NHL DFS Lineup Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings, SuperDraft (2/7): 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 Sunday, February 7th, 2020 at 12:00 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 2/7

- Philadelphia Flyers (-120) vs Washington Capitals- 6U
- Carolina Hurricanes (-145) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets- 5.5U
- Los Angeles Kings vs. Vegas Golden Knights (-260) - 5.50
- Chicago Blackhawks vs. Dallas Stars (-170) - 5.5O
- Detroit Red Wings vs. Florida Panthers (-230) - 5.5U

NHL DFS Goalie Analysis Matrix

Team	Rank GA	Rank SA	Rank GF	Rank SF	Total
Philadelphia	7	31	25	16	19.75
Washington	18	23	30	11	20.5
Carolina	11	29	21	3	13
Columbus	3	25	4	8	13
Los Angeles	14	26	2	4	15
Vegas	13	29	19	1	12
Chicago	16	1	14	13	11.5
Dallas	2	14	6	23	10.75
Detroit	31	5	1	31	17.25
Florida	28	10	26	7	17.5

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 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.

NHL DFS Power Play Matrix

Matchup	PP%	Opp PK%
Philadelphia	10	18
Washington	5	27
Carolina	13	20
Columbus	26	15
Los Angeles	11	11
Vegas	25	3
Chicago	3	15
Dallas	1	13
Detroit	29	22
Florida	4	28

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.

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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.

NHL DFS Center Picks

Aleksander Barkov, FLA ($7,600 DK / $7,400 FD) - Barkov looks to be in one of the best matchups on the entire slate and is a great all-around play against Detroit. Barkov has had three multi-point games out of his last four games played and registered three points against Detroit earlier this season.
William Karlsson, VGK ($5,400 DK / $5,200 FD) - Karlsson had a very good game against the Kings on Friday night as he recorded one goal and two assists which was his best performance of the season so far. He is averaging close to three shots per game over his last four games played and sees plenty of ice time as he centers the second line and the top power-play line for Vegas.
Jack Roslovic, CBJ ($3,500 DK/ $3,700 FD) - Roslovic has really impressed early on ever since he joined Columbus at the end of early January. In just four games with his new team, Roslovic has generated a point in three straight games and is coming off of a multi-point effort against Dallas. Roslovic is skating on the top forward line and centers the second power-play unit for Columbus so he will have solid offensive weapons around him at all times.

Other centers to consider: Pavelski, Backstrom, Trocheck, Hintz, Staal, Glass, Namestnikov

NHL DFS Forward Picks

Max Pacioretty, VGK ($7,500 DK / $8,100 FD) - Pacioretty has been shooting like a mad man lately as he has taken 15 shots over his last two games played. During that two-game stretch, Pacioretty also recorded three goals and three assists so he is in very good form as he heads into this Sunday game against the Kings.
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA ($5,400 DK / $4,500 FD) - The Florida top line continues to impress and Verhaeghe is really shining in his new top-line role. Verhaeghe has notched six goals in just eight games and is playing at a point per game rate to start the season.
Anthony Mantha, DET ($4,100 DK / $6,200 FD) - The pricing on Mantha continues to be somewhat laughable over on DK as he is over 2k cheaper there than on FD. While Detroit is one of the worst overall teams in the league, Mantha is a bright spot for them offensively and makes for a great one-of play on this slate. He is taking over three shots per game over his last four games and has found the back of the net in three out of four of those games as well.

Other wings to consider: Ovechkin, Kane, Svechnikov, Stone, Benn, Hornqvist, Huberdeau, Duclair, Bjorkstrand, Niederreiter, Tuch, Ryan

NHL DFS Defenseman Picks

Shea Theodore, VGK ($7,300 DK / $6,400 FD) - The price tag for Theodore is hard to swallow over on DK but he is certainly viable over on FD at $6,400. Theodore is playing at a point per game pace and is one of the best two-way defensemen in the league. He has notched a point in three out of the last four games and has taken at least three shots over that four-game span as well.
Keith Yandle, FLA ($5,300 DK / $4,400 FD) - If paying up for Barkov is a little too much, you could always look to grab one of the Florida defensemen. Keith Yandle skates on the third defensive pairing but is featured on the top power-play unit so he does have some correlation to some of the better Florida forwards. Yandle carries a strong floor as he is always good for a few shots and a blocked shot so if he can grab a point as well, he hits value with ease.
Jaccob Slavin, CAR ($4,400 DK / $4,200 FD) - If you're looking for a solid cash game play, Jaccob Slavin could be your guy. He skates on the top defensive pairing for the Canes and is averaging over 22 minutes of ice time per game while also averaging one shot and two blocked shots per game.

Other defensemen to consider: Carlson, Hamilton, Klingberg, Ekblad, Martinez, Murphy, Jones, Stralman

NHL DFS Goalie Picks

Robin Lehner, VGK ($8,200 DK / $8,700 FD) - Fleury got the start for the Golden Knights on Friday night so it is safe to assume that Robin Lehner will be the starter against the Kings on Sunday afternoon. Robin Lehner is 2-1-1 with a 2.95 goals allowed average and a .885 save percentage on the season and he is still trying to find his playoff form from last season. Vegas comes in as the largest favorite on the slate and Lehner will be a popular cash game option.
James Reimer, CAR ($7,800 DK / $8,300 FD) - Petr Mrazek is out for some time being due to injury so James Reimer will be the main guy between the pipes for the Canes moving forward. Reimer is 4-1 with a 2.76 goals allowed average and a .900 save percentage on the season and should be involved in a close game that also features one of the lowest totals on the entire slate.

Other goalies to consider: Bobrovsky, Oettinger

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 incase he gives up a few goals while that opposing team carries lower ownership.

Favorite NHL DFS Line Stacks

FLA 1
- Verhaeghe/ Barkov/ Duclair (Ekblad, D-men add on)
  - The Florida top line continues to produce and their pricing continues to go up. This line has a 3.41 expected goals for while generating 35.07 scoring chances for and 17.23 high-danger opportunities for per 60 minutes of ice time. Florida likes to have their top line go up against the bottom six of opposing teams when they're playing at home which bodes really well for the Barkov line. If you're wanting to go heavy on the Panthers, feel free to stack their power play unit as well since Florida is sporting the fourth-best power-play unit while Detroit has one of the worst penalty-killing units in the entire league.
DAL 1
- Benn/ Pavelski/ Radulov (Klingberg, D-men add on)
  - Dallas is one of the larger favorites on the slate and with them being at home, they will be tough to ignore when creating your tournament builds. The top line for Dallas has been great to start the season and they are sporting a 4.28 expected goals for rate, 39.56 scoring chances for, and 17.31 high-danger chances created per 60 minutes of ice time. When Dallas has been at home, they like to take their top line and match them with the opposing team's bottom-six forwards which creates very good matchups for Pavelski, Benn, and Radulov. Radulov does run the risk of missing this game so make sure to check lineups about 10-15 minutes prior to puck drop just to make sure if he is in or out.