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Saturday’s big DraftKings NHL contest features an eight-game slate starting at 7:00 p.m. ET. In this article, you will find DFS advice for DraftKings plus some DraftKings Sportsbook bets to target as well.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $100K Twine [$20K to 1st]
DraftKings Sportsbook
Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames over 6.5 goals (-107)
These two teams have played in some high-scoring games over the past couple of years. Over their past seven meetings, going back to the start of the 2019-2020 season, seven or more goals have been scored between Calgary and Edmonton five times, with a couple of games going well over that number. Neither team has been great defensively this year as both rank in the top 10 in terms of scoring chances allowed as well. Calgary may be getting starter Jacob Markstrom ($7,300) back in net, but he’ll be coming off a long layoff against one of the league’s best offenses. Edmonton’s goalies were also miserable against Toronto in their last series, allowing 13 goals on 81 shots over three games against the Leafs. The over here looks good enough to take at 6.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook, especially given the two sides involved and where they stand right now in terms of play.
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Top Line Stacks
St. Louis Blues at Los Angeles Kings
Brayden Schenn ($5,800) — David Perron ($6,400) — Torey Krug ($4,600)
The Blues have come alive over their last little stretch and enter having scored 4.5 goals per game in their past four matchups. St. Louis has been carried mainly by a power play that has come alive recently. Part of that resurgence has come from the sticks of these three players, who all enter with two power-play points each over their past two games. The duo of Schenn and Perron have been reunited at even strength and they’re also getting plenty of top power-play exposure, which means that Krug will also be a correlation target with them in DFS. Despite coming in averaging 3.3 SOG over his past 10 starts and with four points in his past four games, Krug’s salary has dipped well under $5K here, making him a great target once again. L.A. may have a decent penalty kill, but they’ve struggled as a team of late and these three offer good value and stacking potential at their current prices. Riding the Blues’ offensive outburst for another night here seems smart.
Superstar to Target
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames ($9,100)
There’s nothing like a frustrated Connor McDavid going up against one of his favorite punching bags here in the Calgary Flames to liven up our Saturday night. McDavid now has 19 goals in 23 games against the Flames and recorded a natural hat trick the last time he faced them. Calgary also enters this game giving up a fair number of scoring chances per night and rank eighth in shots against per game. They’ve also been just mediocre on the penalty kill for most of the year, coming in ranked 14th in that area.
The possibility that Jacob Markstrom ($7,300) comes back and stands on his head does exist, but more times than not, McDavid has gotten his way against Calgary, regardless of who’s in net. Coming off a three-game pointless streak and going against the aging/poor defense of the Flames, paying up for “Angry Connor” in this spot seems a fine way to go about starting your Saturday night lineups.
Value on Offense
Jonathan Marchessault, Vegas Golden Knights vs. San Jose Sharks ($4,600)
Marchessault is starting to heat up a bit for the Golden Knights, who enter this game with San Jose on a five-game win streak. Marchessault has averaged 2.8 SOG over his past 10 games, a span in which he’s averaged 16.4 minutes of ice time per game. He doesn’t get the massive power-play exposure that Vegas’ first-liners get, but against a weak opponent like San Jose, which gives up the third-most shots in the league, it’s a good spot for the second line and PP2 unit to get some quality chances. He’s good value tonight and makes for a solid contrarian stack when paired with Reilly Smith ($3,500).
Max Comtois, Anaheim Ducks at Colorado Avalanche ($3,900)
I’m going to give Comtois one more shot here, but I think we’ll take a long break from discussing any Ducks players if he doesn’t work out tonight. Comtois managed just one SOG in the first game against Colorado last night, but the Avs are banged up on defense, could be starting their backup netminder here and will be without Nathan MacKinnon (upper body) for the night. Comtois is still averaging just under a point per game and over 2.0 SOG per game over his past 10 starts. He’s a solid pay-down option at wing tonight.
Stud Goalies
Joonas Korpisalo, Columbus Blue Jackets at Dallas Stars ($7,500)
The Blue Jackets have picked things up a touch and come in on a two-game win streak. Korpisalo looks to have finally settled down a bit after a rough start and he enters this game having posted a save percentage of .939 or better in four of his past five starts. Somehow Columbus has managed to waste a couple of those solid efforts, but they scored three times in the last game against Dallas (which was enough) and have been the better team of late as the Stars have lost four in a row and scored just twice in their past three games. It’s a good spot to ride the hot goalie given the cheap price here.
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens vs. Winnipeg Jets ($8,100)
Price came back from a “conditioning stint” to post a solid effort in a 3-1 win over Ottawa his last time out. The netminder stopped 26 of 27 SOG in that game and looked to be back on form. There’s no doubt that starting Price here is a big variance spot given the goaltender’s woes prior to that game — he had let in 14 goals in his past three games prior to that win. However, his upside as a GPP play here still looks solid. Even with the bad stretch, he’s now posted six games with 15 or more DKFP in his past 10 appearances, and he and the Canadiens still enter this game as -139 favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook. Any continuation of his recent form here could see him post a high volume of saves against a solid offense in Winnipeg.
Value on Defense
Cam Fowler, Anaheim Ducks at Colorado Avalanche ($3,500)
Fowler’s been in decent form of late, as he comes in having scored nine points over his past 10 games. The Ducks defenseman has seven points over his past five starts and still gets solid power-play exposure every night, which of course comes in handy for any defenseman’s DFS upside. The Ducks have played a touch better of late (they took the Avs to OT in the first game of this mini-series) and may get a look at backup Hunter Miska ($8,300) tonight. Given the cheap salary, punting with the in-form Fowler isn’t a bad idea on defense here as the Ducks should make this one competitive again given the Avalanche’s injury issues.
Derek Forbort, Winnipeg Jets at Montreal Canadiens ($4,100)
Forbort is a different kind of value play than Fowler but has been just as effective of late in DFS. Hec is ranked up near the lead in blocked shots at the moment and comes in averaging 3.2 blocked shots per game over his past 10 starts. Overall, he’s hit the blocked shot bonus in four out of his past 10 contests and even had 11 blocked shots in the Jets’ last start against Montreal. Even without the huge point production, he’s a great floor play and cash game target for those who want to go cheap in at least one of their defensive positions here.
Power-Play Defensemen
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings vs. St. Louis Blues ($5,100)
It’s been a resurgent kind of year for the Los Anegeles defenseman, who enters this game with 28 points in his first 22 games and is averaging 10.7 DKFP. Doughty has always been a great power-play quarterback and minutes eater, and he’s already picked up 11 points on the power play this season. The Blues’ penalty kill has been ineffective most of the season as they enter with the eighth-worst efficiency rate in the league. This is a fantastic price for Doughty, who brings you elite upside in spots like this right now but is available at a price that puts him well off the top-salaried plays at defense on this slate. He’s a great stacking target as well with the Kings' cheap forwards.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $100K Twine [$20K to 1st]
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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.