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Brandon Wampler's top DraftKings and FanDuel NHL DFS value plays and research for February 18th, 2023 including DFS analysis for goalies, power plays and stacks.
Welcome, RotoBallers! If you do not know me, my name is Brandon and I write both The First-Serve and The Kick-Off for Tennis and Soccer respectively. If you have not checked those out, make sure you do! It is the return of the NHL season which means it's time to sharpen our MLB skills and partake in NHL DFS! As always, I'll give you the best tools to succeed and the info you need to build the best lineups possible for your GPP and cash game NHL contests on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Today I'll be bringing you my NHL lineup picks, analysis, and advice for NHL DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel Saturday, 18th, 2023 at 7:00 PM EST. Be sure to also check out our awesome NHL tools including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, Projections, and DFS Cheat Sheets!
If you have any questions on today's slate, bankroll management, GPP strategy, Cash game strategy, or anything else don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected] or via Twitter @df_solutions or in our premium slack chat. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 2/18/23
The trade market is starting to open up and more and more moves will be made as we get closer to the trade deadline – March 3rd –. Be aware of late-minute scratches. Tonight we have an 8-game slate and two teams playing on a back-to-back: Los Angeles and New York. The currently live top-3 highest implied team totals are: Toronto with 4.5, Kings with 4 and Seattle with 3.8 goals. I will do my best in guiding you through this eight-game slate on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:00 p.m. EST.
DISCLOSURE: Make sure to monitor the news feed and play at your own risk
Goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy- DK $8K || FD $7.7K
Opponent - Vegas Golden Knights
Another slate and another hard time finding value plays with a high ceiling. Nevertheless, Vasilevskiy will do with a 4-1 record over his last five games and he has only posted one outing below a 0.900 Save Percentage. However, Vegas will not be a walk in the park by any means, outscoring their opponents 18-12 at home in their last five games. Luckily for the Lightning goaltender, he has faced high-quality offenses in his last five games, beating the Kings once, the Stars once and the Avalanche twice.
Others To Consider (Cash/GPP): Andersen (DK $8.3K || FD $8.5K), Delia (DK $7.9K || FD $8K)
Centers
Tomas Hertl-DK $5.7K || FD $6.6K
Opponent - Buffalo Sabres
Nothing spells goal-fest like a nice friendly meeting between the Sabres and the Sharks. With many eyes wandering to Sabre sensation Tage Thompson, we will look at the other side of the ice with Tomas Hertl. Over his last five games, he has 1 goal, 3 assists, 11 shots and 4 blocked shots. It is clear as day that if Hertl and Meier do not produce, the Sharks do not win with Hertl’s last two productive games both being wins. The Sabres are no slouch defensively, albeit sitting in the bottom half of the league over the season in both Shots Against Per 60 and Scoring Chances, however, they are the seventh-worst in Goals Against Per 60 – 2.84 –. Thanks to the poor goaltending, Hertl should be in a prime spot to produce tonight.
Austin Matthews- DK $8.9K || FD $10.1K
Opponent - Montreal Canadiens
Matthews is back and in a big way. The center scored once, assisted once, took three shots and blocked two shots in the 5-2 win over Chicago in his first game back from injury. If you date it back further, over his last five appearances, he has 4 goals, 2 assists, 22 shots and 16 blocked shots. The amount of effort he provides at both ends of the ice is invaluable and he is the only player that has this high of a salary that will provide in every statistical category in DFS. Montreal continues to be a bad team carried by good goaltending on different nights. Over the season they are the eighth-worst in both Shots Against Per 60 – 31.4 – and Goals Against Per 60 – 2.83 – and the third-worst in Scoring Chances Against Per 60 – 31.66 –. This is cooking up to be a big performance from the first-line center.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Thompson (DK $8.7K || FD $9.9K), Pettersson (DK $7.5K || FD $9.6K)
Wings
Teuvo Teravainen- DK $4.9K || FD $5.9K
Opponent - Washington Capitals
Teravainen is heating up and there is no better spot to produce than an Outdoor Stadium Series game against a division rival who is playing without their star forward. Through Teravainen’s last five games, he has 2 goals, 2 assists and 17 shots. This is the most productive he has been all season. With no Ovechkin in the lineup, the Capitals have been outscored 9-5 in the first two games without him. Although the Capitals do not have a poor defense even without John Carlson, missing Ovechkin is slowly tearing the team down, leaving plenty of opportunities for Teravainen to produce on the big screen.
Dillon Dube- DK $4.4K || FD $5.4K
Opponent - New York Rangers
Dube makes back-to-back appearances in the article and he did not disappoint in the shocking 5-2 home loss to Detroit on Tuesday. The winger scored once and took four shots. Over his last five games, he has 4 goals, 3 assists and 17 shots. He is the most ‘consistent’ player alongside linemate Tyler Toffoli at the moment for the Flames. The Rangers will be traveling to Calgary after a thrilling comeback win in the shootout over the Oilers last night in Edmonton. They will not be as sharp tonight, leaving plenty of space open for Dube to attack. Furthermore, with Igor Shesterkin starting last night, the Flames will get a matchup with the lesser of the two Rangers goalies, Jaroslav Halak.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Nylander (DK $7.3K || FD $8.8K), Beauvillier (DK $4.3K || FD $5K)
Defense
Juuso Valimaki- DK $3.4K || FD $4.3K
Opponent - Los Angeles Kings
This is beyond a ‘lock’ at this point. Valimaki is the heart of the Coyotes right now. In his last five appearances, he has 6 assists, 12 shots and 8 blocked shots. He is all over the ice, influencing play wherever he possibly can and with the shoot-first Kings hosting him and the Coyotes, it will give him plenty of opportunities to block shots in the shooting lanes. Remember that Valimaki is also quarterbacking the second power-play unit for the Coyotes as well, further boosting his value.
Matt Benning- DK $2.9K || FD $4.2K
Opponent - Buffalo Sabres
Similar to Valimaki as many know, Benning is a key cog in the Sharks' defense. He does it all on both ends of the ice and he has recently been bumped back into the second power-play unit as well. The Sabres are also another shoot-first team and a high-event team, setting up Benning for a busy night. Throughout his last five games, he has 3 shots and 8 blocked shots. The peripherals are not where they typically are or where fantasy players need them to be, however, this is yet another prime opportunity to bounce back.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Rielly (DK $4.9K || FD $5.9K), Bear (DK $3.2K || FD $4.1K)
NHL DFS Top Power Plays and Stacks
- TOR1
- BUF1
- VAN1
- CAR1
Brandon's Stack of the Day
- BUF: Skinner-Thompson-Tuch
Chalk Stack
- TOR: Nylander-Matthews-Marner
Sneaky Stack
- CAR: Svechnikov-Aho-Teravainen
