Sunday features a four-game NHL main slate starting at 7:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings. In this article, you will find DFS advice for DraftKings plus some DraftKings Sportsbook bets to target as well.
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DraftKings Sportsbook
Arizona Coyotes vs. San Jose Sharks over 5.5 goals (-113)
The Coyotes are without their top two goalies for this game, so it looks likely that Adin Hill ($7,700) will be getting the start again for them here. Hill has allowed three or more goals in each of his last five starts and has a save percentage of just .906. On the flip side, the Sharks have allowed the third-most SOG against this year and both these teams rank in the bottom-10 for scoring chances allowed. These two teams combined for 15-goals in their first two games and I like the over to here again as well.
Phil Kessel over 2.5 SOG (+165)
As mentioned above, the Sharks allow the third-most SOG per game. Kessel is only averaging 2.0 SOG over his last seven games but has been elevated into a bigger role of late and has played 16 mins or more in eight of his last 10-starts. The big odds here make Kessel a decent target for the over on his SOG prop as the Sharks just allowed 86 SOG in their last two games against the Kings.
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Top Line Stacks
St. Louis Blues vs. Anaheim Ducks
Brayden Schenn ($6,000) — Vladimir Tarasenko ($5,700) — Jaden Schwartz ($4,000)
The shorter slate tonight means we have to take a look at all of the big lines, even if they are in a slump. The Blues trio of Schenn, Tarasenko and Schwartz have only combined for three assists over their last four games but this does feel like a spot where they could breakout. The Ducks are an insanely thin team up front who are now starting an unproven 21-year-old in their top-line center spot. They’ve also allowed the fifth-most scoring chances this year, while also featuring the eighth-worst penalty-kill in the league. Despite being held scoreless in his last two games, Tarasenko enters here with 10-SOG in his last two starts and is starting to show that kind of aggression on the ice that made him a five-time 30+ goal scorer.
Schwartz has had a tough go of it on the scoresheet lately, but has played 18 minutes or more in three of his last four starts. He should see power-play exposure beside Tarasenko, who seems ready for lift-off soon. The Blues have been a poor team as of late but they still offer good upside on their top-two lines at solid prices here for daily fantasy. Against the lowly Ducks, I like targeting this line for a breakout tonight.
Superstar to Target
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey Devils ($8,800)
It’s a small four-game slate and we have the streaking Washington Capitals going up against the lowly Devils. This is all to say that while I'd like to recommend someone other than Alex Ovechkin, but I'm not really sure fading him is such a great idea. Ovy comes in with eight goals over his last 10-games and is also averaging 4.6 SOG over that same span. He’s hit 12.0 or more DKFP now in seven straight starts and faces a Devils team who ranks last in penalty-kill efficiency and allows the ninth-most SOG against per game. Ovechkin will certainly be heavy chalk tonight but that doesn’t mean you should run away from rostering him. The fantasy points will almost certainly come in one form or another.
Other potential big names to consider on this slate include Nikolaj Ehlers ($7,000), who has hit the DK SOG bonus in three straight games and could be overlooked given he hasn’t scored in four straight. He and center Pierre-Luc Dubois ($4,800) make for a decent mini-stack to attack if you’re in the business of fading Ovy chalk.
Value on Offense
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey Devils ($4,600)
Ovechkin’s stellar play as of late has also started to increase some of his teammates fantasy effectiveness. Kuznetsov has found himself back on a line with Ovy and has nine points over his last 10-games, including a two-goal game in his last outing. The talented Russian is suffering through a bit of a down year offensively, but has clearly started to pick up the pace over the last month. Tonight, he gets a New Jersey team who makes for a great punching bag. Playing big minutes alongside the biggest stud on this slate and still available at well under $5K, Kuznetsov is the best value at any range among the forwards here for me tonight.
Phil Kessel, Arizona Coyotes vs. San Jose Sharks ($3,600)
I mentioned Kessel above in the betting angles for tonight, but he also makes for a fine DFS target as well. Kessel comes in with four points in his last three games and is being relied on for big minutes on a nightly basis right now for the goal-starved Coyotes. The Sharks simply allow a ton of shots against every night and that should allow a big minutes eater like Kessel to get a few more pucks through. With that in mind, he could potentially pay off his sub-$4K salary, even if he doesn’t score. Still producing at decent levels (22-points in 33 games), the price is right to use the veteran forward as a punt play if needed.
Stud Goalies
Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks at Arizona Coyotes ($7,500)
The Sharks goalies have been one of the worst tandems in the league this year but Jones has entered “the zone” of late. The former King has now stopped 116 of the last 120-SOG he’s faced and gets an Arizona Coyotes team here who is without a ton of high-end finishers on offense as they rank just 26th in goals scored per game. Jones will likely regress soon—as he has done his entire career—but against a lackluster offense like the Coyotes, the price is right to take a shot that he has at least one more big fantasy performance left inside him.
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets at Calgary Flames ($7,400)
Some of Hellebuyck’s stats have slipped a little over the last month or so. However, his last two games, where he’s stopped 60 of 61 shots faced, is a pretty good indication that we can start trusting him again for fantasy purposes. The Flames enter here off of two losses to the Senators and have scored twice in their last three games. Their lack of finish makes them a great opponent for Hellebuyck to continue producing as the Jets still allow the fifth-most shots against. Even with the Jets as small +108 underdogs here on the DraftKings Sportsbook, I like paying down for Hellebuyck who looks ready to finish the season strong.
Value on Defense
Vince Dunn, St. Louis Blues vs. Anaheim Ducks ($4,000)
Dunn comes into this game averaging 8.9 DKFP over his last 10-starts, which is over two points more than his season average. Playing in a top-four role for the Blues, he’s averaging over 20 minutes per night over that same span and is seeing some power-play exposure, which is great for his upside. Averaging 2.2 SOG and 1.8 blocked shots per game, the price we’re getting for that consistent floor makes him a nice target. The fact he’s getting the Ducks—who are bottom-10 in penalty-kill and shots allowed—makes this a nice upside spot as well. Pairing him with a Blues forward stack makes sense here given the Blues injury issues on the blue line. Dunn is in a good spot to potentially pick up a garbage assist or two against the lowly Ducks.
Power-Play Defensemen
Jakob Chychrun, Arizona Coyotes vs. San Jose Sharks ($6,500)
We have a couple of big names on the slate in terms of defensemen, as both Chychrun and John Carlson ($6,800) are available and in good match-ups. As mentioned above, I certainly don’t hate the idea of stacking Washington’s big guns, but I would give the edge to Chychrun as a one-off play. The Coyotes stud defenseman is averaging 13.5 DKFP over his last 10-starts and averaging 2.8 SOG and 2.4 blocked shots per game over that span. While the Coyotes power-play hasn’t been great as of late, there’s no reason it can’t pick up here against San Jose. The great peripheral stats for Chychrun make him the preferred pay-up option for me.
Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets ($5,700)
Giordano may not be seeing big power-play minutes right now but he is offering us solid fantasy production at a decent price-tag. The veteran has been a lot more aggressive with his shot of late and comes in having score 12.7 or more DKFP in each of his last four games. The Jets are a good opponent for fantasy purposes as they allow the fifth-most shots against, per game, and are only about middle of the pack in terms of penalty-kill. Gio’s a decent mid-tier target—who has a low bust probability thanks to his great SOG/blocked shot numbers—if you can’t pay up for the bigger names tonight.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is wavegoodbye) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.