It’s a packed schedule tonight as 12 games make up the 3/8/18 NHL DFS slate with some massive contests over at DraftKings and FanDuel. And of course, these picks and plays can be used in your daily fantasy hockey strategy at FantasyDraft.
If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Twitter at @chrismeaney. This article is posted first thing in the morning, so news posted will certainly alter some of our picks and plays. With that, today’s write up will be updated throughout the day.
Centers
Brayden Point vs. NYR ($6.4 DK / $6.5 FD)
Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov are in play every single night, but the value lies with the Point-Gourde-Miller line. The trio has played two games together as a unit, and they have four goals and nine points to show for it. Point scored an overtime winner the last time out and has seven goals in his last nine games. The Rangers have allowed the second-most shots and the most goals since Jan. 1. This is a good spot for TB, and you can save some money with Point, Yanni Gourde, or J.T. Miller, who has goals in back-to-back games. He matches up against the team that traded him last week.
Riley Nash vs. PHI ($5.6 DK / $5.4 FD)
Riley Nash has multi-point showings in three of the four games he’s filled in for Patrice Bergeron on the Bruins’ top line. Nash piled up four goals and 11 points over his past 11 games. New winger Brad Marchand is fresh off a five-point game and ranks fourth in the NHL in points per game (1.29). Nash is in a great spot, and his price his nice. The Flyers allowed five goals last night, 18 total in their last four games.
Pierre-Luc Dubois vs. COL ($4.9 DK / $5.8 FD)
Pierre-Luc Dubois found the score sheet in only five of his first 23 games this season, but the rookie has 12 goals and 30 points over his last 40 contests. He’s fourth in rookie scoring since Nov. 27, just three back of Brock Boeser. Dubois is on the top line now and has 12 points over his last 14 games. The Dubois-Panarin-Atkinson line combined for nine goals and 22 points in their last six games.
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Others to consider: Aleksander Barkov (FanDuel value), Matt Duchene, Jeff Carter
Wingers
Patrik Laine @ NJ ($7.3 DK / $8.0 FD)
I’m surprised there are four wingers who have a higher price than Patrik Laine. His ownership may be high in tournaments and worthy of a fade in a couple spots. Still, he’s a must in Cash games considering he has seven goals in his last three games and 13 in his last nine. That’s right: 13 goals and 19 points in his last eight games. His 18.1 shooting percentage over the past two seasons is the highest mark in the NHL since he entered. What’s more, it seems pretty sustainable at this point.
Nick Bjugstad vs. MON ($5.4 DK / $5.2 FD)
Nick Bjugstad’s price jumped up a few hundred bucks since his last game where he scored three goals on seven shots. Still, he’s one of the better bargains again tonight. Bjugstad has seven points over a four-game point streak and 10 total in his past nine games. His recent production has him on the time line with Aleksander Barkov, who has seven goals and 16 points in his last 10 games. They’re one of the hottest duos over the past couple weeks. Tonight, they get a Montreal squad dealing with a laundry list of injuries and fresh off allowing six goals to the Devils. Finally, the third member of Barkov’s line, Evgeni Dadonov, has 15 points in his last 10 games. Get a piece of this trio!
Leon Draisaitl vs. NYI ($6.9 DK / $6.8 FD)
The recent return of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has Leon Draisaitl firmly skating alongside Connor McDavid, who has the second most points (26) since Feb. 1. It’s really tough to fit McDavid in your lineups, but if you can, it’s not a bad idea to pair him up with Draisaitl. The Oiler winger has nine goals and 20 points in that same time frame. Edmonton has allowed a league-high 62 goals over the last five weeks. This matchup has all the makings of a high-scoring affair.
Mark Stone vs. BUF ($6.4 DK / $7.6 FD)
Mark Stone has points in 12 of his past 13 games, and 17 total in 12 games since returning from injury. He enters tonight on a nine-game run with five multi-point games over that span. Stone is also sixth among wingers in minutes per game (20:39) over the last two weeks.
Others to consider: Evander Kane, Josh Bailey, Dustin Brown, Joonas Donskoi
Defensemen
Erik Karlsson vs. BUF ($6.2 DK / $7.3 FD)
Tonight seems like a good night to pay up for Erik Karlsson; Buffalo allowed five goals last night and give up the fifth most per game on the season. FanDuel has Karlsson as their highest-priced defenseman tonight, but you can save a few bucks on DraftKings. It’s been a disappointing season for the Sens’ captain, but he’s been a point-per-game player over his last 18 contests.
Keith Yandle vs. MON ($5.4 DK / $4.9 FD)
Again, this is a good matchup for Florida. Yandle isn’t much of a shooter, but he has nine assists in his 10 games. Five of them came on the power play. The Canadiens allowed three power-play goals in their last game and the third most since Jan. 1.
Others to consider: Torey Krug, Rasmus Ristolainen, Justin Faulk
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Goalies
Braden Holtby @ LA ($7.2 DK / $8.8 FD)
Braden Holtby is the fifth-highest-priced goalie on FanDuel and probably isn’t worth the cash, but on DraftKings he definitely is. He’s struggled lately but has a high ceiling. He’s had negative points in five of his last eight starts, which should keep people away.
Others to consider: Connor Hellebuyck, Roberto Luongo, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Craig Anderson
