers top line since they will be skating with Zibanejad and Kreider anytime that the Rangers are on the power play.